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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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August 31-September 6, 2009
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Monday, August 31
Josef Strauss gives in to destiny ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Josef Strauss (1827 - 1870): Lullaby Waltz Budapest Strauss Symphony; Alfred Walter, cond. Marco Polo 8.223561 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Josef Strauss ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1834—Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli, in Paderno Fasolaro, Cremona; Premieres: 1928 — Kurt Weill: "Die Dreigroschenoper" (The Threepenny Opera) in Berlin at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, to a libretto by German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht 1970 — Birtwistle: "Verses for Ensembles," in London; 2000 — Philip Glass: opera "In the Penal Colony" (based on a story by Franz Kafka), by A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle.
Tuesday, September 1
Show information not yet available.ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1653—Baptismal date of German composer and organist Johann Pachelbel, in Nuremberg; 1854—German composer Engelbert Humperdinck in Siegburg (near Bonn); 1886—Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck, in Brunnen; 1952—Iranian-born American composer Reza Vali, in Ghazvin, Iran; Deaths: 1912—English composer of African descent, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, age 37, in Croydon; Premieres: 1816 — Spohr: opera "Faust" (1st version in German with spoken dialogue), in Prague at the Ständetheater; 1934 — Janácek: opera "Osud" (Fate), over Brno radio; the first staged performance of this work took place 24 years later at the Brno National Theater on Oct. 25, 1958; 1963 — Britten: "Cantata Misericordium," a Latin dramatization of the parable of the Good Samaritan, by the Suisse Romande Orchestra conducted by Ernest Ansermet, in Geneva, Switzerland, at a concert in celebration of the Red Cross; 2000 — Gubaidulina: "St. John's Passion," in Stuttgart (Germany), by the chorus and orchestra of the Kirov Opera Theater and the St. Petersburg Chamber Choir, conducted by Valery Gergiev; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Aug. 28 Sept 5 8); Other: 1785—Mozart dedicates the publication of his six new String Quartets (K. 387, 421, 428, 458, 464 465) to Haydn.
Wednesday, September 2
Show information not yet available.ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1661—German composer and organist Georg Böhm, in Hohenkirchen (near Ohrdruf), Thuringia; 1862—Dutch composer Alphons Diepenbrock, in Amsterdam; 1917—Brazilian composer and guitarist Laurindo Almeida, in São Paulo; 1953 —American composer John Zorn, in New York City; Deaths: 1875—Depressed by the failure of his commercial ventures, violinist and conductor Ureli Corelli Hill, age 73, commits suicide by swallowing morphine in Patterson, New Jersey; Hill had played in the pit orchestra for the first performances of Italian opera in New York City staged by Manuel Garcia in 1825; He conducted the first American performance of Handel's "Messiah" with orchestral accompaniment in 1831; In 1842, he was one of the founding members of the New York Philharmonic, served as its first president, conducted portions of its first concert, and performed with the orchestra until 1873, when he retired due to his age; 1996—American composer Otto Luening, age 96, in New York; Premieres: 1924 — Rudolf Friml: operetta, "Rose Marie," to rave reviews, in New York; 1960 — Walton: Symphony No. 2 at the Edinburgh Festival by the Royal Liverpool Orchestra conducted by John Pritchard; 1966 — Nino Rota: ballet, "La Strada" (The Road) (after his score for the Fellini film), at La Scala in Milan; 1972 — Penderecki: Cello Concerto, at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland; 1975 — Kokkonen: opera "The Last Temptations" in Helsinki; 1980 — Peter Maxwell Davies: opera "The Lighthouse," in Edinburgh; 1992 — Reimann: opera "Das Schloss" (The Castle), after the novel by Franz Kafka, in Berlin at the Deutsche Oper; Other: 1773—The Empress Maria Therese is entertained by Haydn's chamber orchestra at the country estate of Prince Nicholas of Esterhazy. It is possible, but not certain, that Haydn's Symphony No. 48 was performed on this occasion (The symphony known today by the nickname "Maria Therese").
Thursday, September 3
Show information not yet available.ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1568—Italian organist and composer Adriano Banchieri, in Bologna; 1695—Italian violinist and composer Pietro Locatelli, in Bergamo; 1891—French composer and harpist Marcel Grandjany, in Paris; 1897—Brazilian composer Francesco Mignone, in Sao Paolo; Deaths: 1914—French composer Alberic Magnard, age 49, killed by German soldiers while defending his house in Baron, Oise; 1974—American composer, performer and instrument inventor Harry Partch, age 73, in San Diego, Calif.; 1987—American composer Morton Feldman, age 61, in Buffalo, New York; Premieres: 1906 — Victor Herbert: operetta, "The Red Mill," during trial run in Buffalo, N.Y.; 1912 — Schoenberg: "Five Orchestral Pieces," at a Proms concert in London, conducted by Sir Henry Wood; 1931 — Ives: "Washington's Birthday," at the Community Playhouse in San Francisco, presented by composer Henry Cowell's New Music Society; with a chamber ensemble conducted by Nicolas Slonimsky; 1938 — Jon Leifs: "Loftr" Suite, at a Nordic Music Festival concert in Copenhagen conducted by the composer; 1944 — Hindemith: Theme and Variations ("The Four Temperaments"), in Boston, conducted by Richard Burgin; 1949 — Bloch: "Concerto Symphonique" at the Edinburgh Music Festival, with the BBC Scottish Symphony conducted by the composer. Other: 1806—Beethoven writes to his publisher that he has completed his three "Rasoumovsky" String Quartets (Op. 59); The premiere performances were given in February the following year, probably by Ignaz Schuppazigh's quartet, at an unknown site in Vienna, since Rasoumovsky's palace was not yet ready.
