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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 23-29, 2007
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Monday, July 23
A West-Coast premiere for Still ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: William Grant Still (1895-1978): Symphony No. 1 (Afro-American) Detroit Symphony; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 9154 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On William Grant Still ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1796—Swedish composer Franz Berwald, in Stockholm 1866—Italian opera composer Francesco Cilea, in Palmi, Calabria 1916 —American composer Ben Weber, in St. Louis, Mo. Deaths: 1757—Italian composer and harpsichordist Domenico Scarlatti, age 71, in Madrid 1983—French composer Georges Auric, age 84, in Paris Premieres: 1982 — John Harbison: "Variation" for clarinet, violin and piano, at the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico, by clarinetist David Satz, violinist Rose Mary Harbison, and pianist Ursula Oppens
Tuesday, July 24
Barber in Salzburg ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Fidelio Overture Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Kurt Masur, cond. Philips 438 706 & Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Symphony No. 1, Op. 9 Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, cond. Argo 436 288 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Samuel Barber On the Salzburg Festival (past and present) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1803—French opera composer Adolph-Charles Adam, in Paris 1880—Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch, in Geneva 1904—French-born American composer and arranger Leo (Noël) Arnaud, in Lyon 1922—American composer Leo Kraft, in New York City Deaths: 1739—Italian composer Benedetto Marcello, in Brescia 1971 —British composer Alan Rawsthorne, in Cambridge, England Premieres: 1926 — Hindemith: Concert Music for Winds, Op. 4, in Donaueschingen, Germany, with Hermann Scherchen conducting 1938 — R. Strauss: opera, "Friedenstag" (Peace Day), in Munich at the National Theater, Clemens Krauss conducting, with vocal soloists Hans Hotter (Commandant) and Viorca Ursuleac (Maria); 1964 — Ginastera: opera, "Don Rodrigo," at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires 1983 — Elisabetta Brusa: "Favole" (Fables) for chamber orchestra, by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, George Hanson conducting 1995 — Michael Torke: opera "Strawberry Fields," at Cooperstown, N.Y., by the Glimmerglass Opera, Stewart Robinson conducting Other: 1838 —Mendelssohn finishes in Berlin his String Quartet in D, Op. 44, no. 1; In a letter dated July 30 that year, he writes to the violinist Ferdinand David: "I have just finished my third Quartet, in D Major, and like it very much. I hope it may please you as well. I rather think it will, since it is more spirited and seems to me likely to be more grateful to the players than the others."
Wednesday, July 25
Copland and Kernis on the air ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Music for Radio (Saga of the Prairies) Pacific Symphony; Keith Clark, cond. Albany TROY- 064 & Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960): Still Movement with Hymn Pamela Frank, violin; Paul Neubauer, viola Carter Brey, cello; Christopher O'Riley, piano. Argo 448 174 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Copland (as seen by the New York Times) On Aaron Jay Kernis ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1883—Italian composer, pianist and conductor Alfredo Casella, in Turin; He was the conductor of the Boston Pops from 1927-29 Deaths: 1969—American opera composer, Douglas Moore, age 75, in Greenport (Long Island), N.Y. Premieres: 1937 — Copland: "Music for Radio"(or "Saga of the Prairies") on CBS radio network, performed by CBS Symphony 1970 — Dutilleux: "Tout un monde lointain" for Cello and Orchestra, in Aix-en-Provence 1976 — Glass: opera, "Einstein on the Beach," in Avignon, France, at the Théatre Municipale; The American premiere took place as a non-season event at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 21, 1976) Other: 1788—Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 40 in g. K. 550 1937—Barber's Symphony No. 1 is performed at the Salzburg Music Festival is Austria, by the Vienna Philharmonic, Artur Rodzinsky, conducting; This was the first American symphonic work to be performed at this prestigious international festival; The symphony had received its world premiere performance in Rome on Dec. 13, 1935, during Barber's Rome Prize residency
Thursday, July 26
"Parsifal" in Bayreuth ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Wagner (1813-1883): Transformation Music, from Parsifal London Symphony; Sir Adrian Boult, cond. EMI Classics 62539 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Richard Wagner On the Bayreuth Festival (past and present) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1782—Irish composer and pianist John Field, in Dublin 1791—Austrian composer and pianist Franz Xaver Mozart in Vienna; He was the sixth child and youngest surviving son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (who died in December of 1791 when Franz Xaver was less than a year old); Franz Xaver studied with Hummel and Salieri, among others 1856 —British dramatist and music critic George Bernard Shaw, in Dublin 1866 —Italian composer opera Francesco Cilea, in Palmi, Calabria 1874—Russian-born American double-bass player, conductor and new music patron, Serge Koussevitzky, in Vishny-Volochok (Julian date: July 14) ; He was engaged as the permanent conductor of the Boston Symphony, a post he held for 25 years 1876—American composer, conductor and pianist Ernest Schelling, in Belvidere, N.J. 1949—South African-born Irish composer Kevin Volans, in Pietermaritsburg Premieres: 1882 — Wagner: opera "Parsifal," in Bayreuth at the Festpielhaus, Herrmann Levi conducting 1940 — Henry Cowell: "Pastoral and Fiddler's Delight," by the All-American Youth Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting 1985 — Elliott Carter: "Penthode" at London's Royal Albert Hall, with the Ensemble InterContemporain and the Paris Orchestral Ensemble conducted by Pierre Boulez
