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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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September 14-20, 2009
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Monday, September 14
New "Variations on a Theme by Purcell" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Colin Matthews (b. 1946): Bright Cecilia Variation BBC Philharmonic; Gianandrea Noseda, cond. BBC Music Vol. 11, no. 3 ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1737—Austrian composer Johann Michael Haydn, in Rohrau; He was the younger brother of Franz Joseph Haydn (b. 1732); 1760—Italian composer Luigi Cherubini, in Florence (although August 14 is occasionally cited as his birthdate); 1910—American composer and eminent theatrical conductor Lehman Engel, in Jackson, Miss.; 1910—Swiss composer Rolf Liebermann, in Zurich; Premieres: 1854 — Bruckner: Mass in Bb ("Missa Solemnis") in St. Florian, Austria; 1952 — Frank Martin: Concerto for Harpsichord, in Venice; 1954 — Britten: opera "The Turn of the Screw," in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice; 1968 — Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 12, in Moscow, by the Beethoven Quartet; 1978 — Barber: Third Essay for Orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta; 1994 — Richard Danielpour: Cello Concerto, commissioned and performed by San Francisco Symphony conducted by Herbert Blomstedt, with soloist Yo-Yo Ma; 1996 — Stockhausen: "Freitag aus Licht" (Friday from Light), at the Leipzig Opera; 1997 — Saariaho: "Graal Théâtre" (chamber version), in Helsinki, by the Avanti Ensemble and violinist John Storgards. 2002 — David Amram: Flute Concerto ("Giants of the Night"), in New Orleans by the Louisiana Philharmonic conducted by Klauspeter Seibel, with James Galway the soloist; 2002 — Colin Matthews, Judith Weir, Poul Ruders, David Sower, Michael Torke, Anthony Payne, and Magnus Linberg: "Bright Cecilia: Variations on a Theme by Purcell," at Royal Albert Hall in London, with the BBC Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; This set of orchestral variations on a Purcell theme was commissioned by BBC Music magazine to celebrate its 10th anniversary; Other: 1731—J.S. Bach performs organ recitals in Dresden on Sept. 14-21; 1741—Handel finishes scoring his famous oratorio, "Messiah," begun on August 22 (The entire work was composed in a period of 24 days); These dates are according to the Julian "Old Style" calendar (Gregorian dates: Sept 2 to Sept. 25); 1914—W. C. Handy copyrights his most famous song, "The St. Louis Blues"; 1973—The Philadelphia Orchestra gives a concert in Beijing, the first American orchestra to perform in Red China; Eugene Ormandy conducts symphonies by Mozart (No. 35), Brahms (No. 1) and the American composer Roy Harris (No. 3).
Tuesday, September 15
Ives at Yaddo ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Charles Ives (1874 – 1954): String Quartet No. 2 Emerson Quartet DG 435 864 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Charles Ives On Yaddo ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1863—American composer and teacher, Horatio William Parker, in Auburndale, Mass.; He became chairman of the Yale music department in 1894, where he taught the young Charles Ives; 1890—Swiss composer Frank Martin, in Geneva; 1913—American composer Henry Brant, in Montréal, Canada; Deaths: 1945—Austrian composer Anton von Webern, age 61, accidentally shot by an American soldier in Mittersill, Austria; Premieres: 1946 — Cowell: "Hymn and Fuguing Tune" No. 5 (string orchestra arrangement), at the Saratoga Springs Convention Hall, by the Spa Music Festival Orchestra, F. Charles Adler conducting; This music was originally written for 5 voices, and in that form was premiered on April 14, 1946, at Times Hall in New York by the Randolph Singers directed by David Randolph; 1946 — Ives: String Quartet No. 2, at the Yaddo Music Festival in Saratoga, N.Y., by the Walden Quartet (This music was completed in 1913); 2000 — Sallinen: opera "King Lear," by the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki.
