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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.  |
April 9-15, 2007
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Monday, April 9
Rorem's "Water Music" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ned Rorem (b. 1923): Water Music Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Jeffrey Kahane, cond. BMG 63512 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Ned Rorem Ned Rorem on "The Composer's Voice" MPR's "Ned Rorem at 80"website ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1717—Austrian composer Georg Matthias Monn, in Vienna; 1846—Italian-born British composer and vocal teacher Sir Francesco Paolo Tosti, in Ortona; 1887—American composer Florence Price, in Little Rock, Ark.; 1906—Hungarian-born American composer and conductor Antal Dorati, in Budapest; 1935—Finnish composer Aulis Sallinen, in Salmi; Deaths: 1933 —German composer and organist Sigfrid Karg-Elert, age 55, in Leipzig; 1960—Australian composer and pianist Arthur Benjamin, age 66, in London; Premieres: 1903 — Frederick S. Converse: "Endymion's Narrative" for orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting; 1916 — de Falla: "Nights in the Gardens of Spain" for piano and orchestra, in Madrid; 1920 — Stenhammar: incidental music for Shakespeare's "As You Like It," at the Lorensberg Theater in Gothenburg, Sweden; 1926 — Varèse: "Amériques," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1942 — Stravinsky: "Circus Polka" at Madison Square Gardens in New York, by the Barnum & Bailey Circus, with M. Evans conducting; 1948 — Barber: song-cycle "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" for voice and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting and soprano Eleanor Steber the soloist; 1959 — Benjamin Lees: "Prologue, Capriccio and Epilogue" for orchestra, in Portland, Ore.; 1967 — Ned Rorem: "Water Music"for clarinet, violin and orchestra, by the Youth Chamber Orchestra of Oakland, with Robert Hughes conducting and Larry London (clarinet) and Thomas Halpin (violin) the soloists; Other: 1870—Grieg writes a letter from Rome describing how Franz Liszt performed his Piano Concerto at sight and praised the work highly; 1938—American premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 by the NBC Symphony, Artur Rodzinski conducting; 1939—First lady Eleanor Roosevelt sponsors an Easter Sunday concert by Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial to protest racial discrimination after the singer is denied use of Washington's Constitution Hall (owned and administered by the Daughters of the American Revolution); Some 75,000 people attend this open-air event.
Tuesday, April 10
Skrowaczewski's "Imaginary Passacaglia" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Stanislaw Skrowaczewski (b. 1923): Passacaglia Immaginaria Saarbrucken Radio Symphony; Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, cond. Albany 481 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Skrowaczewski ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1864—Scottish-born German composer and pianist Eugéne d'Albert, in Glasgow; 1892—Italian composer and conductor Victor de Sabata, in Trieste; Deaths: 1911—Lithuanian painter and composer Mikolajus Konstantinas Ciurlionis, age 35, in Pustelnik-Minski, near Warsaw (Julian date March 28); Premieres: 1868 — Brahms: "A German Requiem," at a Good Friday concert at Bremen Cathedral conducted by the composer; 1886 — Chabrier: opera "Gwendoline," in Brussels; 1913 — Montemezzi: opera "L'Amore dei tre re" (The Love Three Kings), in Milan at the Teatro della Scala, with Tullio Serafin conducting; 1919 — Fauré: "Masques et bergamasques" (Masks and Bergamascas), in Monte Carlo; 1927 — Antheil: "A Jazz Symphony," at Carnegie Hall in New York, by members of the W.C. Handy with the composer at the piano; 1935 — Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 4, in London, by the BBC Symphony, Sir Adrian Boult conducting; 1936 — Carlos Chavez: "Sinfonia India," by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting; 1963 — Poulenc: Clarinet Sonata, at Carnegie Hall (posthumously) with clarinetist Benny Goodman and pianist Leonard Bernstein; 1984 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Prologue and Variations" for strings, by the Chattanooga Symphony, Richard Cormier conducting; 1988 — Joan Tower: Clarinet Concerto, with soloist Charles Neidich and the American Symphony Orchestra, Jorge Mester conducting; 1992 — Michael Torke: "Music on the Floor," for chamber ensemble, in Milwaukee, Wisc., by the Present Music ensemble, Kevin Stalheim conducting; 1996 — Stanislaw Skrowaczewski: "Passacaglia Immaginaria," in Minneapolis by the Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue conducting. 2005 — Gabriela Lena Frank: “Ghosts in the Dream Machine” for piano quintet, in Philadelphia, by pianist Simone Dinnerstein and the Chiara Quartet.
