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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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February 23-March 1, 2009
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Monday, February 23
Supersized Schoenberg ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Arnold Schoenberg (1874 – 1951): Gurrelieder Berlin Philharmonic and Choirs; Simon Rattle, cond. EMI 57303 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Arnold Schoenberg ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1648—(or possibly 1649) Baptismal date of English composer and organist John Blow, in Newark, Nottinghamshire; 1685—German-born British composer George Frideric Handel, as "Georg Friedrich Händel," in Halle (Saxony); 1905—American composer Elinor Remick Warren, in Los Angeles; 1920—American composer Hall Overton, in Bangor, Michigan; Deaths: 1704—Austrian composer and organist Georg Muffat, age 50, in Passau, Germany; 1934—English composer Sir Edward Elgar, age 76, in Worcester; 1983—English composer Henry Howells, age 90, in London; Premieres: 1732 — Handel: oratorio “Esther” in London at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, by an ensemble including the Children of the Chapel Royal, on the occasion (in England) of Handel’s 47th birthday (Gregorian date: Mar. 5); 1835 — Halévy: opera "La Juive" (The Jewess), at the Paris Opéra; 1854 — Liszt: symphonic poem, "Les Préludes," in Weimar, conducted by the composer; 1882 — Chadwick: Symphony No. 1, by the Boston Symphony; 1903 — Rachmaninoff: Piano Preludes Nos. 1, 2, and 5, from Op. 23 and “Variations on a Theme of Chopin,” Op. 22, in Moscow, by the composer (Julian date: Feb. 10); 1913 — Schoenberg: "Gurre-Lieder," in Vienna; 1916 — Griffes: "White Peacock" for piano, by Winifred Christie in New York City; 1923 — Ernest Schelling: "A Victory Ball," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1945 — Villa-Lobos: Choros No. 12 for orchestra, by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting; 1956 — Leon Kirchner: Piano Concerto No. 1, in New York City, composer at the piano; 1962 — Stravinsky: "A Sermon, A Narrative and A Prayer," in Basle(Switzerland), conducted by Paul Sacher (to whom the work is dedicated).
Tuesday, February 24
Grieg's "Peer Gynt" premieres ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Edvard Grieg (1843 – 1907): Peer Gynt Suites CSSR State Philharmonic; Stephen Gunzenhauser, cond. Naxos 550140 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Grieg ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1766—English composer and organist Samuel Wesley, in Bristol England; He was the nephew of John Wesley (1703-1791), the founder of the Methodist Church; 1842—Italian opera composer and librettist Arrigo Boito, in Paudua; 1846—Italian song composer Luigi Denza, in Castellammare; His most famous song is "Funiculi, Finicula." Deaths: 1704—French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, age 78, in Paris; 1929—French composer André Messager, age 75, in Paris; Premieres: 1607 — Monteverdi: opera "Orfeo," at the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua; 1711 — Handel: opera, “Rinaldo, ”in London at the Queen’s Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Mar. 7); This was the first Handel opera produced in London, and the first Italian opera written specifically composed for the London stage; 1725 — Handel: opera “Rodelinda,” in London (Julian date: Feb. 13); 1730 — Handel: opera “Partenope,” in London at the King’s Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Mar. 7); 1745 — Rameau: comedy-ballet "La Princesse de Navarre" (to a text by Voltaire, for the wedding of the Dauphin with Maria Teresa of Spain), at Versailles; 1876 — Grieg: incidental music for Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt, "as part of a staged production in Christiania (Oslo), Norway; 1935 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 14, in Moscow; 1939 — Roy Harris: Symphony No. 3, by the Boston Symphony, Koussevitzky conducting; 1955 — Carlisle Floyd: opera "Susannah" at Florida State University in Tallahassee; According to Opera America, this is one of the most frequently-produced American operas during the past decade; 1956 — Piston: Symphony No. 5, in New York City; 1976 — Bernstein: musical "1700 Pennsylvania Avenue," in Philadelphia as a trial run at the Forrest Theater, conducted by Roland Gagnon; The show opened in New York City at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City on May 4, 1976, also conducted by Gagnon; 1979 — Berg: opera "Lulu" (first staging of complete version as arr. by Friedrich Cerha), at the Paris Opéra, with Pierre Boulez conducting; 1985 — Andrew Lloyd-Webber: "Requiem," in New York City at St. Thomas Episcopal Church; The London premiere occurred on April 21, 1984, in Westminster Abbey; The soloists in both cases were soprano Sarah Brightman and tenor Placido Domingo, with Lorin Maazel conducting; 2000 — Joan Tower: "The Last Dance," at Carnegie Hall, by the Orchestra of St. Luke's; Other: 1727—Handel applies for British citizenship (Julian date: Feb. 13); 1894 —First documented American performance of Handel's Concerto Grosso in D Minor (op. 6, no.10), by the Boston Symphony, Emil Paur conducting.
