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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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November 25-December 1, 2002
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Monday, November 25
F.X. and H.K. Gruber ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: F.X. Gruber (1787 -1863): Silent Night The Ware-Patterson Duo Sugo 9106 & H.K. Gruber (b. 1943): Frankenstein H.K. Gruber, vocal; Salzburg Camerata Academica; Franz Welser-Most, cond. EMI Classics 56441 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On F.X .Gruber On H.K. Gruber ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1785—Austrian composer Franz Gruber, in Unterwweizberg; In 1818 he wrote the famous Christmas carol "Silent Night"; 1856—Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, in Dyud'kovo , near Moscow (Julian date: Nov. 13); 1896—American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson, in Kansas City, Mo.; 1924—American jazz saxophonist Paul Desmond, in San Francisco; Desmond and composer Dave Brubeck co-wrote the popular piece entitled “Take Five” for Brubeck’s famous 1959 Columbia LP entitled “Time Out”; Deaths: 1640—Burial date of English Renaissance composer Giles Farnaby, age c. 77, in London; 1755—German violinist and composer Johann Georg Pisendel, age 67, in Dresden; 1901—German composer and organist Josef Rheinberger, age 62, in Munich; Premieres: 1731 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 140 ("Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme") performed in Leipzig on the 27th Sunday after Trinity; 1847 — Flowtow: opera "Martha," in Vienna; 1865 — Brahms: "Variations on a Theme of Paganini," Op. 35, for piano, in Zürich, Switzerland; 1882 — Gilbert and Sullivan: operetta "Iolanthe" at the Savoy Theater in London; 1898 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera “Mozart and Salieri,” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Dec. 7); 1901 — Mahler: Symphony No. 4, by the Kaim Orchestra of Munich, with soprano soloist Margarete Michalek and the composer conducting; 1951 — Lou Harrison: "Seven Pastorales, in New York City, by the Collegium Musicum, Fritz Rikko conducting; 1954 — Prokofiev: opera "The Fiery Angel" (sung in French), in a concert performance in Paris; 1955 — Piston: Symphony No. 6, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting; 1958 — John La Montaine: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Washington, D.C.; This work won the Pulizter Prize in 1959; 1960 — Mussorgsky: opera "Khovanscchina" (in the arrangement by Shostakovich), in Leningrad at the Kirov Theater; 1978 — H.K. Gruber: "Frankenstein!" a "pan-demonium" for baritone and orchestra, by the Liverpool Philharmonic, with Simon Rattle conducting and the composer as the vocal soloist; A revised chamber version of this work premiered on Sept. 30, 1979, in Berlin, with the composer conducting; 1992 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Strathclyde Concerto" No. 7 for double bass and orchestra, at Glasgow's City Hall, by the Scottish Chamber Orcherstra conducted by the composer, with soloist Duncan McTier; Other: 1720—Handel’s Keyboard Suites, First Collection), is published in London (Julian date: Nov. 14); 1835—Scottish-born American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is born in a small weaver’s cottage in Dumfemline, Fife (Scotland); He funded the creation of a concert hall in New York that opened on May 5, 1891, and now bears his name; The building was originally called the “Music Hall,” but the earlier title was deemed to have too many associations tied to the “lower class” vaudeville acts typical of the British “music hall,” and was eventually changed to “Carnegie Hall,” in honor of its funder; 1934—Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler's article "The Hindemith Case" defending Hindemith's music appears in several German newspapers; A response attacking both Hindemith and Furtwängler appears in the Nazi newspaper "Der Angriff" on November 28; Furtwängler resigns all his official German posts on December 4 and leaves Berlin for several months; On December 6 Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels denounces Hindemith as an "atonal noisemaker" during a speech at the Berlin Sport Palace.
