In Sunday’s (3/31) Morning Call (Allentown, Pennsylvania), Steve Siegal writes, “When 23-year-old Edna Phillips joined the Philadelphia Orchestra as first harpist in 1930, she became not only the orchestra’s first female member, but also the first woman to hold a principal position in any major orchestra in America. Chosen for the role by the orchestra’s renowned conductor, Leopold Stokowski, Phillips’ survival in a male-dominated world depended as much on her cunning and perseverance as on her musical talent. ‘One Woman in a Hundred: Edna Phillips and the Philadelphia Orchestra,’ a biography by Mary Sue Welsh … is a deliciously voyeuristic peek at the antics behind the curtain of a major symphony orchestra, and an engaging portrait of its famous and controversial conductor. ‘Edna would tell the most amazing stories. She had a way of remembering things that happened inside the orchestra, both personal and funny, that was very revealing of what it was like to be there at the time,’ Welsh says. … As a result of her constant diligence and keeping her wits about her, Phillips managed to steer clear of notoriety and scandal.” Read excerpts from Welsh’s book on SymphonyNOW.
Posted April 1, 2013
