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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
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January 4-10, 2010
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Monday, January 4
Schuller and the MJQ ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Gunther Schuller (b. 1925): Conversation Modern Jazz Quartet and ensemble; Gunther Schuller, cond. Wounded Bird 1345 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Gunther Schuller On John Lewis and the Modern Jazz Quartet ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1710—Italian composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, in Jesi, Marche; 1720—German composer, organist, singing teacher and writer on music Johann Friedrich Agricola, in Dobitschen, Saxe-Altenburg; 1874—Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk, in Krecovice; The famous contemporary Czech violinist and Supraphon recording artist Josef Suk (b. 1929) is this composer’s grandson; Premieres: 1869 — Symphony No. 1, at a Russian Musical Society Concert in St. Petersburg conducted by Mily Balakirev (Gregorian date: Jan. 16); 1880 — Brahms: Piano Pieces, Op. 76, in Leipzig; 1881 — Brahms: "Academic Festival Overture," in Breslau, with the composer conducting; 1961 — Gunther Schuller: jazz ballet "Variants," in New York City; 1996 — Richard Danielpour: "Toward the Splendid City" for Orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Slatkin and commissioned by the Philharmonic for its 150th Anniversary; Other: 1840—The climax of Franz Liszt's triumphal return to his native land occurs at the old Hungarian National Theatre, where the composer is presented with a bejeweled "Sword of Honor"; Liszt delivers an impassioned speech that calls for Hungarian cultural and political independence; 1950—RCA announces it will produce long play records as Columbia did two years earlier (RCA had unsuccessfully attempted to compete with Columbia's new 33.3-rpm LPs by issuing some of their classical catalog as multiple disc 45-rpm sets).
Tuesday, January 5
Milhaud at West Point ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Darius Milhaud (1892 - 1974): West Point Suite, Op. 313 Liszt Academy Symphonic Band; Laszlo Marosi, cond Hungaroton 32066 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Milhaud ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1792—American composer Peter Wolle, in New Herrnhut, St. Thomas, West Indies; 1871—American composer Frederick Shepherd Converse, in Newton, Massachusetts; 1880—Russian composer and pianist Nicolai Medtner, in Moscow (Julian date: Dec. 24, 1879); 1881—Russian composer Nicolai Roslavetz, in Dushatino, Chernigov region, Ukraine (Julian date: Dec. 24, 1880); Deaths: 1869 —Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky (Gregorian date: Jan. 17); 1970—Catalan-born British composer Roberto Gerhard, age 73, in Cambridge, England; 1979—American jazz composer and bassist Charles Mingus, age 56, in Mexico City; Premieres: 1677 — Lully: opera "Isis," in Paris; 1727 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 58 ("Ach Gott, wie manches Herzeleid" II) performed on the Sunday after New Year's Day as part of Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1725/27); 1745 — Handel: musical drama "Hercules" at the King's Theater in London (Gregorian date: Jan. 16); 1868 — Bruch: Violin Concerto in g, Op. 26 (final version), in Bremen, with Karl Martin Rheintahler conducting and Joseph Joachim the soloist; An earlier version of this work had been premiered on April 24, 1866, which Bruch substantially revised with the assistance of Joachim; 1884 — Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta, "Princess Ida," at the Savoy Theatre in London; 1932 — Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, in Vienna, with Vienna Symphony conducted by Robert Heger, with Paul Wittgenstein (who commissioned the work) as soloist; 1941 — Mark Blitzstein: opera "No for an Answer," in New York City; 1949 — Henry Cowell: Symphony No. 5, at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., by the National Symphony, Hans Kindler conducting; 1949 — Morton Gould: symphonic suite, "Fall River Legend," Pierre Monteux conducting San Francisco Symphony Orchestra; 1961 — Easley Blackwood: Symphony No. 2, in Cleveland (commissioned by music publisher G. Schirmer to celebrate its centenary); 1962 — Ross Lee Finney: Piano Quintet No. 2, in Los Angeles; 1973 — Pierre Boulez: ". . . explosante/fixe" at a concert by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York City.