Tuesday, November 26
Thomson's "Louisiana Story" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Virgil Thomson (1896 - 1989): Louisiana Story Suite New London Orchestra; Ronald Corp, cond. Hyperion 66576 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Virgil Thomson On the film director Robert J. Flaherty ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1932—Amnerican composer and teacher Alan Stout, in Baltimore; Deaths: 1959—British light-music composer Albert W. Ketèlbey, age 84, on the Isle of Wight; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 116 ("Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ") performed on the 25th Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1887 — Tchaikovsky: Suite No. 4 (“Mozartiana”), on an all Tchaikovsky program in Moscow conducted by the composer (Julian date: Nov. 14); 1937 — R. Schumann: Violin Concerto in d (composed 1853 for the great violinist Joseph Joachim, who never performed it in public), in Berlin, by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karl Boehm, with Georg Kulenkampff as soloist; 1948 — Virgil Thomson: "Louisiana Story" Suite, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1954 — Lutoslawski: "Concerto for Orchestra," in Warsaw; 1993 — Stanislaw Skrowaczewski: Chamber Concerto ("Ritornelli poi Ritornelli") in St. Paul, Minn., by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, with the composer conducting; 1997 — Corigliano: "The Red Violin (Chaconne for Violin and Orchestra), by soloist Joshua Bell with the San Francisco Symphony, Robert Spano conducting; Other: 1760—Franz Joseph Haydn (age 28) marries Maria Anna Keller (age 31) in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna; Ms. Keller was the daughter of the wigmaker Johann Peter Keller, who is said variously to have assisted Haydn in his years of poverty or employed him as a music teacher.
Wednesday, November 27
Brahms debuts in New York City ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8 (1854 version) Odeon Trio Capriccio 10 633 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Johannes Brahms More on Brahms ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1750—Bohemian composer Anton Stamitz, in Nemecky Brod (now Havlickuv Brod); 1759—Moravian composer Franz Krommer (Kramár), in Kamenice; 1860—Russian composer Viktor Ewald, in St. Petersburg; Under the Julian “Old Style” calendar still in use in Russia in that year, this same date would be listed as Nov.15; 1867—French composer Charles Koechlin, in Paris; 1942—American rock guitarist and composer Jimi Hendrix, in Seattle, Wash.; Deaths: 1474—French composer Guillaume Dufay, in Cambrai, age ca. 74; 1955—Swiss-born French composer Arthur Honegger, age 63, in Paris; Premieres: 1743 — Handel: “Dettingen Te Deum and Anthem” in London at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s Palace, to celebrate the safe return of George II to England, after a victory over the French in Bavaria (Gregorian dare: Dec. 8); 1745 — Rameau: opera-ballet "Le temple de la gloire" (to a text by Voltaire, for the victory of Fontennoy), at Versailles; 1748 — Rameau: opera-ballet "Les surprises de l'Amour," at Versailles; 1836 — Glinka: opera “A Life for the Tsar,” in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 9); 1842 — Glinka: opera “Russlan and Ludmilla,” in St. Petesrburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 9); 1843 — Balfe: opera "The Bohemian Girl," in London; 1855 — Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B (first version, American premiere), at Dodworth’s “Saloon” (Hall) in New York, by violinist Theodore Thomas, cellist Carl Bergmann, and pianist William Mason; Mason claimed it was the world premiere of this work; The most recent Grove Dictionary, however, lists this Trio’s European premiere as occurring in Danzig on Oct. 13, 1855 – but does not indicate whether this was a private or public event; 1896 — R. Strauss: tone-poem "Thus spake Zarathustra," in Frankfurt, with the composer conducting; 1903 — Wolf-Ferrari: opera "Le donne curiose" (The Curious Woman), in Munich at the Residenztheater; 1913 — George Tempelton Strong, Jr.: orchestral suite "Die Nacht" (The Night), in Montreux, Switzerland, by the Orchestre du Kursaal, Ernest Ansermet conducting; 1928 — Stravinsky: ballet, "Le Baiser de la fée" (The Fairy's Kiss), at the Paris Opéra, by the Ida Rubinstein Company, with the composer conducting; 1972 — first successful concert performance of Korngold: Symphony, in Munich (posthumously), with Rudolf Kempe conducting; Harold Byrns had conducted the Vienna Symphony in a poorly rehearsed and performed Austrian radio premiere of this work on October 17, 1954.
