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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive Your purchase from Public Radio Market helps support the American Composers Forum and Composers Datebook.  |
January 16-22, 2006
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Monday, January 16
The leftist Britten ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976): Diversions Peter Donohoe, piano; City of Birmingham Symphony; Simon Rattle, cond. EMI 54270 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Benjamin Britten On Paul Wittgenstein (and the TV show M*A*S*H) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1728—Italian opera composer Niccoló Piccinni, in Bari; 1905—Spanish composer Ernesto Halffter, in Madrid; 1934—American composer Richard Wernick, in Boston, Massachusetts; 1943—English composer Gavin Bryars, in Goole, Yorkshire; 1943—English composer Brian Ferneyhough, in Coventry; Deaths: 1886—Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli, age 51, in Milan; 1891—French ballet composer Leo Delibes, age 54, in Paris; 1957—Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, age 89, in New York; 1969—Russian-born American composer and songwriter Vernon Duke (Vladimir Dukelsky), age 65, in Santa Monica, Calif,; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 155 ("Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange") performed on the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1739 — Handel: oratorio, "Saul," in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Jan. 27); 1745 — Handel: musical drama "Hercules" (Julian date: Jan. 5); 1800 — Cherubini: opera "Les deux journées," in Paris at the Théatre Feydeau; 1869 — Borodin: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 4); 1876 — Tchaikovsky: "Serenade mélancolique,"in Moscow (Gregorian date: Jan. 28); 1905 — d'Albert: opera "Tiefland" (The Lowlands) (2nd version), in Magdeburg at the Stadttheater; 1916 — Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite (Gregorian date: Jan. 29); 1933 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 11, in Moscow; 1936 — Frank Bridge: "Ovation (Concerto elegiaco)" for Cello and Orchestra, in London, by the BBC Symphony conducted by the composer, with Florence Hooton the soloist; 1942 — Britten: "Diversions on a Theme" for Piano Left Hand, by pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1969 — Babbitt: "Relata II," by the New York Philharmonic, with Leonard Bernstein conducting; 1983 — Daniel Asia: "Why (?) Jacob" for piano, by Sanford Margolis; 1997 — Esa-Pekka Salonen: "L.A. Variations" for orchestra, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting.
Tuesday, January 17
Adams shakes things up ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Adams (b. 1947): I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky Audra MacDonald, soprano; ensemble; John Adams, cond. Nonesuch 79473 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On John Adams ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1706—American statesman, composer of string quartets, publisher and inventor of the glass harmonica Benjamin Franklin, in Boston (Gregorian date: Jan. 28); 1712—English composer John Stanley (Gregorian date: Jan. 28); 1734—Belgian composer François-Joseph Gossec, in Vergnies; 1907—Dutch composer Henk Badings, in Bandung, Java; 1927—American composer Donald Erb, in Youngstown, Ohio; 1934—Canadian-born American composer, conductor and clarinetist Sydney Hodkinson, in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Deaths: 1738—French composer and organist Jean François Dandrieu, age c. 56, in Paris; 1750—Italian composer Tomaso Albinoni, age 78, in Venice; 1826—Spanish composer Juan Crisostomo Arriaga, age 19, in Paris; 1869—Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky, age 55, in St. Peterburg (Julian date: Jan. 5); 1969—Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz, age 55, in Warsaw; Premieres: 1880 — Franck: Piano Quintet in f, in Paris, by the Marsick Quartet, with Camille Saints-Saëns at the piano; 1901 — Mascagni: opera "Le Maschere" (The Masks), simultaneously in 6 cities; 1944 — Copland: Violin Sonata, at Times Hall in New York, by violinist Ruth Posselt with the composer at the piano; 1991 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Oboe Concerto, by soloist John Mack, with the Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting; Other: 1745—Handel publishes a letter in the London ":Daily Advertiser" offering to return three-fourths money to the subscribers to his current series of concerts, then in progress, suggesting that his attempts to please the public have proved ineffectual; The letter prompts a flurry of support, and Handel resumes the concerts a week later; In all, 16 out of the promised 24 concerts would take place; The series closed on April 23, 1745, with a revival performance of ":Messiah." (Gregorian dates: Jan. 28 and May 4, respectively); 1919—Polish composer and pianist Ignaz Jan Paderewski becomes premiere of Poland.
Wednesday, January 18
Stravinsky and J.F.K. ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971): Three Movements fr Petrouchka Louis Lortie, piano Chandos 8733 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On music at the Kennedy White House ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1835 —Russian composer César Cui, in Vilnius, Lithuania (Julian date: Jan.6); 1841—French composer Emmanuel Chabrier, in Ambert, Puy-de-Dôme; 1903—German-born English composer and conductor Berthold Goldschmidt, in Hamburg; Premieres: 1908 — Delius: "Brigg Fair" in Liverpool; 1930 — Shostakovich: opera "The Nose" (after Nikolai Gogol), in Leningrad at the Maliiy Opera Theater; 1942 — Ibert: "Ouverture de fête" in Paris; 1947 — Elie Siegmeister: "Prairie Legend," by the New York Philharmonic, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1963 — Harris: Symphony No. 9 ("1963"), by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1968 — Richard Rodney Bennett: Symphony No. 2 in New York City; 1991 — David Ott: Symphony No. 2, by the Grand Rapids ( Michigan) Symphony, Catherine Comet conducting; Other: 1958—"What Does Music Mean?", broadcast, the first of a series of televised New York Philharmonic "Young People's Concerts" on CBS-TV hosted by Leonard Bernstein; The series continued until 1972, with 53 different programs hosted by Bernstein; 1962—White House dinner party in honor of Igor Stravinsky hosted by President and Mrs. Kennedy.
