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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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September 29-October 5, 2008
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Monday, September 29
Tan Dun at the movies (and in the concert hall) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Tan Dun (b. 1957): Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon filmscore Yo Yo Ma, cello; Shanghai Symphony; Tan Dun, cond. Sony 89347 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Tan Dun More on Tan Dun On the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1673—French flutist and composer Jacques-Martin Hottetere, in Paris; Deaths: 1977—Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin, age 78, in Paris; Premieres: 1918 — Holst: "The Planets," at Queen's Hall, London; 1921 — Sigmund Romberg: operetta "Blossom Time," in New York City; 1949 — Bliss: opera "The Olympians," in London; 1968 — Henze: Piano Concerto No. 2, in Bielefeld, Germany; 1969 — Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14 (to poems of Lorca, Apollinaire, Küchelbecker, and Rilke), in Leningrad, by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, Rudolf Barshai conducting, with vocal soloists Galina Vishnevskaya and Yevgeny Vladimirov; 1983 — Lutoslawski: Symphony No. 3, in Chicago; 1997 — Michael Torke: "Overnight Mail" for chamber ensemble, in Carre, Amsterdam, by the Orkest de Volharding, Jurjen Hempel conducting; 2000 — Tan Dun: "Crouching Tiger Concerto," at the Barbican Festival in London, by the London Sinfonietta; Other: 1739—Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6, no. 1 (Gregorian date: Oct. 10); 1789—Mozart completes in Vienna his Quintet in A for clarinet and strings, K. 581, written for clarinetist Anton Stadler, who gave the first public performance of the new work in December of that year.
Tuesday, September 30
Vaughan Williams and Harbison meet the Oboe Concerto ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1958): Oboe Concerto Maurice Bourgue, oboe; English String Orchestra; William Boughton, cond. Nimbus 7013 & John Harbison (b. 1938): Oboe Concerto William Bennett, oboe; San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, cond. London 443 376 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Ralph Vaughan Williams On John Harbison ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1840—Norwegian composer Johann Svendsen, in Christiania; 1852—Irish-born British composer Sir Charles Villers Stanford, in Dublin; Deaths: 1989—American composer and music critic Virgil Thomson, age 92, in New York City; Premieres: 1791 — Mozart: opera, "Die Zauberflöte" (The Magic Flute), in Vienna at the Freihaustheater auf der Wieden, conducted by the composer; 1863 — Bizet: opera "Les Pecheurs de perles" (The Pearl Fishers), in Paris at the Théâtre Lyrique; 1935 — Gershwin: opera "Porgy and Bess," during trial run at Boston's Colonial Theater; According to Opera America magazine, this is one of the most frequently-produced American operas during the past decade; 1944 — R. Vaughan Williams: Oboe Concerto, with soloist Leon Goosens and the Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent; 1960 — Barber: "Toccata Festiva" for organ and orchestra, at Philadelphia's Academy of Music, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, with Paul Callaway the soloist; 1979 — Penderecki: "Te Deum" in Assisi, Italy; 1989 — Daniel Asia: Piano Quartet, at Wigmore Hall in London, by the Domus ensemble; 1999 — Michael Tilson Thomas: "Whitman Songs for Orchestra," by the San Francisco Symphony, composer conducting.
Wednesday, October 1
Sousa joins the Marines ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Philip Sousa (1854 - 1932): Sound Off U.S. Marine Band; Col. John R. Bourgeois, cond. USMC 6728 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Sousa An 1897 Edison recording of Sousa's Band ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1832—American composer Henry Clay Work, in Middletown, Conn.; A printer by trade, he wrote some famous popular songs, including "Grandfather's Clock," "Father, Come Home," and "Marching Through Georgia"; 1865—French composer Paul Dukas, in Paris; 1931—Italian composer Sylvano Bussotti, in Florence; Deaths: 1708—British composer John Blow, age c. 59, in London; 1964—Austrian-born American composer Ernst Toch, age 76, in Santa Monica, Calif.; He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1956 for his Symphony No. 3; 1979—American composer Roy Harris, age 81, in Santa Monica, Calif.; Premieres: 1733 — Rameau: opera, "Hippolyte et Aricie," in Paris at the Palais Royal Opéra; 1913 — Elgar: symphonic poem, “Falstaff,” at the Leeds Festival, with the composer conducting; 1937 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 18, in Moscow, Alexander Gauk conducting; 1961 — Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12 ("The Year 1917"), by the Leningrad Philharmonic, Yevgeny Mravinsky conducting; 1967 — Sessions: Symphony No. 7, in Ann Arbor, Mich., by the Chicago Symphony, Jean Martinon conducting; 1975 — Shostakovich: Viola Sonata, in Leningrad, by Fyodor Druzhinin (viola) and Mikhail Muntyan (piano); 1992 — Michael Torke: “Chalk” for string quartet, at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester (U.K.), by the Balanescu Quartet; 1998 — Ives (arr. David G. Porter): "Emerson Overture," for piano and orchestra, with soloist Alan Feinberg and the Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnányi conducting; 2005 — John Adams: opera "Dr. Atomic,," in San Francisco by the San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles, cond; Other: 1880—John Philip Sousa, age 25, is appointed 17th Leader of the U.S. Marine Band, a post he would hold for 12 years; During this time, the band made its first concert tour, premiered many of Sousa's most famous marches, and produced some of the first phonograph recordings ever made; 1924—Opening of The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, funded by a gift of $12.5 million from the American patroness Mary Louise Curtis Bok, who had inherited her fortune from the Curtis Publishing Company; The faculty, providing instruction for 203 students, includes Leopold Stokowski and Josef Hofmann heading conducting and piano departments, respectively; Polish-born coloratura Marcella Sembrich; Hungarian violinist Carl Flesch; French-born harpist/composer Carlos Salzedo; and Italian composer Rosario Scalero.
