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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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January 12-18, 2009
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Monday, January 12
Athena on the air ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Athena Adamopoulos (b. 1987): Soliloquy Yo Yo Ma, cello; Christopher O'Riley, piano Live recording courtesy of From The Top (PRI) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Athena Adamopoulos Athena Adamopoulos on From the Top ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1715—French composer Jacques Duphly, in Rouen; 1876—Italian opera composer Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, in Venice; 1921—American composer and pianist Leo Smit, in Philadelphia; 1926 —American composer Morton Feldman, in New York City; 1927—American composer Salvatore Martirano, in Yonkers, N.Y.; Deaths: 1674—Italian composer Giacomo Carissimi, age 68, in Rome; 1958—American composer Arthur Shepherd, age 77, in Cleveland; Premieres: 1723 — Handel: opera "Ottone, re di Germania" (Otto, King of the Germans), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket, with the debut London performance of the Italian soprano Francesca Cuzzoni in a work by Handel (Gregorian date: Jan. 23); It was during a rehearsal of this opera with Cuzzoni in late Dec. of 1722 that the famous incident between Handel and Cuzzoni took place during which the composer supposedly said “Madam, I know you are a veritable devil, but I would have you know that I am Beelzebub, the chief of the devils!”; 1864 — Brahms: "Variations on a Theme by R. Schumann," Op. 23 for piano four-hands, in Vienna; 1883 — Chadwick: “Thalia” Overture, by the Boston Symphony, with the composer conducting; 1885 — Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 3, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Jan. 24); 1894 — Dvorák: String Quintet in Eb, Op. 97 (“American”), in New York, by the Kneisel Quartet (and violist M Zach); 1918 — George Templeton Strong, Jr.: tone-poem “Le Roi Arthur” (King Arthur), in Geneva, Switzerland, with Ernest Ansermet conducting the orchestra which would be named the Orchestra of the Suisse Romande ater that same year; 1934 — Bloch: "Sacred Service," in Turin, Italy; 1942 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 22 in Tbilisi; 1964 — Cowell: "Concerto Grosso," for chamber orchestra, in Miami Beach by the Miami Symphony Orchestra, Fabien Sevitzky, conducting; 2002 — Athena Adamopoulos: "Soliloquy" for cello and piano, at a "From the Top" recording session for Public Radio International at Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, by cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Christopher O'Riley; Ms. Adamopoulos was 15 years old at the time; Their performance was broadcast nationwide in early February, 2002; Other: 1910 —Radio pioneer Lee De Forest experiments with live broadcasting from the Metropolitan Opera in New York; The signal was relayed from a rooftop transmitter at the Met to wireless installations, then by land lines to telephone receivers, and reportedly reached a few hundred listeners as far away as Newark, New Jersey; These were the first occasions on which a Met performance was heard live by audiences not present at the actual performance; De Forest’s 1910 “broadcasts” included part or all of Acts II and III of the Jan. 12th performance of “Tosca” (with soprano Olive Fremstad in the title role) and the following day’s double-bill of “Cavalleria Rusticana” (with soprano Emmy Destinn as Santuzza) and “Pagliacci”; Riccardo Martin sang the lead tenor roles in “Tosca” and “Cavalleria Rusticana,” Enrico Caruso in the “Pagliacci” performance; The first in the continuing series of complete live radio broadcasts from Met occurred on Christmas Day in 1931, when “Hansel and Gretel” was aired on the NBC network.
Tuesday, January 13
Stravinsky at the circus ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Igor Stravinsky (1882 –1971): Circus Polka London Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. RCA 68865 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Stravinsky Time magazine Stravinsky profile ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1690—German composer Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, in Grünstadtl; 1866—Russian composer Vassili Sergeievitch Kalinnikov, in Voin (Julian date: Jan 1.); 1904—British composer Richard Addinsell, in London; Deaths: 1864—American composer Stephen Foster, age 37, in Bellevue Hospital, New York; 1980—Russian-born American conductor and arranger André Kostelanetz, age 78, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Premieres: 1726 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 32 ("Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen") performed on the 1st Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1725/27); 1775 — Mozart: opera "La finta giardiniera" (The Feigned Gardener), in Munich at the Opernhaus St. Salvator; 1873 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "The Maid of Pskov" (first version) in St. Petersburg, Napravnik conducting; This was Rimsky-Korsakov’s first opera (Julian date: Jan.1); 1904 — Bartók: tone-poem “Kossuth,” in Budapest; Bartók’s parody of the German national hymn in this work caused an uproar at the work’s premiere; 1944 — Stravinsky: "Circus Polka" (concert version) and "Four Norwegian Moods," in Cambridge at the Garden Theatre, with the Boston Symphony conducted by the composer; 1945 — Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, by the Moscow State Philharmonic, with the composer conducting; 2000 — Danielpour: "Voices of Remembrance" for string quartet and orchestra, in Washington, D.C. with the Guarneri String Quartet and the National Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting. Other: 1910—Lee De Forest relays experimental Met Opera performances via a radio transmitter (see also Jan. 12).
