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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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July 26-August 1, 2004
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Monday, July 26
"Parsifal" in Bayreuth ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Wagner (1813-1883): Transformation Music, from Parsifal London Symphony; Sir Adrian Boult, cond. EMI Classics 62539 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Richard Wagner On the Bayreuth Festival (past and present) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1782—Irish composer and pianist John Field, in Dublin 1791—Austrian composer and pianist Franz Xaver Mozart in Vienna; He was the sixth child and youngest surviving son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (who died in December of 1791 when Franz Xaver was less than a year old); Franz Xaver studied with Hummel and Salieri, among others 1856 —British dramatist and music critic George Bernard Shaw, in Dublin 1866 —Italian composer opera Francesco Cilea, in Palmi, Calabria 1874—Russian-born American double-bass player, conductor and new music patron, Serge Koussevitzky, in Vishny-Volochok (Julian date: July 14) ; He was engaged as the permanent conductor of the Boston Symphony, a post he held for 25 years 1876—American composer, conductor and pianist Ernest Schelling, in Belvidere, N.J. 1949—South African-born Irish composer Kevin Volans, in Pietermaritsburg Premieres: 1882 — Wagner: opera "Parsifal," in Bayreuth at the Festpielhaus, Herrmann Levi conducting 1940 — Henry Cowell: "Pastoral and Fiddler's Delight," by the All-American Youth Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting 1985 — Elliott Carter: "Penthode" at London's Royal Albert Hall, with the Ensemble InterContemporain and the Paris Orchestral Ensemble conducted by Pierre Boulez
Tuesday, July 27
Lindberg by Weill, Hindemith and Waxman ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Kurt Weill (1900-1950): Lindbergh's Flight Cologne Radio Orchestra; Hermann Scherchen, cond. Capriccio 60012 & Franz Waxman (1906-1962): : The Spirit of St. Louis studio orchestra; Franz Waxman, cond. BMG/RCA 2283 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Paul Hindemith On Kurt Weill On Franz Waxman ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1867 —Spanish composer and conductor Enrique Granados, in Lérida; He died at sea in 1916, a victim of the sinking by a German submarine of the S.S. Sussex in the English Channel during World War I) 1877—Hungarian composer and pianist Ernö (Ernst) von Dohnányi; He was the grandfather of the German-born conductor Christoph von Dohnányi 1899 —American composer Harl McDonald, near Boulder, Colorado; He worked as the business manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years, and that orchestra performed a number of his pieces under both Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy 1912—Russian-born composer and conductor Igor Markevitch, in Kiev (Julian date: July 14) Deaths: 1924—Italian-German composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni, age 58, in Berlin Premieres: 1927 — Kurt Weill and Paul Hindemith: radio cantata "Der Lindbergflug" (Lindberg's Flight) at the Baden-Baden Musiktag festival in Germany 1941 — Paul Creston: "Prelude and Dance" and "A Rumor," in New York 1941 — Bernard Herrmann: Symphony No. 1, on a radio broadcast by the Columbia Symphony with the composer conducting Other: 1733—J.S. Bach sends a letter to Frederic Augustus, Elector of Saxony, requesting an official title to bolster his reputation in Leipzig; Accompanying the letter, Bach sends the "Kyrie" and "Gloria" from his Mass in b minor 1966—Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "Torn Curtain" opens in New York — without the film score that Bernard Herrmann had composed for it (The famous director fired Herrmann during the score's first recording sessions when Hitch discovered Herrmann had composed a "symphonic" score and not the "pop" score that Hitch had specifically requested)
Wednesday, July 28
Berlioz gets hot ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869): Symphonie funebre et triomphale London Symphony; Sir Colin Davis, cond. Philips 416 283 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Berlioz ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893—Danish composer Rued Langgaard, in Copenhagen Deaths: 1750—German composer Johann Sebastian Bach, age 65, in Leipzig; He died "a little after" 8:15 p.m. and was buried at St. John's cemetery on either July 30 or 31; In 1894 his body was exhumed, examined, and reburied in the Leipzig's St. Thomas Church, where he had served as Kantor 1838—Finnish composer Bernard Henrik Crusell, age 62, in Stockholm 1969—American songwriter and musical composer Frank Loesser, age 59, in New York City Premieres: 1717 — Handel: "Water Music" on the river Thames (Julian date: July 17) 1823 — Spohr: opera "Jessonda," in Kassel 1840 — Berlioz: "Symphonie funebre et triomphale," in Paris, with the composer conducting (with a sword) over 200 marching musicians Other: 1741—In Vienna, burial of Italian composer and violinist Antonio Vivaldi 1850—To mark the centenary of the composer's death, The Bach Gesellschaft is founded in Leipzig; Their goal is to publish a complete edition of Bach's works 1954 —Premiere of Columbia Pictures film "On the Waterfront," with a score by Leonard Bernstein 1997—Ligeti: opera "La Grand Macabre" (revised version), in Salzburg at the Grosses Festpielhaus
Thursday, July 29
Caruso sings Cohan ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George M. Cohan (1878-1942) arr. Bennett: Over There Cincinnati Pops; Erich Kunzel, cond. Telarc 80175 & George M. Cohan (1878-1942): Over There Enrico Caruso, tenor (recorded July 11, 1918) RCA/BMG 60495 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On George M. Cohan On Enrico Caruso ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1865 —Russian composer Alexander Glazunov, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: August 10) 1887 —Hungarian born American operetta composer Sigmund Romberg, in Nagy Kanizsa; He came to the U.S. in 1909, and settled in New York City, where his over 70 operettas were produced from 1914-1945 1900 —Soviet composer Alexander Mosolov, in Kiev (Gregorian date: August 10) 1925 —Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis, in Chios; He achieved international fame for his score for the 1965 film "Zobra the Greek" Deaths: 1856 —German composer Robert Schumann, age 46, at an insane asylum in Endenich (near Bonn Premieres: 1879 — Dvorák: String Quartet in Eb, Op. 51, in Berlin, by the Joachim Quartet 1962 — Gene Gutchë: Symphony No. 5 for strings, in Chautauqua, N.Y.
