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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 29-February 4, 2007
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Monday, January 29
Schubert and the Maiden? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Franz Schubert (1797–1828): String Quartet in d (Death and the Maiden) Emerson String Quartet DG 459 151 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: A Schubert timeline ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1715—Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil, in Vienna; 1782—French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, in Caen; 1852—British composer Frederic Hymen Cowen, in Kingston, Jamaica; 1862—English composer Fritz (Frederick) Delius, in Bradford, Yorkshire; 1876—English composer Havergal Brian, in Dresden, Staffordshire; 1924—Italian composer Luigi Nono, in Venice; Deaths: 1946—British composer Sydney Jones, age 84, in London, age 84; 1962—Austrian composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, age 86, in New York City; Premieres: 1728 — Gay & Pepusch: ballad-opera, “The Beggar’s Opera,” at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London; This work, mounted by the London impresario John Rich, proved so popular that it was staged 62 times that season; As contemporary wags put it, the wildly successful work “made Gay Rich and Rich Gay&rdquo(Gregorian date: Feb. 9); 1781 — Mozart: opera, "Idomeneo" in Munich at the Hoftheater; 1826 — Schubert: String Quartet in D minor, "Death and the Maiden," as a unrehearsed reading at the Vienna home of Karl and Franz Hacker, two amateur musicians; Schubert, who usually played viola on such occasions, could not perform since he was busy copying out the parts and making last-minute corrections; 1882 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "The Snow Maiden," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 10); 1892 — Chadwick: “A Pastoral Prelude,” by the Boston Symphony. Arthur Nikisch conducting; 1916 — Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite ("Ala and Lolly"), Op. 20, at the Mariinsky Theater in Petrograd, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 16); 1932 — Gershwin: "Second Rhapsody" for piano and orchestra, in Boston, with the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and the composer as soloist; 1936 — Constant Lambert: "Summer's Last Will and Testament" for chorus and orchestra, in London; 1981 — John Williams: first version of Violin Concerto (dedicated to the composer's late wife, actress and singer Barbara Ruick Williams), by Mark Peskanov and the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin; Williams subsequently revised this work in 1998; This premiere date is listed (incorrectly) as Jan. 19 in the DG recording featuring Gil Shaham;
Tuesday, January 30
Shapero goes classical ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Harold Shapero (b. 1920): Symphony for Classical Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic; André Previn, cond. New World 373 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Harold Shapero ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1697—German composer and flutist Johann Joachim Quantz, in Oberscheden, Hannover; 1861—French-born American composer Charles Martin Loeffler, in Alsace; 1862—German-born American composer and conductor, Walter Damrosch, in Breslau; Deaths: 1963—French composer Francis Poulenc, age 64, in Paris; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 81 ("Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?") performed on the 4th Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1735 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 14 ("Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit") performed in Leipzig on the 4th Sunday after Epiphany; 1892 — Rachmaninoff: “Trio élégiaque” No. 1 in G minor (Gregorian date: Feb. 11); 1893 — Brahms: Fantasies for piano Nos. 1-3, from Op. 117 and Intermezzo No. 2, from Op. 117, in Vienna; 1917 — Zemlinsky: opera "A Floretine Tragedy," in Stuttgart at the Hoftheater; 1920 — Frederick Converse: Symphony in c, by the Boston Symphony, Pierre Monteux conducting; 1942 — Copland: Orchestral Suite from "Billy the Kid" ballet, by the Boston Symphony; 1948 — Harold Shapero: "Symphony for Classical Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony conducted by Leonard Bernstein; 1958 — Walton: "Partita" for orchestra, in Cleveland; 1959 — Hindemith: "Pittsburgh Symphony," by the Pittsburgh Symphony, conducted by the composer; 1970 — William Schuman: "In Praise of Shahn," in New York; 1985 — Libby Larsen: Symphony ("Water Music"), by the Minnesota Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner conducting.
Wednesday, January 31
Glass Philip Glass Philip Glass ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Philip Glass (b. 1937): Symphony No. 3 Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. Nonesuch 79581 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Philip Glass ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1759—French composer a François Devienne, in Joinville; 1797—Austrian composer Franz Schubert, in Lichtenthal near Vienna; 1906—English composer Benjamin Frankel, in London; 1937—American composer and performer Philip Glass, in Baltimore, Maryland; 1960—English composer and pianist George Benjamin, in London; Premieres: 1727 — Handel: opera "Admeto" in London at the Haymarket Theater in London; This premiere was scheduled for earlier in the month, but was delayed awaiting the arrival in London of the Italian castrato Senesino, who was recovering from an illness (Gregorian date: Feb. 11); 1925 — Vladimir Dukelsky(a.k.a. Vernon Duke): ballet "Zéphir et Flore" in Paris; 1935 — Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Cello Concerto, by the New York Philharmonic, with Gregor Piatigorsky as the soloist; 1943 — R. Strauss: "Divertimento on pieces by Couperin," in Vienna; 1952 — Leon Kirchner: "Sinfonia" in New York City; 1953 — Vittorio Giannini: opera "The Taming of the Shrew" (in concert form) in Cincinnati; 1959 — Martinu: “Fantasia concertante” for piano and orchestra, in Berlin, with Margrit Weber the soloist; 1986 — Joan Tower: Piano Concerto ("Homage to Beethoven"), by the Hudson Valley Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Imre Pallo, with piano soloist Jacquelyn M. Helin; 1987 — David Maslanka: Wind Quintet No. 2 at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in New York, by the Manhattan Quintet.