Wednesday, January 14
Ravel reviewed ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937): Piano Concerto in G Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano; Montréal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, cond. London 452 448 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Maurice Ravel More on Ravel ALSO ON THIS DATE: Deaths: 1676—Italian opera composer Pier Francesco Cavalli, age 73, in Venice; 1949—Spanish composer and pianist Joaquin Turina, age 66, in Madrid; 1984—German-born Israeli composer Paul Ben-Haim (originally Frankenburger), age 86, in Tel Aviv; Premieres: 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 3 ("Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" I) performed on the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1738 — Handel: opera "Faramondo" (Julian date: Jan. 3); 1900 — Puccini: "Tosca," in Rome at the Teatro Constanzi; 1914 — Stravinsky: "Three Japanese Lyrics," in Paris at the Salle Erard; 1932 — Ravel: Piano Concerto in G, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris by the Lamoureux Orchestra conducted by the composer, with Marguerite Long as soloist; 1934 — Gershwin: "I Got Rhythm" Variations for piano and orchestra, at Boston's Symphony Hall by the Leo Reisman Orchestra conducted by Charles Previn, with the composer as soloist; 1955 — Villa-Lobos: Harp Concerto (with soloist Nicanor Zabaleta) & Sinfonia No. 8, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the composer conducting; 1960 — Creston: Violin Concerto No. 1, in Detroit; 1964 — Quincy Porter: Symphony No. 2, in Louisville, Kentucky; 1965 — Dutilleux: "Cinq métaboles," in Cleveland; 1994 — Michael Torke: Piano Concerto (with the composer as soloist) and Saxophone Concerto (with John Harle as soloist), at the Troy (N.Y.) Music Hall, with the Albany Symphony; 1998 — Michael Torke: "Brick Symphony" for orchestra, by the San Francisco Symphony, Alasdair Neale conducting.
Thursday, January 15
Danielpour salutes "The Greatest Generation" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Danielpour (b. 1956): In Paradisum from Elegies Frederica von Stade, mezzo-soprano; Thomas Hampson, baritone; London Philharmonic; Roger Nierenberg, cond. Sony Classical 60850 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Richard Danielpour On Frederica von Stade ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893—English composer Ivor Novello (David Ivor Davies), in Cardiff; 1909—American composer Elie Siegmeister, in New York; 1960—American composer Aaron Jay Kernis, in Philadelphia; Deaths: 1775—Italian composer Giovanni Battista Sammartini, age c. 74, in Milan; Premieres: 1732 — Handel: opera "Ezio" in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Jan. 26); 1890 — Tchaikovsky: ballet, "Sleeping Beauty," at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 3); 1923 — Pierné: "Cydalise et le chèvre-pied," at the Paris Opéra; 1924 — Prokofiev: "Chout" Symphonic Suite, Op. 21a, in Brussels, conducted by F. Ruhlmann; 1941 — Messiaen: "Quartet for the End of Time," at Stalag VIII-A, a German prisoner of war camp in Görlitz (Silesia), with the composer at the piano and fellow-prisoners Jean Le Boulaure (violin), Henri Akoka (clarinet) and Etienne Pasquier (cello); 1947 — Korngold: Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35, by the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Vladimir Golschmann, with Jascha Heifetz the soloist; 1958 — Barber: opera "Vanessa" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Dimtri Mitropoulos conducting; 1976 — Paul Chihara: "Missa Carminum" for a capella chorus, in Los Angeles; 1994 — Zwilich: "Fantasy" for orchestra, by the Long Beach Symphony, JoAnn Falletta conducting; 1998 — Danielpour: "Elegies," in Jacksonville, Fla., by mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and baritone Thomas Hampson, with the Jacksonville Symphony conducted by Roger Nierenberg; 1998 — Christopher Rouse: "Der gerettete Alberich" (Alberich Redeemed) for percussion and orchestra, by the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi, with Evelyn Glennie the percussion soloist; Other: 1785—Likely date of the premiere performances of three of Mozart's "Haydn" Quartets (K. 387, 421, and 428), at Mozart's apartment in Vienna, with Haydn present and possibly with Mozart playing the viola.
