July 1 - Self-portrait by Darius Milhaud.

July 2 - Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi.

July 3 - American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger.

SYNOPSIS:
Wagner's American Centennial commission ...

MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM:
Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883) : American Centennial March
Philip Jones Ensemble; Elgar Howarth, cond.
London 414 149

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
On the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition
Contemporary accounts

ALSO ON THIS DATE:
Births:
1694—French composer and organist, Louis Claude Daquin, in Paris
1826—American song composer Stephen Collins Foster, in Lawrenceville, Pa.
1903 —Belgian composer and organist and teacher Flor Peeters, in Thielen

Deaths:
1623 —English composer William Byrd, aged c. 80 (the exact date of his birth is not known) in Stondon, Essex

Premieres:
1831 — The patriot hymn "America" (to the tune of the British patriotic song "God Save the King/Queen" with new words supplied by Samuel Francis Smith) sung by a children's choir at a Fourth of July service at the Park Street Church in Boston; This premiere performance is commonly (but incorrectly) listed as 1832
1900 — final version of Sibelius: Symphony No. 1, in Stockholm by the Helsinki Philharmonic on tour, with Robert Kajanus conducting; An earlier version of the symphony had been premiered in Helsinki on April 26, 1899, with the same orchestra conducted by the composer
1923 — R. Vaughan Williams: "English Folk Song Suite," in London, by the band of the Royal Military School of Music
1964 — Piston: Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire
1983 — David Amram: "Honor Song for Sitting Bull" for cello and orchestra, by the Long Island Philharmonic, Christopher Keene conducting, and William Da Rosa the soloist

Other:
1827—Opening of "Niblo's Gardens," an important 19th century American concert venue, at Broadway and Prince Street in New York City
1828 —The U.S. Marine Band first performed "Hail to the Chief" for a living President at the ground-breaking ceremony for the excavation of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal attended by President John Quincy Adams
1986—Amid fireworks and celebration, the Marine Band performed in New York City for the rededication of the Statue of Liberty, recreating the band's performance under John Philip Sousa for the original dedication ceremonies 100 years earlier

SYNOPSIS:
Piazzolla passes ...

MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM:
Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992) : Tres minutos con la realidad
Nestor Marconi, bandoneon; Yo Yo Ma, cello; ensemble
Sony Classical 63122

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
On Astor Piazzolla

ALSO ON THIS DATE:
Births:
1878—English composer and pianist Josef Holbrooke, in Croydon
1895—English composer Gordon Jacob, in London
1897—German-born Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim (originally Frankenburger), in Munich
1918 —American composer George Rochberg, in Paterson, N.J.
1926—American composer and teacher Kenneth Gaburo, in Somerville, N.J.

Deaths:
1992—Argentinian composer and bandonion virtuoso Astor Piazolla, age 71, in Buenos Aires

Premieres:
1931 — R. Vaughan Williams: ballet, "Job (A Masque for Dancing)," in London
1990 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Clarinet Quintet, at a Chamber Music Northwest concert in Portland, Ore. featuring clarinetist David Shifrin
1996 — Stephen Paulus: "Partita Appassionata," for violin and piano, by William Preucil and Arthur Rowe, at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival

Other:
1877—Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska is born in Warsaw

SYNOPSIS:
Louis Armstrong and American music ...

MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM:
Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971) : Skip the Gutter
Louis Armstrong and the Hot Five
Columbia 44422
&
arr. David Jolley : I'm in the Barrel
Windscape
Arabesque 6732

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
On jazz great Louis Armstrong
and

ALSO ON THIS DATE:
Births:
1864—Brazilian composer Alberto Nepomuceno, in Fortaleza
1898—German composer Hans Eisler, in Leipzig
1906 —English composer Dame Elizabeth Lutyens, in London

Deaths:
1971 —Jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, age 71, in New York City
1973—German conductor and composer Otto Klemperer, age 88, in Zürich
1999—Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo, age 97, in Madrid

Premieres:
1963 — Leslie Bassett: "Variations for Orchestra," in Rome; Following the American premiere on October 22, 1965 with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, this work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1966
1968 — David Del Tredici: "Syzygy" (to a text by James Joyce), in New York City
1977 — Tippett: opera, "The Ice Break" at Covent Garden in London

Other:
1913—In Paris, the Grand Prix de Rome music award is given to 19 year-old French composer Lili Boulanger (1893-1918), the first woman to be so honored

SYNOPSIS:
Handel celebrates peace ...

MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM:
George Frederic Handel (1685 - 1757) : Utrecht Te Deum
St Paul's Cathedral Choir; The Parley of Instruments; John Scott, cond.
Hyperion 67009

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
On Handel's life and works

ALSO ON THIS DATE:
Births:
1860—Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, in Kalischt, Bohemia
1911—Italian-born American composer and conductor Gian Carlo Menotti, in Cadegliano
1940—Drummer and songwriter Ringo Starr (of the Beatles), in Liverpool, England

Deaths:
1968—American organist and composer Leo Sowerby, age 73, in Fort Clinton, Ohio

Premieres:
1713 — Handel: "Utrecht Te Deum," at St. Paul's Cathedral in London (Gregorian Date: July 18)
1956 — Moore: opera "The Ballade of Baby Doe," in Center City, Colo.; According to Opera America, this is one of the most frequently-produced American operas during the past decade
1994 — John Williams: Cello Concerto, at the opening of Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood, Mass., by the Boston Symphony, with the composer conducting and Yo-Yo Ma the soloist
2001 — David Ward-Steinman: "Dublin Down," for 2 pianos, during the College Music Society International Conference in Limerick, Ireland, by the composer and Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman

Other:
1720—Funeral of J.S. Bach's first wife, Maria Barbara (age 35); The cause of her death is unknown, and Bach's son Carl Philip Emmanuel reported that his father was at Carlsbad when she died: "The news that she had been ill and died reached him only when he entered his own house";
1747—J.S. Bach dedicates his "Musical Offering" to Frederich the Great of Prussia
1791—Haydn conducts his Symphony No. 92 ("Oxford") at the Sheldonian Theater of Oxford University, where he was awarded an honorary degree.