Wednesday, January 6
Concertos by Poulenc and Carter ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Francis Poulenc (1899 –1963): Piano Concerto Pascal Roge, piano; Philharmonia Orchestra; Charles Dutoit, cond. London 436 546 & Elliot Carter (b. 1908): Piano Concerto Ursula Oppens, piano; SWF Symphony; Michael Gielen, cond. Arte Nova 27773 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Poulenc On Carter ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1835—Russian composer César Cui (Gregorian date: Jan. 18); 1838—German composer Max Bruch, in Cologne; 1850—German composer and pianist Xaver Scharwenka, in Samter; 1872—Russian composer Alexander Scriabin, in Moscow (Julian date: Dec. 25, 1871); 1920—American composer Earl Kim, in Dinuba, Calif.; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 65 ("Sie werden aus Saba alle kommen" performed on the Feast of the Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 123 ("Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen") performed on the Feast of Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1735 — Bach: Part 6 ("Herr, wenn die stoltzen Feinde schnauben") of the 6-part "Christmas Oratorio," S. 248, on the Feast of the Epiphany in Leipzig; 1755 — Karl Heinrich Graun: opera "Montezuma" (with a French libretto by Frederick the Great) at the Royal Opera House in Berlin; 1863 — Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in f, in Vienna; 1888 — Dvorák: Piano Quintet No, 2 in A, Op. 81, in Prague; 1924 — Ibert: "Escales" (Ports of Call), in Paris; 1950 — Poulenc: Piano Concerto, in Boston, by the Boston Symphony conducted by Charles Munch with the composer as soloist; 1967 — Elliott Carter: Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony conducted by Erich Leinsdorf, with Jacob Lateiner the soloist; 1991 — Michael Torke: "Bronze" for piano and orchestra, at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the American Composers Orchestra conducted by David Zinman and the composer as the piano soloist; 1999 — Christopher Rouse: "Kabir Padavali" for soprano and orchestra, in Minneapolis by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by David Zinman, with Dawn Upshaw the soloist; 2000 — Bright Sheng: "Red Silk Dance" for piano and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony conducted by Robert Spano, with Emanuel Ax the soloist; Other: 1733—This notice appears in the Leipzig newspaper Nachtricht auch Frag u. Anzeiger: "Tonight at 8 o'clock there will be a Bach Concert at the Zimmermann Coffeehouse on Catharine Street"; This presumably featured secular vocal works, chamber music and concertos performed by the Leipzig Collegium, an ensemble directed by J.S. Bach.
Thursday, January 7
"Statements" from Copland ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Aaron Copland (1900 –1990): Statements London Symphony; Aaron Copland, cond. Sony 47232 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On the Copland Collection at the Library of Congress More on Copland ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1899—French composer and pianist Francis Poulenc, in Paris; 1917—American composer Ulysses Kay, in Tucson, Ariz.; Deaths: 1964—American composer Colin McPhee, age 62, in Los Angeles; Premieres: 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 124 ("Meinen Hesum lass ich nicht") performed on the 1st Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1857 — Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 2 in A, in Weimar, with the composer conducting and his pupil, Hans von Bronsart, the soloist; 1895 — Brahms: Two Sonatas for clarinet and piano (Op. 120, no. 1 in f & No. 2 in Eb), in Vienna at a private performance for members of the Tonkünstler Society, with clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld and the composer at the piano; The first public performances of these pieces took place at the Rosé Quartet's chamber concert series on Jan. 8 (Sonata No. 2) and Jan. 11 (Sonata No. 1); See also Jan. 8 & 11 below for more information on early performances of these two sonatas; 1897 — Loeffler: “The Death of Tintagiles” for orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Emil Paur conducting; 1898 — Glazunov: ballet "Raymonda" (Gregorian date: Jan. 19); 1898 — Rimsky-Korsakov: "Sadko," in Moscow at the Solodovnikov Theater, Esposito conducting (Julian date: Dec. 26, 1897; 1933 — Gruenberg: opera "Emperor Jones" (after the play by Eugene O'Neill), at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City; 1942 — Copland: "Statements" for Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall by New York Philharmonic conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos; 1952 — Gail Kubik: "Symphonie-Concertante" in New York City; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1952; 1955 — Martinu: Symphony No. 6 ("Fantaisies symphoniques"), by the Boston Symphony, with Charles Munch conducting; 2000 — Danielpour: "The Night Rainbow," in Santa Anna, Calif., by the Pacific Symphony, Carl St. Clair conducting; Other: 1955—Marian Anderson makes her Metropolitan Opera debut as Ulrica in Verdi's "Un Ballo in Mascera" (A Masked Ball); She is the first African-American singer to perform as an opera soloist on the Met stage; Subsequent distinguished African-American singers who performed as members of the Met company included Robert McFerrin, Sr. (Bobby McFerrin Jr.’s father), Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Kahtleen Battle and Jessye Norman.
