 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive Your purchase from Public Radio Market helps support the American Composers Forum and Composers Datebook.  |
September 3-9, 2007
Playing audio requires the free RealPlayer from RealNetworks. See Audio Help for instructions.
Monday, September 3
Ives in San Francisco ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Charles Ives (1874-1954): Washington's Birthday Chicago Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas; cond. CBS/Sony 42381 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Charles Ives ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1568—Italian organist and composer Adriano Banchieri, in Bologna; 1695—Italian violinist and composer Pietro Locatelli, in Bergamo; 1891—French composer and harpist Marcel Grandjany, in Paris; 1897—Brazilian composer Francesco Mignone, in Sao Paolo; Deaths: 1914—French composer Alberic Magnard, age 49, killed by German soldiers while defending his house in Baron, Oise; 1974—American composer, performer and instrument inventor Harry Partch, age 73, in San Diego, Calif.; 1987—American composer Morton Feldman, age 61, in Buffalo, New York; Premieres: 1906 — Victor Herbert: operetta, "The Red Mill," during trial run in Buffalo, N.Y.; 1912 — Schoenberg: "Five Orchestral Pieces," at a Proms concert in London, conducted by Sir Henry Wood; 1931 — Ives: "Washington's Birthday," at the Community Playhouse in San Francisco, presented by composer Henry Cowell's New Music Society; with a chamber ensemble conducted by Nicolas Slonimsky; 1938 — Jon Leifs: "Loftr" Suite, at a Nordic Music Festival concert in Copenhagen conducted by the composer; 1944 — Hindemith: Theme and Variations ("The Four Temperaments"), in Boston, conducted by Richard Burgin; 1949 — Bloch: "Concerto Symphonique" at the Edinburgh Music Festival, with the BBC Scottish Symphony conducted by the composer. Other: 1806—Beethoven writes to his publisher that he has completed his three "Rasoumovsky" String Quartets (Op. 59); The premiere performances were given in February the following year, probably by Ignaz Schuppazigh's quartet, at an unknown site in Vienna, since Rasoumovsky's palace was not yet ready.
Tuesday, September 4
Milhaud’s “Symphonies” ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Darius Milhaud (1892-1974): Symphony No. 9, Op. 380 Basel Radio Symphony; Alun Francis, cond. CPO 199 166 (distributed by Naxos) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Darius Milhaud On Milhaud & “Les Six” ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1824—Austrian organist and composer Anton Bruckner, in Ansfelden; 1892—French composer and conductor Darius Milhaud, in Aix-en-Provence; Deaths: 1907—Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, age 64, in Bergen; Premieres: 1996 — Steven Mackey: "Lost and Found" for orchestra, by the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting; 1999 — Philip Glass: new filmscore to accompany the classic 1931 Tod Browning horror film "Dracula" (starring Bela Lugosi), by the Kronos Quartet at Telluride, Colorado; Other: 1965 —Organist, Bach authority, medical doctor and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer dies, age 90, at his African mission hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon.
Wednesday, September 5
Amy Cheney and Mrs. Beach ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Amy Beach (1867-1944): Piano Concerto in c#, Op. 45 Joanne Polk, piano; English Chamber Orchestra; Paul Goodwin, cond. Arabesque 6738 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Amy Beach ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1735—German composer Johann Christian Bach, the 11th and youngest surviving son of J.S. Bach, in Leipzig; In 1762 he moved to England, where he became famous as "The London Bach"; 1791—German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer), in Berlin; 1867—American pianist and composer Amy Marcey Cheney (a.k.a. Mrs. H.H.A. Beach), in Henniker, New Hampshire; 1912 —American composer John Cage, in Los Angeles; Deaths: 1803—French composer François Devienne, age 44, at an insane asylum in Charenton; Premieres: 1733 — Pergolesi: opera "La serva padrona" (The Maid as Mistress), in Naples at the Teatro San Bartolomeo; 1840 — Verdi: opera "Un giorno di regno" (King for a Day), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1857 — Liszt: "A Faust Symphony," in Weimar, conducted by the composer; 1913 — Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 (first version), in Pavlovsk, with the composer as soloist (Julian date: August 23); This version was lost in a fire during the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the composer reconstructed the work from his sketches; He reintroduced the second version of this concerto in Paris on May 8, 1924, at a concert conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; 1927 — Gershwin: musical "Strike Up the Band," at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia; This show included the classic Gershwin songs "Strike Up the Band" and "The Man I Love"; 1932 — Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos, at the Venice Festival, with the composer and Jacques Février as soloists; 1942 — Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F, Op. 92, in Moscow, by the Beethoven Quartet; The start of the performance was delayed due to a German air raid; 1950 — Arthur Benjamin: Piano Concerto, in Sydney, Australia, with the composer as soloist; 1980 — Glass: opera "Satyagraha," by the Netherlands Opera in Rotterdam, Christopher Keene conducting; 2000 — Osvaldo Golijov: "Las Pasión Según San Marcos" (St. Matthew Passion) in Stuttgart, Germany, by the orchestra of International Bach Academy and the Schola Cantorum de Caracas, Maria Guinand, conducting; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Aug. 28 Sept 1 8). Other: 1964—The La Scala Opera begins a month-long residency at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow with a performance of Puccini's "Turandot"; La Scala is the first European opera company to visit the Soviet Union.