Wednesday, April 11
A Purcell premiere? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Henry Purcell (1659–1695): Dido and Aeneas Suite Freiburg Baroque Orchestra; Thomas Hengelbrock, cond. Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 77231 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Purcell British Library's Purcell Exhibit webpage (with soundfiles) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1682—French composer Jean-Joseph Mouret, in Avignon; He achieved belated fame in American when one of his trumpet fanfares was used as the theme for public televisions's "Masterpiece Theater"; 1891—Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev (Gregorian date: April 23); 1916—Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera, in Buenos Aires; Premieres: 1689 — possible premiere of Purcell: opera "Dido and Aeneas,"in Chelsea (London) at Josias Priest's School for Young Ladies; This exact date and circumstance of this premiere is uncertain: April 30 th is also cited as a possibility (April 11, 1689 marked the coronation of the Protestant monarchs William and Mary, and April 30 th was Queen Mary's birthday); In any case, the premiere most likely occurred sometime before the libretto by Nahum Tate was published in December of 1689; 1727 — J.S. Bach: possible premiere of "St. Matthew Passion" (first version), at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig; 1814 — Beethoven: "Archduke" Piano Trio in Bb, Op. 97, at the Hotel "Zum Romischen Kaiser" in Vienna, with violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh, cellist Joseph Linke, and the composer at the piano; This was the last time the Beethoven performed in public as a pianist; 1884 — d'Indy: symphonic poem "La Mort de Wallenstein" (Wallenstein's Death), in Paris; 1891 — Dvorák: "Dumky" Piano Trio, Op. 90, in Prague, at a concert celebrating Dvorák's honorary doctorate from Prague's Charles University, with Ferdinand Lachner (violin), Hanus Wihan (cello), and the composer at the piano; 1902 — Loeffler: "Two Poems"for orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting; 1920 — Respighi: "Ballata delle gnomidi" (Dance of the Gnomes) for orchestra, in Rome, Bernardino Molinari conducting; 1934 — Bloch: "Sacred Service," in New York City, by the Schola Cantorum, conducted by the composer; 1965 — David Amram: Passover opera "The Final Ingredient" is produced on television in New York City; 1967 — Hovhaness: "The Holy City" for orchestra, in Portland, Maine; 1999 — Augusta Read Thomas: "Passion Prayers" for solo cello and six instruments, in Philadelphia by the Network for New Music, with cellist Scott Kluksdahl; Other: 1770—Leopold and Wolgang Mozart attend a Holy Week service at St. Peter's in Rome and hear Allegri's "Miserere"performed by the Chapel Choir; The Vatican had jealously guarded Allegri's score as their exclusive property, and under threat of excommunication, the Vatican choir was forbidden to let the score be taken out of the Chapel, copied, or even seen by any outsider; That same evening, after one hearing, Wolfgang (age 14) transcribed the piece from memory; The Mozarts then returned to St. Peter's three days later to check Wolfgang's version against a repeat performance of Allegri's music; 1874—American premiere of Brahms' "Haydn Variations," by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, conducted by Theodore Thomas; 1888—The Concertgebouw opens in Amsterdam with a concert performed by a 700-piece ensemble; Later that year the famed Concertgebouw Orchestra was formed; 1902—Italian tenor Enrico Caruso makes his first 10 phonograph records for the Gramophone Typewriter Company in a room at the Grand Hotel in Milan; His last of his 498 phonograph recordings would be made in the Victor Studios in Camden, New Jersey on September 16, 1920; 1919—The New Symphony Orchestra, organized by composer Edgard Varèse for the performance of new music, gives its first concert in New York City; 1930—American premiere of staged version of Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring," in Philadelphia, choreographed by Massine and conducted by Stokowski; 1941—Austrian-born composer Arnold Schönberg becomes an American citizen and officially changes the spelling of his name to Schoenberg.
