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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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May 19-25, 2008
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Monday, May 19
Wagner in London ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Wagner (arr. De Vlieger) (1813 – 1881): Ring des Nibelungen Suite Netherlands Radio Philharmonic; Edo de Waart, cond. Fidelio 9201 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More on Wagner G.B. Shaw as a music critic More on Shaw ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1616—Baptismal date of German composer and organist Johann Jacob Froberger, in Stuttgart; Deaths: 1935—American composer Charles Martin Loeffler, age 74, in Medfield, Mass.; 1954—American composer and insurance executive Charles Ives, age 79, in New York; Premieres: 1842 — Donizetti: opera "Linda di Chamounix," in Vienna; 1886 — Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 ("Organ"), in London; 1911 — Ravel: "L'Heure espagnole" (Spanish Hour), in Paris at the Opèra Comique; 1915 — Stravinsky: Three Pieces for string quartet, in Paris; 1932 — Shostakovich: incidental music for Shakespeare's "Hamlet," in Moscow at the Vakhtangov Theater; 1939 — Cowell: "Return" for 3 percussionists and wailer, at the Cornish School in Seattle, by John Cage and his Percussion Group; 1942 — Cage: music for the radio play "The City Wears a Slouch Hat" (text by poet Kenneth Patchen), broadcast in Chicago; 2000 — Robert X. Rodriguez: "The Last Night of Don Juan" for chorus and orchestra, by the San Antonio Symphony and chorus, Wilkins conducting; 2002 — William Bolcom: "Seventh Symphony (A Symphonic Concerto)," at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine conducting. Other: 1886 —American premiere of J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor (11 selections), during the May Festival in Cincinnati, conducted by Theodore Thomas; The next documented performance (12 sections) was given in Boston on February 27, 1887, by the Handel and Haydn Society, with Carl Zerrahn conducting a chorus of 432 and an orchestra of 50; In both the 1886 Cincinnati and 1887 Boston performances, the famous 19-century German soprano Lilli Lehmann appeared as one of the soprano soloists; The first complete performance of the work was apparently given either at the Moravian Church in Bethlehem on Mar 17, 1900, by the Bach Choir under J. Fred Wolf, or at Carnegie Hall in new York on April 5, 1900, by the Oratorio Society, Frank Damrosch conducting.
Tuesday, May 20
Ives makes the "Pops" circuit ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Charles Ives (1874 –1954) arr. Wm. Schuman (1910 – 1992): Variations on America New York Philharmonic; Kurt Masur, cond. Teldec 74007 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Charles Ives On William Schuman ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1804—Russian composer Mikail Glinka ((Gregorian date: June 1); 1943—American composer Tison Street, in Boston; Deaths: 1896—German pianist and composer, Clara Wieck Schumann, age 76, in Frankfurt; 1995—American composer Ulysses Kay, in Englewood, N.J.; Premieres: 1914 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 1, in Pavlovsk (Julian date: June 2); 1937 — John J. Becker: Symphony No. 3 ("Symphonia Brevis"), at the Saint Paul Auditorium by the Twin Cities Civic (Federal Music Project, Minnesota) Orchestra, with the composer conducting; 1948 — Milhaud: Symphony No.4, in Paris, composer conducting; 1950 — Dallapiccola: opera "Il prigionero" (The Prisoner)(first staged production), in Florence at the Teatro Comunale; The opera has been premiered in a concert performance in Turin on December 1, 1949; 1973 — Menotti: Suite for Two Cellos and Piano, in New York, with cellists Gregor Piatigorsky and Leslie Parnas, and pianist Charles Wadsworth; 1974 — Panufnik: "Sinfonia Concertante," in London; 1974 — Sondheim: incidental music for "The Frogs" (after Aristophanes), at the Yale swimming pool; 1977 — Hovhaness: "Rubaiyat" for narrator, accordion, and orchestra, in New York City; 1979 — Tobias Picker: "Romance" for violin and piano, at York College, by Linda Quan (violin) and Aleck Karis (piano); 1989 — Katherine Hoover: "Quintet Da Pacem," for piano quintet, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, by members of the New Jersey Chamber Music Society; Other: 1846—American premiere of Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") by New York Philharmonic Society at New York's Castle Garden, George Loder, Jr. conducting; It appears that the Society tried unsuccessfully to invite Mendelssohn to attend this festival performance, which they organized to raise funds for "the erection of a suitable edifice for musical purposes" in Manhattan; The next documented performance of Beethoven's Ninth outside of New York was given in Boston on February 5, 1853 by the combined forces of the Handel and Haydn Society plus the Germania Society; Other 19 th century regional premieres of Beethoven Ninth occurred in New Haven (Dec. 10, 1870), Columbus (Dec. 13, 1870), Chicago (Dec. 17, 1870), Philadelphia (April 27, 1874), Milwaukee (Oct. 22, 1878), Baltimore (May 3, 1884) and Pittsburgh (May 25, 1889); 1943—The U.S. Marine Band performs a special wartime concert on the White House South Lawn for President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill; Despite a steady rain, Roosevelt and Churchill stayed throughout and sang "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" with the band at the conclusion.