Thursday, January 19
Quintessential Verdi ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1902) arr. Franz Liszt: Miserere fr Il Trovatore Daniel Barenboim, piano Erato 75457 & Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1902): Anvil Chorus fr Il Trovatore Chicago Symphony and Chorus; Sir Georg Solti, cond. London 466 075 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Verdi and his operas ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1903—German composer Boris Blacher, in Niu-chang, China; 1936—American composer Elliott Schwartz, in Brooklyn; Deaths: 1576—German "mastersinger" Hans Sachs, age 81, in Nuremberg; Premieres: 1674 — Lully: opera "Alceste," in Paris at the Palais Royal Opéra; 1735 — Handel: opera "Ariodante" (Julian date: Jan. 8); 1787 — Mozart: Symphony No. 38 ("Prague"), conducted by the composer, in Prague; 1853 — Verdi: opera, "Il trovatore," (The Troubador), in Rome the Teatro Apollo; 1873 — Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1, in Paris; 1884 — Massenet: opera, "Manon," at the Opéra-Comique, Paris; 1895 — Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 3 (1st movement only), posthumously, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan.7); 1898 — Glazunov: ballet "Raymonda," in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 7); 1924 — Auric: ballet "Les Fâcheux," by the Diaghilev company in Monte Carlo; 1948 — Douglas Moore: "Farm Journal" for chamber orchestra, in New York City; 1953 — Bernstein: musical "Wonderful Town," as a trial run in New Haven at the Schubert Theater, choreographed by Donald Saddler, directed by George Abbott, conducted by Lehman Engel; The show opened in New York City at the Winter Garden on February 26, 1953; 1961 — Bernstein: "Fanfare," at the Inaugural Gala for President John F. Kennedy, in Washington, D.C.; 1969 — Ligeti: "Ten Pieces" for woodwind quintet, in Malmö, Sweden; 1970 — Shulamit Ran: "O, the Chimneys," in New York City; 1986 — Babbitt: Piano Concerto, in New York; 1990 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Strathclyde Concerto" No. 3 for horn, trumpet and orchestra, at Glasgow's City Hall, by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer, with soloists Robert Cook and Peter Franks; 1994 — John Adams: Violin Concerto, with Minnesota Orchestra, Edo de Waart conducting and Jorja Fleezanis the soloist; 1996 — David Ward-Steinman: "Prisms and Reflections," for piano (and piano interior), by David Burge, at the Music Teachers National Association meeting in San Diego; Other: 1973—Leonard Bernstein leads a performance of Haydn's "Mass in Time of War" at a "Concert for Peace" at Washington DC's National Cathedral, with members of National Symphony, in protest against President Nixon, on the eve of Nixon's second term in office; The concert was timed to coincide with Nixon's official inaugural concert, which concluded with Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture"; 1977—Leonard Bernstein conducts his song "Take Care of This House" at Inaugural Concert for President Jimmy Carter at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. with Frederica von Stade as vocal soloist with the National Symphony.