Thursday, February 1
Torke abroad ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Michael Torke (b. 1961): An American Abroad Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Marin Alsop, cond. Naxos 8.559167 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Torke Web pages at Boosey & Hawkes (scroll down to his name) More on Torke Torke interview and audio clips ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1690—Italian composer Francesco Maria Veracini, in Florence; 1701—Swedish composer Johan Joachim Agrell, in Löth; 1859—Irish-born American composer and cellist Victor Herbert, in Dublin; 1869—Russian composer and violinist Julius Conus (Yuly Konyus), in Moscow (Julian date: Jan. 20); 1907—Hungarian-born Swiss composer Sándor Veress, in Kolozsvár; 1928—German-born American composer Ursula Mamlok, in Berlin; Deaths: 1824—Austrian composer and pianist Maria Theresia von Paradis, age 64, in Vienna; 1875—British composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett, age 58, in London; 1981—German composer Ernst Pepping, age 79, in Berlin; 1981—Norwegian composer Nils Geirr Tveitt, age 72, in Oslo; Premieres: 1893 — Puccini: opera, "Manon Lescaut," in Turin at the Teatro Regio; 1896 — Puccini: opera "La Bohème," in Turin at the Teatro Regio, with Arturo Toscanini conducting; 1916 — Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 ("The Inextinguishable") with the orchestra of the Copenhagen Music Society, the composer conducting; 1918 — Lehar: operetta "Wo die Lerche singt" (Where the Lark Sings) in Budapest; 1930 — Schoenberg: opera "Von Heute af Morgen" (From One Day to the Next), at the Frankfurt Opera; 1947 — Hindemith: "Sinfonia Serena" by the Dallas Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting; 1982 — Tobias Picker: Violin Concerto, by the American Composers Orchestra, Paul Dunkel conducting, with Rolf Schulte the soloist; 1984 — John Harbison: chamber orchestra version of “Mirabai Songs” (to poems of Mirabai, translated by Robert Bly), at Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Mass., with mezzo-soprano Hance Felty and the ensemble Collage, Gunther Schuller conducting; The original voice and piano version of this work premiered in Boston on Nov. 15, 1983; 1996 — George Walker: "Lilacs" for voice and orchestra, by soprano Faye Robinson and the Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music; 2002 — Michael Torke: "An American Abroad" for orchestra, in Edinburgh, Scotland, by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop conducting; Other: 1881—After a private performance of the late Jacques Offenbach's final work, "The Tales of Hoffmann," at the Opéra Comique in Paris, runs longer than anticipated, extensive cuts and alterations are made to the score before its first public staging. 1862—American premiere of Brahms's Serenade No. 2 in A, at Irving Hall in New York, by the New York Philharmonic, Carl Bergmann conducting; The world premiere performance of this work had occurred in Hamburg, Germany, on Feb. 10, 1860, with the composer conducting; 1864 —First documented American performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, at Milwaukee's Music Hall, by the Musical Society under Frederick Abel, with three unnamed soloists;
Friday, February 2
Kriesler in the style of Kreisler ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Fritz Kreisler (1875 — 1962): Violin Concerto (in the style of Vivaldi) Gil Shaham, violin; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra DG 439933 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Fritz Kreisler discographies and fan sites Kresiler's "Four Weeks in the Trenches" (WWI memoirs) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1669—French composer and organist Louis Marchand, in Lyons; 1813—Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky (Gregorian date: Feb. 14); 1873—Austrian operetta composer Leo Fall, in Olmütz; 1875—Austrian-American composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, in Vienna; Deaths: 1594—Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, age 68, in Rome; 1789—French composer, organist and harpsichordist Armand-Louis Couperin, age 61, in Paris; 1934—Brazilian composer and pianist Ernesto Nazareth, age 70, in Rio de Janeiro; 1974—Belgian composer Jean Absil, age 80, in Brussels; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 83 ("Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde") performed on the Feast of the Purification as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 125 ("Mit Fried und Frued ich fahr dahin") performed on the Feast of the Purification as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1795 — Haydn: Symphony No. 102, in London at the King's Theater, with the composer conducting; 1884 — Loeffler: "Fantastic Concerto," by the Boston Symphony, Emil Paur conducting; 1890 — Dvorák: Symphony No. 8, Op. 88, in Prague, with the composer conducting; 1900 — Chadwick: "Adonais" (Elegiac Overture), by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting; 1900 — Gustave Charpentier: opera, "Louise," in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1920 — Stravinsky: ballet, "The Song of the Nightingale," at the Paris Opéra, with choreography by Massine; 1921 — Bretan: opera "Luceafarul" (The Evening Star), in Cluj, Romania; 1926 — Cowell: String Quartet No. 1 ("Quartett Pedantic"), at Aeolian Hall in New York City by the Ralph Henkle String Quartet; 1977 — Ned Rorem: "A Quaker Reader" for organ, in New York City; 1978 — Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 1, in London at Royal Festival Hall, by the Philharmonia Orchestra, Simon Rattle conducting.
