A Mozart opera debuts, a British composer is born . . .

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): The Abduction from the Seraglio
Robert Gambill, tenor; Vienna Symphony; Bruno Weil, cond.
CBS/Sony 53500
&
Geoffrey Burgon (b. 1941): Brideshead Revisited
Philharmonia Orchestra; Geoffrey Burgon, cond.
Silva 1005

Births:
1858 — Belgian composer and violinist Eugène Ysaye, in Liège;
1901 — Austrian conductor and composer Fritz Mahler, nephew of Gustav, in Vienna; He studied composition with Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern; He emigrated to America in 1936, where he taught at the Juilliard Summer School and conducted the Erie Philharmonic and the Hartford Symphony;
1904 — Italian composer Goffredo Petrassi, in Zagarolo (near Rome);
1959 — Scottish composer James MacMillan, in Kilwinning, Ayrshire;

Water music by Handel and Larsen . . .

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Water Music
Royal Philharmonic: Sir Yehudi Menuhin, cond.
MCA 6186
&
Libby Larsen (b. 1950): Symphony (Water Music)
Minnesota Orchestra; Sir Neville Marriner
Nonesuch 79147

Births:
1832 — Swedish composer August Söderman, in Stockholm;
1875 — English composer, pianist, and music scholar Sir Donald Tovey, in Eton;
1935 — American composer and musical satirist Peter Schickele, in Ames, Iowa; He "discovered" and performed the music of P.D.Q Bach (1807-1742?);

Deaths:
1937 — French composer Gabriel Pierné, age 73, in Ploujean, Brittany;
1967- Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, age 40, in Huntington, Long Island (New York);

Premieres:
1975 — Sallinen: opera, "The Horseman" at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland;
1983- Sir Lenox Berkeley: Cello Concerto, in Manchester;

The Kronos Quartet & Aulis Sallinen . . .

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): String Quartet No. 17 in Bb
Quartetto Italiano
Philips 422 512
&
Aulis Sallinen (b. 1935): String Quartet no. 5 (Pieces of Mosaic)
Jean Sibelius Quartet
Ondine 831

Births:
1670 — Italian opera composer Giovanni Bononcini, in Modena; In 1720 he joined the Royal Academy of Music in London, where one faction favored Bononcini's works over those by Handel;
1821 — French mezzo-soprano PaulineViardot-Garcia; She arranged some of Chopin's mazurkas as songs and performed them with the composer in concert; she also wrote an opera, "La Dernière Sorcière," that was performed in Weimar in 1869, and a chamber opera version of "Cendrillon (Cinderella)" which was performed privately in 1904;
1872 — Czech composer Julius Fucik, in Prague; a student of Dvorák's, he composed the famous "circus" march, "Entrance of the Gladiators";
1954 — American composer Tobias Picker, in New York;

Deaths:
1949 — Czech composer Vitezslav Novák, age 78, in Skutec, Slovakia;

Premieres:
1791 — Cherubini: opera, "Lodoiska, in Paris;
1972 — Panufnik: Violin Concerto, in London, with Yehudi Menuhin as soloist;
1973 — Penderecki: Symphony No. 1 in Peterborough Cathedral by the London Symphony, conducted by the composer;

The long and the short of it, with Feldman and Webern . . .

Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Bavarian Radio Symphony; Lorin Maazel, cond.
BMG/RCA 68225
&
Anton Webern (1883-1945): No. 4, from Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 10
Ensemble InterContemporain; Pierre Boulez, cond.
Deutsche Grammophon 437 786
&
Morton Feldman (1926-1987): For Philip Guston
S.E.M. Ensemble
Dog w/a Bone 02

Births:
1842 — Austrian operetta composer Carl Zeller, in St. Peter in der Au;
1906 — Norwegian composer Klaus Egge, in Gransherad, Telemark;
1913 — American composer and pianist Peggy Stuart-Coolidge in Swampscott, Mass.;
1952 — English composer Dominic Muldowney, in Southhampton;
1965 — Scottish composer and percussionist Evelyn Glennie, in Aberdeen;

Watergate before "Watergate" — with Copland and William Schuman . . .

Aaron Copland (1900-1990): Rodeo
London Symphony; Aaron Copland, cond.
Sony Classical 60593
&
William Schuman (1910-1992): Newsreel
Milwaukee Symphony; Lukas Foss, cond.
Pro Arte 102

Births:
1872 — French composer Déodat de Severac, in Saint-Félix-de-Caraman, Lauraguais;
1908 — Swedish composer Gunnar de Frumerie, in Nacka (near Stockholm);

Deaths:
1752 -German-born English composer and conductor John Christopher (Johann Christoph) Pepusch, age 85, in London; In 1710 was one of the founding members of the "Academy of Ancient Music," which revived 16th century vocal music; He orchestrated some of the numbers in John Gay's famous "The Beggar's Opera" in 1728;

Premieres:
1970 — Morton Feldman: "Mme. Press Died Last Week at Ninety," an orchestral work commemorating his Russian piano teacher, in St. Paul de Vence, France;

Music for midsummer marriages by Mozart and Tippett . . .

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Serenade No. 7 in D (Haffner)
Prague Chamber Orchestra; Sir Charles Mackerras
Telarc 80161
&
Sir Michael Tippett (1905-19998): Suite in D (for the birthday of Prince Charles) — Chicago Symphony; Sir Georg Solti, cond.
London 425 646

Births:
1896 — French composer Jean Rivier, in Villemomble;

Deaths:
1838 -German inventor of the metronome, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, age 65, on board the brig Otis in the harbour of La Guiara, Venezuela, en route to Philadelphia; Beethoven's orchestral battle-symphony, "Wellington's Victory," was originally written for one of Maelzel's mechanical music-machines;

Premieres:
1938 — Hindemith: ballet, "St. Francis," at Covent Garden in London, with composer conducting (the suite titled "Nobilissima Visone" is drawn from this score);

Music by Manuel de Falla and Roberto Sierra . . .

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946): The Three-cornered Hat Ballet
Suisse Romande Orchestra; Ernest Ansermet, cond.
London 414 039
&
Roberto Sierra (b. 1953): Eros
Jeani Foster, flute; Stefanie Jacob, piano
Fleur de son Classics 57950 (distributed by Qualiton Imports)

Births:
1822 — Italian composer Luigi Arditti, in Crescentino, Piedmont;

Deaths:

Premieres:
1833 — Cherubini: opera,"Ali Baba," at Paris Opéra;
1844 — Wagner: "A Faust Overture," in Dresden;