Friday, January 20
Kirkpatrick plays Ives ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Charles Ives (1874 – 1954): Sonata No. 2 (Concord, Mass., 1840-1860) Marc-André Hamelin, piano New World 378 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Charles Ives ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1586—German composer Johann Hermann Schein, in Grünhain; 1855—French composer Ernest Chausson, in Paris; 1869—Russian composer and violinist Julius Conus, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 1); 1894—American composer Walter Piston, in Rockland, Maine; Deaths: 1952—American composer and music educator Arthur Farwell, age 79, in New York; Premieres: 1649 — Cesti: opera "Orontea," in Venice; 1726 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 13 ("Meine Seufzer, meine Tränen") performed on the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1725/27); 1856 — Brahms: Two Sarabandes (in a & b) and Gavotte in A (arranged from Gluck's "Paris ed Elena"), for piano, in Vienna; 1880 — Brahms: Two Rhapsodies, Op. 79, for piano, in Krefeld; 1892 — Catalani: opera "La Wally," in Milan; 1933 — Gershwin: musical "Pardon My English," at the Majestic Theater in New York City; This show included the classic Gershwin songs "Isn't It a Pity," "My Cousin in Milwaukee," and "So What?"; 1939 — Ives: Piano Sonata No. 2 ([Concord, Mass. 1840-1860), by John Kirkpatrick, in New York City; 1941 — Bartók: String Quartet No. 6, in New York City, by the Kolisch Quartet; 1944 — Hindemith: "Symphonic Metamorphosis on a Theme of Weber," by the New York Philharmonic, Artur Rodzinski conducting; 1956 — Hanson: “Elegy” (to the Memory of Serge Kousseviztky), by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting; 1961 — Poulenc: "Gloria," in Boston; 1977 — Tobias Picker: Sextet No. 3, at Alice Tully Hall in New York City, by Speculum Musicae; 1979 — Rochberg: String Quartets Nos. 4-6 ("The Concord Quartets"), at the University of Pennsylvania, by the Concord Quartet. Other: 1626—Payments to the royal musician, lutenist and composer John Dowland cease, and his son, Robert Dowland, succeeds him in his post at court; This date is often cited as the day the famous elder Dowland died, but his burial at St Ann Blackfriars was not recorded until a month later, on February, 20, 1626, which suggests the elder Dowland had perhaps been too ill to continue in service as of January 20-21 when the records state the transfer took place, and that the elder Dowland might have in fact died sometime in mid-February;
Saturday, January 21
Bernstein gets political ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leonard Bernstein (1918 – 1990): So Pretty Roberta Alexander, soprano; Tan Crone, piano Etcetera 1007 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leonard Bernstein ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1899—Russian-born American composer Alexander Tcherepnin, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 9); Deaths: 1851—German opera composer Albert Lortzing, age 49, in Berlin; 1948—Italian composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, age 72, in Venice; Premieres: 1713 — Handel: opera "Teseo" (Julian date: Jan. 10); 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 111 ("Was mein Gott will, das g'scheh allzeit") performed on the 3rd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1816 — Cherubini: "Requiem," in Paris; 1880 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "May Night," in St. Petersburg, Napravnik conducting (Julian date: Jan. 9); 1904 — Janácek: opera "Jenufa" in Brno at the National Theater; 1927 — Roussel: Suite in F for orchestra, in Boston; 1929 — Schreker: opera "Der Schatzgräber" (The Treasure Hunter), in Frankfurt at the Opernhaus; 1930 — Shostakovich: Symphony No. 3 ("May First"), in Leningrad; 1936 — Gershwin: "Catfish Row" Suite (from the opera "Porgy and Bess"), by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Alexander Smallens conducting; 1947 — Martinu: "Toccata e due canzona" for chamber orchestra, in Basel, Switzerland; 1968 — Bernstein: song "So Pretty" (a song protesting the Vietnam War) at Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) in New York City, with singer Barbra Streisand and the composer at the piano; 1968 — Allan Pettersson: Symphony No. 6, in Stockholm; 1988 — Christopher Rouse: Symphony No. 1, by the Baltimore Symphony, David Zinman conducting;
Sunday, January 22
John Williams goes west ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Williams (b. 1932): The Cowboys Overture Boston Pops; John Williams, cond. Philips 420 178 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On John Williams ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1727—French composer Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, in Dijon; 1870—French composer and organist Charles Tournemire, in Bordeaux; 1901—Austrian composer Hans Erich Apostel, in Karlsruhe, Germany; 1903—English composer Robin Milford, in Oxford; 1916—French composer Henri Dutilleux, in Angers; 1923—American composer Leslie Bassett, in Hanford, Calif.; 1924—American jazz composer and trombonist James Louis ("J.J.") Johnson, in Indianapolis; Deaths: 1964—American composer Marc Blitzstein, age 58, from injuries suffered in a barroom fight, in Fort-de-France, Martinique; Premieres: 1723 — Handel: opera "Ottone, re di Germania" (Julian date: Jan. 12); 1859 — Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 in d, Op. 15, with the Hanover Court Orchestra conducted by Joseph Joachim and the composer as the soloist; 1887 — Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta "Ruddigore" at the Svoy Theatre in London; 1894 — Glazunov: Symphony No. 4, in St.Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 3); 1908 — Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb, Op. 1, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 4): 1934 — Shostakovich: opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (1st version), in Leningrad at the Maliiy Opera Theater; 1936 — Hindemith: "Trauermusik (Music of Mourning)" for Viola and String Orchestra,on a BBC memorial concert for King George V of England (who had died on January 20, 1935), with Sir Adrian Boult conducting and the composer as soloist; 1970 — Carlisle Floyd: opera "Of Mice and Men," in Seattle; According to Opera America, this is one of the most frequently-produced American operas during the past decade; 1980 — John Williams: "Cowboys Overture," by the Boston Pops, conducted by the composer; 1998 — Ned Rorem: song-cycle “Evidence of Things Not Seen,” as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in New York City, by the New York Festival of Song; 1998 — Bright Sheng: "Postcards," in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota, by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hugh Wolff conducting; Other: 1575—The Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, grants a license to Thomas Tallis and William Byrd (both Catholics), to print music for 22 years; 1889—Columbia Phonograph Company founded in Washington, D.C.; 1907—The Metropolitan Opera production of R. Strauss' opera "Salome," with soprano Olive Fremstad in the title role, creates a scandal; The opera is dropped after a single performance, and not staged at the Met again until the 1930s. |