Thursday, October 2
Steve Heitzeg's "Nobel Symphony" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Steve Heitzeg (b. 1959): Nobel Symphony Gustavus Orchestra; Warren Friesen, cond. Gustavus Adolphus 60171-10022 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Steve Heitzeg NPR feature on another Heitzeg piece ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893 —American composer and pianist Leroy Shield, in Waseca, Minn.; His wrote much of the uncredited film music for the Hal Roach studios in the 1930s (including many classic Laurel & Hardy and "Our Gang," comedies); 1929—British composer Kenneth Leighton, in Wakefield, Yorkshire; Deaths: 1920—German composer Max Bruch, age 82, in Friedenau (near Berlin); 1943—Canadian-born American composer R. Nathaniel Dett, age 60, in Battle Creek, Mich.; 1996 —Finnish composer Joonas Kokkonen, age 74, in Jarvenpaa; Premieres: 1913 — Butterworth: "A Shropshire Lad," at the Leeds Festival, with Artur Nikisch conducting; 1960 — Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 8, in Leningrad, by the Beethoven Quartet; 2001 — Steven Heitzeg: "Nobel Symphony" at Gustavus Adolpus College in St. Peter, Minn., by the Gustavus Orchestra, soloists and choirs, conducted by Warren Friesen; Other: 1828—Two weeks before his death, Schubert writes a letter to a music publisher offering them his latest work, the String Quintet in C (D. 956); The publisher declined the offer; The work was first performed in public in 1850, and was not published until 1853; 1849—Johann Strauss, Jr., takes over his father's orchestra, one week after his father's death.
Friday, October 3
Corigliano starts at the beginning ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Corigliano (b. 1938): Creations Sir Ian McKellen, narrator; I Fiamminghi; Rudolf Werthen, cond. Telarc 80421 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On John Corigliano ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1923—Polish-born American composer and conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, in Lwow; 1936—American composer Steve Reich, in New York; Deaths: 1931—Danish composer and conductor Carl Nielsen, age 66, in Copenhagen; 1953—English composer Sir Arnold Bax, age 69, in Cork, Ireland; Premieres: 1822 — Beethoven: "Consecration of the House" Overture, Op. 124, for the opening of the Josephstadt Theater in Vienna; 1860 — Brahms: Serenade No. 1 in D, Op. 11, in Hanover, conducted by Joseph Joachim; 1888 — Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta, "The Yeomen of the Guard," at the Savoy Theatre in London; 1900 — Elgar: oratorio, "The Dream of Gerontius," at Birmingham, Hans Richter conducting; 1929 — Walton: Viola Concerto, by the Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by the composer, with Paul Hindemith the soloist; 1963 — Ginastera: Violin Concerto, by the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein conducting, with Ruggiero Ricci the soloist; 1968 — William Schuman's "To Thee Old Cause" at New York Philharmonic concert conducted by Bernstein (dedicated to memory of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy); 1971 — Copland: "Duo" for flute and piano, in Philadelphia, by flutist Elaine Shaffer and pianist Hephzibah Menuhin; 1984 — Corigliano: "Creations" for narrator and chamber orchestra, in Milwaukee, Wisc., with Lukas Foss conducting; 1996 — James MacMillan: Cello Concerto, at the Barbican in London, by Mstislav Rostropovich with the London Symphony, Sir Colin Davis conducting; 1997 — Anthony Davis: "Jacob's Ladder," by the Kansas City Symphony, Bill McGlaughlin conducting; Other: 1833—Berlioz marries Irish actress Harriet "Henrietta" Smithson at the British embassy in Paris; Liszt acts as one of the witnesses.