Thursday, November 28
Rocky III? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943): Piano Concerto No. 3 Van Cliburn, piano; Symphony of the Air; Kirill Kondrashin, cond. Philips 456 748 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Sergei Rachmaninoff and on the film "Shine" ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1784—Baptismal date of German composer and pianist Ferdinand Ries, in Bonn; 1829—Russian composer and pianist Anton Rubinstein, in Vikhvatinets, Podolia (Julian date: Nov. 16); Deaths: 1972—British composer Havergal Brian, age 96, in Shoreham-by-Sea; He composed 32 symphonies between 1919-1968 (most remained unperformed during his lifetime); Premieres: 1723 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 61 ("Nun komm der Heiden Heiland" I) performed on the 1st Sunday in Advent as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1811 — Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Johann Philip Christian Schultz conducting, and Friedrich Schneider as the soloist; 1895 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera “Christmas Eve,” in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 10); 1896 — Mussorgsky: opera “Boris Godunov” (Rimsky-Korsakov version), in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 10); 1909 — Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3, in Carnegie Hall, composer at piano, Walter Damrosch conducting New York Symphony Society Orchestra; 1919 — Charles Tomlinson Griffes: "The Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan," Pierre Monteux conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra; 1930 — Hanson: Symphony No. 2 ("Romantic"), by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1930 — Kodály: "Marosszék Dances," in Dresden; 1940 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 20, in Moscow; 1990 — Christopher Rouse: “Concerto per Corde” (Concerto for Strings), at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, by the American Symphony Orchestra, Catherine Comet conducting;
Friday, November 29
John Duffy's "Utah" Symphony ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Duffy: Symphony No. 1 (Utah) Milwaukee Symphony; Zdenek Macal, cond. Koss 1022 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On John Duffy ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1632 —Baptism of Italian-French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully, in Florence, Italy; 1797—Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, in Bergamo; 1915—American jazz pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn, in Dayton, Ohio; Deaths: 1643—Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, age 76, in Venice; 1924—Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, age 65, in Brussels, Belgium; 1957—Austrian-born composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold, age 60, in Los Angeles; Premieres: 1862 — Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A, Op. 26, at the old Gesellschaft for Musikfreunde Vereinsaal in Vienna, by the Hellmesberger Quartet, with the composer at the piano; 1879 — Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G, in Vienna; 1964 — Cowell: "26 Simultaneous Mosacis" for 5 players, at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, in Buffalo, N.Y., by an ensemble from the Music Department of the State University of New York, Buffalo, directed by Lukas Foss; 1983 — Messiaen: opera "St. Francis of Assisi," at the Paris Opéra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa; 1989 — Lukas Foss: “American Landscapes,” for guitar and orchestra, with guitarist Sharon Isbin and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the composer conducting; On the same program were the premiere performances of John Duffy: Symphony No. 1 (“Utah”) and Joan Tower: “Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman” No. 2 (dedicated to Joan Briccetti, general manager of the St. Louis Symphony), with Peter Connelly conducting the Duiffy and Tower pieces; 1997 — Anthony Davis: opera "Amistad," by the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dennis Russell Davies conducting; Other: 1741—Handel arrives in Dublin for an extended stay (Julian date: Nov. 18); 1919 —Leo Ornstein performs a recital of his own works in New York City.
Saturday, November 30
Corigliano for Strings ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Corigliano (b. 1938): String Quartet Cleveland Quartet Telarc 80415 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On John Corigliano and his Symphony No. 2 ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1796—German composer Carl Loewe, near Halle; 1813—French composer and pianist Charles-Henri-Valentin Alkan (née Morhange), in Paris; 1861—Austrian composer Ludwig Thuille, in Bozen, the Tyrol; 1884—Swedish composer Ture Rangström, in Stockholm; 1895—Russian composer and pianist Sergei Liapunov (Lyapunov), in Yaroslavl (Julian date: Nov. 18); Deaths: 1623—English composer Thomas Weelkes, age ca. 48, in London; 1954—German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler, age 68, near Baden-Baden; Premieres: 1877 — Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme” for Cello and Orchestra, in Moscow, with Nicolai Rubinstein conducting, and Wilhelm Fitzenhagen as the soloist (Julian date: Nov. 18); 1885 — Massenet: "Le Cid," in Paris; 1913 — Rachmaninov: choral symphonic poem, “The Bells,” in St. Petersburg, composer conducting (Gregorian date: Dec. 13); 1930 — Ibert: "Divertissement," in Paris; 1934 — Berg: "Five Symphonic Pieces" from "Lulu," at the State Opera, Berlin; 1945 — Martinu: Symphony No. 4, in Philadelphia; 1963 — Shulamit Ran: "Capriccio" for piano and orchestra, with the teenage composer as soloist, on a New York Philharmonic "Young People's Concert" conducted by Leonard Bernstein; In 1991, Ran would win the Pulitzer Prize for Music for her “Symphony” commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra; 1989 — John Harbison: "November 19, 1928" for piano quartet, in Atlanta, Ga., by the Atlanta Chamber Players; 2000 — Corigliano: Symphony No. 2, by the Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting; This symphony is a reworking of Corigliano’s String Quartet of 1995, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2001; 2001 — Philip Glass: "Dancissimo" for violin and orchestra, with Robert McDuffie and the Milwaukee Symphony conducted by Andrea Delfs; 2001 — Tobias Picker: opera “Thérèse Raquin,” by the Dallas Opera; Other: 1903—The old Brooklyn Academy of Music facility (at 176-194 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights) burns to the ground (See Nov. 14, 1908 for gala reopening).