Friday, January 16
The leftist Britten ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Benjamin Britten (1913 – 1976): Diversions Peter Donohoe, piano; City of Birmingham Symphony; Simon Rattle, cond. EMI 54270 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Benjamin Britten On Paul Wittgenstein (and the TV show M*A*S*H) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1728—Italian opera composer Niccoló Piccinni, in Bari; 1905—Spanish composer Ernesto Halffter, in Madrid; 1934—American composer Richard Wernick, in Boston, Massachusetts; 1943—English composer Gavin Bryars, in Goole, Yorkshire; 1943—English composer Brian Ferneyhough, in Coventry; Deaths: 1886—Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli, age 51, in Milan; 1891—French ballet composer Leo Delibes, age 54, in Paris; 1957—Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, age 89, in New York; 1969—Russian-born American composer and songwriter Vernon Duke (Vladimir Dukelsky), age 65, in Santa Monica, Calif,; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 155 ("Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange") performed on the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1739 — Handel: oratorio, "Saul," in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Jan. 27); 1745 — Handel: musical drama "Hercules" (Julian date: Jan. 5); 1800 — Cherubini: opera "Les deux journées," in Paris at the Théatre Feydeau; 1869 — Borodin: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 4); 1876 — Tchaikovsky: "Serenade mélancolique,"in Moscow (Gregorian date: Jan. 28); 1905 — d'Albert: opera "Tiefland" (The Lowlands) (2nd version), in Magdeburg at the Stadttheater; 1916 — Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite (Gregorian date: Jan. 29); 1933 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 11, in Moscow; 1936 — Frank Bridge: "Ovation (Concerto elegiaco)" for Cello and Orchestra, in London, by the BBC Symphony conducted by the composer, with Florence Hooton the soloist; 1942 — Britten: "Diversions on a Theme" for Piano Left Hand, by pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1969 — Babbitt: "Relata II," by the New York Philharmonic, with Leonard Bernstein conducting; 1983 — Daniel Asia: "Why (?) Jacob" for piano, by Sanford Margolis; 1997 — Esa-Pekka Salonen: "L.A. Variations" for orchestra, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting.
Saturday, January 17
Adams shakes things up ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Adams (b. 1947): I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky Audra MacDonald, soprano; ensemble; John Adams, cond. Nonesuch 79473 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On John Adams ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1706—American statesman, composer of string quartets, publisher and inventor of the glass harmonica Benjamin Franklin, in Boston (Gregorian date: Jan. 28); 1712—English composer John Stanley (Gregorian date: Jan. 28); 1734—Belgian composer François-Joseph Gossec, in Vergnies; 1907—Dutch composer Henk Badings, in Bandung, Java; 1927—American composer Donald Erb, in Youngstown, Ohio; 1934—Canadian-born American composer, conductor and clarinetist Sydney Hodkinson, in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Deaths: 1738—French composer and organist Jean François Dandrieu, age c. 56, in Paris; 1750—Italian composer Tomaso Albinoni, age 78, in Venice; 1826—Spanish composer Juan Crisostomo Arriaga, age 19, in Paris; 1869—Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky, age 55, in St. Peterburg (Julian date: Jan. 5); 1969—Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz, age 55, in Warsaw; Premieres: 1880 — Franck: Piano Quintet in f, in Paris, by the Marsick Quartet, with Camille Saints-Saëns at the piano; 1901 — Mascagni: opera "Le Maschere" (The Masks), simultaneously in 6 cities; 1944 — Copland: Violin Sonata, at Times Hall in New York, by violinist Ruth Posselt with the composer at the piano; 1991 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Oboe Concerto, by soloist John Mack, with the Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting; Other: 1745—Handel publishes a letter in the London ":Daily Advertiser" offering to return three-fourths money to the subscribers to his current series of concerts, then in progress, suggesting that his attempts to please the public have proved ineffectual; The letter prompts a flurry of support, and Handel resumes the concerts a week later; In all, 16 out of the promised 24 concerts would take place; The series closed on April 23, 1745, with a revival performance of ":Messiah." (Gregorian dates: Jan. 28 and May 4, respectively); 1919—Polish composer and pianist Ignaz Jan Paderewski becomes premiere of Poland.
Sunday, January 18
Bernstein for young people ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Giaocchino Rossini (1792 –1868): William Tell Overture New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. CBS/Sony 48226 & Maurice Ravel (1875 –1937): La Valse New York Philharmonic; Pierre Boulez, cond. CBS/Sony 45842 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More Bernstein and his Young People's Concerts ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1835 —Russian composer César Cui, in Vilnius, Lithuania (Julian date: Jan.6); 1841—French composer Emmanuel Chabrier, in Ambert, Puy-de-Dôme; 1903—German-born English composer and conductor Berthold Goldschmidt, in Hamburg; Premieres: 1908 — Delius: "Brigg Fair" in Liverpool; 1930 — Shostakovich: opera "The Nose" (after Nikolai Gogol), in Leningrad at the Maliiy Opera Theater; 1942 — Ibert: "Ouverture de fête" in Paris; 1947 — Elie Siegmeister: "Prairie Legend," by the New York Philharmonic, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1963 — Harris: Symphony No. 9 ("1963"), by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1968 — Richard Rodney Bennett: Symphony No. 2 in New York City; 1991 — David Ott: Symphony No. 2, by the Grand Rapids ( Michigan) Symphony, Catherine Comet conducting; Other: 1958—"What Does Music Mean?", broadcast, the first of a series of televised New York Philharmonic "Young People's Concerts" on CBS-TV hosted by Leonard Bernstein; The series continued until 1972, with 53 different programs hosted by Bernstein; |
