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Christopher H. Rodenkirchen |
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| The First Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Trumpet Section-1891-1902. |
 Christian
H. Rodenkirchen was the first principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra. Theodore Thomas founded the
Chicago Orchestra in 1891, it
was renamed the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in 1905 and the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra in 1913. Christian Rodenkirchen was engaged in 1891 by Thomas as first
cornet. He played first cornet and/or trumpet until 1902, when apparently in a
dispute over the use of Thomas' name
for booking a summer concert series in Lincoln Park, Rodenkirchen was not
offered a new contract.
In an article about foreign imports for the new orchestra in the Chicago Tribune
of December 20, 1891, along with an
artist's sketch of Christian, the Tribune says : "Christian Rodenkirchen, the new first cornet player, hails from Cologne, where
he was a member of the city orchestra."
Actually, Christian had already been in the USA since 1883 and in Chicago since
1887 at the time of the Tribune article. He was born in Hannef, near Köln,
Germany on February 19,1859. His early life is as
yet undiscovered but he later "played Cornet in one of the seven
regimental bands in Köln" He is seen
to have appeared as cornet soloist with the
Kölner-Männer -Gesang -Vereins {Men's Singing Society of Cologne}on the
28th of August, 1882, in Cleve. He is also listed in
the "Honorarium", {payroll list} of
February 20, 1883 as having played third trumpet for a concert of the "Konzert
Gesselschaft Köln", {"Concert Society of Cologne"} Friedel Keim, in "Das Grosses
Buch der Trompete", says, " through musicians like Christian Rodenkirchen the
modern American trumpet style, a mixture of the French and German, came into
being ".
Though not coming close to Adolph Herseth's performing longevity or worldwide
influence on trumpet playing and styles, Christian Rodenkirchen, in his career
in America, from 1891 to 1915 played
an important part in the early American orchestral trumpet tradition.
He was principal trumpet/cornet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from
its foundation in 1891 until 1902. He then played with the New York Symphony
1903-04, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 1904-05, the New York Philharmonic
1905-07, and then 1909-11 under
Gustav Mahler, and the Philadelphia
Symphony Orchestra 1907-09 and 1911-15.
He is noted in the passenger list of the ship Waesland, from Antwerp, Belgium as
"Christian Rodenkerchen {sic}, Chr., age 26 CPTR, from Germany , villageunknown,
destination Dakota , {probably Dakota County, near St.Paull,MN}. ShipWaesland,
from Antwerp to New York. Arrived October 18, 1883"5
After arriving in New York in 1883, he next appeared in documents as
declaring his intention to become a citizen, in St.Paul in 1883. He became a
citizen in Chicago in 1894.He first appears in Chicago in the City directory of 1887, living at 1365
Sedgwick, Bds. [boardinghouse].
Frederick Deitz Jr. was the 2nd. player in the section, from 1891 as
second cornet and from 1888-1902 as second trumpet. He was born in New York in
1861 and was 30 years old when he started playing with the new Chicago
orchestra. No death date has been found. He had been a member of the
Theodore Thomas orchestra in New York from 1877-to 1891, listed in orchestra
rosters as both trumpet and violin. He was a member of the New York Philharmonic
society from 1880 to 1891, listed in programs as 2nd, 3rd. or 4th. trumpet or
2nd. violin.
Dietz' father, also Frederick Dietz, was a trumpeter for the Philharmonic
Society of New York from 1859 to 1900. The father was principal trumpet of the
Philharmonic Society from 1865 to 1898. From 1880 to 1891, both Frederick
Dietz Sr. and Jr. were members of the New York Philharmonic orchestra.
The first concert of the new Chicago Orchestra, Theodore Thomas conducting was
on October 16, 1891. at the Auditorium Theater. The program consisted of:
A Faust Overture,-Richard Wagner-
Concerto #1 for piano and orchestra - Peter Ilyich Tschaikovsky, Rafael Joseffy
piano soloist.
Overture "Husitska" - Antonin
Dvorak.