Wednesday, May 21
Leoncavallo's "Painted Smiles" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857 – 1919): excerpts, fr Pagliacci Luciano Pavarotti, tenor; Philadelphia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, cond. Philips 438 132 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leoncavallo ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1904—American composer and jazz pianist Thomas "Fats" Waller, in New York City; Deaths: 1895—Austrian composer Franz von Suppé, age 76, in Vienna; Premieres: 1739 — Rameau: opera-ballet "Les Fêtes d'Hébé," in Paris; 1892 — Leoncavallo: opera "Pagliacci," in Milan at Teatro dal Verme, with Arturo Toscanini conducting; 1925 — Busoni: "Doctor Faust," posthumously, in Dresden (completed by Philip Jarnach); 1956 — Perischetti: Piano Sonata No. 7, at the Philadelphia Conservatory, by pianist Robert Smith; 1962 — Stockhausen: "Momente" for soprano, choruses, and instruments, in Cologne; 1980 — Jacob Druckman: "Prism" for orchestra, by the Baltimore Symphony, Sergiu Commissiona conducting; 1983 — Dave Brubeck: "Pange Lingua" Variations for chorus, jazz quartet, and orchestra, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, Calif., with Russell Gloyd conducting; 1987 — Harrison Birtwistle: opera "The Mask of Orpheus," at the London Coliseum by the English National Opera, Elgar Howarth and Paul Daniel conducting; 2000 — Bruce Adolphe: "Tyrannosaurus Sue (A Cretaceous Concerto)", at the Field Museum in Chicago, by the Chicago Chamber Players.
Thursday, May 22
Verdi's tribute to a great Italian writer ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901): Sanctus, fr Requiem Chicago Symphony Chorus & Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, cond. Erato 96357 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Verdi ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1813—German composer Richard Wagner, in Leipzig; Deaths: 1949—German composer Hans Pfitzner, age 80, in Salzburg; Premieres: 1813 — Rossini: "L'Italiana in Algeri" (The Italian Woman in Algiers), in Venice at the Teatro San Benedetto; 1836 — Mendelssohn: oratorio "Paulus" (St. Paul), at the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Düsseldorf, with the composer conducting; 1874 — Verdi: "Requiem Mass," at the Milan Cathedral, with the composer conducting; 1911 — Debussy: "Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastien," in Paris at the Théatre du Châtelet, André Caplet conducting; 1924 — Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, at the Paris Opéra at a concert conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with the composer as the piano soloist; 1931 — William Grant Still: ballet "Sahdji," by the Eastman Ballet and Rochester Civic Orchestra, Howard Hanson conducting; 1950 — R. Strauss: "Four Last Songs" for soprano and orchestra, in London, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtw ä ngle and Kristen Flagstad the vocalsoloist; 1982 — Alvin Singleton: "A Yellow Rose Petal" for orchestra, by the Houston Symphony, C. William Harwood conducting; 1990 — John Harbison: "Simple Daylight" (to a text by Michael Fried) at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, by soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Alan Feinberg; 1999 — Bright Sheng: "Flute Moon," with soloist Aralee Dorough (flute/piccolo) and the Houston Symphony, Christoph Eschenbach conducting; Other: 1723—J.S. Bach, the newly appointed cantor of Leipzig's St. Thomas Church, arrives in that city with his family; 1790—Possible premiere of Mozart's String Quartets in D (K. 575) and Bb (K. 589) at Mozart's apartment in Vienna, very likely with the composer as violist; 1872—On his 59th birthday, Richard Wagner lays the cornerstone of his Festival Theater in Bayreuth, Germany.
Friday, May 23
"You're in the Army now, Mr. Barber" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981): Commando March Cleveland Symphonic Winds; Frederick Fennell, cond. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Barber More on Barber ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1794—Bohemian composer and pianist Ignaz Moscheles, in Prague; 1864—Danish composer Louis Glass, in Frederiksberg; 1901—English composer Edmund Rubbra, in Northhampton; 1912—French composer and pianist Jean Françaix, in Le Mans; The composer himself has written that his family name is pronounced with the final "x" sounded (as in "Aix"-en-Provence), although Françaix is commonly pronounced "Français" in both Europe and America; 1934—American electronic engineer and inventor, Robert Moog (pronounced: "Mohg"), inventor of the synthesizer bearing his name which was made famous by performers such as Wendy Carlos (of "Switched-On Bach" fame); Premieres: 1736 — Handel: opera "Atalanta" (Julian date: May 12); 1814 — Beethoven: "Fidelio" Overture, in Vienna, as part of a third and final revision of the opera "Fidelio," at the Kärntnertor Theater; 1876 — Brahms: String Quartet No. 3, in Berlin at the home of Clara Schumann by the Joachim Quartet; The work was subsequently performed for a small circle of friends at the Joachim home on June 4 that year, and given its first public performance in Berlin on October 30, 1876, again by the Joachim Quartet; 1883 — Tchaikovsky: "Festival Coronation March," in Moscow (Gregorian date June 4); 1926 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 8, in Moscow; 1937 — William Grant Still: "Lenox Avenue" for narrator and orchestra, broadcast over the CBS radio network, with Howard Barlow conducting; 1943 — Barber: "Commando March," in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Army Air Force Technical Training Command Band, composer conducting; 1971 — Einem: "Der Besuch der alten Damen" (The Visit of the Old Lady), at the Vienna State Opera; 1971 — Sessions: cantata "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" (after Walt Whitman), in Berkley, Calif.; 1993 — Daniel Pinkham: "Nocturnes" for flute and guitar, at the First and Second Church in Boston, by flutist Fenwick Smith and guitarist John Curtis; Other: 1826—American premiere of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" at New York City's Park Theater, presented by members of the Garcia family with Lorenzo da Ponte (Mozart's librettist) in the audience.
