Birthday anniversaries for Respighi and Chihara . . .

Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936): Feste Romane
Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, cond.
London 410 145
&
Paul Chihara (b. 1938): The Tempest
The Performing Arts Orchestra; Jean-Louis LeRoux, cond.
Reference RR-10

Births:
1898 — French composer Marcel Delannoy, in La Ferté-Alais;
1915 — American composer David Diamond, in Rochester, N.Y.;

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 Randall Thompson, age 85, in Boston;

Honors refused (Handel) and accepted (William Schuman) . . .

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
Teldec 46103

Births:
1835 — Polish composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawski, in Lubin;
1895 — German composer and music educator, Carl Orff, in Munich;
1033 — Broadway composer Jerry Herman, in New York City;
1965 — Scottish percussion virtuoso Evelyn Glennie;

Deaths:
1940 — British composer and conductor Sir Donald Tovey, age 64, in Edinburgh;
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);

Gershwin dies in Hollywood & the Hollywood Bowls debuts . . .

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

Births:
1836 — Brazilian opera composer Antonio Carlo Gomes, in Campinas;

Premieres:
1882 — MacDowell: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Zurich, with composer as soloist;

Requiem tributes by Fauré and Rouse . . .

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924): Requiem
The Cambridge Singers, the City of London Sinfonia; John Rutter, cond.
Collegium 101
&
Christopher Rouse (b. 1949): Symphony No. 2 & Flute Concerto
Carol Wincenc, flute;
Houston Symphony; Christoph Eschenbach, cond.
Telarc 80452

Births:
1861 — Russian composer Anton Arensky, in Novgorod;
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);

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:
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" at Covent Garden in London;
1976 — Henze: opera, "We Come to the River," at Covent Garden in London;

Strauss and Shostakovich vs. Hitler and Stalin . . .

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
Scottish National

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);

Louis Lambert, Jr. and "La Marseillaise" . . .

Roger de Lisle: La Marseillaise
Detroit Symphony; Paul Paray, cond.
Mercury 434 332
&
Lucien Lambert, Jr. (1858-1945): Brocéliande Overture
Hot Springs Music Festival; Richard Rosenberg, cond.
Naxos 8.559 037

Births:
1901 — English composer Gerald Finzi, in London;

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;

Bernstein's sabbatical year creation . . .

Giuseppe Verdi (1913-1901): Act III excerpt, from Falstaff
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, bar;
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

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:
1959 — Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch, age 78, in Portland, Oregon;

Premieres:
1942 — Villa-Lobos: "Chôros" Nos. 6, 9 and 11, in Rio de Janeiro, conducted by the composer;