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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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August 18-24, 2008
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Monday, August 18
Monteverdi gets mugged (and a new job) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Claudio Monteverdi (1567 – 1643): Che dar piu vi poss’io, fr 5th Book of Madrigals Consort of Musicke; Anthony Rooley, cond. L’oiseau Lyre 410 291 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Monteverdi More on Monteverdi ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1750—Italian opera composer Antonio Salieri, in Legnago (near Verona); 1849—French composer Benjamin Godard, in Paris; 1893—Canadian composer and conductor Sir Ernest MacMillan, in Mimico, Ontario; Deaths: 1942—Austrian composer Erwin Schulhoff, age 48, in a German concentration camp in Wülzburg; Premieres: 1820 — Schubert: opera "Die Zauberharfe" (The Magic Harp) in Vienna; 1912 — Schreker: opera "Der ferne Klang" (The Distant Sound), in Frankfurt at the Opernhaus; 1938 — Britten: Piano Concerto, with the composer as soloist, at a Proms Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood; 1956 — Henry Brant: "On the Nature of Things," for spatially grouped instruments and strings, in Bennington, Vt.; 1966 — Ulysseys Kay: "Markings" (dedicated to the late Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld), at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester, Michigan; Other: 1906—Gustav Mahler conducts the first of two performances of Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" in Salzburg, Austria, during a Mozart Festival that also included Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" conducted by Richard Strauss.
Tuesday, August 19
Edward Collins escapes to Wisconsin ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Edward J. Collins (1889 – 1951): Concert Piece in A minor Leslie Stifelman, piano; Concordia Orchestra; Marin Alsop, cond. Albany 267 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Edward J. Collins ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1813—American composer and journalist, William Henry Fry, in Philadelphia (see also August 10); 1881—Rumanian composer, violinist, and conductor Georges Enesco (Enescu), in Liveni-Virnaz; Deaths: 1929—Russian ballet impressario Sergei Diaghilev, age 57, in Venice; Premieres: 1952 — Ginastera: ballet "Estancia," in Buenos Aires; 1957 — Bernstein: musical "West Side Story," as a trial run in Washington, D.C. at the National Theater, choreography and direction by Jerome Robbins, conducted by Max Goberman; The show opened in New York City at the Winter Garden on September 26, 1957; 1961 — Peggy Glanville-Hicks: opera "Nausicaa," in Athens, Greece; 1988 — Lutoslawski: Piano Concerto, at the Salzburg Festival in Austria; Other: 1990—At Tanglewood, Leonard Bernstein conducts the Boston Symphony in Britten's "Three Sea Interludes" from "Peter Grimes" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 at his last concert appearance before his death; On the same program, Carl St. Clair conducted a performance of Bernstein's "Arias and Barcarolles" (as orchestrated by Bright Sheng); The Bernstein-led performances from this concert have been issued on compact disc on the Deutsche Grammophon label.
Wednesday, August 20
Tower's Fifth ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Joan Tower (b. 1938): Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman No. 5 Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch 7469 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Joan Tower ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1561—Italian composer Jacopo Peri, in Rome; His setting of Rinuccini's poem "Dafne," staged in 1600, is credited as the first opera; Deaths: 1813—Bohemian composer Jan Krittel Vanhal (Johann Baptist Wanhal), age 74, in Vienna; Premieres: 1882 — Tchaikovsky: "1812 Overture," on an all-Tchaikovsky program presented during an Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow (Julian date: Aug. 8); 1943 — Manuel Ponce: Violin Concerto, in Mexico City, conducted by Carlos Chavez; 1956 — Bliss: "Edinburgh Overture," at the opening of the Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama; 1958 — Menotti: opera "Maria Golovin," at the International Exposition in Brussels, Belgium; 1961 — John Harbison: "Duo" for flute and piano, at the Brooklyn Museum, with flutist Neil Zaslaw and pianist Juliette Arnold; 1965 — Harrison Birtwistle: "Tragoedia" for chamber ensemble, at Wardour Castle in England, during the Castle Summer School of Music, by the Melos Ensemble conducted by Lawrence Foster; 1973 — Carl Orff: cantata "De Temporum Fine Commedia" (A Play of the End of Time) at the Salzburg Festival, with Herbert von Karajan conducting; 1979 — Harbison: opera "The Winter's Tale" in San Francisco; 1980 — Rubbra: Symphony No. 11, in London by the BBC Northern Symphony; 1992 — Joan Tower: "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" No. 5 (dedicated to Joan Harris), at the opening of the Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. 2004 — Zhou Long: “The Immortal” for orchestra, at a BBC Proms concerts with the BBC Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; 2004 — Peter Maxwell Davies: “Naxos Quartet” No. 4 (“Children’s Games”), in the Chapel of the Royal Palace, Oslo (Norway) during the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, by the Maggini Quartet.
