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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.  |
July 9-15, 2007
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Monday, July 9
Respighi and Chihara ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Feste Romane Montréal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, cond. London 410 145 & Paul Chihara (b. 1938): The Tempest Performing Arts Orchestra; Jean-Louis LeRoux, cond. Reference RR-10 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Respighi On Paul Chihara ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1879—Italian composer Ottorino Respighi, in Bologna 1915—American composer David Diamond, in Rochester, N.Y. 1938—Japanese-American composer Paul Chihara, in Seattle Deaths: 1747—Italian opera composer, Giovanni Bonocini, age 76, in Vienna; He was the famous (and unsuccessful) rival of Handel's for the favor of the opera-loving public in London 1960—American composer Edward Burlington Hill, age 87, in Francesrtown, New Hampshire 1984—American composer and teacher Randall Thompson, age 85, in Boston Premieres: 1957 — Hartmann: opera "Simplicius Simplicissimus" (revised version), in Mannheim at the Nationaltheater; This opera was premiered in a concert version in Munich by the Bavarian Radio on April 2, 1948 1969 — Lennox Berkeley: Symphony No. 3, in Cheltenham, England 2001 — Steven Stucky: "Three Little Pieces for David," for piano (written for the 65th birthday of conductor David Zinman), by Yefim Bronfman at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado.
Tuesday, July 10
Handel declines, Schuman accepts ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Sinfonia, from Athalia Academy of Ancient Music; Christopher Hogwood, cond. L'Oiseau-Lyre 417 126 & William Schuman (1910-1992): Chester (Variations for Piano) Alexei Sultanov, piano Teldec 46103 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Handel On William Schuman ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1835—Polish composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawski, in Lubin 1895 —German composer and music educator, Carl Orff, in Munich 1933—Broadway composer Jerry Herman, in New York City Deaths: 1940—British composer and conductor Sir Donald Tovey, age 64, in Edinburgh 1941—Jazz pianist and composer Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton, age 55, in Los Angeles 1979—American conductor of the Boston Pops, Arthur Fiedler, age 84; He started the first outdoor "Esplanade Concerts" in Boston in 1929 and the famous "Boston Pops" series in 1930; In 1979, Fiedler was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom 1983 —German composer Werner Egk, age 82, in Inning (near Munich) Premieres: 1733 — Handel: oratorio "Athalia," in Oxford at the Sheldonian Theater, with Handel conducting from keyboard (Gregorian date: July 21) 2001 — Bernstein (arr. William David Brohn): "West Side Story" Suite for violin and orchestra, in New York's Central Park, with soloist Joshua Bell and the New York Philharmonic, William Eddins, conducting Other: 1741—Charles Jennens, the librettist for Handel's oratorio "Saul," writes to a friend: "Handel says he will do nothing next Winter, but I hope I shall persuade him to set another Scripture collection I have made for him, and perform it for his own benefit in passion week. I hope he will lay out his whole genius and skill upon it, that the composition may excel as his former compositions, as the subject excels every other subject. The subject is Messiah." (Gregorian date: July 21)
Wednesday, July 11
Hollywood Anniversaries ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George Gershwin (1898-1937): An American in Paris Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; John Mauceri, cond. Philips 438 663 & Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): 1812 Overture Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, cond. EMI Classics 65690 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On George Gershwin On the Hollywood Bowl ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1836—Brazilian opera composer Antonio Carlo Gomes, in Campinas Deaths: 1937—American composer George Gershwin, age 38, in Hollywood, following an operation on a cystic brain tumor Premieres: 1882 — MacDowell: "Modern Suite" No. 1 for Piano, in Zurich, with composer as soloist 1921 — Gershwin: musical revue, "George White's Scandals of 1921," at the Liberty Theater in New York City 1996 — James MacMillan: "The World's Ransoming" (English horn Concerto), at the Barbican in London, by soloist Christine Pendrill with the London Symphony, Kent Nagano conducting 2003 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Naxos Quartet" No. 2, at the Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham (UK), as part of the Cheltenham International Festival by the Maggini Quartet; Other: 1798—In the nation's capital of Philadelphia, President John Adams signed an Act of Congress establishing the United States Marine Band (The original "32 drummers and fifers" assisted in recruiting and entertained residents) 1885 —First concert of the Boston "Promenade" Orchestra (later dubbed the Boston "Pops") at the old Music Hall in Boston; Adolf Neuendorff conducts; 1922—Opening concert of the Hollywood Bowl, with German conductor Alfred Hertz at the podium 1940—Leonard Bernstein's first appearance as conductor of a professional orchestra, leading a performance of Wagner's Act I Prelude to "Die Meistersinger" with the Boston Pops at an open-air Esplanade Concert 1998—"The President's Own" U.S. Marine Band, America's oldest professional musical organization, marks its 200th anniversary
Thursday, July 12
