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November 12-18, 2007
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Monday, November 12
William Schuman writes a "Symphony for Strings" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: William Schuman (1910-1992): Symphony No. 5 (Symphony for Strings) I Musici de Montreal; Yuli Turovsky, cond. Chandos 9848 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On William Schuman ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1833—Russian composer Alexander Borodin, in St. Petersburg (see Julian date: Oct 31); Deaths: 1948—Italian opera composer Umberto Giordano, age 81, in Milan; 1966—American composer Quincy Porter, age 69, in Bethany, Conn.; 1972—Czech-born American composer Rudolph Friml, age 92, in Los Angeles; 1976—American composer Walter Piston, age 82, in Belmont, Mass.; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 139 ("Wohl dem, der sich auf seinen Gott") performed on the 23rd Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1866 — Delibes: ballet "La Source,'" at the Paris Opéra; 1881 — Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 2, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Theodore Thomas, with Madeleine Schiller the soloist; 1888 — Tchaikovsky: symphonic fantasy overture “Hamlet,” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 24); 1931 — Rachmaninoff: “Oriental Sketch” for solo piano, in New York City, by the composer; 1943 — William Schumann: Symphony No. 5 ("Symphony for Strings"), in Boston; 1973 — Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 14, in Leningrad, by the Beethoven Quartet; 1974 — Crumb: "Makrokosmos II" for amplified piano, in New York; 2002 — David Del Tredici: “Grand Trio” in New York City at the 92nd Street Y by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Other: 1738—Handel completes Part II (“Moses’ Song”) of his oratorio “Israel in Egypt” (see Julian date: November 1);
Tuesday, November 13
Casals and Copland at the White House ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Pablo Casals (1876-1973): Song of the Birds Patrick Demenga, cello; Gerard Wyss, piano Novalis 150117 & Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Billy the Kid Ballet Dallas Symphony; Eduardo Mata Dorian 90170 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On music at the Kennedy White House ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1854—American composer George Whitefield Chadwick, in Lowell, Mass.; 1856 —Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, in near Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 25); 1921—Finnish composer Joonas Kokkonen, in Iisalmi; Deaths: 1868—Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, in Passy, near Paris, age 76; 1951—Russian composer Nicolas Medtner, age 70, in London; Premieres: 1893 — Sibelius: "Karelia Suite," in Viborg, Finland; 1933 — Ruth Crawford Seeger: String Quartet, at the New School in New York City, by the New World String Quartet; 1943 — Martinu: Symphony No. 1, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1953 — Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 5, in Moscow, by the Beethoven Quartet; 1964 — Yardumian: Symphony No. 2 ("Psalms"), with vocalist Lili Chookasian, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1997 — Poul Ruders: Symphony No. 2, at Lincoln Center in New York, by the Riverside Symphony, George Rothman conducting; 2002 — Tavener: “Ikon of Eros” for soloists, chorus and orchestra, at the St. Paul (Minnesota) Cathedral, with Jorja Fleezanis (violin), Patricia Rozario (soprano), Tim Krol (baritone), the Minnesota Chorale and Minnesota Orchestra, Paul Goodwin conducting; Other: 1937—First "official" radio broadcast by the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Pierre Monteux conducting; Arthur Rodzinski had conducted a "dress rehearsal" broadcast on Nov. 2, 1937; Arturo Toscanini's debut broadcast with the NBC Symphony would occur on Christmas Day, 1937; 1940—Disney releases “Fantasia,” an animated film based on classical music favorites ranging from Bach to Stravinsky; Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra recorded the soundtrack, and in one famous scene Stokowski shakes hands with Mickey Mouse.