Wednesday, February 25
Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930): A Little Night Music Boston Pops; John Williams, cond. Philips 416 499 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Sondheim’s A Little Night Music ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1727—French composer and organist Armand-Louis Couperin, in Paris; 1943—George Harrison (of the Beatles), in Liverpool, England; Deaths: 1643—Italian composer Marco da Gagliano, age 60, in Florence; 1682—Italian composer Alessandro Stradella, age 37, is murdered in Genoa, apparently in retaliation for running off with a Venetian nobleman's mistress; 1906—Russian composer Anton Arensky, age 44, in a tuberculosis sanatorium in Terijoki, Finland (Julian date: Feb. 12); Premieres: 1705 — Handel: opera "Nero," in Hamburg; This was Handel's second opera; 1850 — R. Schumann: "Concertstück (Concert Piece)" for Four Horns and Orchestra, by the horn quartet of Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Julius Rietz conducting that orchestra; 1877 — Tchaikovsky: symphonic-fantasy “Fancesca da Rimini,” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 9); 1881 — Tchaikovsky: opera “The Maid or Orleans,” at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Feb. 13); 1888 — Benjamin Godard: opera "Jocelyn," in Brussels; 1905 — Koussevitzky: Double-Bass Concerto, in Moscow, with the composer as soloist (Julian date: Feb. 12); 1911 — Victor Herbert: opera "Natoma.", in Philadelphia; 1932 — Carl Ruggles: "Sun-Treader" for orchestra, by the Paris Symphony, Nicholas Slonimsky conducting; 1973 — Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical "A Little Night Music" 1993 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Symphony No. 3, by the New York Philharmonic, Jahja Ling conducting; 2001 — Robert Capanna: String Quartet No. 2, in Philadelphia, by the Mendelssohn String Quartet.
Thursday, February 26
Chopin debuts in Paris ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1949): Etude No. 10, fr Op. 10 Maurizio Pollini, piano DG 413 794 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Chopin ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1770—Bohemian-French composer Anton (Antoine) Reicha, in Prague; 1879—English composer Frank Bridge, in Brighton; Deaths: 1770—Italian composer and violinist Giuseppe Tartini, age 77, in Padua; 1981—American conductor, composer and Eastman School of Music director, Howard Hanson, age 84, in Rochester, N.Y.; Premieres: 1752 — Handel: oratorio “Jephtha,” in London at the Covent Garden Theatre (Gregorian date: Mar. 8); 1877 — Borodin: Symphony No. 2, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: March 10); 1899 — Bruckner: Symphony No. 6 (heavily cut), by Vienna Philharmonic, with Gustav Mahler conducting; On February 11, 1883, Wilhlem Jahn had conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in premiere public performance of this symphony's 2nd and 3rd movements only; 1922 — Saint-Saëns: "Carnival of the Animals," in Paris; 1927 — Respighi: “Vetrate di Chiesa” (Church Windows), by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1935 — Bizet: Symphony No. 1, posthumously, in Basel, Switzerland, with Felix Weingartner conducting; This symphony was composed by the 17-year old Bizet in 1855; 1939 — Copland: Sextet (arranged from "Short Symphony"), at Town Hall in New York City, by a Juilliard graduate ensemble; 1943 — Roy Harris: Symphony No. 5, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzsky conducting; 1946 — R. Strauss: Oboe Concerto, by the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra conducted by Volkmar Andreae, with Marcel Saillet as soloist; This composition of this work had been prompted by a chance comment made by the American oboist (and then U.S. soldier) John de Lancie during a post-war visit with the elderly composer in Bavaria that Strauss should consider writing an oboe concerto (Strauss offered de Lancie the American premiere, but the work was given its first U.S. performance in 1948 by oboist Mitchell "Mitch" Miller and the Columbia Concert Orchestra under Daniel Saidenberg; Many years later, De Lancie made a stereo recording of the piece for RCA Victor, which has been re-released on compact disc) ; 1953 — Bernstein: musical "Wonderful Town," at the Winter Garden in New York City; A trial run of the show had opened in New Haven at the Schubert Theater on January 19, 1953; 1953 — Elliott Carter: String Quartet No. 1 at Columbia University in New York City, by the Walden Quartet; 1959 — Rochberg: Symphony No. 2, in Cleveland; 1981 — Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 2, at Boston's Symphony Hall, by the Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting; 2001 — Klass De Vries: "…sub nocte per umbras" (through the real of spirits), at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, by the San Francisco Contemporary Players; Other: 1832—Chopin makes his debut in Paris at the Salle Pleyel, playing his Piano Concerto No. 2; Liszt attends the performance. 1856 —American premiere of J.S. Bach's Concerto for Three Claviers and Orchestra No. 1 in D minor, at Dodworth's Hall in New York during a Eisfeld chamber music "Soiree," with Henry C. Timm, William Scharfenberg, and William Mason at three pianos, accompanied by a string quintet; An 1856 edition of Dwight's Journal waxed poetical about this performance, commenting: "The leaven of blurred blockwork of the tyro instrumentalists was forgotten whilst the splendid artistic rendering of the occasion shadowed forth the truly sculpturesque effects designed by the incomparable author"; 1874—First documented American performance of Handel's Coronation Athem "Zadok the Priest," at Steinway Hall in New York, by the Oratorio Society, Leopold Damrosch conducting; Theodore Thomas introduced this anthem in Cincinnati on May 21, 1881, during that city's May Festival.
