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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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April 20-26, 2009
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Monday, April 20
Rimsky-Korsakov joins the Navy (and sees the world) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844 - 1908): Prelude (A Hymn to Nature), fr The Invisible City of Kitezh Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 8327 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Rimsky-Korsakov More on Rimsky-Korsakov operas ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1881—Russian composer Nikolai Miaskovsky, in the fortress of Novo-Georgiyevsk (now Modlin), Poland (Julian date: April 8); Deaths: 1869—German song composer Karl Loewe, age 72, in Kiel; Premieres: 1910 — Ravel: "Ma Mère l'oye" (Mother Goose) for piano four-hands, in Paris, by two young female pianists, at the first concert of the newly-formed "Société musicale indépedante"; On the same program was the premiere of Gabriel Fauré's "Le Chanson d'Eve" with the composer at the piano; 1979 — George Perle: Concertino for Piano, Winds, and Timpani, by Morey Ritt and the Contemporary Chamber Players of the University of Chicago, Ralph Shapey conducting; 1983 — Thomas Oboe Lee: "Quartet on B-flat" for string quartet, at the Harvard Music Association in Beacon Hill, Mass., by the Manhattan String Quartet; 2001 — Danielpour: String Quartet, in Kansas City, Mo., by the American String Quartet; 2002 — Michael Torke: "Song of Isaiah"for voice and chamber ensemble, at the Milwaukee Art Museum by the Present Music Ensemble, with the composer conducting; Other: 1759—Burial of Handel in Westminster Abbey, London; 1928—In Paris, the first public demonstration of an electronic instrument invented by Maurice Martenot called the "Ondes musicales"; The instrument later came to be called the "Ondes Martenot," and was included in scores by Milhaud, Messiaen, Jolivet, Ibert, Honegger, Florent Schmitt and other 20th century composers.
Tuesday, April 21
Bernstein debuts as a composer ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): Clarinet Sonata Gary Gray, clarinet; Clifford Benson, piano Centaur 2165 & Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): America, fr West Side Story Suite Katia & Marielle Labeque, pianos CBS/Sony 48381 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Bernstein ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1899—American composer and teacher Randall Thompson, in New York; 1933—American composer and pianist Easley Blackwood, in Indianapolis; Premieres: 1845 — Lortzing: opera "Undine," in Magdeburg at the Stadttheater; 1889 — Puccini: opera "Edgar," in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1917 — Debussy: Sonata No. 2 for flute,viola, and harp, at a concert of the Société Musicale Indépendante in Paris, by the trio of Manouvirier (flute), Jarecki (viola), and Jamet (harp); 1918 — Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 ("Classical"), in Petrograd, by the former Court Orchestra with the composer conducting; 1922 — Frederick Converse: Symphony No. 2, by the Boston Symphony, Pierre Monteux conducting; 1924 — Youmans: musical "No, No Nanette," in Detroit; After stops in Chicago and London, the musical opened on Broadway on Sept. 16, 1925; 1937 — Copland: a play-opera for high school "The Second Hurricane," at the Grand Street Playhouse in New York City, with soloists from the Professional Children's School, members of the Henry Street Settlement adult chorus, and the Seward High School student chorus, with Lehman Engle conducting and Orson Welles directing the staged production; One professional adult actor, Joseph Cotton, also participated (He was paid $10); 1939 — Leonard Bernstein's first appearance as a conductor, leading his own incidental score to "The Birds" at Harvard; 1942 — Bernstein: Clarinet Sonata, in Boston, with clarinetist David Glazer and the composer at the piano; 1948 — Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 6, at Royal Albert Hall in London, by the BBC Symphony, Sir Adrian Boult conducting; 1973 — Bliss: "Variations" for orchestra, in London, with Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1985 — Morton Feldman: "For Philip Guston," for chamber ensemble, in New York; 1988 — Bernstein: "Missa brevis," in Atlanta by the Atlanta Symphony Chorus conducted by Robert Shaw; Other: 1749—Against Handel's wishes, in advance of its official premiere scheduled for April 27, a public rehearsal of Handel's "Music for the Royal Fireworks" at Vauxhall Gardens takes place; Reports suggest 12,000 attended, causing traffic jams on London Bridge (Gregorian date: May 2); 1829—Mendelssohn, age 20, arrives in London for his first visit. 1863 —American premiere of J.S. Bach's Concerto for Two Claviers and Orchestra No.2 in C Major, at Dodworth's Hall in New York during a Mason-Thomas chamber music "Soiree,"with Henry C. Timm and William Mason performing on two pianos.