Thursday, April 12
Henri Lazarof ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Henri Lazarof (b. 1932): Violin Concerto Yukiko Kamei, violin; Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond. Naxos 8.559159 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Henri Lazaroff ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1772—Italian composer and violinist Pietro Nardini, in Livorno; 1801—Austrian composer and violinist Josef Lanner, in Vienna; 1932—Bulgarian-born American composer Henri Lazarof, in Sofia; Deaths: 1814—British composer, music journalist and historian Charles Burney, age 88, in Chelsea; Premieres: 1735 — Handel: Organ Concertos Op. 4, no. 4. (Julian date: April 1); 1747 — Handel: oratorio "Judas Maccabaeus" (Julian date: April 1); 1826 — Weber: opera "Oberon," in London at Covent Garden, conducted by the composer; 1867 — Offenbach: operetta "Le Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein" (The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein), in Paris; 1892 — Loeffler: 2nd 3rd mvts, fr String Quartet in A minor, at Boston's Union Hall by the Adamowski Quartet; The same ensemble had premiered the 2nd mvt of this four-movement Quartet in Philadelphia during the 1889-90 season, that performance being the first public performance of any of Loeffler's compositions; 1907 — Henry Hadley: tone poem "Salome" (after Oscar Wilde), by the Boston Symphony, Karl Muck conducting; 1930 — Janácek: opera "From the House of the Dead," in Brno at the National Theater; The score for this performance was extensively reorchestrated by two pupils of Janácek; More recent performances have used editions prepared by Rafael Kubelik or Charles Mackerras which are closer to Janácek's original score; 1933 — Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Violin Concerto No. 2 ("The Prophets"), at Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic, with Arturo Toscanini conducting and Jascha Heifetz as soloist; 1957 — Wallingford Riegger: Symphony No. 4, at the University of Illinois, Urbana; 1978 — Ligeti: opera "La Grand Macabre," in Stockholm at the Royal Opera; 1995 — John Williams: "Bassoon Concerto ("The Five Sacred Trees"), by Judith LeClair and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur; Other: 1877—American premiere of Verdi's opera "Don Carlos" in New York City.
Friday, April 13
Handel in New York ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George Frederic Handel (1685–1759): Amen, from Messiah Ambrosian Singers; English Chamber Orchestra; Sir Charles Mackerras, cond. EMI 79543 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Handel's life and works ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1810—French composer Felicien David, in Cadenet, Vaucluse; 1816—English composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett, in Sheffield; 1938—American composer and pianist Frederic Rzewski, in Westfield, Mass.; Deaths: 1756—Burial date of the German composer and keyboard virtuoso Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, age c. 29, in Dresden; 1826—German composer Franz Danzi, age 62, in Schwetzingen; 1944—French composer and pianist Cécile Chaminade, age 86, in Monte Carlo; Premieres: 1742 — Handel: oratorio, "Messiah,"in Dublin (Gregorian date: April 24); 1789 — Mozart: Divertimento in Eb (K. 563) for string trio, in Dresden, by Anton Teiber (violin), Anton Kraft (cello), and the composer (viola); 1943 — Randall Thompson: "A Testament of Freedom" for men's voices and piano, at the University of Virginia; The orchestral version of this work premiered in Boston on April 6, 1945; 1952 — Morton Gould: Symphony No. 4 ("West Point Symphony") for band, during the West Point Military Academy Sesquicentennial Celebration in West Point, N.Y, by the Academy Band, with the composer conducting; 1961 — Luigi Nono: opera "Intolerance 1960," in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice; 1992 — Schnittke: opera "Life with an Idiot," in Amsterdam at the Dutch Opera; 1997 — Morten Lauridsen: "Lux Aeterna"for chorus and chamber orchestra, at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Paul Salamunovich conducting; 2000 — Danielpour: Piano Trio ("A Child's Reliquary"), at Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa, by the Kalichstein-Robinson-Laredo Trio; Other: 1823—Franz Liszt, age 11, performs at the Imperial Redoutensaal in Vienna; Legend has it that Beethoven attended this performance and planted a kiss on the young performer's forehead, but in fact Beethoven did not attend the concert; According to Liszt, the incident occurred a few days before at Beethoven's home, after Liszt had performed one of Beethoven's works; See Dec. 1, 1822, for Liszt's Vienna debut; 1896—The American Guild of Organists is founded in New York City; 1958—American pianist Van Cliburn wins the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the first American to do so.
