 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive
Your support makes our online services possible. Contribute Now.
 Your purchase from Public Radio Market helps support the American Composers Forum and Composers Datebook. Your support makes our online services possible. Contribute Now.  |
February 1-7, 2010
Playing audio requires the free Adobe Flash Player from the Adobe Flash Player Download site. More info.
Monday, February 1
Torke abroad ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Michael Torke (b. 1961): An American Abroad Royal Scottish National Orchestra; Marin Alsop, cond. Naxos 8.559167 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Michael Torke ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1690—Italian composer Francesco Maria Veracini, in Florence; 1701—Swedish composer Johan Joachim Agrell, in Löth; 1859—Irish-born American composer and cellist Victor Herbert, in Dublin; 1869—Russian composer and violinist Julius Conus (Yuly Konyus), in Moscow (Julian date: Jan. 20); 1907—Hungarian-born Swiss composer Sándor Veress, in Kolozsvár; 1928—German-born American composer Ursula Mamlok, in Berlin; Deaths: 1824—Austrian composer and pianist Maria Theresia von Paradis, age 64, in Vienna; 1875—British composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett, age 58, in London; 1981—German composer Ernst Pepping, age 79, in Berlin; 1981—Norwegian composer Nils Geirr Tveitt, age 72, in Oslo; Premieres: 1893 — Puccini: opera, "Manon Lescaut," in Turin at the Teatro Regio; 1896 — Puccini: opera "La Bohème," in Turin at the Teatro Regio, with Arturo Toscanini conducting; 1916 — Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 ("The Inextinguishable") with the orchestra of the Copenhagen Music Society, the composer conducting; 1918 — Lehar: operetta "Wo die Lerche singt" (Where the Lark Sings) in Budapest; 1930 — Schoenberg: opera "Von Heute af Morgen" (From One Day to the Next), at the Frankfurt Opera; 1947 — Hindemith: "Sinfonia Serena" by the Dallas Symphony, Antal Dorati conducting; 1982 — Tobias Picker: Violin Concerto, by the American Composers Orchestra, Paul Dunkel conducting, with Rolf Schulte the soloist; 1984 — John Harbison: chamber orchestra version of “Mirabai Songs” (to poems of Mirabai, translated by Robert Bly), at Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Mass., with mezzo-soprano Hance Felty and the ensemble Collage, Gunther Schuller conducting; The original voice and piano version of this work premiered in Boston on Nov. 15, 1983; 1996 — George Walker: "Lilacs" for voice and orchestra, by soprano Faye Robinson and the Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music; 2002 — Michael Torke: "An American Abroad" for orchestra, in Edinburgh, Scotland, by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Marin Alsop conducting; Other: 1881—After a private performance of the late Jacques Offenbach's final work, "The Tales of Hoffmann," at the Opéra Comique in Paris, runs longer than anticipated, extensive cuts and alterations are made to the score before its first public staging. 1862—American premiere of Brahms's Serenade No. 2 in A, at Irving Hall in New York, by the New York Philharmonic, Carl Bergmann conducting; The world premiere performance of this work had occurred in Hamburg, Germany, on Feb. 10, 1860, with the composer conducting; 1864 —First documented American performance of Beethoven's Triple Concerto, at Milwaukee's Music Hall, by the Musical Society under Frederick Abel, with three unnamed soloists;
Tuesday, February 2
Kreisler in the style of Kreisler ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Fritz Kreisler (1875 — 1962): Violin Concerto (in the style of Vivaldi) Gil Shaham, violin; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra DG 439933 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Fritz Kreisler Kreisler's "Four Weeks in the Trenches" (WWI memoirs) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1669—French composer and organist Louis Marchand, in Lyons; 1813—Russian composer Alexander Dargomizhsky (Gregorian date: Feb. 14); 1873—Austrian operetta composer Leo Fall, in Olmütz; 1875—Austrian-American composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, in Vienna; Deaths: 1594—Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, age 68, in Rome; 1789—French composer, organist and harpsichordist Armand-Louis Couperin, age 61, in Paris; 1934—Brazilian composer and pianist Ernesto Nazareth, age 70, in Rio de Janeiro; 1974—Belgian composer Jean Absil, age 80, in Brussels; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 83 ("Erfreute Zeit im neuen Bunde") performed on the Feast of the Purification as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 125 ("Mit Fried und Frued ich fahr dahin") performed on the Feast of the Purification as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1795 — Haydn: Symphony No. 102, in London at the King's Theater, with the composer conducting; 1884 — Loeffler: "Fantastic Concerto," by the Boston Symphony, Emil Paur conducting; 1890 — Dvorák: Symphony No. 8, Op. 88, in Prague, with the composer conducting; 1900 — Chadwick: "Adonais" (Elegiac Overture), by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting; 1900 — Gustave Charpentier: opera, "Louise," in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1920 — Stravinsky: ballet, "The Song of the Nightingale," at the Paris Opéra, with choreography by Massine; 1921 — Bretan: opera "Luceafarul" (The Evening Star), in Cluj, Romania; 1926 — Cowell: String Quartet No. 1 ("Quartett Pedantic"), at Aeolian Hall in New York City by the Ralph Henkle String Quartet; 1977 — Ned Rorem: "A Quaker Reader" for organ, in New York City; 1978 — Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 1, in London at Royal Festival Hall, by the Philharmonia Orchestra, Simon Rattle conducting.