Wednesday, April 22
Morton Gould re-writes history ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Morton Gould (1913 - 1996): Fall River Legend orchestra; Morton Gould, cond. RCA/BMG 61651 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Morton Gould On Lizzie Borden ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1658—Italian composer and violinist Giuseppe Torelli, in Verona; 1858—British composer and women's rights advocate Dame Ethel Smyth, in Rectory; 1922—American composer and jazz bassist Charles Mingus, in Nogales, Ariz.; 1932—American composer Michael Colgrass, in Chicago; Deaths: 1892—French composer Edouard Lalo, age 69, in Paris; 1925—French composer André Caplet, age 46, in Paris; 2001—American composer, pianist and author Robert Starer, age 77, in Woodstock, N.Y.; Premieres: 1749 — Rameau: opera-ballet "Naïs," in Paris; 1885 — Dvorák: Symphony No. 7, in London, with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by the composer; 1904 — Chadwick: "Euterpe" overture, by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting; 1912 — Dukas: ballet "La Péri," in Paris; 1927 — Roger Sessions: Symphony (No. 1) in e, by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1938 — Leo Sowerby: Organ Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1939 — Menotti: opera "The Old Man and the Thief," in New York City as a NBC radio broadcast; The first staged performance took place in Philadelphia on February 11, 1941; 1944 — Harry Partch: "Eight Hitchhiker Inscriptions from a Highway Railing," at the chamber concert room at Carnegie Hall; 1961 — Ginastera: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Washington, D.C.; 1969 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Eight Songs for a Mad King," in London; 1975 — Andrew Lloyd-Webber: musical "Jeeves" (book and lyrics by Alan Ayckbourn), in London; An almost totally revised version of this musical, retitled "By Jeeves,: opened in London on July 2, 1996; 1999 — Harbison: "Four Psalms," by vocal soloists Lisa Affer, Lorraine Hunt, Frank Kelley, and James Maddalena, with the Chicago Symphony and Chorus, Christoph Eschenbach conducting; Other: 1723—J.S. Bach is elected cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig; 1853—First documented American performance of Beethoven's "Leonore"Overture No. 2, at Niblo's Rooms in New York City, by the New York Philharmonic, Theodore Eisfeld conducting; 1869—First documented American performance of Beethoven's "King Stephen"Oveture (Op. 117), at the Academy of Music in New York, by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra; 1876—American premiere of Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" Fantasy-Overture, by the New York Philharmonic, George Matzka conducting; 1921—In Paris, the first of the "Koussevitzky Concerts" organized and conducted by the wealthy Russian emigree conductor and music patron, Serge Koussevitzky; 2001—Philharmonic Hungarica gives its final concert in Düsseldorf; The orchestra was founded by Hungarian musicians who fled to West Germany after the Soviet invasion of Hungary in 1956; For London/Decca Records the Philharmonic Hungarica made the first complete set of all of Haydn's symphonies under the baton of its honorary president, the Hungarian-American conductor Antal Dorati.