Saturday, February 3
Palestrina by Palestrina (and Pfiztner) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (1525 — 1594): Pope Marcellus Mass Voices of Ascension; Dennis Keane, cond. Delos 3210 & Hans Pfitzner (1869 — 1949): Palestrina Berlin State Orchestra; Otmar Suitner, cond. Berlin Classics 1001 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Palestrina More on Palestrina ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1525—earliest possible birth date for the Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who was probably born between February 3, 1525 and February 2, 1526, most likely at Palestrina (near Rome); 1809—German composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, in Hamburg; 1842—American poet, flutist and composer Sidney Lanier, in Macon, Ga.; 1904—Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola, in Pisino, Istria; 1910—Mexican composer Blas Galindo Dimas, in San Gabriel, Jalisco; 1911—French composer and organist Jehan Alain, in Paris; Deaths: 1814—Bohemian composer Johann Antonin Kozeluch, age 75, in Prague; Premieres: 1823 — Rossini: opera "Semiramide," in Venice at the Teatro la Fenice; 1844 — Berlioz: "Roman Carnival" Overture, in Paris at the Salle Herz, with the composer conducting; 1867 — Brahms: String Sextet No. 2, Op. 36, in Vienna, by the Hellmesberger Sextet; This work had received some informal performances in Zürich the preceding year; 1868 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 15); 1884 — Tchaikovsky: opera “Mazeppa” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 15); 1894 — Glazunov: Symphony No. 4, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 22); 1945 — Stravinsky: "Scènes de ballet," in New York City by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by the composer; This work was commissioned by Broadway impresario Billy Rose for a 1944 revue titled "The Seven Lively Arts"; 1956 — Elie Siegmeister: Clarinet Concerto, in Oklahoma City; 1989 — Michael Torke: "Ash," in St. Paul, Minn., by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, John Adams conducting; 2002 — Philip Glass: Symphony No. 6, at Carnegie Hall, by the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
Sunday, February 4
A Hovhaness premiere ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000): Lousadzak Keith Jarrett, piano; American Composers Orcehstra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. MusicMasters 60204 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Hovhaness ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1740—Swedish song composer Carl Michael Bellman, in Stockholm; 1892—Finnish song composer Yrjo Kilpinen, in Helsingfors; 1893—American composer Bernard Rogers, in New York; Deaths: 1781—Bohemian-born composer Josef Mysliveczek, age 43, in Rome; 1997—American composer Ross Lee Finney, age 90, in Carmel, Calif.; 2001—Romanian born, Greek-French composer and architectural engineer Iannis Xenakis, age 78, in Paris; Premieres: 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 126 ("Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort") performed on Sexagesimae Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1884 — Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 2, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 16); 1908 — First public performance of Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb in St. Petersburg, conducted by Felix Blumenfeld (Julian date: Jan. 22); A private performance of two movements of this symphony had occurred on April 14/27, 1907, also in St. Petersburg; 1945 — Hovhaness: "Lousadzek" (Coming of Light) for piano and strings, in Boston, with the composer conducting from the piano; Other: 1837—Franz Liszt performs a chamber recital in Paris, featuring the then-unfamiliar Piano Trios of Beethoven; At the last minute, the performers decided to reverse the printed order of the program, performing on the first half of the concert a trio by Pixis, and a Beethoven trio on the second half; The audience (and critics) warmly applaud the Pixis, mistakenly thinking it was the Beethoven work, and react coolly to the Beethoven, assuming it was by Pixis; Among the critics, only Berlioz notices the program switch. 1854—First documented American performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, at Boston's Odeon by the Germania Musical Society conducted by Carl Bergmann, with Robert Heller the soloist; 1887—American premiere of Bruckner: Symphony No. 7, by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting; |