Friday, February 27
Beach's Piano Quintet ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Amy Beach (1867 – 1944): Piano Quintet, Op. 67 Martin Roscoe, piano; Endellion Quartet ASV 932 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Amy Beach ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1848—English composer (Sir) Hubert Parry, in Bournemouth; Deaths: 1887—Russian composer Alexander Borodin, age 53, at a fancy dress ball in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Feb. 15); Premieres: 1729 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 159 ("Sehet, wie gehn hinauf gen Jerusalem") probably performed in Leipzig on Estomihi Sunday as part of Bach's fourth annual Sacred Cantata cycle (to texts by Christian Friedrich Henrici, a.k.a. "Picander") during 1728/29; 1737 — Handel: opera “Giustino,” in London (Julian date: Feb. 16); 1740 — Handel: oratorio “L’Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato,” in London at Lincoln’s Inn Field, with the premiere of Handel’s Organ Concerto in Bb, Op. 7, no. 1 (Gregorian date: Mar. 9); 1814 — Beethoven: Symphony No. 8, in Vienna, with composer conducting; 1908 — Amy Beach: Piano Quintet, at Boston's Potter Hall, with the Hoffmann Quartet and the composer at the piano; 1913 — Walter Damrosch: opera, "Cyrano de Bergerac," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City; 1915 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 3, in Moscow (Julian date: Feb. 14); 1940 — William Schuman: String Quartet No. 3, at Town Hall in New York City, by the Coolidge Quartet; 1945 — Amy Beach: opera "Cabildo," by the Opera Workshop at the University of Georgia in Athens, directed by Hugh Hodgson; The first professional production occurred on May 13, 1995, at Alice Tully Hall in New York City as a "Great Performances" telecast conducted by Ransom Wilson; 1947 — Hindemith: Piano Concerto, by the Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell conducting, with Jesús Maria Sanromá the soloist; 1947 — Peter Mennin: Symphony No. 3, by the New York Philharmonic, Walter Hendel conducting; 1949 — Elliott Carter: Woodwind Quintet, at Times Hall in New York City, at a new music concert of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors, sharing a program with Henry Cowell's Suite for Wind Quintet, Vincent Perischetti's "Pastorale," Richard Franko Goldman's Duo for Tubas, Ingolf Dahl's "Music for Five Brass Instruments," and a revised version of Carl Ruggles; "Angles" for seven brass instruments; 1949 — Wm. Schuman: Symphony No. 6, by the Dallas Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting; 1950 — Elliott Carter: Cello Sonata, at Town Hall in New York, by cellist Bernard Greenhouse and pianist Anthony Markas; 1958 — Peter Mennin: Piano Concerto, by the Cleveland Orchesttra conducted by George Szell, with Eunice Podis the soloist; 1984 — Libby Larsen: "Parachute Dancing" for orchestra, by the American Composers Orchestra, Tom Nee conducting; 1986 — U. Zimmermann: opera "Weisse Rose" (White Rose), in Hamburg by the Opera stabile; 1999 — Peter Lieberson: Horn Concerto, at Carnegie Hall, with soloist William Purvis and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Other: 1885—First documented American performance of Handel's Concerto Grosso in B Minor (op. 6, no.12), by the Boston Symphony, William Gericke conducting.
