[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 128 (Friday, October 13, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE CENTENNIAL OF SYMPHONY HALL IN BOSTON, 
                             MASSACHUSETTS

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                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 12, 2000

  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to pay tribute to one of America's most historic crown jewels, Symphony 
Hall, as it celebrates its centennial and its many contributions to 
Boston, the Nation and the world.
  The Hall was the brainchild of ``Major'' Henry Lee Higginson, founder 
of the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). In the early 1890s, Higginson 
made the decision to build Symphony Hall due to the fact that the 
Boston Music Hall was no longer meeting the needs of the BSO and its 
patrons.
  Major Higginson chose Charles Follen McKim of the New York firm of 
McKim, Mead and White as the architect of the Hall. At that time, McKim 
was the most prominent architect in the United States. However, one of 
the most influential persons involved in the project was a Harvard 
physicist by the name of Wallace Clement Sabine. Mr. Sabine, the 
founder of the science of architectural acoustics, served as acoustical 
consultant during the construction of the Hall. As a result of Sabine's 
input, Symphony Hall became the first concert hall designed with the 
aid of modern acoustical science, and today is ranked among the three 
best acoustical concert halls in the world.
  Ground breaking on the Hall took place on June 12, 1899 and it opened 
its doors on October 15, 1900. Ever since its opening, Symphony Hall 
has played a major role in new music activity. It has been the scene of 
more than 250 musical world premiers, including major works by Samuel 
Barber, Aaron Copeland, George Gershwin, and John Williams.
  Though it is principal home of the Boston Symphony and the Boston 
Pops orchestras, other performing artists use it 60-70 times a year. It 
is also interesting to note that for many years Symphony Hall was the 
largest public building in Boston and served as the city's major civic 
gathering place. Among such civic events were: the First Annual 
Automobile Show of the Boston Automobile Dealers' Association (1901); a 
debate on American participation in the League of Nations, advocated by 
Harvard President A. Lawrence Lowell and opposed by Senator Henry Cabot 
Lodge (1919); and all the inaugurations of Boston's Mayor James Michael 
Curley.
  The Hall has regular radio and television broadcasts of the Boston 
Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops. The first radio broadcast took 
place on January 23, 1926, with the first national radio broadcast took 
place on October 4, 1930 in honor of the BSO's 50th anniversary. 
Television broadcasts from Symphony Hall began in 1963 and in 1969 the 
program Evening at Pops was launched in co-operation with WGBH. This 
program has gone on to become the second longest-running series on 
public television, after Sesame Street.
  Today, Symphony Hall continues to have a profound impact on the world 
of music and maintains its distinction as one of the world's finest 
concert halls. The Department of the Interior recently paid fitting 
tribute to Symphony Hall's national and historic significance by 
designating it a National Historic Landmark. I have no doubt that 
Symphony Hall will continue to be a strong influence in the world of 
music for the next century and I want to extend my heart-felt 
congratulations to all those persons that have been entrusted with 
maintaining the legacy of Symphony Hall. So I close with wishing 
Symphony Hall a happy birthday and the good fortune of celebrating at 
least another one hundred.

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