Mozart and Gershwin go pop?

W.A. Mozart (1756 - 1791): Marriage of Figaro Wind Suite
Amadeus Ensemble; Julius Rudel, cond.
MusicMasters 67118
&
George Gershwin (1899 - 1937): Catfish Row Suite, fr Porgy and Bess
Chicago Symphony; James Levine, cond.
DG 445 768

On Mozart...
http://www.mozartproject.org

...and on Gershwin:
http://www.ffaire.com/gershwin/

Births:
1582 - Early Italian opera composer Marco da Gagliano, in Gagliano;
1602 - Baptism of English madrigal composer William Lawes, in Salisbury;
1872 - Swedish violinist and composer Hugo Alfvén in Stockholm;
1895 - American organist and composer Leo Sowerby, in Grand Rapids, Mich.;
1899 - Icelandic composer Jón Leifs, in Sólheimar;

Deaths:
1904 - Czech composer Antonin Dvorák, age 62, in Prague;
1978 - Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian, age 74, in Moscow;
1908 - American folksinger and folksong collector John Jacob Niles, age 88, near Lexington, Ky.;

Premieres:
1886 - Franck: "Symphonic Variations" for piano and orchestra, in Paris;
1909 - Rachmaninoff: "The Isle of the Dead," in Moscow, with the composer conducting;
1971 - Dave Brubeck: oratorio "Truth Has Fallen," at the opening of the Center for the Arts in Midland, Mich.

Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"

Sergei Prokofiev (1873 - 1943)/arr. Albert Markov: Peter and the Wolf
Alexander Markov, violin; Dmitri Cogan, piano
Erato 98481

On Prokofiev:
http://www.prokofiev.org/

Births:
1660 -Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti, in Palermo; founder of the "Neopolitan School" of opera and father of the composer, Dominico Scarlatti;
1810 - Danish conductor and composer Hans Christian Lumbye, in Copenhagen;
1843 - Austrian conductor and operetta composer Carl Michael Zieher, in Vienna;
1905 - English composer Alan Rawsthorne, in Haslingden;

Deaths:
1864 - German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (Jakob Liebmann Beer), age 72, in Paris;

Premieres:
1692 - Purcell: opera "The Fairy Queen," in London at the Queen's Theater, Dorset Garden;
1935 - Ibert: "Concertino da Camera" for saxophone and chamber orchestra, in Paris;
1947 - Copland: "In the Beginning" for mezzo-soprano and chorus, at Harvard University (commissioned for the Harvard Symposium);
1951 - Cage: "Imaginary Landscape No. 4" for 12 radios, in New York;
1965 - Bolcom: "Oracle" for orchestra, in Seattle;
1965 - Grofé: "Trick or Treat: Halloween," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, André Kostelanetz conducting;
1990 - Elliott Carter: Violin Concerto, by the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Herbert Blomstedt, with Ole Böhn as soloist.

Bloch's "Greatest Hit"

Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959): Schelomo
Mischa Maisky, cello;
Israel Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond.
DG 427 347

On Bloch:
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/bloch_bio.html

Births:
1886 - French organist and composer Marcel Dupré, in Rouen;
1920 - American composer and jazz pianist John Lewis, in LaGrange, Ill.;

Deaths:
1704 - Austrian composer Heinrich Biber, age 59, in Salzburg;

Premieres:
1831 - Hérold: "Zampa," at the Opéra-Comique in Paris;
1893 - Horatio Parker: oratorio "Hora Novissima," in New York City;
1919 - Debussy: Clarinet Rhapsody (orchestral version), in Paris, with clarinetist Gaston Hamelin, at Pasdeloup Concert;
1929 - Poulenc: "Concert champêtre" for harpsichord and chamber orchestra, in Paris, with soloist Wanda Landowska;
1943 - Cowell: "American Melting Pot" (Set for Chamber Orchestra), at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the Orchestrette of New York, Frédérique Petrides conducting;
1952 - Vaughan Williams: "Romance" for harmonica and orchestra, in New York City;
1963 - Cowell: Quartet for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harp, at the University of Miami, by John Bitter (flute), Julien Balogh (oboe), Hermann Busch (cello), and Mary Spalding (Mrs. Fabien) Sevitzky (harp);
1969 - Shostakovich: Violin Sonata, in Moscow, with David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter.

Virgil Thomson reviews Elliott Carter . . .

Elliot Carter (b. 1908): String Quartet No. 1
The Composers Quartet
Nonesuch 71249

On Elliott Carter:
http://www.schirmer.com/composers/carter_bio.html

Births:
1860 - Austrian composer Emil Nikolaus Von Reznicek, in Vienna;

Deaths:
1955 - Rumanian composer Georges Enesco, age 73, in Paris;

Premieres:
1795 - Haydn: Symphony No. 104, conducted by the composer, at the King's Theater in London;
1893 - Dvorák: cantata "The American Flag," Op. 102, in New York;
1920 - Vaughan Williams: revised version of Symphony No.2 ("A London Symphony") at Queens Hall in London, conducted by Albert Coates;
1974 - Rautavaara: Flute Concerto, in Stockholm, with flutist Gunilla von Bahr and the Swedish Radio Symphony, Stig Westerberg conducting;
1976 - Bernstein: musical "1700 Pennsylvania Avenue" at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City, conducted by Roland Gagnon;
1989 - Joan Tower: "Island Prelude" for oboe and strings, by soloist Peter Bowman and the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting.