“Light the candles—a Detroit treasure is about to turn 100,” writes Michael Hodges in Wednesday’s (10/2) Detroit News. “Orchestra Hall, the grande dame of Michigan concert halls with the astonishing acoustics, will celebrate its centennial all year. Its official birthday is Oct. 23, but in a nod to the anniversary, Friday-Sunday’s opening weekend will recreate the exact program the Detroit Symphony Orchestra played under the direction of conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch at the hall’s 1919 inauguration. The performance will open with the ‘Star-Spangled Banner,’ followed by selections from Weber, Mozart, Bach, and finally Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony.” Orchestra Hall was the Detroit Symphony’s home from 1919 to 1939; the building later reopened as the Paradise Theatre, was used as a church, and then was “all but abandoned,” barely escaping the wrecking ball in 1970. “It wouldn’t be until 1989 that the orchestra was able to ditch Ford Auditorium [where it had been performing] and return to its ancestral home.” “We’re so excited to celebrate Orchestra Hall’s centennial,” said DSO President and CEO Anne Parsons. “I like to say that this orchestra is a character in a story, but the building itself has also been a character in so many dramas.”
Posted October 4, 2019
In photo: The interior of Orchestra Hall, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s home. Photo by Urbex.com