Friday, January 8
Weinberger in Europe and America ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Jaromir Weinberger (1896 –1967): Schwanda the Bagpiper Munich Radio Orchestra; Heinz Wallberg, cond. CBS/Sony 36926 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More on Weinberger ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1792—American composer and educator Lowell Mason, in Medford, Massachusetts; 1812—Swiss composer and pianist Sigismond Thalberg, in Pâquis, near Geneva; 1896—Czech composer Jaromir Weinberger, in Prague; 1899—Russian-born American composer Alexander Tcherepnin (Gregorian date: Jan. 21); 1905—Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi, in La Spezia; 1924—Russian-American composer Benjamin Lees (née Lysniansky), in Harbin, Manchuria; 1924—Austrian-born American composer Robert Starer, in Vienna; 1935—The charismatic rock 'n' roll performer Elvis Presley is born in Tupelo, Miss.; 1937—American composer Robert Moran, in Denver; Deaths: 1713—Italian composer and violinist Arcangelo Corelli, age 59, in Rome; 1831—Moravian-born composer and violinist Franz Krommer, age 71, in Vienna; 1998—British composer Sir Michael Tippett, age 93, in London; Premieres: 1705 — Handel: opera "Almira" in Hamburg; This was Handel's first opera (see also Dec. 5 & 30 for related contemporary incidents); 1720 — Handel: opera "Radamisto" (2nd version), in London (Julian date: Dec. 28, 1720); 1735 — Handel: opera "Ariodante" in London at the Covent Garden Theater (Gregorian date: Jan. 19); 1843 — Schumann: Piano Quintet in Eb, Op. 44, at Leipzig Gewandhaus with pianist Clara Schumann; 1895 — Brahms: Clarinet Sonata, Op. 120, no. 1 (first public performance), in Vienna, by clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, with the composer at the piano, as part of the Rosé Quartet's chamber music series; The first performance ever of this work occurred on September 19, 1894, at a private performance in the home of the sister of the Duke of Meiningen at Berchtesgaden, with the same performers; Brahms and Mühlfeld also gave private performances of both sonatas in Frankfurt (for Clara Schumann and others) on November 10-13, 1894; at Castle Altenstein (for the Duke of Meiningen) on Nov. 14, 1894; and on Jan. 7, 1895 (for members of the Vienna Tonkünstler Society); 1911 — Florent Schmitt: "La tragédie de Salomé" for orchestra, in Paris; 1927 — Berg: "Lyric Suite" for string quartet, in Vienna, by the Kolisch Quartet; 1928 — Hindemith: "Kammermusik" No. 7, Op. 46, no. 2, in Frankfurt, with Ludwig Rottenberg conducting and Reinhold Merten the organist; 1940 — Roger Sessions: Violin Concerto, by the Illinois Symphony conducted by Izler Solomon, with Robert Gross as soloist; The work was to have been premiered by Albert Spalding with the Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky in January of 1937, but did not take place); 1963 — Shostakovich: opera "Katerina Izmailova" (2nd version of "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District"), in Moscow at the Stanislavsky-Nemirovich-Dachenko Music Theater; 1971 — Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15, in Moscow, by the All-Union Radio and Television Symphony, with the composer's son, Maxim, conducting; 1987 — Christopher Rouse: "Phaethon" for orchestra, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Riccardo Muti conducting; 1988 — Schwantner: "From Afar . . . " (A Fantasy for Guitar and Orchestra), by guitarist Sharon Isbin with the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; Other: 1923—First broadcast in England of an opera direct from a concert hall, Mozart's "The Magic Flute" via the BBC from London;
Saturday, January 9