Wednesday, November 14
An important date for Copland and Bernstein ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Piano Blues No. 3 James Tocco, piano MPR 201 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Minnesota Public Radio’s “Top Ten” lists of Aaron Copland’s life and music Bernstein’s 1943 debut on compact disc ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1663—Baptism of German composer, organist and teacher (of Handel and others) Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, in Leipzig; 1719—German-Austrian composer Leopold Mozart (father of Wolfgang Amadeus), in Augsburg; 1774—Italian composer and conductor Luigi Spontini, in Majolati; 1778—German composer and pianist Johann Nepomuk Hummel, in Pressburg (now Bratislava); 1805—German composer Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, sister of Felix, in Hamburg; 1900—American composer Aaron Copland, in Brooklyn, N.Y.; 1939—American composer and Moog synthesizer virtuoso Wendy (known until 1979 as Walter) Carlos, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Deaths: 1831—Austrian-born composer, music publisher and piano maker Ignaz Josef (Ignace Joseph) Pleyel, age 74, in Paris; 1922—Austrian bandmaster and operetta composer Karl Michael Ziehrer, age 79, in Vienna; 1946—Spanish composer Manuel de Falla, age 69, in Alta Gracia, Argentina; In 1939, at the end of Spanish Civil War, de Falla retired to Argentina and lived in seclusion; 1977—English composer Richard Addinsell, age 73, in London; He is most famous for his popular “Warsaw Concerto,” based on his music for the British film “Dangerous Moonlight” (released in the U.S. as “Suicide Squadron”); Premieres: 1723 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 90 ("Es reisset euch ein schrecklich Ende") performed on the 25th Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1802 — Beethoven: String Quintet, Op. 29, at Beethoven's apartment in Vienna; 1887 — Tchaikovsky: Suite No. 4 (“Mozartiana”), in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 26); 1896 — Dvorák: symphonic poem "The Water Goblin," Op. 107, in London; 1908 — Oskar Strauss: operetta "Der tapfere Soldat " (based on George Bernard Shaw's play "Arms and the Man"), in Vienna; .As "The Chocolate Soldier" this work opened in New York in 1909, and in London in 1910; 1930 — Prokofiev: Symphony No. 4 (first version), by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; A second version of this work was premiered on March 11, 1950 broadcast by the BBC Symphony, Sir Adrian Boult conducting; The first public performance of the revised version occurred on January 5, 1957, at a concert by the USSR State Symphony conducted by Gennady Rozhdestvensky; 1935 — Hindemith: "Der Schwanendreher (Concerto on Old Folk Songs for Viola and Small Orchestra)," by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg, with the composer as soloist; 1944 — Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 2, in Leningrad, by Dimitri Tsiiganov (violin) and Sergei Shirinsky (cello), with the composer at the piano, on the same program as the premiere of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 2, by the Beethoven Quartet; 1954 — Roy Harris: "Symphonic Epigram," in New York City, Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting New York Philharmonic; 1955 — Henry Cowell: Symphony No. 6, by the Houston Symphony, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1985 — Copland: "Proclamation" for Orchestra (orchestrated by Philip Ramey), at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, by New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta; 1996 — Andrew Waggoner: Symphony No. 2, in Zlin (Czech Republic), by the Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, Petr Pololanik, cond; 2001 — Richard Danielpour: "An American Requiem" by soloists and the Pacific Symphony, Carl St. Clair conducting; 2002 — Italian pianist Emanuele Arciuli premieres 20 short variations on the theme of Thelonious Monk’s “’Round Midnight” at Columbia University’s Miller Theater in New York; The composers who contributed were Roberto Andreoni, Milton Babbitt, Alberto Barbero, Carlo Boccadoro, William Bolcom, Uri Caine, David Crumb, George Crumb, Michael Daugherty, Filippo Del Corno, John Harbison, Fred Hersch, Joel Hoffman, Aaron Jay Kernis, Gerald Levinson, Matthew Quayle, Eric Reed, Frederic Rzewski, Augusta Reed Thomas, and Michael Torke. Other: 1720—Handel’s “Suites des Pièces pour le Clavecin, Premier Volume” (Keyboard Suites, First Collection), is published by John Cluer in London (Gregorian date: Nov. 25); 1908—Gala opening ceremonies of the newly rebuilt Brooklyn Academy of Music (now also known as "BAM") culminate in a special guest performance of Gounod's opera "Faust" by New York's Metropolitan Opera conducted by Francesco Spetrino and featuring Enrico Caruso and Geraldine Farrar in the cast; The original Brooklyn Academy of Music, founded in 1861, had burned down on November 30, 1903; 1937—Leonard Bernstein meets Aaron Copland in New York City; 1943—Leonard Bernstein's surprise conducting debut at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic, substituting at the last minute for the ailing Bruno Walter; The program consisted of works by Robert Schumann, Miklós Rósza, Richard Strauss, and Richard Wagner; 1954—Leonard Bernstein writes and hosts a famous "Omnibus" telecast on the sketches of the 1st movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5; 1980—Leonard Bernstein conducts the National Symphony (Washington, D.C.) in a concert celebrating Aaron Copland 80th birthday featuring Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," with Copland as the narrator; 1990—"A Concert Remembering Lennie" presented at Carnegie Hall; Bernstein had died in New York City on October 14 that year;