Wednesday, September 16
Barber at the Met ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Samuel Barber (1910 – 1981): Anthony and Cleopatra Spoleto Festival soloists and orchestra; Christian Badea, cond New World 322 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Samuel Barber More on Barber's opera ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1887—French composition teacher Nadia Boulanger, in Paris; Her pupils included a number of famous American composers from Aaron Copland to Philip Glass; 1844—French flutist and composer Paul Taffanel, in Bordeaux; Premieres: 1925 — Broadway premiere of Vincent Youmans' musical, "No, No Nanette," which had opened in Detroit on April 21, 1924, and had successful productions in Chicago and London before reaching New York City; 1965 — Duke Ellington: First Sacred Concert, at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco; 1966 — Barber: opera, "Anthony and Cleopatra" at the opening of the new Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center; 1995 — Harrison Birtwistle: "Panic" for alto sax, drummer, and orchestra, at the "Last Night" of the Centenary Proms at Royal Albert Hall in London, with the BBC Symphony conducted by Andrew Davis, with John Harle (sax) and Oauk Clarvis (dummer); 1999 — Libby Larsen: "Solo Symphony," by the Colorado Symphony, Marin Alsop conducting; Other: 1920—Italian tenor Enrico Caruso makes his last records (selections by Meyerbeer, Lully, Bartlett, and Rossini) for Victor Records in Camden, New Jersey; He would make his last operatic appearance at the old Metropolitan Opera House on Christmas Eve in 1920 (an evening performance of Halevy's "La Juive"), and die the following summer in Naples; 1977—Opera diva Maria Callas dies of a heart attack, age 53, in Paris.
Thursday, September 17
Wagner gets a Ride in New York ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883): Ride of the Valkyries, fr Die Walkuere Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. DG 471 627 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Theodore Thomas Thomas and the Chicago Symphony ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1795—Baptismal date of Italian opera composer Saverio Mercadante, in Altamura, near Bari; 1884—American composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes, in Elmira, New York; 1917—Korean-born German composer Isang Yun, in Tong Young (now Chung Mu); Deaths: 1179—German mystic, writer and composer Hildegard von Bingen, age c. 81, in Rupertsburg (near Bingen); 1762—Italian violinist and composer Francesco Geminiani, age 74, in Dublin; 1803—Austrian composer Franz Xaver Sussmayr, who studied with Salieri and Mozart; Sussmayr completed Mozart's unfinished "Requiem"; Premieres: 1872 — American premiere of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries" at a Central Park concert given by the Theodore Thomas orchestra; 1931 — Delius: "A Song of Summer," in London; 1957 — Cowell: "Persian Set," at the Gulestan Palace in Tehran, Iran, by the Minneapolis Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting; 1982 — Steve Reich: "Tehillim" (orchestral version), by New York Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta; Other: 1966—German tenor Fritz Wunderlich dies, age 35, from a fall in his home in Heidelberg.
Friday, September 18
Thomson's "portrait" Concerto ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Virgil Thomson (1896 – 1989): Flute Concerto Mary Stolper, flute; Czech National Symphony; Paul Freeman, cond. Cedille 046 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Virgil Thomson ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893—Australian composer Arthur Benjamin, in Sydney; 1910—Polish-born Israeli composer Josef Tal, in Pinne (near Posen); Deaths: 1970—Rock guitar virtuoso Jimi Hendrix, age 27, from asphyxiation due to an overdose of barbiturates Premieres: 1954 — Virgil Thomson: Concerto for flute, strings and percussion, in Venice; 1960 — Penderecki: "Dimensions of Time and Silence," during "Warsaw Autumn" International Festival of Contemporary Music; 1978 — Shostakovich: unfinished opera "The Gamblers" (after Nikolai Gogol), in Leningrad at the Large Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic; 1986 — Corigliano: "Fantasia on an Ostinato" by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Zubin Mehta; 1998 — Bright Sheng: "Spring Dreams," by cellist Yo-Yo Ma with the Seattle Symphony, Gerard Schwartz conducting. 1998 — Michael Torke: "Lucent Variations," in St. Paul, Minn., by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Hugh Wolff conducting.