Sunday, December 1
Bernstein's "Candide" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): Candide soloists; London Symphony; Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG 429 734 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leonard Bernstein ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1709—German composer Franz Xaver Richter, probably in Holleschau, Moravia; 1823—French opera composer Ernest (Louise-Etienne-Ernest) Reyer, in Marseilles; An ardent admirer of Wagner, Ernest Reyer added a Germanic "-er" to his real last name "Rey"; His most famous opera is "Sigurd"(1884), a retelling of the Siegfried story familiar from Wagner's "Ring" cycle, but set in the style of a French grand opera; 1847—Norwegian composer and pianist Agathe Backer-Grondahl, in Holmestrand; Deaths: 1707—British composer and organist Jeremiah Clarke, age c. 33, commits suicide in London, supposedly after an unhappy love affair; This date is according to the Julian "Old Style" calendar still in use in England that year (Gregorian date: Dec. 12); 1950—Anglo-Irish composer Ernest John Moeran, age 55, near Kenmare, Ireland; Premieres: 1832 — Mendelssohn: Overture, "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage," in Berlin; 1902 — Nielsen: Symphony No. 2 ("The Four Temperaments") in Copenhagen; 1924 — Gershwin: musical "Lady, Be Good," at the Liberty Theater in New York City; This show featured Fred and Adele Astaire and included the classic Gershwin songs "Fascinating Rhythm," "Oh, Lady Be Good," and "The Half of It, Dearie, Blues"; 1934 — Ravel: "Don Quichotte à Dulcinée," his last work, in Paris at a Colonne Concert; 1935 — Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2, by the Madrid Symphony, with the Spanish conductor Enrique Fernández Arbós and the French violinist Robert Soëtens; 1937 — Vaughan Williams: one-act opera "Riders to the Sea," in London; 1944 — Bartók: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; Bartók composed a revised and more dramatic ending for this work this work soon after the Boston premiere (The original ending heard at the premiere was judged too perfunctory and abrupt); 1944 — Gruenberg: Violin Concerto, Op. 47, by violinist Jascha Heifetz, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1951 — Britten: opera, "Billy Budd" (libretto by E.M. Forester, after Hermann Melville), in London, at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, with the composer conducting; 1956 — Bernstein: musical "Candide" (original version) at Martin Beck Theater in New York City; A trial run opened at the Colonial Theater in Boston on October 29, 1956; Bernstein revised the work in 1973 (Chelsea Theater version), 1982 (New York City Opera version), 1988 ("opera house" version), and 1989 ("concert version" with narrator); 1957 — Stravinsky: ballet "Agon," at the New York City Ballet, choreographed by Georges Balanchine; The first concert performance of Stravinsky's ballet score occurred on June 17, 1957, at a 75th birthday concert for Stravinsky in Los Angeles conducted by Robert Craft; 1977 — Lukas Foss: "American Cantata," in New York City; Other: 1736—J.S. Bach gives an organ recital at the Frauenkirche in Dresden; 1822—The 11 year-old pianist Franz Liszt performs for the first time in Vienna at that city's town hall; His first public appearance ever had occurred in October of 1820, in Oedenberg, when he was 9 years old; 1859—The French Opera House opens in New Orleans with Rossini's "William Tell"; 1886—Wagner's opera "Tristan und Isolde" receives its American premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, with Wagner's protégé, Anton Seidl, conducting; |