Thursday, April 23
Meeting deadlines: Tchaikovsky and Zaimont ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): May, fr The Seasons, Op. 37b Mikhail Pletnev, piano Philips 456 931 & Judith Lang Zaimont (b. 1945): The May Fly, fr Calendar Collection Nanette Kaplan Solomon, piano Leonarda 334 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Tchaikovsky On Zaimont ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1464—English composer Robert Fayrfax, in Deeping Gate, Lincolnshire; 1857—Italian opera composer Ruggiero Leoncavallo, in Naples; 1869—German composer and conductor Hans Pfitzner (see May 5); 1872—American composer and music educator Arthur Farwell, in St. Paul, Minn.; 1891—Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, in Sontsovka (Bakhmutsk region, Yekaterinoslav district), Ukraine (Julian date: April 11); Deaths: 1691—French composer, harpsichordist and organist Jean Henri d'Angelbert, age 62, in Paris; Premieres: 1627 — Heinrich Schütz: opera "Dafne" (now lost), at Hartenfels Castle for the wedding of Princess Sophia of Saxony; This work is supposedly the first German opera; 1776 — Gluck: Alceste (2nd version), in Paris at the Académie Royale; 1881 — Gilbert Sullivan: operetta "Patience," at the Opera-Comique Theatre oinLondon; 1904 — Chadwick: "Euterpe" Overture, by the Boston Symphony; 1911 — Berg: String Quartet, Op.3, in Vienna, by the ad hoc quartet Brunner-Holzer-Buchbinder-Hasa Quartet; A later performance in Salzburg on August 2, 1923, by the Havemann Quartet at the First International Festival for Chamber Music , however, attracted wider attention and established Berg's worldwide reputation in musical circles; 1920 — Janácek: opera "The Excursions of Mr. Broucek," in Prague at the National Theater; 1922 — Varèse: "Offrandes" for voice and small orchestra, in New York City, with Carlos Salzedo conducting; 1948 — Jolivet: Concerto for Ondes Martenot and Orchestra, in Vienna; 1958 — Robert Kurka: opera "The Good Soldier Schweik" (posthumously) at the New York City Opera; 1979 — Rochberg: "The Slow Fires of Autumn," for flute and harp, at Tully Hall in New York, with flutist Carol Wincenc; 1981 — Ezra Laderman: String Quartet No. 6 ("The Audubon"), in New York City, by the Audubon Quartet; 1993 — Morten Lauridsen: "Les Chanson des Roses"(five French poems by Rilke) for mixed chorus and piano, by the Choral Cross-Ties ensemble of Portland, Ore., Bruce Brown conducting; 1994 — Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical "Passion"; 1998 — James MacMillan: "Why is this night different?" for string quartet, at London's Wigmore Hall by the Maggini Quartet; Other: 1738—Handel is a founding subscriber to the "Fund for the Support of Decayed Musicians" (now the Royal Society of Musicians) at its first meeting at the Crown and Anchor Tavern in London; The fund was started after the widow and children of Handel's oboe soloist, John Kitch, were found impoverished on the streets of London; Other subscribers to the fund included the British composers Boyce, Arne, Green, and Pepusch (Gregorian date: May 4).
Friday, April 24
Seasonal music by Haydn and Kernis ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809): Ländler, fr The Seasons Ensemble Bella Musica of Vienna Harmonia Mundi 90.1057 & Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960): The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine Eberli Ensemble Phoenix 142 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Haydn On Kernis ALSO ON THIS DATE: Deaths: 1921—Dutch composer Alfons Diepenbrock, age 58, in Amsterdam; 1948—Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, age 65, in Mexico City; 1998—American composer Mel Powell, age 75, in Sherman Oaks, Calif.; He won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1990; Premieres: 1742 — Handel: oratorio, "Messiah" (Julian date: April 13); 1801 — Haydn: oratorio "The Seasons," in Vienna; 1950 — Bernstein: incidental music "Peter Pan" (play by J.M. Barrie) at the Imperial Theater in New York City, conducted by Ben Steinberg; 1957 — Ives: String Quartet No. 1, in New York City (This music was completed in 1896); 1988 — Anthony Davis: "Notes from the Underground" (dedicated to Ralph Ellison), at Carnegie Hall in New York by the American Composers Orchestra, Paul Lustig Dunkel conducting; 1990 — Bright Sheng: "Four Movemenets" for piano trio, at Alice Tully Hall in New York City , by The Peabody Trio; 1992 — Joan Tower: Violin Concerto, with soloist Elmar Oliveira and the Utah Symphony, Joseph Silverstein conducting; 1997 — Stephen Paulus: opera "The Three Hermits," at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minn., with Thomas Lancaster conducting;