Saturday, February 28
Pizzetti in New York ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880 – 1968): Rondo Veneziano BBC Scottish Symphony; Osmo Vänska, cond. Hyperion 67084 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Pizzetti ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1876—American composer John Alden Carpenter, in Park Ridge, Illinois; Premieres: 1688 — M.-A. Charpentier: opera "David et Jonathas," in Paris; 1728 — Handel: opera “Siroe, re di Persia” (Julian date: Feb. 17); 1862 — Gounod: opera "La Reine de Saba" (The Queen of Sheba), in Paris; 1888 — Tchaikovsky: “Pezzo capriccioso” for cello and orchestra, in Paris; 1898 — Kalinnikov: Symphony No. 2 (Gregorian date: Mar. 12); 1904 — d'Indy: Symphony No. 2 in Paris; 1912 — Nielsen: Symphony No. 3 ("Sinfonia espansiva" & Violin Concerto (with soloist Emil Telmányi), in Copenhagen, with the composer conducting; 1920 — Ravel: orchestral suite "Le Tombeau de Couperin," at a Pasdeloup Concert in Paris; 1929 — Pizzetti: "Concerto dell'estate" (Summer Concerto) by the New York Philharmonic, Arturo Toscanini conducting; 1936 — Roy Harris: Symphony No. 2, by the Boston Symphony & "Prelude and Fugue" for strings by the Philadelphia Orchestra; 1940 — Cowell: "Old American Country Set," by the Indianapolis Symphony, Fabien Sevitzky conducting; 1976 — Ralph Shapey: oratorio "Praise" in Chicago; 1991 — John Harbison: Symphony No. 3, by the Baltimore Symphony, David Zinman conducting; 1994 — George Tsontakis: "Winter Lightning" (No. 4 of "Four Symphonic Quartets" after poems by T.S. Eliot), by the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwarz conducting; Other: 1739—London music publisher John Walsh the younger issues Handel’s Trio Sonatas, Op. 5 (Gregorian date: Mar. 11); 1874 —American premiere of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, at New York's Academy of Music, by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra; Thomas also introduced this concerto to Cincinnati (May 19, 1882) and Chicago (Feb. 5, 1892); 1882—The Royal College of Music is founded in London.
Sunday, March 1
Show information not yet available. ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1810—Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin, in Zelazowa Wola (This is the date Chopin and his friends observed, although the composer's baptismal certificate says he was born on February 22); 1896—Greek conductor and composer Dimitri Mitropoulos, in Athens; Deaths: 1643—Italian composer Girolamo Frescobaldi, age 59, in Rome; 1777—Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil, age 62, in Vienna; 1976—French conductor and composer Jean Martinon, age 66, in Paris; 1980—American folksinger and folksong collector John Jacob Niles, age 88, near Lexington, Ky.; Premieres: 1736 — Handel: cantata "Alexander's Feast," Concerto grosso in C (HWV. 318), Harp Concerto, Op. 4, no. 6, and Organ Concerto, Op. 4, no. 1, in London (Julian date: Feb. 19); 1743 — Handel: oratorio "Samson" and possibly the Organ Concerto Op. 7, no. 2, in London (Julian date: Feb. 18); 1950 — Menotti: opera "The Consul," in Philadelphia at the Shubert Theatre; The opera opened in New York City on March 15, 1950, and won that year's Pulitzer Prize for Music; 1950 — Prokofiev: Cello Sonata, Op. 119 (first public performance), at the Moscow Conservatory, by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and pianist Sviatoslav Richter; The same artists had given a private performance of the work in Moscow, at the House of the Union of Composers on December 6, 1949; 1958 — Pizzetti: opera "Assassinio della cattedrale" (based on T.S. Eliot's play "Murder in the Cathedral"), at the Teatro della Scala in Milan; 1968 — Andrew Lloyd-Webber: musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (first version) at Colet Court Prep School in London; 1979 — Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical "Sweeny Todd"; 2003 — Beethoven: "Largo" movement from a lost Oboe Concerto written in 1792, reconstructed by Dutch musicologists Jos van der Zanden and Cees Nieuwenhuizen, by the Rotterdam Chamber Orchestra conducted by Conrad van Alphen, with Alexei Ogrintchouk the oboe soloist; Other: 1907—American premiere of Debussy: "La Mer," by the Boston Symphony, Karl Muck conducting; 1916—U.S. premiere of Mahler's Symphony No. 8, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting. |
