Hi Steve,

There certainly were earlier broadcasts of classical music on the radio but it seems that the DSO was the first to do a full concert.

This is from the DSO website:

"In 1922, Gabrilowitsch led the orchestra and guest pianist Artur Schnabel in the world's first radio broadcast of a symphonic concert on WWJ-AM. "

and from last.fm:

"The DSO performed the world’s first radio broadcast of a symphonic concert on February 10, 1922 with pianist Artur Schnabel, and became the first nationally broadcast radio orchestra on the Ford Sunday Evening Hour, later Ford Symphony Hour from 1934 to 1942 on the Columbia Broadcast System."

and from the Schabel Music Foundation:

"Feb. 1922 --Schnabel coincidentally participated in the first live radio broadcast of a complete symphony orchestra concert. This was in Detroit, Michigan during his first American tour."


There are only four instances of Schnabel mentioned in the performance archives of the DSO. The first two are for identical concerts on Feb. 9 and 10, 1922; the second performance was the one broadcast on WWJ (which, however, was still WBL at that time, and did not receive the call letters WWJ until March 3, 1922):


Tenth Programme
Subscription 10 

Detroit Symphony Orchestra 
Thursday, February 09, 1922 

Artists
Ossip Gabrilowtisch, conductor
Artur Schnabel, Piano
 
Program
Mendelssohn -  Overture from Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Op. 27
Brahms -  Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor, Op.15
Intermission 
Tchaikovsky -  Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, "Pathétique"


So when did the NYPO start their broadcasts? From their site we have:

"Aug. 11, 1922 -	First broadcast by a major symphony orchestra, New York Philharmonic, 
program conducted by Willem van Hoogstraten from Lewisohn Stadium."


-- Leo Gillis

--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 3/20/14, Steven Smolian <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Ford Sunday Evening Hour broadcasts
 To: [log in to unmask]
 Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014, 5:26 PM
 
 Hi, there, DDR et al,
 
 The New York Philharmonic was being broadcast regularly the
 previous year.  
 
 Steve Smolian
 
 -----Original Message-----
 From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
 [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
 On Behalf Of Dennis Rooney
 Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 12:12 PM
 To: [log in to unmask]
 Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Ford Sunday Evening Hour broadcasts
 
 The 1923 broadcasts are authentic but unrecorded. The were
 conducted by
 Gabrilowitsch. They may have been the first radio broadcast
 of a regular
 symphony orchestra concert. The Minneapolis Symphony under
 Verbrugghen also
 broadcast in that same year.
 
 DDR
 
 
 On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 7:41 PM, John Haley <[log in to unmask]>
 wrote:
 
 > Thanks, Leo.  Great info.
 > Best, John
 >
 >
 > On Wed, Mar 19, 2014 at 7:06 PM, Leo Gillis <[log in to unmask]>
 wrote:
 >
 > > The online archives of the DSO for the Ford Sunday
 Evening Hour goes 
 > > from
 > > 2/16/1934 to 3/8/1947. A couple are listed for
 1923, but I'm not 
 > > sure if those are correct.
 > >
 > > http://www.dso.org/performanceTitle.aspx?page_id=648
 > >
 > > The list of conductors includes:  Victor
 Kolar, Fritz Reiner, Mischa 
 > > Levitsky, Alexander Smallens, Charles Hackett,
 Richard Bonelli, Sir
 > Ernest
 > > MacMillan, Emma Otero, Franco Ghione, Elwyn
 Carter, Andre 
 > > Kostelanetz,
 > Sir
 > > John Barbirolli, Sir Thomas Beecham, Wilfrid
 Pelletier, Jose Iturbi,
 > George
 > > Szell, Sir Eugene Ormandy, Reginald Stewart,
 Artur, Rodzinaksi, 
 > > Eugene Goossens, Victor Kolar, Harold Koch, Dmitri
 Mitropoulos, Karl 
 > > Krueger, William Steinberg, Leonard Bernstein,
 Efrem Kurtz, and C.
 Valter Poole.
 > >
 > > The first few years were all Kolar, (DSO principal
 conductor) then 
 > > Reiner and Ormandy began appearing. Kolar, Reiner,
 Ormandy, Iturbi, 
 > > Pelletier
 > and
 > > Beecham did numerous performances, and many of
 these in later years 
 > > were held at the Music Hall, another fine, small
 venue in downtown 
 > > Detroit, still in operation. Several of the
 listings unfortunately 
 > > do not include the performance venue.
 > >
 > > -- Leo Gillis
 > >
 > >
 > >  On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 7:38 PM, Don Tait
 ([log in to unmask]) 
 
 > > <  [log in to unmask]>
 > >  wrote:
 > >
 > >  > I have tapes or private CD-Rs of some
 of those  broadcasts. From  
 > > circa  > 1941/2. Each 30 minutes. All I
 have are conducted by  Fritz 
 > > Reiner, who  > presumably took the train
 up from Pittsburgh for the  
 > > gig. I got the  > recordings  >
 from  fellow Reiner collectors and 
 > > have no idea  who might  have
 conducted  > other  > programs. As one 
 > > might expect, the selections are short 
 and  the musical  > gruel is 
 > > pretty thin. The "theme music" for each 
 program is the  French  > 
 > > horn  > "bedtime" music from Hansel und
 Gretel.
 > >  >
 > >  >   I do not remember
 whether the
 > >  announcer(s) said  from where the
 > >  > broadcasts originated. Sorry.
 > >  >
 > >  >   Don Tait
 > >  >
 > >  >
 > >  > In a message dated 3/18/2014 3:38:10
 P.M. Central  Daylight Time,  
 > > > [log in to unmask]
 > >  writes:
 > >  >
 > >  > Starting  in 1934 and continuing
 for a number of  years 
 > > thereafter, the  > Detroit  Symphony
 appeared on a radio program, 
 > > the  Ford Symphony Hour.
 > >  >  Some
 > >  > of  the most distinguished
 conductors of that time  regularly 
 > > guested on  > this  > show, which
 also featured big name soloists.
 > >  Preserved  broadcasts show
 > >  > that the orchestra was an excellent one
 during this  period,  and 
 > > the  > acoustics audible on these
 recordings sound OK, with a  touch 
 > > of  nice hall  > ambiance.  A
 number of these broadcasts are sought  
 > > after by  collectors.  I  >
 don't know where these shows were 
 > > recorded, but I  assume they predate
 the  > Ford Auditorium referred 
 > > to  previously.
 > >  >
 > >  > Best,
 > >  > John Haley
 > >
 > >
 >
 
 
 
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