Symphony #5 in C major - Ludwig van Beethoven -
Some comments from the review of the open dress rehearsal the day before the
first concert, from the Chicago Tribune of October 17, 1891 show that musical
criticism was perhaps more trivial
then than it is now. The Tribune advertisement is for the first concert.
Of interest is part of a "Drama and Music" column, from the Chicago Tribune, shown
below , lauding Thomas' performances of the the music of J.S. Bach, particularly the B Minor Mass.
It is hard to imagine those
six trumpets, backed up by six clarinets, all honking away at
poor Bach's three trumpet parts, but musical tastes do change.
The trumpet
section during Christian
Rodenkirchen's time was very stabile.
His replacement in 1902, Paul
Steffens, however, lasted only one
season.
Early CSO trumpet sections [ from
Chicago Symphony program books.]
1891-98
Cornets
Christian Rodenkirchen
Frederick Dietz
Trumpets
Albert Ulrich
Frederick Scherzberg
[beginning Jan. 1892]
W.Braun played 2nd trumpet at the
beginning of the 1991-92 season. He
may have been a substitute or an
extra player.
1898-1900
Trumpets
C.Rodenkirchen
F. Dietz
A.Ulrich
1900-1902
Trumpets
C. Rodenkirchen
F. Dietz
A. Ulrich
H. Felber
1902-03
Paul Steffens
Joseph Llewellyn
[Edward's father]
A.Ulrich
H. Felber
The trumpet/cornet section of the
Chicago Orchestra was first divided into
pairs of cornets and trumpets with the
first cornet as principal of the section.
Starting in 1898 the section was listed only as trumpets.
Christian Rodenkirchen was the
principal of the section during his time
in the orchestra, whether he is listed
as first cornet or first trumpet. Modern
practice is that when there are two
trumpet and two cornet parts, the
principal
trumpet decides whether the first and second trumpets will play the cornet or
trumpet parts. This was probably also the practice in the 1890's.
Another prominent member of the early trumpet sections was Albert Ulrich. He was listed as 1st trumpet in 1891 and starting in 1898
as third trumpet. Like Christian Rodenkirchen, he was born in Germany,
Ulrich in 1857 In Magdeburg. Albert studied violin and trumpet in Berlin before
coming to America in 1880. He was living in Chicago in 1881 with his parents,
brother and sister when he was engaged to play with the Theodore Thomas
orchestra during one of its yearly visits to Chicago.
He says, in a letter written upon his retirement from the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra in 1925:
"I first played with Theodore Thomas in February, 1881, when
he had a two weeks' engagement here, at the old Central Music Hall,
corner State and Randolph. In 1883 I was called to New York to go with his orchestra on an 'Ocean to Ocean'
tour, embracing New York to San Francisco.
From then on I became a regular member of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra,
for a duration of eight years that was succeeded by my present 34 year Chicago
Symphony Orchestra membership."
Albert Ulrich was an important member of the new Chicago Orchestra.
He had played with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York and on tours
and had a close relationship with Thomas..
He also had roots in Chicago.
He was a familiar face in the new orchestra to the Chicago Tribune music
critic.* He is listed in orchestra
rosters first as trumpet, then cornet and then trumpet again.
He was the orchestra contractor from 1887 to 1925 and in pre negotiated
orchestra contract days wielded considerable power. He was an assistant
conductor under Frederick Stock and conducted summer orchestra concerts at
Ravinia Park. When free from these duties, he played in the 2nd violin section.
Albert Ulrich was also active in booking outside concerts, using the Theodore
Thomas Orchestra name. With the
short season of the CSO it was essential for the musicians to augment their CSO
orchestra wages with other musical engagements and teaching. Albert Ulrich's
name frequently appears in advertisements for concerts of the Theodore Thomas
orchestra, sometimes as conductor. Christian Rodenkirchen's name more frequently
appears as soloist or in performances of Handel's Messiah or other choral works.
But it appears that they were rivals in booking the all important outside
engagements.
The following excerpts from the Chicago Tribune give some idea of their
activities.
