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Madison Symphony Orchestra Historical Pages

A History of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, 1926-2001
In early 2000, as it looked towards the 75th anniversary season in 2000-2001, the MSO commissioned me to do a series of four historical articles to detail the orchestra's history.  These articles, essentially a short four-chapter history of the MSO from 1926-2001, were published in abridged format in the orchestra's programs during the 2000-2001 season.  I have published the "unabridged" versions of these chapters here:


A Brief History of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, 1926-2015
I have also provided much more concise history of the orchestra that brings it up to 2015.  This is an expansion of a piece I wrote for the MSO Board of Directors Handbook.

Madison Symphony Orchestra: Chronicle 1926-2001
As an outgrowth of my research for the 2001 history, I complied a comprehensive database listing every performance by the orchestra and chorus in the first 75 seasons.  The results, 75 Years of the Madison Symphony Orchestra 1926-2001: Chronicle, Repertoire, and Soloists, is available here.   If you are interested in knowing whether a given piece has been played by the MSO since 2001, nearly all of the repertoire we've played on subscription programs is noted on my complete list of program notes. Be aware, however, that this does not include operas, nor does it list repertoire for MSO programs for which I did not write notes.  It also lists repertoire for other orchestras for whom I've written notes.


Early Madison Civic Music Recordings
I have provided streaming versions of several early (1941-1955) recordings of the orchestra and chorus here.


 Feature Articles for the Wisconsin State Journal
I have also included a couple of extended versions of feature articles written for the Wisconsin State Journal,


last update: 9/30/15