Saturday, April 25
Puccini victorious ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Puccini (1858 -1924)/arr. ?: Violin Fantasy on Puccini's “Turandot” Vanessa-Mae, violin; Royal Opera House Orchestra; Viktor Fedotov, cond. EMI/Angel 56483 & Giacomo Puccini (1858 -1924): Nessun dorma, fr Turandot Luciano Pavarotti, tenor; London Philharmonic; Zubin Mehta, cond. London 443 819 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Puccini and his operas ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1690—Baptismal date of German composer and organist Gottlieb Muffat, in Pasau; He was the son of German composer Georg Muffat (1653-1704); 1840—Russian composer Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky (Gregorian date: May 5); Deaths: 1906—American composer John Knowles Paine, age 67, in Cambridge, Mass.; At Harvard, he created the first Music Department of any American university, and was the teacher there of a number of other American composers, including John Alden Carpenter, Arthur Foote, E.B. Hill, F.S. Converse, and D.G. Mason; Premieres: 1881 — Gilbert Sullivan: operetta "Patience," in London; 1918 — Schreker: opera "Die Gezeichneten" (The Branded), in Frankfurt at the Opernhaus; 1926 — Puccini: opera "Turandot," in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala, with Arturo Toscanini conducting; The final scene of this opera, left unfinished at the time of Puccini's death, was completed by Alfano; 1929 — Roussel: "Psalm 80" for tenor, chorus and orchestra, in Paris; 1931 — Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 1 in b, Op. 50, at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, by the Brosa Quartet; 1963 — Hindemith: Organ Concerto, for a jubilee concert of the New York Philharmonic, with the composer conducting and Anton Heiller the soloist; 1980 — Rochberg: "Octet - A Grand Fantasia," at Alice Tully Hall, by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; 1999 — André Previn: Bassoon Sonata, in New York, with Nancy Goeres and the composer at the piano; Other: 1841—At a fund-raising concert in Paris for the Beethoven monument to be erected in Bonn, Franz Liszt performs Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto with Berlioz conducting; Richard Wagner reviews the concert for the Dresden Abendzeitung; The following day, Chopin gives one of his rare recitals at the Salle Pleyel, and Liszt writes a long and glowing review for the Parisian Gazette Musicale; 1865—Pope Pius IX confers on composer Franz Liszt the title of "Abbé".
Sunday, April 26
Serebrier assists Stokie (and Ives) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Charles Ives (1874-1954): Symphony No. 4 Chicago Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. CBS/Sony 44939 & Jose Serebrier (b. 1938): Partita (Symphony No. 2) London Philharmonic; José Serebrier, cond. Reference 90 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Ives On Serebrier ALSO ON THIS DATE: Deaths: 1951—American composer John Alden Carpenter, age 75, in Chicago; 1991—French-born American composer and arranger Leo (Noël) Arnaud, age 86, in Los Angeles; His tune "Bugler's Dream" (written for a Felix Slatkin LP) became used as a familiar theme for the Olympic Games; Premieres: 1738 — Handel: opera "Serse," (Julian date: April 15); 1899 — first version of Sibelius: Symphony No. 1, by the Helsinki Philharmonic, with the composer conducting; A revised, final version of this symphony was performed by the same orchestra on tour in Stockholm on July 4, 1900, conducted by Robert Kajanus; 1915 — Hindemith: String Quartet No. 1 in C, Op. 2, at Dr. Hoch's Conservatory in Frankfurt; 1959 — John Cage: "Fontana Mix," in New York City; 1965 — Ives: Symphony No. 4, at Carnegie Hall by the American Symphony Orchestra, with Leopold Stokowski (assisted by David Katz and José Serebrier); 1970 — Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical 'Company"; A trial-run in Boston preceded the Broadway premiere; 1990 — John Harbison: Concerto for Double Brass Choir and Orchestra, in Los Angeles, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, André Previn conducting; 2002 — Michael Hersch: Symphony No. 2, by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mariss Jansons conducting; Other: 1891—Tchaikovsky arrives in New York to take part in the May 5, 1891, opening concert at New York's newly-constructed "Music Hall"(later known as "Carnegie Hall”). 1926—American premiere of Monteverdi's 1642 opera "L'Incoronazione di Poppea" (The Coronation of Poppea), at Smith College in Northampton, Mass. |