Friday, September 4
Show information not yet available.ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1824—Austrian organist and composer Anton Bruckner, in Ansfelden; 1892—French composer and conductor Darius Milhaud, in Aix-en-Provence; Deaths: 1907—Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, age 64, in Bergen; Premieres: 1996 — Steven Mackey: "Lost and Found" for orchestra, by the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting; 1999 — Philip Glass: new filmscore to accompany the classic 1931 Tod Browning horror film "Dracula" (starring Bela Lugosi), by the Kronos Quartet at Telluride, Colorado; Other: 1965 —Organist, Bach authority, medical doctor and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer dies, age 90, at his African mission hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon.
Saturday, September 5
Show information not yet available.ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1735—German composer Johann Christian Bach, the 11th and youngest surviving son of J.S. Bach, in Leipzig; In 1762 he moved to England, where he became famous as "The London Bach"; 1791—German composer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer), in Berlin; 1867—American pianist and composer Amy Marcey Cheney (a.k.a. Mrs. H.H.A. Beach), in Henniker, New Hampshire; 1912 —American composer John Cage, in Los Angeles; Deaths: 1803—French composer François Devienne, age 44, at an insane asylum in Charenton; Premieres: 1733 — Pergolesi: opera "La serva padrona" (The Maid as Mistress), in Naples at the Teatro San Bartolomeo; 1840 — Verdi: opera "Un giorno di regno" (King for a Day), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1857 — Liszt: "A Faust Symphony," in Weimar, conducted by the composer; 1913 — Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 (first version), in Pavlovsk, with the composer as soloist (Julian date: August 23); This version was lost in a fire during the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the composer reconstructed the work from his sketches; He reintroduced the second version of this concerto in Paris on May 8, 1924, at a concert conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; 1927 — Gershwin: musical "Strike Up the Band," at the Shubert Theater in Philadelphia; This show included the classic Gershwin songs "Strike Up the Band" and "The Man I Love"; 1932 — Poulenc: Concerto for Two Pianos, at the Venice Festival, with the composer and Jacques Février as soloists; 1942 — Prokofiev: String Quartet No. 2 in F, Op. 92, in Moscow, by the Beethoven Quartet; The start of the performance was delayed due to a German air raid; 1950 — Arthur Benjamin: Piano Concerto, in Sydney, Australia, with the composer as soloist; 1980 — Glass: opera "Satyagraha," by the Netherlands Opera in Rotterdam, Christopher Keene conducting; 2000 — Osvaldo Golijov: "Las Pasión Según San Marcos" (St. Matthew Passion) in Stuttgart, Germany, by the orchestra of International Bach Academy and the Schola Cantorum de Caracas, Maria Guinand, conducting; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Aug. 28 Sept 1 8). Other: 1964—The La Scala Opera begins a month-long residency at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow with a performance of Puccini's "Turandot"; La Scala is the first European opera company to visit the Soviet Union.
Sunday, September 6
Show information not yet available.ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1644—Baptismal date of Spanish organist and composer Juan Bautista José Cabanilles, in Algemesi, province of Valencia; 1781—Austrian composer and music publisher Anton Diabelli, sometime on Sept 5/6, in Mattsee (near Salzburg); 1912—American composer Wayne Barlow, in Elyria, Ohio; One of his best-known works, "The Winter's Past," was recorded by the Eastman-Rochester Orchestra under Howard Hanson, Barlow's former teacher; 1923—American percussionist, composer and conductor William Kraft, in Chicago; 1938—American composer Joan Tower in New Rochelle, N.Y.; Deaths: 1937—American composer and conductor Henry Hadley, age 65, in New York; 1962—German composer Hans Eisler, age 64, in East Berlin; Premieres: 1791 — Mozart: opera, "La Clemenza di Tito," in Prague at the National Theater. Written for and performed on the eve of the coronation of Leopold II of Prague; 1910 — Vaughan William: "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis," at the Glouchester Festival, with the composer conducting; 1961 — Elliott Carter: Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano with Two Chamber Orchestras, in New York during the Eight Congress of the International Musicological Society, with Gustav Meier conducting and harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick and pianist Charles Rosen as the soloists; 1977 — Thea Musgrave: opera "Mary, Queen of Scots" at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland, conducted by the composer; 1979 — Knussen: Symphony No. 3, by the BBC Symphony in London; 1995 — Lou Harrison: "A Parade for M.T.T.," by the San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas conducting. |
