Anton Seidl conducted the orchestra until 1898. Seidl had worked as Wagner's assistant and was famous for conducting Wagner’s music. He gave the first performance of Antonín Dvořák's Ninth Symphony "From the New World." Many people were sad when Seidl suddenly died in 1898 from food poisoning at the age of 47. Twelve thousand people applied for tickets to his funeral at the Metropolitan Opera House at 39th Street and Broadway and the streets were jammed with people and traffic.