Saturday, October 4
Copland's"Appalachian Spring" Suite ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990): Appalachian Spring Suite New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony Classical 63082 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Copland at the Library of Congress NPR "Appalachian Spring" Web page MPR Copland Centenary Web page ALSO ON THIS DATE: Deaths: 1970—American composer George Frederick McKay, age 71, in Stateline, Nev 1982—Canadian pianist and occasional composer Glenn Gould, age 50, in Toronto; Premieres: 1803 — Cherubini: opera "Anacréon," at the Paris Opéra; 1815 — Rossini: opera, "Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra" (Elizabeth I, Queen of England), in Naples; 1910 — Korngold: pantomime, "The Snowman," at the Vienna Court Opera, conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky; Korngold was 13 at the time; 1916 — R. Strauss: opera, "Ariadne auf Naxos" (revised version), at the Vienna Court Opera, conducted by Franz Schalk, with vocal soloists Maria Jertiza (Ariadne), Selma Kurz (Zerbinetta), Lotte Lehmann (Composer), and Bela Kornyey (Bacchus); An earlier version of this opera (minus its prologue) had premiered in Stuttgart on Oct. 24, 1912, conducted by the composer; 1936 — Dvorák: Symphony No. 1 in c ("The Bells of Zlonice"), in Prague, posthumously; This symphony was composed in 1865; 1941 — Manuel Ponce: "Concierto del Sur" for guitar and orchestra, in Montevideo; 1945 — Copland: "Appalachian Spring" Orchestra Suite, at Carnegie Hall by New York Philharmonic conducted by Artur Rodzinski, with simultaneous performances the next day by the Boston Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra; the original chamber orchestra version of Copland's complete ballet score(choreographed by Martha Graham) had premiered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 1944; 1956 — Leon Kirchner: "Toccata" for strings, winds and percussion, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, by the Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1956 — Martinu: Piano Concerto No. 4 ("Incantations"), at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, by the Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski conducting, with pianist Rudolf Firkusny; 1959 — Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1, by the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky, with Mstislav Rostropovich as soloist; 1962 — William Schuman: Symphony No. 8 (commissioned for opening season of New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center); 1982 — Glass: "Koyaanisqatsi" film score premiered at Radio City Music Hall Film Festival in New York; 1991 — Lou Harrison: "Homage to Pacifica," over KPFA radio in Berkeley, Calif.; 1997 — Michael Daugherty: "Niagra Falls" for winds, in Ann Arbor, by the University of Michigan Symphonic Band, conducted by H. Robert Reynolds. Other: 1738—London music publisher John Walsh the younger issues Handel's Organ Concertos, Op. 4 (Gregorian date: Oct. 15); 1739—Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 6, no. 2 (Gregorian date: Oct. 15); 1921—The American Academy in Rome awards American composer Leo Sowerby its first two-year composition fellowship; American composer Howard Hanson was awarded the second two-year composition fellowship on November 9, 1921; The third fellowship was awarded to Randall Thompson on June 6, 1922; The fellowship awards continue to this day.
Sunday, October 5
Grove and Sullivan "discover" Schubert ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Franz Schubert (1791 – 1827): Rosamunde Incidental Music Chamber Music Orchestra of Europe; Claudio Abbado, cond. DG 431 655 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Sir George Grove On Sir Arthur Sullivan A Schubert timeline ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1875—British composer and organist Cyril Bradley Rootham, in Bristol; 1962—American composer and pianist Ken Noda, in New York City; Deaths: 1880—French composer Jacques Offenbach, age 61, in Paris; 1940—Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, age 40, in Mexico City; Premieres: 1762 — Gluck: opera, "Orfeo ed Euridice" (1st version in Italian), in Vienna at the Kaiserliches Hoftheater; 1898 — Elgar: cantata, "Caractacus," at the Leeds Festival. 1972 — Argento: "A Ring of Time," by the Minneapolis Symphony, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski conducting; 1973 — Havergal Brian: Symphony No. 28, by the New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1988 — Daniel Pinkham: "Sonata da Camera" (Chamber Sonata) for flute (alternating alto flute) and viola, at Jordan Hall of the New England Conservatory in Boston, by flutist Fenwick Smith and violist Burton Fine; 2001 — Stephen Paulus: "A Place for Hope" for chorus and chamber ensemble, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., by members of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with the Choral Arts Ensemble of Rochester, Minn., conducted by Andreas Delfs; Other: 1867—The British musicologist George Grove (of Grove Dictionary fame) and the British composer Arthur Sullivan (of later Gilbert & Sullivan fame) arrive in Vienna, seeking lost works of Schubert; 1930—The New York Philharmonic begins its famous series of weekly Sunday afternoon national broadcasts with a program from Carnegie Hall conducted by Erich Kleiber; The first-ever radio broadcast of the New York Philharmonic had occurred on August 12, 1922, when a summer-time concert from Lewisohn Stadium conducted by Willem van Hoogstraten was relayed locally over WJZ in New York. |