Feb. 25, 1900
June 15,1902
Aug.5,1900
Nov.5,1897
April 23, 1900
After the Chicago Tribune announcement on May 10, 1902,of the upcoming Lincoln
Park summer concerts, directed and contracted by Christian Rodenkirchen, Chris
seems to have been in an untenable position. He was denied the use of the
Theodore Thomas name for the orchestra, and
players he had already engaged withdrew, probably in fear of losing their
jobs with the Theodore Thomas orchestra. John [Chonnie]Hand's Tribune interview,
"Ach, Dot String Band" certainly represented a personal and perhaps political
reaction to orchestra rather than band concerts in Lincoln Park. Chris'
colleague, Albert Ulrich seems to have recognized an opportunity to get rid of
one of his principal competitors for booking outside jobs using the Theodore
Thomas name. Christian Rodenkirchen, 2nd trumpet Albert Dietz along with others
in the orchestra were not reengaged by Thomas Orchestra contractor Albert Ulrich for the 1902-03 season.
"Ach dot String Band", John [Chonnie] Hand and his son Armin, were leading
bandleaders in Chicago for well over 100 years. John celebrated his fiftieth
anniversary of music making in Chicago in 1901 and Armin
was still leading bands in the 1970's. Both father and son organized and
conducted summer band park concerts, played at political rallies, in parades and
were a force in musical Chicago. John Hand conducted until 1928 when he was
succeeded by Armin. Christian Rodenkirchen's proposed Lincoln Park summer Thomas
orchestra concerts would have replaced the John Hand band concerts, two concerts
a week during the summer. It was not to be.
After not being re-engaged by the Chicago orchestra, Christian Rodenkirchen
moved to New York. There he played with the New York Symphony Orchestra in
1903-04, along with his colleague and second trumpet from the Thomas Orchestra,
Frederick Dietz.. He then played with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra 1904-05,
the New York Philharmonic 1905-07, and then 1909-11 under Gustav Mahler, and the
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra 1907-09 and 1911-15.In the year before his death, in 1914, he played Cyclonia Polka, [composer
unknown], at a Philadelphia Orchestra concert. Christian Rodenkirchen died in
Philadelphia on February 6, 1915.
He was buried in New York.
Albert Ulrich's career as contractor, conductor, and more often later
as violinist rather than trumpeter, continued apace. After Rodenkirchen's
departure in 1902, Albert Ulrich had a clear field for booking outside
engagements.
His control of the symphonic jobbing scene, however, came to a head in 1908 when
he had several musicians fired from the Chicago Symphony, apparently for playing
outside engagements in groups not contracted by him.
He was threatened with being brought before the Chicago Federation of Musicians
board of directors by orchestra members, for charging a premium scale of $7.00
per concert for Thomas musicians but only paying them $4.00. Minutes of the
Chicago Federation of Musicians Board of Directors meetings, however, show no
mention of such charges actually being brought.
.
Albert Ulrich continued in his multi faceted career with the Chicago Symphony
Orchestra through the tumultuous years of World War I.
During the witch-hunt for German sympathizers in the orchestra he was the
orchestra's principal spokesman before various government boards of inquiry.
He retired from the orchestra in 1925 at the age of 68,after having been at
different times, 1st trumpet, 1st cornet, 2nd violin, assistant conductor,
contractor and orchestra spokesman. He had been a member of the orchestra since
its founding in 1891.
With the help of the Chicago Tribune Archives, , Chicago City Directories,
Census Reports, and most importantly,
Norman Schweikert, I have tried to give a picture of
the life of
musicians of a
different era. Although these players were active over one hundred years ago
their lives seem in many respects not too different from today.
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| Looking for Chris in Chicago: footnote-endnote-whatnote.
My search for where Christian Rodenkirchen lived in Chicago started at the
Newberry Library in June 2006. The
reference librarian examined the US Census report of 1900 for Chicago and found
C. Rodenkirchen and wife Mary living at 655, on what the librarian said, was
"Eugenie" street.
On our first Sunday afternoon visit in search of Chris's residences we tried in
vain to find 655 Eugenie Street on Chicago's near north side. There was no such
address. We thought perhaps the neighborhood had been so built up in 126 years
that 655 Eugenie was now an alley or an apartment complex.