Thursday, August 21
Summer in the city, Berlioz-style ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886): St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds and Rhapsodie espagnole Stephen Hough, piano Virgin 61129 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Berlioz More on Berlioz ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893—French composer Lili Boulanger, in Paris; She was the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), the famous French composition teacher; 1927—German composer Willhelm Killmayer, in Munich; Deaths: 1951—British composer and writer Constant Lambert, age 45, in London; Premieres: 1966 — Creston: "Pavane Variations" at the La Jolla Music Festival in California; Other: 1800—The U.S. Marine Band presented its first public concert in Washington, DC, "on a hill overlooking the Potomac," near the future site of the Lincoln Memorial.
Friday, August 22
Handel at work on "Messiah" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: George Frederic Handel (1685 – 1757): excerpts fr Messiah UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus; Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra; Nicholas McGegan, cond. Harmonia Mundi 907050 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Handel ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1827—Austrian composer Josef Strauss, in Vienna; He was the son of Johann Strauss I and the younger brother of Johann Strauss, II.; 1862—French composer Claude Debussy, in St.Germain-en-Laye; 1928—German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, in Mödrath (near Cologne); Premieres: 1968 — Birtwistle: opera "Punch and Judy," at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland; 1980 — Tippett: Triple Concerto, for violin, viola, cello and orchestra, in London by the London Symphony, Sir Colin Davis conducting; 1982 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Image, Reflection, Shadow" at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland; Other: 1741—Handel begins work on his famous oratorio, "Messiah," which he finished scoring on September 14 (Gregorian dates: Sept. 2 to 25); The entire work was composed in a period of 24 days; 2002 —An opera by the Iranian-Armenian composer Loris Cheknavariyan based on the Persian epic "Rostam and Sohrab" is staged in Teheran to mark the 1000th anniversary of the birth of poet Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi, on whose epic the opera was based; The performance, at Teheran's Milad Hall, featured 125 Austrian musicians and singers; This marked the first occasion that a Western-style opera was staged in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Saturday, August 23
Hadley, Thompson, et. al. in the Berkshires ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Randall Thompson (1899 – 1984): Alleluia Dale Warland Singers; Dale Warland, cond. Minnesota Public Radio 201 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More about the Tanglewood Music Festival, past & present ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1854—German pianist and composer of Polish descent Moritz Moszkowski, in Brelau; 1900—Austrian-born American composer Ernst Krenek, in Vienna; 1905—English composer, conductor and writer Constant Lambert, in London; Deaths: 1937—French composer Albert Roussel, age 68, in Royan; 1960—American lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, age 65, in Doylestown, Pa.; 1962—American composer Irving Fine, age 47, in Boston; Premieres: 1735 — Rameau, opera-ballet "Les Indes galantes," in Paris; 1906 — R. Vaughan-Williams: "Norfolk Rhapsody," in London; 1913 — Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 (first version), at Pavlovsk, conducted by A.P. Aslanov with the composer as soloist (Gregorian date: Sept. 5); A second version of this concerto premiered in Paris on May 8, 1924, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, again with the composer a soloist; 1964 — Stravinsky: "Abraham and Isaac" (dedicated to the people and the state of Israel), in Jerusalem by the Israel Festival Orchestra conducted by Robert Craft; Other: 1934—The Berkshire Symphonic Festival in founded in Stockbridge, Mass., by American composer and conductor Henry Hadley, with the participation of the New York Philharmonic; The Festival later became associated with the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky.
Sunday, August 24
Claude Goudimel, Huguenot ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Claude Goudimel (1510 – 1572): Comfort, comfort Ye my people Cathedral Singers; Richard Proulx, cond. GIA 290 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Claude Goudimel More on Goudimel ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1803—French composer Adolphe Adam, in Paris; 1837—French composer and organist Théodore Dubois, in Rosnay; 1910—German-born American composer Bernhard Heiden, in Frankfurt; 1919—Danish composer Niels Viggo Bentzon, in Copenhagen; 1949—American composer Stephen Paulus, in Summit, N.J.; Deaths: 1985—American composer Paul Creston, age 78, in San Diego, Calif.; Premieres: 1846 — Suppé: operetta "Dichter und Bauer" (Poet and Peasant), in Vienna; 1907 — Elgar: "Pomp and Circumstance"March No. 4, in London; 1943 — Bernstein: song-cycle "I Hate Music!" at the Public Library in Lenox, Mass., with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel and the composer at the piano; The New York premiere of this work occurred on November 13, 1943 (the day before his surprise conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic), with the same performers; 1980 — Lutoslawski: Double Concerto, for oboe, harp and chamber orchestra, in Lucerne, Switzerland by oboist Heinz Holliger, harpisy Ursula Holliger, and the Collegium Musicum conducted by Paul Sacher; Other: 1724—Handel performs on the organ at St. Paul's Cathedral in London before the royal princesses Anne and Caroline (Gregorian date: Sept. 4); 1968—Czech conductor and composer Rafael Kubelik launches an appeal to world musicians to boycott performances in the five nations which invaded Czechoslovakia on August 20-21 until their military forces evacuate the country; The appeal was joined by Igor Stravinsky, Arthur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Otto Klemperer, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Arrau, and others. |