Friday, July 30
Ellington honored — finally! ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Edward Kennedy ("Duke") Ellington (1899-1974): The Golden Broom and the Green Apple Duke Ellington, piano; Cincinnati Symphony; Erich Kunzel, cond. MCA 42318 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Duke Ellington On Pulitzer Prizes (past and present) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Deaths: 1968—Icelandic composer Jon Leifs, age 68, in Reykjavik Premieres: 1965 — Duke Ellington: "The Golden Broom and the Golden Apples," by the New York Philharmonic, with the composer conducting, on the same concert as the belated premiere of Ives: "From the Steeples and the Mountains," with Lukas Foss conducting 1983 — Michael Torke: "Ceremony of Innocence," for chamber quintet, at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Mass., by fellows of the Tanglewood Center, Gunther Schuller conducting Other: 1829—On a visit to Edinburgh, Mendelssohn visits Holyrood Palace and writes down the first measures of his "Scottish" Symphony
Saturday, July 31
Bach at rest ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: J.S. Bach (1685-1750): St. Matthew Passion SW German Madrigal Chorus; Wolfgang Gönnenwein, cond. EMI Classics 79544 & J.S. Bach (1685-1750) arr. Chris Brubeck: Variations on Themes by Bach Joel Brown, guitar; London Symphony; Joel Revzen, cond. Koch International 7485 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Bach's life and music ALSO ON THIS DATE: Deaths: 1886—Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt, age 74, in Bayreuth Premieres: 1922 — Hindemith: "Kammermusik" No. 1, Op. 42a, at Donaueschingen, Germany, with Hermann Scherchen conducting 1938 — Morton Gould: "Second American Sinfonietta," at a New York Philharmonic concert at Lewisohn Stadium conducted by the composer 1982 — Rochberg: opera "The Confidence Man" (after the novel by Hermann Melville), at the Sante Fe Opera in New Mexico 2004 — Jennifer Higdon: "Loco," at the Ravinia Festival, by the Chicago Symphony, Christoph Eschenbach conducting Other: 1750—Probable date of J.S. Bach's burial in Leipzig (see July 28).
Sunday, August 1
Mozart in Salzburg, Dvořák in America ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791): Piano Concerto No. 9 in Eb, K. 271 Mitsuko Uchida, p; English Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Tate, cond. Philips 438 634 & Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904): String Quintet in Eb, Op. 97 Smetana Quartet with Josef Suk, vla. Denon 72507 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Mozart On Dvořák ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1779—Baltimore lawyer Francis Scott Key, who in 1814 wrote the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner," setting his text to the tune of a popular British drinking song of the day, "To Anacreon in Heaven," written by John Stafford Smith; The text and the tune became the official national anthem by and Act of Congress in 1931; 1858—Austrian composer Hans Rott, in Vienna; 1913—American composer Jerome Moross, in Brooklyn; 1930—British pop song and musical composer Lionel Bart, of "Oliver!" fame, in London; Deaths: 1973—Gian-Francesco Maliperio, Italian composer and first editor of collected works of Monteverdi and Vivaldi, age 91, in Treviso; Premieres: 1740 — Thomas Arne: masque, “Alfred” (containing “Rule, Brittania”), in Clivedon (Gregorian date: August 12); in Clivedon; 1921 — Hindemith: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 16, by the Amar Quartet (which included the composer on viola) in Donaueschingen, Germany; 1968 — Webern: "Rondo" for string quartet, written in 1906, at the Congregation of the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; 1993 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra, at the Bravo! Music Festival in Vail, Colo., by soloist David Jolley with the Rochester Philharmonic, Lawrence Leighton Smith conducting; Other: 1892—John Philip Sousa , age 37, quits the U.S. Marine Corps Band to form his own 100-piece marching band; 1893—In Spillville Iowa, Antonin Dvorák finishes his String Quintet in Eb, Op. 97 ("The American") during his summer vacation at the Czech settlement. |