Closer examination of the 1900 census report revealed that
655 was correct but that "Eugenie" was for the residence on the line
above. The actual address was 655
???ace. The street name was cut off at the edge of the digitalized census report.
The census report was done with a tiny eccentric script that was and is
very difficult to decipher.. At the
Newberry I was directed to the Chicago City directories. My search for traces of
Christian Rodenkirchen then centered on Microfiche and creaky Microfiche
readers. The Chicago City
directories are an unrivaled source of information. The first City directory was
published in 1839 and publication continued, with occasional lapses, until 1929,
when the City directory was supplanted by telephone directories. The City
directories were more inclusive than telephone directories, as they listed, at
least in theory, the addresses of all the residents of the city, with both a
personal and business section, and not just those addresses with a telephone, as
later occurred..
In re-examining the City directory for 1900
I saw that Chris actually lived at 655 N. North Park Ave.
According to Map Quest, still a non-existent address and not a
[Pl]ace. Then the revelation:
Chicago had rationalized its street addresses in 1909-1911.
The pre -1909 addresses in
the City directories were in the old numbering system.
This system numbered each neighborhood differently. The modernized
Chicago numbering system, put into effect in 1909, numbered buildings from
Madison street north and south and from State street
east and west. This system
covers the entire city and most suburbs. The following addresses are
converted to the post 1909 system.
The census address of 1900 would
be, in the modern system, 1733 N. North Park Ave..
In recalibrating the old numbers and looking again at his former residences I
found that most buildings had been destroyed and newer commercial properties
erected in their place. No traces of most of the original residences still
exist. But two do.
Christian Rodenkirken is first listed In the Chicago City directories in 1887.
He lived in a boarding house at 1365 Sedgwick [ Bds.] .The next year, 1888, he
moved to 2060 N. Clark. He is not
listed again until 1892. In 1891 he started playing with the Chicago Orchestra.
In the intervening years he probably continued living at 2060 N. Clark.
In 1893 he is listed at 2552 N. Halsted, but in error as C. Rodenkinchen, music
teacher. Then, as now, the transposition of a single letter was not unusual.
C. Rodenkinchen, music teacher, has to be our Chris.
In 1894 he is not listed, possibly en route to his next address, at 1556 N.
Wells., where he lived from 1895 to
1897.
 In 1898 he was at 1726 N. Cleveland [photo below] and then from 1898 until
leaving the Theodore Thomas orchestra in 1902, at his final residence, 1773 N.
North Park Ave.
The houses at 1726 N. Cleveland Ave and 1733 N. North Park Ave.. are the original
structures. Both are designated as Landmark buildings and are in the National
Register. The building at 1726 N. Cleveland, where he lived in 1898 is a
beautiful house on a tree lined street. A neighbor,
sitting on his porch next door said that the whole block was made up of houses
from after the Chicago fire of 1871, most built in the 1880's. By city ordinance
they were all built with brick, not wood.
Time has served them well.
They seem more solid than houses built 80 or 100 years later.
The Old Town Triangle Association put me in touch with the developer who is
rehabbing 1733 N. North Park Ave.
Originally a three apartment building, with three floors of apartments and a
half basement storage area, it is now being made into a single family dwelling.
The exterior has been restored to its original appearance but the interior has
become a state of the art restoration, now a single family dwelling on four
floors. The asking price will be $3,200,000. plus $20,000 to $50,000. for an
elevator to connect top and bottom.
Christian Rodenkirchen may have paid as much as $20. a month rent at 1733
N. North Park Ave., for a single floor with parlor, several bedrooms, bath, and
kitchen. Streetcar fare to the Loop was 5 cents. The Auditorium Theater, were
the Chicago Orchestra played during Chris's stay in Chicago, was 3.5 miles from
Old Town. A very long walk or a short ride on a cable or horse drawn streetcar.
Albert Ulrich, third trumpeter, orchestra contractor and apparently Christian
Rodenkirchen's nemesis, lived two blocks away at 1640 Sedgwick Ave.
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