Hovhaness and the world's biggest vocal soloist

Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000): And God Created Great Whales
Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond.
Delos 3157

On Alan Hovhaness and his music . . .
http://www.musicweb.force9.co.uk/music/classrev/2000/feb00/hovanessworks.htm/

Births:
1864 - German composer and conductor Richard Strauss, in Munich;
1926 - American opera composer Carlisle Floyd, in Latta, S.C.;

Premieres:
1913 - Pizetti: incidental music for "La Pisanella," in Paris;
1921 - Honegger: cantata "Le Roi David" (King David), in Mézières;
1925 - Honegger: opera "Judith" (1st version), at the Théatre du Jorat in Mézières im Waadt;
1960 - Britten: opera "A Midsummer Night's Dream," in Aldeburgh at the Jubilee Hall;
1960 - Stockhausen: "Kontakte" for electronic instruments, piano and percussion, in Cologne.

Music for the birds by Dvorák and Rautavaara

Antonin Dvorák (1841-1904): String Quartet, Op. 96 (American
Cracow Philharmonic; Gilbert Levine, cond.
Vlach Quartet
Naxos 8.553371

On Antonin Dvorák...
http://www-th.phys.rug.nl/~ma/dvorak.html

. . . and Einojuhani Rautavaara
http://virtual.finland.fi/finfo/english/rautavaa.html

Births:
1885 - German-born American composer Werner Josten, in Elbereld;
1897 - Polish-born French composer Alexandre Tansman, in Lodz;
1914 - French composer Maurice Ohana, in Casablanca;
1941 - American jazz pianist and composer, Chick (Armando Anthony) Corea in Chelsea, Mass.;
1952 - Scottish composer and conductor Oliver Knussen, in Glasgow;

Deaths:
1962 - British composer John Ireland, age 82, in Washington, England;

Premieres:
1917 - Pfitzner: opera "Palestrina," in Munich at the Prinzregententheater, with Bruno Walter conducting;
1926 - Szymanowski: opera "King Roger," in Warsaw at the Teatr Wielki;
1928 - European premiere of Stravinsky: ballet "Apollon musagete," at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris, choreographed by Georges Balanchine;
1938 - Leonard Bernstein's first public performance as composer-pianist in Brookline,
Mass., performing his "Music for the Dance" Nos. 1 and 2 and "Music for Two Pianos" with Mildred Spiegel;
1946 - Prokofiev: opera "War and Peace" (1st version), in Leningrad;
1952 - Bernstein: chamber opera "Trouble in Tahiti," at Brandeis University as part of the first Festival of the Creative Arts, with composer conducting;
1961 - Martinu: opera "The Greek Passion," in Zürich at the Stadttheater;
1962 - Mayzumi: symphonic poem "Samsara," in Tokyo;
1964 - Britten: church opera "Curlew River," in Orford Church (near Aldeburgh);
1987 - Morton Feldman: "For Samuel Beckett," for chamber ensemble, in Amsterdam;
2002 (scheduled) - Jennifer Higdon: "Concerto for Orchestra," in Philadelphia at the American Symphony Orchestra League National Convention, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting;

Others:
1933 - The first "concert hall" performance of the Duke Ellington Orchestra takes place at the London Palladium during the ensemble's first visit to England (It would be ten years before Ellington would present a concert performance at Carnegie Hall in New York on January 23, 1943).

"Blind Tom"

Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins (1849-1908): Battle of Manassas
John Davis, p.
Newport Classics 85660

On "Blind Tom"
http://www.twainquotes.com/archangels.html

Births:
1899 - Mexican composer and conductor Carlos Chávez, in Calzada de Tacuba, near Mexico City;