Requiems and Elegies by Fauré and Rouse ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924): Requiem The Cambridge Singers; John Rutter, cond. Collegium 101 & Christopher Rouse (b. 1949): Symphony No. 2 & Flute Concerto Carol Wincenc, flute; Houston Symphony; Christoph Eschenbach, cond. Telarc 80452 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Fauré On Rouse ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1861—Russian composer Anton Arensky, in Novgorod; Under the Julian "Old Style" calendar still in use in Russia in that year, this date would be listed as June 30 1885—English composer George Butterworth, in London; As a British soldier, he was killed during battle of Pozieres in 1916 1895—American musical theater lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, in New York; He provided lyrics for Rudolf Friml's "Rose Marie" (1924), Siegmund Romberg's "The Desert Song" (1926), and Jerome Kern's "Show Boat" (1926); He collaborated with Richard Rodgers on several Broadway classics such as "Carousel" (1945), "South Pacific" (1949), and "The King and I" (1951); He was also the principal mentor of American composer Stephen Sondheim Deaths: 1773—German composer and flutist, Johann Joachim Quantz, age 76, in Postdam 1953—Belgian composer Joseph Jongen, age 79, at Sart-lez-Spa Premieres: 1716 — Handel: Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 3, no. 4a (Julian date: July 1); 1900 — Fauré: "Requiem," (orchestrated version) in Paris, at the Paris World Exhibition 1922 — Hindemith: "Kleine Kammermusik" for winds, Op. 24, no. 2, in Cologne (Germany), by the Frankfurt Chamber Winds 1940 — Ginastera: ballet "Pananbi," in Buenos Aires 1946 — Britten: opera "The Rape of Lucretia" at the Glyndebourne Festival in England 1972 — Peter Maxwell Davies: opera, "Taverner," in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 1976 — Henze: opera, "We Come to the River," in London at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 1992 — Christopher Rouse: Violin Concerto, at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, by the Aspen Festival Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin, with soloist Cho-Liang Lin 1993 — William Bolcom: Violin Sonata No 3, at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, violin, and the composer at the piano; 1993 — Andrew Lloyd-Webber: musical "Sunset Boulevard," in London; The musical opened in Los Angeles on December 2, 1993, and on Broadway on November 17, 1994 Other: 1971—A touring production of Andrew Lloyd-Webber's rock musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" starts a cross-country American run; The musical would open on Broadway on October 12, 1971
Friday, July 13
Strauss, Shostakovich, Hitler and Stalin ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 Daniel Majeske, violin; Cleveland Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, cond. London 414 292 & Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk excerpts Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, cond. Chandos 8587 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Richard Strauss On Shostakovich ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1932—Danish composer Per Norgaard, in Gentofte (near Copenhagen); Deaths: 1951—Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, in Los Angeles, on a Friday the 13th; He was superstitiously obsessed with the number 13 and, ironically, was 76 years old at the time of his death (7+6 = 13) Premieres: 1829 — Mendelssohn: Double Concerto (in e) for two pianos and orchestra, in London at a benefit concert, with the composer as Ignaz Moscheles as the soloists 1995 — Corigliano: "Soliloquy" for clarinet and string quartet, in Portland, Oregon, by Chamber Music Northwest Other: 1937—The first Pan-American Chamber Music Festival is held in Mexico City
Saturday, July 14
"La Marseillaise" by Lambert ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Roger de Lisle: La Marseillaise Detroit Symphony; Paul Paray, cond. Detroit Symphony; Paul Paray, cond. & Lucien Lambert, Jr. (1858-1945): : Brocéliande Overture Hot Springs Music Festival; Richard Rosenberg, cond. Naxos 8.559 037 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On the Center for Black Music Research ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1874—Russian-born American double-bass player, conductor and new music patron, Serge Koussevitzky, in Vishny-Volochok (Gregorian date: July 26) 1901—English composer Gerald Finzi, in London 1930—American composer Eric Stokes, in Haddon Heights, N.J. Deaths: 1674—English composer and chorister, Pelham Humfrey, age 27, in Windsor; An entry in Samuel Pepy's famous diary describes him in 1667 as being "full of form, and confidence, and vanity," and disparaging "everything and everybody's skill but his own." Premieres: 1942 — Wm. Schuman: "Newsreel," at a New York Philharmonic concert at Lewisohn Stadium, conducted by Arthur Smallens 1948 — Kurt Weill: folk opera "Down in the Valley" at the University of Indiana in Bloomington 1949 — Britten: "Spring Symphony" at the Holland Festival in Amsterdam 1999 — Kernis: "Concierto de Dance Hits," in Minneapolis, by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by David Miller, with guitarist David Tanenbaum
Sunday, July 15
Bernstein's sabbatical psalms ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi (1913-1901): Act III excerpt, from Falstaff soloists; Vienna Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond CBS/Sony 42535 & Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990): Chichester Psalms Camerata Singers; New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. CBS/Sony 47162 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Bernstein ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1921—American composer Jack Beeson, in Muncie, Indiana 1934—English composer Harrison Birtwistle, in Accrington, Lancashire 1949—English composer John Casken, in Barnsley Deaths: 1789—French composer and harpsichordist Jacques Duphly, age 74, in Paris 1857 —Austrian composer and piano teacher Carl Czerny, age 66, in Vienna 1959 —Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch, age 78, in Portland, Oregon Premieres: 1852 — Spohr: opera "Faust" (2nd version in Italian), in London at Covent Garden 1942 — Villa-Lobos: "Chôros" Nos. 6, 9 and 11, in Rio de Janeiro, conducted by the composer 1945 — Antheil: "Heroes of Today," by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting 1965 — Bernstein: "Chichester Psalms" at Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) by the New York Philharmonic conducted by the composer, with The Camerata Singers and boy alto John Bogart; On July 31, 1965, Bernstein attended the U.K. premiere of this work (performed by a male-only choir) at Chichester Cathedral in England 1988 — John Harbison: Piano Sonata No. 1 ("In Memoriam Roger Sessions"), at the Dorothy Taubman Piano Institute in Amherst, Mass., by pianist Robert Shannon |
