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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive Your purchase from Public Radio Market helps support the American Composers Forum and Composers Datebook.  |
June 25-July 1, 2007
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Monday, June 25
Mendelssohn's Second ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847): Symphony No. 2 (Hymn of Praise) Netherlands Radio Philharmonic & Chorus; Edo de Waart, cond. Fidelio 9202 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Mendelssohn More on Mendelssohn ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1860—French composer Gustave Charpentier, in Dieuze, Lorraine; 1935—Austrian composer Kurt Schwertsik, in Vienna; Deaths: 1767—German composer Georg Philipp Telemann, age 86, in Hamburg; 1822—German composer, critic and popular Romantic author Ernst Theodor Amadeus ("E.T.A.") Hoffmann, age 46, in Berlin; Premieres: 1840 — For the 400th anniversary of the Gutenberg Printing Press, Mendelssohn presents his Symphony No. 2, "Lobegesang" (Song of Praise) at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig; 1850 — R. Schumann: opera "Genoveva," in Leipzig at the Stadttheater; 1910 — Stravinsky: ballet, "The Firebird," at the Paris Opera, with Gabriel Pierné conducting; 1923 — de Falla: one-act opera "El retablo de maese Pedro" (Master Peter's Puppet Show), first staged performance in Paris at the home of the Princesse de Polignac; This opera was premiered in a concert performance in Seville on March 23, 1923; 1940 — William Grant Still: choral ballad "And They Lynched Him on a Tree," at New York's Lewisohn Stadium by the Schola Cantorum and Wen Talbert Negro Choir with the New York Philharmonic, Arthur Rodzinksi conducting; 1954 — Leroy Anderson: "Sandpaper Baller" at a Decca recording session in New York City, with the composer conducting; Three different grades of sandpaper rubbed together were used to make the vaudeville-style "soft shoe" dancing sound effects for this classic recording; 1955 — Grofé: "Hudson Valley" Suite, in Washington, D.C., by the National Symphony conducted by André Kostelanetz; 1991 — James MacMillan: "Tuireadh" (Lament) for clarinet and string quartet, by James Campbell and the Allegri Quartet at St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall (Orkney Islands).
Tuesday, June 26
Mahler's Ninth ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911): Symphony No. 9 Columbia Symphony; Bruno Walter, cond. Sony 64452 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Gustav Mahler ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1747—Bohemian composer Leopold Kozeluh, (Kotzeluch) in Welwearn; He was the cousin of Johann (Jan) Antonín Kozeluh, who was also a composer; 1928—American composer Jacob Druckman, in Philadelphia; Premieres: 1870 — Wagner: opera "Die Walküre" (The Valkyrie), in Munich at the Hoftheater, with Franz Wüllner conducting; The opera was performed at the Bavarian King Ludwig II's request, but against the composer's wishes; 1912 — Mahler: Symphony No. 9, by Vienna Philharmonic, Bruno Walter conducting; 1986 — Zwilich: Piano Concerto, by the Detroit Symphony with Günther Herbig conducting and soloist Marc-André Hamelin; 2000 — Robert Kapilow: "DC Monuments," by the National Symphony; Other: 1788—Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 39 in E-flat, K.543 in Vienna.
Wednesday, June 27
Stanford and "The Irish" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Sir Charles Villiers Stanford ((1852 – 1924): Symphony No. 3 (Irish) Ulster Orchestra; Vernon Handley, cond. Chandos 8545 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Stanford ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1922—American composer and pianist George Walker, in Washington, D. C.; 1932—British composer Hugh Wood, in Parbold, near Wigan, Lancashire; 1958—Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, in Helsinki; Deaths: 1729—French composer and harpsichordist Elizabeth-Claude Jacquet de LaGuerre, age 64, in Paris; 1948—Expatriate American composer and watercolorist George Templeton Strong, age 92, in Geneva; Premieres: 1985 — Dave Brubeck: dramatic scene "Voice of the Holy Spirit (Tongues of Fire)," at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, with Richard Gloyd conducting; 1990 — Michael Torke: "Mass" for baritone, chorus and orchestra, at the New York State Theater, with baritone William Stone, the Trinity Church Choir, and the NY City Ballet Orchestra, Gordon Boelzner conducting.
Thursday, June 28
Leoni in San Francisco ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Franco Leoni (1864 – 1937): L'Oracolo Tito Gobbi, baritone; National Philharmonic; Richard Bonynge, cond. London OSA-12107 (LP) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leoni On "L'Oracolo" ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1491—English monarch, instrument collector and part-time composer Henry Tudor(as King Henry VIII he reigned 1509-1547) in Greenwich; 1712—Swiss author, philosopher and composer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in Geneva; 1831—Hungarian violinist and conductor and composer Joseph Joachim, in Kittsee (now Köpcsény), near Poszony; 1902—American composer Richard Rodgers, in Hammels Station, Long Island, N.Y.; 1913—English composer George Lloyd, in St. Ives, Cornwall; 1946—American composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez, in San Antonio, Texas; Deaths: 1745 —French composer and gamba virtuoso Antoine Forqueray, age 74,in Nantes; 1979 —East German composer Paul Dessau, age 85, in Königs Wusterhausen, near (then) East Berlin; Premieres: 1905 — Leoni: opera, "L'oracolo" (The Oracle), in London; The opera's story of opium and crime is set in San Francisco, and caused protests from that city's Chinese community when it was revived in San Francisco in 1937; 1916 — Hindemith: Cello Concerto, Op. 3, by the Frankfurt Conservatory Orchestra, with the composer conducting and Maurits Frank the soloist; 1951 — Leroy Anderson: "Blue Tango" at a Decca recording session in New York City, with the composer conducting; This recording reached No. 1 on the pops charts and earned Anderson a Gold Record award in 1952 when it became the first instrumental record to sell over one million copies (see also June 29); 1959 — Hovhaness: Symphony No. 4 for wind band, in Pittsburgh.