Thursday, November 15
Kern's "Showboat" is launched in D.C. ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Jerome Kern (1885-1945): selections from Showboat Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Carl Davis, cond. EMI 4573 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Jerome Kern & “Showboat” ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1738—German-English composer, oboist, and astronomer (Sir) William Herschel, in Hannover; 1934—English composer, pianist and organist Peter Dickinson, in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire; Deaths: 1787—German-Bohemian composer Christoph Willibald Gluck, age 73, in Vienna; 1986—Polish-born French composer Alexandre Tansman, age 89, in Paris; Premieres: 1732 — Handel: opera “Catone” in London (see Julian date: Nov. 4); 1807 — first public performance of Beethoven: Symphony No. 4, at a benefit concert for charities (The very first performance had been in March of the same year at private concert underwritten by the aristocracy and performed at the palace of Prince Lobkowitz, one of Beethoven's patrons); 1832 — Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 ("Reformation") in Berlin; 1903 — d'Albert: opera "Tiefland" (The Lowlands) (1st version), in Prague at the New German Theater; 1909 — Vaughan Williams: song-cycle, "On Wenlock Edge," in London; 1920 — Holst: orchestral suite, "The Planets," Queen's Hall, London, conductor Albert Coates (first public performance); 1927 — Jerome Kern: musical "Show Boat," in Washington, D.C.; 1930 — Stravinsky: "Symphony of Psalms," in Brussels (see also Dec 13, 1930); 1974 — Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 15, in Leningrad, by the Taneyev Quartet; 1974 — William Grant Still: opera "Bayou Legend," by Opera South in Jackson, Miss.; 1983 — John Harbison: "Mirabai Songs" (to poems of Mirabai, translated by Robert Bly), at Emmanuel Church in Boston, by soprano Susan Larson and pianist Craig Smith; A chamber orchestra version of this song cycle premiered in Cambridge, Mass., on Feb. 1, 1984; 2001 — Michael Daugherty: "Philadelphia Stories," at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, David Zinman, conducting; 2002 — Jake Heggie: “Holy the Firm,” for cello and orchestra, at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Calif., by the Oakland East Bay Symphony conducted by Michael Morgan, with Emil Miland the soloist; Other: 1926—First broadcast of a music program on the NBC radio network, featuring the New York Symphony conducted by Walter Damrosch, the New York Oratorio Society, and the Goldman Band, with vocal soloists Mary Garden and Tito Ruffo, and pianist Harold Bauer; 1989—Leonard Bernstein refused a National Medal of the Arts from President George Bush in protest against revoked NEA funding for a New York City exhibit on AIDS;
Friday, November 16
Gluck sings the blues ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787): Act 2 aria, from Armide Rockwell Blake, tenor; Monte Carlo Philharmonic; Patrick Fournillier, cond. EMI 55058 & Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787): Don Juan Ballet Music Rhine Chamber Orchestra of Cologne; Jan Corazolla, cond. Christophorus 74507 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Gluck and his French operas ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1766—French composer and violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, in Versailles; Beethoven dedicated his Violin Sonata Op. 47 to Kreutzer, but there is no record he ever performed the work; 1829—Russian composer and pianist Anton Rubinstein, in Vikhvatinets, Podolia (Gregorian date: Nov. 28); 1870—Australian composer Alfred Hill, in Melbourne; 1873—American composer and "father of the blues" William Christopher (W.C.) Handy, in Florence, Ala.; 1895—German composer, violist and conductor Paul Hindemith, in Hanau; Premieres: 1850 — Verdi: opera "Stifellio," in Trieste at the Teatro Grande; 1861 — Brahms: Piano Quintet No. 1 in g, Op. 25, at a private read-through in Hamburg, with Clara Schumann the pianist; A year later to the day, the work received its official premiere in Vienna, with members of the Hellmesberger Quartet and the composer at the piano; 1904 — Colerdige-Taylor: first American performance in Washington, D.C. of the complete trilogy of oratorios ("The Song of Hiawatha," "The Death of Minnehaha," and "Hiawatha's Departure") based on Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha," with the composer conducting; 1919 — Charles Tomlinson Griffes: "Poem" for flute and orchestra, Walter Damrosch conducting the New York Symphony Society Orchestra; 1934 — William Dawson: "Negro Folk Symphony," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1940 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 21, at the Moscow Festival of Soviet Music; This work was commissioned by the Chicago Symphony, who gave the American premiere on December 26, 1940; 1948 — Morton Gould: "Philharmonic Waltzes," commissioned and performed by the New York Philharmonic, with Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting; 1945 — Milhaud: Suite for Violin and Orchestra, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with Eugene Ormandy conducting and Zino Francescatti the soloist; 1981 — Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical "Merrily We Roll Along"; 2001 — Magnus Lindberg: “Parada,” at a three-day recording session (Nov. 16-18) in London with Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen, conducting; Other: 1900—First concert by The Philadelphia Orchestra, conductor Fritz Scheel, pianist Ossip Gabrilowitsch.