Saturday, April 14
Delibes on stage and TV ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leo Delibes (1836–1891) : Flower Duet, from Lakme BBC Concert Orchestra; Barry Wordsworth, cond. London 473 371 & Leo Delibes (1836–1891): Flower Duet, from Lakme Natalie Dessay and Delphine Haidan, sopranos; Toulouse Capitole Orchestra; Michel Plasson, cond. EMI 67830 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leo Delibes ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1933—American electronic music composer Morton Subotnik, in Los Angeles; Deaths: 1759—German-born British composer George Frideric Handel, age 74, in London; He is buried in Westminster Abbey (see April 20); 1843—Austrian composer and violinist Josef Lanner, age 42, in Oberdöbling; 1915—Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin (Gregorian date: April 27); Premieres: 1789 — Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 26 in D, K. 537 ("Coronation"), at the Royal Saxon Court in Dresden, with the composer as soloist; Mozart performed this concerto again in Frankfurt on October 15, 1790, at the festivities surrounding the coronation of Emperor Leopold II - hence its nickname; 1883 — Delibes: opera "Lakmé," in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1932 — Hindemith: "Philharmonic Concerto" in Berlin, for the jubilee of the Berlin Philharmonic, Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting; 1944 — Roy Harris: Symphony No. 6, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1951 — Cowell: "Hymn and Fuguing Tune No. 3," for strings, in Los Angeles; 1967 — Penderecki: oratorio "Dies Irae," in Krakow; 1967 — Webern: "Three Pieces "for orchestra, posthumously, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1972 — Paul Chihara: "Grass" for double-bass and orchestra, at Oberlin College, Ohio; 1972 — Sessions: "Concertino" for small orchestra, in Chicago; 1977 — Leon Kirchner: opera "Lily" (after Saul Bellow's novel, "Henderson, the Rain King"), in New York City; 1996 — Zwilich: "Jubilation" for orchestra, by the University of Georgia (Athens) orchestra, Yoel Levi conducting.
Sunday, April 15
Handel's famous "Largo" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George Frederic Handel (1685–1759): Largo, from Xerxes Boston Pops; Arthur Fiedler, cond. BMG 62698 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Handel's life and works ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1688—German composer Johann Friedrich Fasch, in Buttelstadt; Premieres: 1738 — Handel: opera "Serse" (Xerxes), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: April 26); 1739 — Handel: oratorio "Israel in Egypt" (Julian date: April 4); 1902 — Ravel: "Pavane pour une infante défunte" (Pavan for the Dead Princess, or perhaps more accurately: Pavan for a Princess of the Past), in Paris, by Ravel's friend Ricardo Viñes; 1915 — de Falla: ballet "El Amor brujo" (Love the Magician), in Madrid; 1918 — Prokofiev: Piano Sonata No. 3 and "Visions fugitives" Op. 22, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), by the composer; 1926 — Douglas Moore: opera "The Pageant of P.T. Barnum," by the Cleveland Orchestra, Nikolai Sokoloff conducting; 1927 — Converse: orchestral fantasy "Flivver Ten Million" (celebrating the ten millionth Ford automobile produced), by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1931 — Copland: "A Dance Symphony," by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski; This work incorporates material from Copland's 1923 ballet"Grohg," which had not been produced; The symphony was one the winners of the 1929 Victor Talking Machine Company Competition Prize; The judges of the competition decided that none of the submitted works deserved the full $25,000 prize, so they awarded $5000 each to four composers, including Copland, Ernest Bloch, and Louis Gruenberg, and gave $10,000 to Robert Russell Bennett (who had submitted two works); 1976 — William Schuman: "Concerto on Old English Rounds" for viola, women's chorus and orchestra, in New York City; 1979 — John Harbison: Quintet for Winds, at Jordan Hall in Boston, by the Aulos Quintet; 1980 — Paul Creston: Piano Trio, Op. 112, in Grinnell, Iowa, by the Mirecourt Trio; 1981 — Stanislaw Skrowaczewski: Clarinet Concerto, in Minneapolis, by soloist Joseph Longo and the Minnesota Orchestra, with the composer conducting; 1989 — Andrew Lloyd Webber: musical "Aspects of Love," in London; The musical premiered on Broadway on April 8, 1990; 1994 — Michael Torke: "Bone" for mixed ensemble, at the Rensselaer (N.Y.) Polytechnical Institute, by the Dog of Desire ensemble, David Alan Miller conducting; 1998 — Philip Glass: "digital" opera "Monsters of Grace," at UCLA, by the Philip Glass Ensemble, Michael Riesman conducting, to computer animated images created by Robert Wilson; 2000 — Steve Mackey: "Tuck and Roll" (Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra), in Miami with the composer as soloist with the New World Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas; Other: 1847—American premiere of Verdi's opera "Ernani," at the Park Theatre in New York City; 1971—Igor Stravinsky's funeral mass held at Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice; Stravinsky is buried on the island of San Michele. |