Friday, July 27
Lindberg by Weill, Hindemith and Waxman ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Kurt Weill (1900-1950): Lindbergh's Flight Cologne Radio Orchestra; Hermann Scherchen, cond. Capriccio 60012 & Franz Waxman (1906-1962): : The Spirit of St. Louis studio orchestra; Franz Waxman, cond. BMG/RCA 2283 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Paul Hindemith On Kurt Weill On Franz Waxman ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1867 —Spanish composer and conductor Enrique Granados, in Lérida; He died at sea in 1916, a victim of the sinking by a German submarine of the S.S. Sussex in the English Channel during World War I) 1877—Hungarian composer and pianist Ernö (Ernst) von Dohnányi; He was the grandfather of the German-born conductor Christoph von Dohnányi 1899 —American composer Harl McDonald, near Boulder, Colorado; He worked as the business manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years, and that orchestra performed a number of his pieces under both Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy 1912—Russian-born composer and conductor Igor Markevitch, in Kiev (Julian date: July 14) Deaths: 1924—Italian-German composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni, age 58, in Berlin Premieres: 1941 — Paul Creston: "Prelude and Dance" and "A Rumor," in New York 1941 — Bernard Herrmann: Symphony No. 1, on a radio broadcast by the Columbia Symphony with the composer conducting Other: 1733—J.S. Bach sends a letter to Frederic Augustus, Elector of Saxony, requesting an official title to bolster his reputation in Leipzig; Accompanying the letter, Bach sends the "Kyrie" and "Gloria" from his Mass in b minor 1966—Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "Torn Curtain" opens in New York — without the film score that Bernard Herrmann had composed for it (The famous director fired Herrmann during the score's first recording sessions when Hitch discovered Herrmann had composed a "symphonic" score and not the "pop" score that Hitch had specifically requested)
Saturday, July 28
Berlioz gets hot ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869): Symphonie funebre et triomphale London Symphony; Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips 416 283 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Berlioz ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893—Danish composer Rued Langgaard, in Copenhagen Deaths: 1750—German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, age 65, in Leipzig; He died "a little after" 8:15 p.m. and was buried at St. John's cemetery on either July 30 or 31; In 1894 his body was exhumed, examined, and reburied in the Leipzig's St. Thomas Church, where he had served as Kantor 1838—Finnish composer Bernard Henrik Crusell, age 62, in Stockholm 1969—American songwriter and musical composer Frank Loesser, age 59, in New York City Premieres: 1717 — Handel: "Water Music" on the river Thames (Julian date: July 17) 1823 — Spohr: opera "Jessonda," in Kassel 1840 — Berlioz: "Symphonie funebre et triomphale," in Paris, with the composer conducting (with a sword) over 200 marching musicians Other: 1741—In Vienna, burial of Italian composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi 1850—To mark the centenary of the composer's death, The Bach Gesellschaft is founded in Leipzig; Their goal is to publish a complete edition of Bach's works 1954 —Premiere of Columbia Pictures film "On the Waterfront," with a score by Leonard Bernstein 1997—Ligeti: opera "La Grand Macabre" (revised version), in Salzburg at the Grosses Festpielhaus
Sunday, July 29
Caruso sings Cohan ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George M. Cohan (1878-1942) arr. Bennett: Over There Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, cond. Telarc 80175 & George M. Cohan (1878-1942): Over There Enrico Caruso, tenor (recorded July 11, 1918) RCA/BMG 60495 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On George M. Cohan On Enrico Caruso ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1865 —Russian composer Alexander Glazunov, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: August 10) 1887 —Hungarian born American operetta composer Sigmund Romberg, in Nagy Kanizsa; He came to the U.S. in 1909, and settled in New York City, where his over 70 operettas were produced from 1914-1945 1900 —Soviet composer Alexander Mosolov, in Kiev (Gregorian date: August 10) 1925 —Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, in Chios; He achieved international fame for his score for the 1965 film "Zobra the Greek" Deaths: 1856 —German composer Robert Schumann, age 46, at an insane asylum in Endenich (near Bonn Premieres: 1879 — Dvorák: String Quartet in Eb, Op. 51, in Berlin, by the Joachim Quartet 1962 — Gene Gutchë: Symphony No. 5 for strings, in Chautauqua, N.Y. |
