The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) has been celebrating the reopening of the renovated Music Hall with a five-weekend party.
For the last weekend of the celebration, the orchestra will pay homage to the storm that inspired a music hall in the first place.
The whole thing started in the 1870s, when a May Festival was planned. The festival was an outgrowth of the singing festivals, known as Saengerfests, that were popular in Europe. In 1872, the leaders of the Cincinnati Musical Festival Association invited local singing groups to participate in a similar festival.
The first concert was held in May, 1873, in the Saengerfest Halle – a tin-roofed building that stood where the new Music Hall stands now. During a concert on May 11, 1875, a violent thunderstorm swept the city, meaning the thunder and rain drumming on the tin drowned out the music, and the concert was canceled. However, philanthropist Reuben Springer was in the audience, and decided Cincinnati deserved a proper concert hall, hence the Music Hall was born.
The upcoming concert features a program entitled ‘The Storm that Built Music Hall’, with Louis Langrée directing the May Festival Chorus and the CSO. There are two concerts scheduled: November 4 at 8:00 pm, and November 5 at 2:00 pm. The Music Hall is in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
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Location
8550 Beechmont Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45255
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Mon: 9:00 - 5:30
Tue: 9:00 - 5:30
Wed: 9:00 - 5:30
Thu: 9:00 - 5:30
Fri: 9:00 - 5:30
Sat: Closed
Sun: Closed