ABSTRACT
The Moravian composers concentrated on writing anthems for soloist, chorus and orchestra for the Sunday services. A significant figure who greatly improved the standard of orchestral playing in Boston was Gottlieb Graupner. In 1788 he went to London and played oboe in Salomon’s orchestra during Haydn’s first visit to England. In the quarter of the nineteenth century orchestras were assembled to play for choral societies and opera companies. George James Webb, born in England, took responsibility for instrumental tuition and founded an orchestra which performed seven of Beethoven’s symphonies. In 1847 the orchestral work was transferred to the Musical Fund Society which Webb also conducted shortly before it became defunct in 1855. In 1846 the New York Philharmonic Orchestra gave the American premières of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony, Chopin’s First Piano Concerto and overtures by Berlioz. Orchestral activity in Boston had begun with the Philharmonic Society in 1799 guided by Gottlieb Graupner.