Premieres:
1784 - Mozart: Piano & Winds Quintet (K. 452), Sonata for Two Pianos (K. 448), and the Piano Concerto No. 17 (K. 453), at the home of Mozart's pupil, Barbara Ployer, outside Vienna;
1855 - Verdi: opera "Les Vêspres Siciliennes" (The Sicilian Vespers), in Paris at the Grand Opéra;
1911 - Stravinsky: ballet "Petrushka," in Paris at the Théatre du Châtelet, with Pierre Monteux conducting;
1923 - Walton: "Façade," in London, with Dame Edith Sitwell reciting her poems, the composer conducting;
1923 - Stravinsky: "Les Noces," at the Gaîté Lyrique in Paris;
1942 - Honegger: opera "Joan of Arc at the Stake" (first staged production), in Zürich at the Stadttheater;
1967 - David Ward-Steinman: Cello Concerto, in Toyko, by the Japan Philharmonic conducted by Milton Katims, with Edgar Lustgarten the soloist;
1986 - John Adams' "Short Ride in a Fast Machine" at Great Woods, Mansfield, Mass., with Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas.

A star-spangled bummer for Stravinsky?

Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): The Star Spangled Banner (arrangement)
London Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond.
BMG/RCA 68865

On Igor Stravinsky:
http://www.cc.emory.edu/MUSIC/ARNOLD/stravinsky.html
&
http://www.cs.hut.fi/~pno/Music/Stravinsky/

Births:
1835 - Russian composer, pianist and conductor Nicolai Rubinstein (brother of Anton), in Moscow;

Deaths:
1594 - Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus (aka Orlando di Lasso, Orlandus Lassus, Roland Delattre), in Munich, age 61 or 62 (exact date of his birth is not known);
1744 - French composer André Campra, at Versailles;

Premieres:
1876 - Delibes: ballet, "Sylvia," in Paris;
1927 - Gliere: ballet, "The Red Poppy," in Moscow;
1952 - Americanized version of Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera" translated by Marx Blitzstein premieres at Brandeis University as part of the first Festival of the Creative Arts, with Leonard Bernstein conducting;
1962 - Stravinsky: "The Flood," on CBS Television;
1985 - John Harbison: Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and Strings, in Sarasota, Fla., with oboist Sarah Bloom and clarinetist Charles Russo, with the New College Festival
Orchestra, Paul Wolfe conducting.

A surprise commission for Mr. Sousa . . .

John Philip Sousa (1854 - 1932): The Washington Post March
Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, cond.
Reference 94
&
Peaches and Cream Foxtrot
Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, cond.
Moss MMG-10005

On John Philip Sousa and the Marine Band:
http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/edu_sousa.html

Births:
1763 - German composer Franz Danzi, in Mannheim;
1843 - Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, in Bergen;
1864 - French composer Guy Ropartz, in Guingamp, Brittany;
1894 - American composer and arranged Robert Russell Bennett, in Kansas City, Mo.;
1900 - American composer Otto Luening, in Milwaukee, Wis.;

Premieres:
1810 - Beethoven: "Egmont" Overture and Incidental Music, at the Court Theater in Vienna, as part of a production of Goethe's drama of the same;
1991 - David Ward-Steinman: "Cinnabar" for viola and piano, in Ithaca, N.Y., at the 19th Annual Viola Congress by violist Karen Elaine and the composer at the piano;

Others:
1707 - J.S. Bach appointed organist at Blasiuskirche, Muehlhausen.

Bernard Herrmann's low-budget classic . . .

Bernard Herrmann (1911 - 1975): Psycho (A Narrative for Orchestra)
London Philharmonic; Bernard Herrmann, cond.
London 443 895

On Bernard Herrmann's music . . .
http://www.uib.no/herrmann/

Premieres:
1929 - Shostakovich: opera "The Nose," in Leningrad at the MalïlyOpera Theater;
1937 - Blitzstein: opera-review, "The Cradle Will Rock," in New York City, composer at piano;
1950 - Persichetti: "Divertimento for Band," by the Goldman Band, composer conducting;
1961 - Schoenberg: "Jacob's Ladder," in Vienna, posthumously; at 35th Festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music;
1973 - Britten: opera "Death in Venice," in Snape at The Maltings;

Others:
1891 -Czech composer Antonin Dvorák receives an honorary degree from Cambridge University in England.