Strauss, Richard. (1864–1949)
1904 NY Wannamaker Store Concert Program
Scarce original April 16 "Post-Easter Invitation Concert" program from the composer's 1904 American tour, during which Strauss conducted the premiere of his Symphonia Domestica in NY and gave a total of 35 concerts and recitals. (Kurt Wilhelm, p. 298) On the present program, he conducted his Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel and four songs songs, with his wife Pauline Strauss de Ahna, appearing with the "Wetzler Symphony Orchestra of One Hundred Musicians" at New York's Wannamaker Store. Further programs are included following the Strauss performances: Supplementary Promenade Concert at Various Points On Fifth Floor; Vocal Quartet Concert; Vienna Artists' Quartet. 12 pp. Toned, small loss rear blank cover, else fine.In 1903 the German-American composer, organist, and conductor, Hermann (Hans) Wetzler established with donations the WetzIer Symphony Concerts, which had considerable success. Richard Strauss conducted a series of concerts of his own works with the Wetzler group, including the premiere of the Sinfonia Domestica.
Department stores emerged as central institutions in the expansion of the consumer culture in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and music played an unusually prominent and varied role in these new palaces of consumption. Music's range of cultural associations worked to the retailers' advantage by investing the stores with excitement and drama, by imbuing commonplace goods with luxury and status, and by encouraging leisurely shopping. (22185)
Classical Music Ephemera