Saturday, May 24
Beethoven's "Bridgetower" Sonata? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827): Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47 (Kreutzer) Pamela Frank, violin; Claude Frank, piano MusicMasters 67087 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More on Beethoven More on Bridgetower ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1886—French conductor and composer conductor Paul Paray, in Le Tréport; 1903—Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian (Gregorian date: June 6); 1936—American composer Harold Budd, in Los Angeles; 1941—American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman), in Duluth, Minn.; Deaths: 1968—American composer Bernard Rogers, age 75, in Rochester, N.Y.; 1974—American composer Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, age 75, in New York City; 1996—American composer Jacob Druckman, age 67, in New Haven, Conn.; Premieres: 1803 — Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 ("Kreutzer Sonata"), in Vienna, with violinist George Bridgetower and Beethoven at the piano; 1810 — Beethoven: incidental music for Goethe's play "Egmont," in Vienna at the Hofburg Theater; 1833 — Marschner: opera "Hans Heiling," in Berlin at the Königliches Opernhaus; 1899 — Massenet: "Cendrillon," in Paris; 1906 — Delius: "Sea Drift" (to a text by Walt Whitman, in Essen, Germany; 1911 — Elgar: Symphony No. 2, at the London Festival with the Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by the composer; 1918 — Bartók: opera "Bluebeard's Castle," at the Budapest Opera; 1939 — Elliott Carter: "Pocahontas" Ballet, at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City , with an orchestra conducted by Fritz Kitzinger; Following Carter's ballet, the New York premiere of Copland's ballet "Billy the Kid" was presented (Copland's ballet had been premiered in Chicago on October 16, 1938); 1948 — John Gay: "The Beggar's Opera" arranged by Benjamin Britten, in Cambridge; 1970 — Panufnik: "Universal Prayer," at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City, Leopold Stokowski conducting.
Sunday, May 25
A belated Webern premiere ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Anton von Webern (1883 - 1945): Im Sommerwind Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph von Dohnanyi, cond. London 436 240 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Webern ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1926—American composer and jazz trumpet Miles Davis, in Alton, Ill.; Deaths: 1934—English composer Gustav Holst, age 59, in London; Premieres: 1715 — Handel: opera "Amadigi di Gauli" at the King's Theater in London (Gregorian date: June 5); 1723 — Handel: opera "Flavio, re de' Langobardi" (Julian date: May 14); 1870 — Delibes: ballet "Coppelia" at the Paris Opéra; 1878 — Gilbert and Sullivan: "H.M.S. Pinafore," at the Opera Comique Theatre in London; This production ran for 700 consecutive performances; 1953 — Marc Blitzstein: musical "The Harpies," at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City; 1961 — Castelnuovo-Tedesco: opera "Il Mercante di Venzia" (The Merchant of Venice), at the Maggio Musicale Festival in Florence, Italy; 1962 — Webern: "Im Sommerwind" (composed in 1904), at the First International Anton von Webern Festival at the University of Washington in Seattle; 1984 — Stockhausen: opera "Samstag von Licht" (Saturday from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 2001 — Philip Glass: "Voices" for pipe organ, two didgeridoos, clap sticks and narrator performed by didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins, Calvin Bowman (organ), Ron Murray (second didgeridoo and clapsticks) and Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin (narrator) at City of Melbourne Town Hall to celebrate the refurbishment of the Melbourne (Australia) Town Hall Grand Organ; 2001 — Salonen: "Fanfare for Betty," dedicated to the 80-year old music patron, Betty Freeman, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting; See May 26-27 as well; 2001 — David Ward-Steinman: "Millennium Dances," for percussion and orchestra, by soloist John Flood and the San Diego Symphony, Jung-Ho Pak conducting; Other: 1869—The newly completed Vienna Opera on the Ringstrasse opens with a production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" (sung in German); 1944—Arturo Toscanini conducts the combined NBC Symphony and New York Philharmonic in a benefit concert of music by Wagner, Verdi, and Sousa at the old Madison Square Garden; The concert raised $100,000 for the Red Cross; During an intermission auction, New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia auctioned off Toscanini's baton for $10,000. |
