In Sunday’s (11/22) Baltimore Sun, Tim Smith reviews Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: A Century of Sound, published by the BSO and written by Michael J. Lisicky, an oboist in the orchestra. “Even longtime BSO subscribers are bound to find some surprises in this well-illustrated history of an orchestra that started off as a city-funded enterprise…. Lisicky … brings to life those early years when the orchestra was a focus of civic pride, so much so that lines formed around the block when tickets went on sale.… Fascinating items pop out continually in the book…. Telling details emerge about all the music directors who paved the way for the parade of higher-profile podium stars that started with Sergiu Comissiona’s appointment in 1969. Strikes, budget woes, travels, major concert highlights, the disastrous experiment with an outside-the-box CEO … they’re all here. BSO fans may quibble over what is left out or passed over, but it still adds up to breezy, informative ride through 100 eventful years.” Smith also reviews Carl B. Schmidt’s recently published A History of the Handel Choir of Baltimore (1935 to 2013) (Rowman).
Posted November 24, 2015