Bartok's "Contrasts" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Béla Bartók (1881 –1945): Contrasts Benny Goodman, clarinet; Joseph Szigeti, violin; Bela Bartok, piano CBS/SONY 42227 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Béla Bartók On Benny Goodman ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1839—American composer John Knowles Paine, in Portland, Maine; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 154 ("Mein liebster Jesus ist verloren") performed on the 1st Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1880 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "May Night," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Jan. 21); 1904 — Debussy: "Estampes," by Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes, in Paris; 1909 — Ravel: "Gaspard de la Nuit," by Spanish pianist Ricardo Viñes, in Paris; 1937 — Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 4, in Los Angeles, by the Kolisch Quartet; 1939 — Bartók: "Rhapsody" (two movements) for clarinet, violin, and piano, in New York City, with clarinetist Benny Goodman, violinist Joseph Szigeti, and the composer at the piano; For the 1940 recording session of this work, commissioned by Goodman, Bartók added a middle movement and changed the title to "Contrasts"; 1947 — Roger Sessions: Symphony No. 2, by the San Francisco Symphony, Pierre Monteux conducting; 1947 — Kurt Weill: opera "Street Scene," in New York City at the Adelphi Theater; 1948 — Walter Piston: Symphony No. 3, Serge Koussevitzky conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1948; 1976 — William Bolcom: "Seasons" for guitar, in New York City; 1987 — Joan Tower: "Silver Ladders," by the St. Louis Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting; 1988 — Alvin Singleton: "After Fallen Crumbs" for orchestra, by the Atlanta Symphony, Michael Palmer conducting.
Sunday, January 10
Joan Tower's "Fanfares" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Joan Tower (b. 1938): Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch 7469 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Joan Tower Joan Tower on NPR's "This I Believe" ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1910—French composer and conductor Jean Martinon, in Lyons; 1916—American composer Milton Babbitt, in Philadelphia; Deaths: 1895—French composer Benjamin Godard, age 45, in Cannes; 1941—British composer Frank Bridge, age 61, in Eastbourne; Premieres: 1676 — Lully: opera "Atys," in St. Germain; 1713 — Handel: opera "Teseo" at the Queen's Theater in London; On the second night of the performance, the theater manager, a certain Owen Swiney, flees to Italy with the box office receipts (Gregorian date: Jan. 21); 1867 — Verdi: opera "Don Carlos" (2nd Italian-language version in 4 acts), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1886 — first performance with orchestra of Bruckner: "Te Deum" in Vienna; 1897 — d'Indy "Istar" for orchestra, simultaneously by Willem Mengelberg in Amsterdam and Eugène Ysayë in Brussels; 1928 — Gershwin (and Sigmund Romberg): musical "Rosalie" at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York City; This show included the classic Gershwin songs "How Long Has This Been Going On?" and "Say So!"; 1931 — Ives: “Three Places in New England,” in New York City, by the Chamber Orchestra of Boston, Nicholas Slonimsky conducting; 1934 — Franz Schmidt: Symphony No. 4, by Vienna Symphony, Oswald Kabasta conducting; 1960 — Stravinsky: "Movements," at Town Hall in New York, by pianist Margit Weber during a Stravinsky Festival, with the composer conducting; 1978 — Dutilleux: "Timbres, espaces, mouvement" for orchestra, in Washington, D.C.; 1987 — Joan Tower: "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" No. 1 (later dedicated to Marin Alsop), by the Houston Symphony, Hans Vonk conducting; 1998 — Kernis: String Quartet No. 2, at Merkin Concert Hall in New York, by the Lark Quartet; This work won that year's Pulitzer Prize for Music; Other: 1710—Handel's music is performed in London for the first time, when orchestral works from his opera "Rodrigo" are performed as incidental music during a revival performance of Ben Jonson's play "The Alchymist" (Gregorian date: Jan. 21). |