Saturday, November 17
Tchaikovsky's doubts and Stravinsky's toothache ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Peter Tchaikovsky (1833-1893): Symphony No. 5 in e, Op. 64 Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. Sony 66276 & Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): The Rite of Spring Cleveland Orchestra; Pierre Boulez, cond. Sony 64109 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Tchaikovsky On Stravinsky ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1919—American composer and arranger Hershy Kay, in Philadelphia; 1930—American composer, French horn player and conductor David Amram, in Philadelphia; Deaths: 1959—Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, age 72, in Rio de Janeiro; 1982—Estonian composer Eduard Tubin, age 77, in Stockholm; Premieres: 1726 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 55 ("Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht") performed on the 22nd Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1725/27); 1839 — Verdi: opera "Oberto" in Milan at the Teatro all Scala; This was Verdi's first opera; 1866 — Ambroise Thomas: opera, "Mignon,"in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1876 — Tchaikovsky: “Marche slav” in Moscow (see Julian date: Nov. 5); 1877 — Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta, "The Sorcerer," at the Opera Comique Theatre in London; 1888 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, in St. Petersburg, with the composer conducting (se Julian date: Nov. 5); 1924 — Ernst von Dohnányi: "Ruralia Hungarica" in Budapest, with composer conducting; 1937 — Daniel Gregory Mason: "A Lincoln Symphony," John Barbirolli conducting the New York Philharmonic; 1955 — Bernstein: incidental music for "The Lark" (play by Jean Anoilh adapted by Lillian Hellman) in New York City at the Longacre Theater, performed by New York Pro Musica conducted by Noah Greenberg; A trial run of this show had opened in Boston at the Plymouth Theater on October 28, 1955; 1977 — Vincent Persichetti: "Concerto for English Horn & Strings," soloist Thomas Stacy, Erich Leinsdorf conducting New York Philharmonic; 1991 — Katherine Hoover: "Canyon Echoes," by flutist Susan Morris De Jong and guitarist Jeffrey Van, at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; 1996 — Michael Torke: “Chrome” for flute and piano, at Colden Center in Queens, N.Y., by Marina Piccinini (flute) and Andreas Haefliger (piano).
Sunday, November 18
'Toon-ful music by Carl Stalling ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Carl Stalling (1888-1974): Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals & To Itch his Own Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra Warner Bros. 26027 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Carl Stalling and humor in cartoons ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1786—frequently cited birthdate of German composer Carl Maria Von Weber, in Eutin, Oldenburg (the exact date is not certain); 1836—British playwright Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, in London; Gilbert provided most of the witty librettos for the famous operettas of Sir Arthur Sullivan; 1895 —Russian composer and pianist Sergei Liapunov (Lyapunov), in Yaroslavl (Gregorian date: Nov. 30); 1860—Polish composer, piano virtuoso, and statesman, Ignace Jan Paderewski, in Kurylowka, Podolia/Russian Poland(see Julian date: Nov. 6); 1909—American song writer and lyricist Johnny Mercer, in Savannah, Ga.; Deaths: 1953—American composer and American folksong compiler, Ruth Crawford (Seeger), age 52, in Chevy Chase, Md.; She was the step-mother of the famous folk singer Peter Seeger; 1999—American composer and author Paul Bowles, age 88, in Tangier, Morocco; Premieres: 1875 — Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 3 in c, Op. 60, in Vienna, by the Hellmesberger Quartet, with the composer at the piano; 1877 — Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme,” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 30); 1883 — Dvorak: "Husitska" Overture at the opening of the Czech National Theater in Prague; 1891 — Tchaikovsky: symphonic balled "The Voyevode" in Moscow (Julian date: Nov. 6); 1953 — Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 6, by the Louisville Orchestra in Kentucky; 1968 — Paul Creston: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, in Montevallo, Alabama; Other: 1741—Handel arrives in Dublin for an extended stay, involving a number of concerts in the Irish capital, including the premiere of his latest oratorio "Messiah" the following Spring (Gregorian date: Nov. 29); 1928—Mickey Mouse debuts in "Steamboat Willie," in New York; This was the first animated cartoon with synchronized pre-recorded sound effects and music -- the latter provided by organist and composer Carl Stalling of Kansas City; Stalling would later provide memorial music for many classic Warner Brothers cartoons; |