Friday, June 29
A modern Monteverdi premiere ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643): L'incoronazione di Poppea soloists; Vienna Concentus Music Vienna; Nikolaus Harnoncourt, cond. Teldec 42547 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Monteverdi Monteverdi on NPR's "Milestones of the Millennium" ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1908—American composer Leroy Anderson, in Cambridge, Massachusetts; 1910—American songwriter and musical composer Frank Loesser, in New York City; 1911—American composer and conductor Bernard Herrmann, in New York City; 1914—Czech-born Swiss conductor and composer, Rafael Kubelik, in Bychiory, near Kolin; 1924—American composer Ezra Laderman, in Brooklyn, New York; Deaths: 1744—French composer André Campra, c. 83, at Versailles; 1941—Polish pianist and composer Ignace Jan Paderewski , age 80, in New York City; Buried at Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia (pending the liberation of Poland during WWII) by order of President Roosevelt; He was reburied with honors in Warsaw on June 30, 1992. Premieres: 1888 — Wagner: "Die Feen" (The Fairies), in Munich at the Hoftheater; Wagner composed this opera in 1834; 1889 — Glazunov: Symphony No. 2, in Paris; 1951 — Leroy Anderson: "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" and "Fiddle-Faddle" at a Decca recording session in New York City, with the composer conducting; (See also June 28); 1962 — first modern professional staging of Moneteverdi’s opera "L’Incoronazione di Poppea" (The Coronation of Poppea) at the Glyndebourne Festival in England, in a version prepared and conducted by Raymond Leppard; The opera premiered in Venice in the autumn of 1642; The opera’s first stagings in the 20th century were both student productions: Smith College in Northampton, Mass, on April 27, 1927 and Oxford University, on Dec. 6, 1927; 1985 — Joan Tower: "Island Rhythms" (commissioned for the opening of Harbour Island in Tampa), by the Florida Orchestra, Irwin Hoffman, conducting; 1997 — Esa-Pekka Salonen: "Giro" (revised version) for orchestra, in Porvoo (Finland), by the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer; Other: 1729—Handel returns to London after a trip to the continent to recruit new singers for a new season of Royal Academy opera productions directed by Handel and Heidegger (Gregorian date: July 10); Earlier in the month, when in Halle, Germany, Handel had been invited by W.F. Bach to visit J.S. Bach in Leipzig, but Handel declines; 1769—First documented concert in Boston conducted by the Early American composer Josiah Flagg with his militia band.
Saturday, June 30
Anton Arensky ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Anton Arensky (1861 – 1906): Piano Trio No. 1 Rembrandt Trio Dorian 90146 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Arensky ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1722 —Bohemian composer Georg Anton (Jirí Antonín) Benda, in Alt-Benatek, Bohemia; 1861—Russian composer Anton Arensky, in Novgorod (Gregorian date: July 12); 1892—Hungarian composer Laszlo Lajtha, in Budapest; 1958—Finnish composer and conductor, Esa-Pekka Salonen, in Helsinki; Deaths: 1987 —Spanish composer Federico Mompou, age 94, in Barcelona; Premieres: 1924 — Gershwin: musical revue, "George White's Scandals of 1924," at the Apollo Theater in New York City; This show includes the classic Gershwin song "Somebody Loves Me" (lyrics by B.G. De Sylva and Ballard MacDonald).
Sunday, July 1
Brahms and Berg on busman holidays? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Symphony No. 2 Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, cond. Philips 442 068 & Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Violin Concerto in D David Oistrakh, vn; ORTF Orchestra; Otto Klemperer, cond. EMI Classics 64632 & Alban Berg (1885-1935): Violin Concerto Henryk Szeryng, vn; Bavarian Radio Symphony; Rafael Kubelik, cond. Deutsche Grammophon 431 740 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Johannes Brahms Berg and his Violin Concerto ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1926 —Birth of German composer Hans Werner Henze, in Gütersloh, Westphalia Deaths: 1784—German composer Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, age 73, in Berlin; He was the eldest son of J.S. Bach; 1925—French composer Erik Satie, age 59, in Paris Premieres: 1716 — Handel: Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 3, no. 4a, in London (Gregorian date: July 12); 1927 — Bela Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Frankfurt, Wilhelm Fürtwängler conducting, with the composer as soloist 1933 — R. Strauss: opera "Arabella," in Dresden at the Staatsoper, Clemens Krauss conducting, with vocal soloists Viorica Ursuleac (Arabella), Alfred Jerger (Mandryka), Margit Bokor (Zdenka), and Martin Kremer (Matteo); 1937 — Milhaud: "Scaramouche" Suite for Two Pianos, in Paris 1948 — Rawthorne: Violin Concerto, at Cheltenham Festival in England 1984 — Sallinen: opera, "The King Goes Forth to France," in Helsinki 2000 — Diamond: Symphony No. 10, by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conducting 2001 — Lazarof: "Legends form the Bible," for chorus, horns and vibes, in Berlin, by the Ars-Nova Ensemble, conducted by Peter Schwarz Other: 1867—American premiere of Johann Strauss, Jr.'s "Blue Danube" Waltz at a summer concert of the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York (less than five months after the work's premiere in Vienna) 1897—The Music Division of the Library of Congress is founded in Washington, D.C. |