Saturday, September 19
Brahms and the clarinet ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897): Clarinet Sonata, Op. 120, no. 2 Michael Collins, clarinet; Mikhail Pletnev, piano Virgin 91076 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Johannes Brahms More on Mülhfeld's clarinet ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1829—Music publisher Gustav Schirmer, in Königsee, Thuringia; He came to America in 1840 with his parents, and in 1861 founded in New York City the music publishing house that bears his name, G. Schirmer, Inc.; 1911—Swedish composer Allan Pettersson, in Västra Ryd; Deaths: 1949—Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas, age 45, in Athens; 1972—French composer and pianist Robert Casadesus, age 73, in Paris; Premieres: 1894 — Brahms: two Clarinet Sonatas, Op. 120, at a private performance in the home of the sister of the Duke of Meiningen at Berchtesgaden, by clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld (of the Grand Ducal Orchestra of Meiningen) with the composer at the piano; Brahms and Mühlfeld also gave private performances of both sonatas on November 10-13, 1894, in Frankfurt (for Clara Schumann and others); on November 14, 1894, at Castle Altenstein (for the Duke of Meiningen); and on Jan. 7, 1895, in Vienna (for members of the Tonkünstler Society); The first public performances of the two sonatas took place in Vienna on January 8 (Sonata No. 2) and 11 (Sonata No. 2), 1895, with the same performers, as part of the Rosé Quartet's chamber music series; 1908 — Mahler: Symphony No. 7 ("Song of the Night"), in Prague, with the composer conducting; 1927 — Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 3, in Vienna, by the Kolisch Quartet; 1937 — Hanson: Symphony No. 3 (partial performance), on a CBS Radio Symphony concert conducted by the composer; The first complete performance occurred with the rival network's NBC Symphony, again with the composer conducting, on March 26, 1938; 1970 — Morton Feldman: "The Viola in My Life" No. 1 for viola and orchestra, in London; 1998 — André Previn: opera "A Streetcar Named Desire," with cast including Rene Fleming, by the San Francisco Opera, the composer conducting; 1998 — Michael Torke: "Jasper" for orchestra, by the Madison (Wisc.) Symphony, John DeMain conducting; 1999 — Elmer Bernstein: Guitar Concerto, with Honolulu Symphony conducted by Samuel Wong and soloist Christopher Parkening; 2002 — John Adams: "On the Transmigration of Souls" for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel conducting; 2002 — John Adams: “On the Transmigration of Souls” for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, Lorin Maazel conducting; Other: 1725—J.S. Bach gives organ recitals in the Sophienkirche, Dresden, on Sept. 19 and 20; 1738—Oratorio librettist Charles Jennens writes to a young relative describing a visit to Handel the previous day, dismayed by Handel's ideas for their collaboration on the oratorio "Saul": "Mr. Handel's head is more full of maggots than ever . . ." (Gregorian date: Sept. 30).
Sunday, September 20
Tchaikovsky in Paris ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971): The Firebird (1919 revision) Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 70 & Peter Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893): Valse-Scherzo Gil Shaham, violin; Russian National Orchestra; Mikhail Pletnev, cond. DG 457 064 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Tchaikovsky On the 1878 Exposition Universelle ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1880—Italian composer Ildebrando Pizetti, in Parma; 1885—Frequently cited birth date of American composer and jazz pianist Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton, in New Orleans; This date has been proven incorrect (See October 20, 1890); 1900—Finnish composer Unno Klami, in Virolahti; Deaths: 1908—Spanish violin virtuoso and composer Pablo de Sarasate, age 63, in Biarritz; 1957—Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, age 91, in Järvenpää; Premieres: 1878 — Tchaikovsky: "Valse-scherzo" for violin and orchestra, in Paris, with Nicolai Rubinstein conducting and Stanislaw Barcewicz the soloist; 1930 — first public performance of Elgar: "Pomp and Circumstance" March No. 5, at Queen's Hall in London, Sir Henry Wood conducting; The first performance ever of this music occurred two days earlier, when Elgar himself recorded his new march at HMV's London studios; 1954 — Stravinsky: "In Memoriam Dylan Thomas," in Los Angeles, conducted by Robert Craft; Stravinsky had met the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas the previous year, and they had discussed collaborating on an opera project, but Thomas died on November 9, 1953; 1975 — Jack Beeson: opera "Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines" in Kansas City, Mo. |
