Title Page | Collection Summary | History of the Collection | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Biographical Note
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1882 April 18 | Born in London |
| 1896 January | Enrolled at the Royal College of Music |
| 1898 June 25 | Elected as a member of the Royal College of Organists |
| 1900-1905 | Organist and choir director in London |
| 1903 November 19 | Completed Bachelor of Music at Queens College, Oxford |
| 1905-1908 | Organist and choir director, St. Bartholemew's Episcopal Church in New York City |
| 1908 | Studied conducting in Paris |
| 1909 May 12 | Conducted the Colonne Orchestra in Paris in his first public appearance as a conductor |
| 1909-1912 | Music Director, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra |
| 1911 April 24 | Married pianist, educator, and music critic Olga Samaroff (1882-1948) (divorced 1923 June 23) |
| 1912-1936 | Music Director, Philadelphia Orchestra |
| 1922 | Conducted the U.S. premiere of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring |
| 1926 January 12 | Married Evangeline Brewer Johnson (1897-1990), whose father Robert Wood Johnson (1845-1910) co-founded the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson (divorced 1938) |
| 1934 November 20 | Conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the U.S. premiere of William Levi Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony, which was the first time that a major symphony orchestra performed the work of an African American composer in concert in the U.S. |
| 1936 | Resigned as Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra, but continued to co-direct the ensemble with Eugene Ormandy |
| 1936-1939 | Directed and recorded the music for three Hollywood films: The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936), One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937), and Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940). |
| 1940-1941 | Established the All-American Youth Orchestra |
| 1941 | Formally resigned from all conducting activities with the Philadelphia Orchestra |
| 1941-1942 | Music Director, N.B.C. Symphony Orchesta |
| 1942-1944 | Co-conductor with Arturo Toscanini (1896-1957), N.B.C. Symphony Orchestra |
| 1943 | Published Music for All of Us. New York: Simon and Schuster. |
| 1943-1944 | Recorded radio broadcasts and conducted concerts to entertain U.S. Army troops |
| 1944-1945 | Established and conducted the New York City Symphony Orchestra |
| 1945 April | Married heiress Gloria Vanderbilt (divorced October 1955) |
| 1945-1946 | Established and conducted the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra |
| 1946 | Guest conductor, Los Angeles Philharmonic |
| 1947-1948 | Guest conductor, New York Philharmonic |
| 1949-1950 | Apponted co-principal conductor of the New York Philharmonic with Dmitri Mitropoulis, until Mitropoulis was appointed Music Director in 1950 |
| 1954-1963 | Music Director, Symphony of the Air |
| 1955-1960 | Music Director, Houston Symphony Orchestra |
| 1960 | Broke ties with the Houston Symphony Orchestra after the administration refused to allow both African American and white choruses to perform on stage together during a performance of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder |
| 1960-1969 | Conductor, Philadelphia Orchestra |
| 1962-1972 | Established and conducted the American Symphony Orchestra |
| 1972 May | Moved to the United Kingdom |
| 1972 July 22 | Conducted the Rouen Chamber Orchestra in his final public appearance as a conductor |
| 1972-1977 | Recorded albums with numerous record labels, including Columbia Records, Decca Records, and RCA Victor |
| 1977 September 13 | Died of a heart attack in Nether Wallop, Hampshire, United Kingdom |