Thursday, September 6
Vaughan Williams and Gavin Bryars look back ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958): Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Sir Neville Marriner, cond. Argo 414 595 & Gavin Bryars (b.1943): Cadman Requiem Hilliard Ensemble; Fretwork Point 462 511 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Ralph Vaughan Williams On Gavin Bryars ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1644—Baptismal date of Spanish organist and composer Juan Bautista José Cabanilles, in Algemesi, province of Valencia; 1781—Austrian composer and music publisher Anton Diabelli, sometime on Sept 5/6, in Mattsee (near Salzburg); 1912—American composer Wayne Barlow, in Elyria, Ohio; One of his best-known works, "The Winter's Past," was recorded by the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra under Howard Hanson, Barlow's former teacher; 1923—American percussionist, composer and conductor William Kraft, in Chicago; 1938—American composer Joan Tower in New Rochelle, N.Y.; Deaths: 1937—American composer and conductor Henry Hadley, age 65, in New York; 1962—German composer Hans Eisler, age 64, in East Berlin; Premieres: 1791 — Mozart: opera, "La Clemenza di Tito," in Prague at the National Theater. Written for and performed on the eve of the coronation of Leopold II of Prague; 1910 — Vaughan William: "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis," at the Glouchester Festival, with the composer conducting; 1961 — Elliott Carter: Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano with Two Chamber Orchestras, in New York during the Eight Congress of the International Musicological Society, with Gustav Meier conducting and harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick and pianist Charles Rosen as the soloists; 1977 — Thea Musgrave: opera "Mary, Queen of Scots" at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, conducted by the composer; 1979 — Knussen: Symphony No. 3, by the BBC Symphony in London; 1995 — Lou Harrison: "A Parade for M.T.T.," by the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.
Friday, September 7
Colorful music by Bliss and Torke ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Sir Arthur Bliss (1891-1975): Red, from A Color Symphony English Northern Philharmonia; David Lloyd-Jones, cond. Naxos 8.553460 & Michael Torke (b. 1961): Bright Blue Music Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, cond. Argo 433 071 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Sir Arthur Bliss On Michael Torke ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1726—French opera composer and chess master François André Danican-Philidor, in Dreux; 1923—English composer, pianist and actress Madeleine Dring, in Hornsey, London; 1924—American film composer Leonard Rosenman, in Brooklyn; Deaths: 1881—American poet, flutist and composer Sidney Lanier, age 39, in Lynn, N.C.; Premieres: 1922 — Bliss: "Colour Symphony," at the Three Choirs' Festival in Glouchester, England; 1940 — David Diamond: "Concerto for Orchestra," in Yaddo, N.Y.; 1949 — Ghedini: opera, "Billy Budd," in Venice (Benjamin Britten's more successful operatic treatment of the same Hermann Melville novella premiered in London on December 1, 1951); 1971 — Bernstein: "Mass" (public dress rehearsal), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; The work's official gala premiere occurred on Sept. 8, 1971. 1996 — David Stock: String Quartet No. 3, in Pittsburgh, by Cuarteto Latinoamericano.
Saturday, September 8
Bernstein’ s “Mass” ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990): Sanctus, from Mass Empire Brass Telarc 80159 & Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990): Simple Song, from Mass Boston Pops; John Williams, cond. Philips 416 360 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leonard Bernstein ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1841 —Czech composer Antonin Dvorák, in Nelahozeves; 1894—Dutch composer Willem Pijper, in Zeist; 1933—American composer Eric Salzman, in New York City; 1934—British composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (whose last name, despite its spelling, is pronounced "Davis" by the British); 1934—Canadian composer Srul Irving Glick, in Toronto; Deaths: 1613—Italian nobleman, composer, lutenist, and murderer (of his first wife and her lover) Don Carlo Gesualdo, age c. 53, at his castle in Gesualdo; 1949—German composer and conductor Richard Strauss, age 85, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen; 1991—American composer Alex North, age 80, in Pacific Palisades, Calif.; Premieres: 1961 — Earle Brown: "Available Forms I" for 18 players, in Darmstadt; 1971 — Bernstein: gala premiere "Mass (A Theater Piece)" at the inauguration of the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., choreographed by Alvin Ainley, directed by Gordon Davidson, and conducted by Maurice Peress (Bernstein shared a box section with members of the Kennedy family, including Senator Ted Kennedy and his mother, Rose; Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis did not attend this performance); A dress rehearsal performances of this new work was also open to the public and specially-invited members of Congress the preceding day; 1975 — Paul Chihara: "Ceremony V (Symphony in Celebration)," in Houston; 1994 — Michael Torke: "Javelin," by the Atlanta Symphony, Yoel Levi conducting; 1995 — Lou Harrison: "New First Suite for Strings," in Majorca, by the Stuttgart Symphony, Dennis Russell Davies conductin; 2000 — Tan Dun: "Water Passion after St. Matthew," in Stuttgart (Germany), with vocal soloists Elizabeth Keusch and Stephen Bryant, violinist Mark O'Connor, cellist Maya Beiser, and percussionist David Cossin, and the orchestra of the Bach Academy conducted by the composer; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Aug. 29 Sept 1 5).
Sunday, September 9
SYNOPSIS: |