Wednesday, February 3
Chen Yi's "Spring Festival" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Chen Yi (b. 1953): Spring Festival University of Minnesota Symphonic Wind Ensemble; Craig Kirchhoff, cond. Hal Leonard (full score, parts & CD) HL-04001978 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Chen Yi On the BandQuest series On the College Band Directors National Association ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1525—earliest possible birth date for the Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, who was probably born between February 3, 1525 and February 2, 1526, most likely at Palestrina (near Rome); 1809—German composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, in Hamburg; 1842—American poet, flutist and composer Sidney Lanier, in Macon, Ga.; 1904—Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola, in Pisino, Istria; 1910—Mexican composer Blas Galindo Dimas, in San Gabriel, Jalisco; 1911—French composer and organist Jehan Alain, in Paris; Deaths: 1814—Bohemian composer Johann Antonin Kozeluch, age 75, in Prague; Premieres: 1823 — Rossini: opera "Semiramide," in Venice at the Teatro la Fenice; 1844 — Berlioz: "Roman Carnival" Overture, in Paris at the Salle Herz, with the composer conducting; 1867 — Brahms: String Sextet No. 2, Op. 36, in Vienna, by the Hellmesberger Sextet; This work had received some informal performances in Zürich the preceding year; 1868 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 15); 1884 — Tchaikovsky: opera “Mazeppa” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 15); 1894 — Glazunov: Symphony No. 4, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 22); 1945 — Stravinsky: "Scènes de ballet," in New York City by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by the composer; This work was commissioned by Broadway impresario Billy Rose for a 1944 revue titled "The Seven Lively Arts"; 1956 — Elie Siegmeister: Clarinet Concerto, in Oklahoma City; 1989 — Michael Torke: "Ash," in St. Paul, Minn., by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, John Adams conducting; 2002 — Philip Glass: Symphony No. 6, at Carnegie Hall, by the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.
Thursday, February 4
A Hovhaness premiere ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Alan Hovhaness (1911 - 2000): Lousadzak Keith Jarrett, piano; American Composers Orcehstra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. MusicMasters 60204 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Hovhaness ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1740—Swedish song composer Carl Michael Bellman, in Stockholm; 1892—Finnish song composer Yrjo Kilpinen, in Helsingfors; 1893—American composer Bernard Rogers, in New York; Deaths: 1781—Bohemian-born composer Josef Mysliveczek, age 43, in Rome; 1997—American composer Ross Lee Finney, age 90, in Carmel, Calif.; 2001—Romanian born, Greek-French composer and architectural engineer Iannis Xenakis, age 78, in Paris; Premieres: 1725 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 126 ("Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort") performed on Sexagesimae Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1884 — Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 2, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 16); 1908 — First public performance of Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb in St. Petersburg, conducted by Felix Blumenfeld (Julian date: Jan. 22); A private performance of two movements of this symphony had occurred on April 14/27, 1907, also in St. Petersburg; 1945 — Hovhaness: "Lousadzek" (Coming of Light) for piano and strings, in Boston, with the composer conducting from the piano; Other: 1837—Franz Liszt performs a chamber recital in Paris, featuring the then-unfamiliar Piano Trios of Beethoven; At the last minute, the performers decided to reverse the printed order of the program, performing on the first half of the concert a trio by Pixis, and a Beethoven trio on the second half; The audience (and critics) warmly applaud the Pixis, mistakenly thinking it was the Beethoven work, and react coolly to the Beethoven, assuming it was by Pixis; Among the critics, only Berlioz notices the program switch. 1854—First documented American performance of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, at Boston's Odeon by the Germania Musical Society conducted by Carl Bergmann, with Robert Heller the soloist; 1887—American premiere of Bruckner: Symphony No. 7, by the Boston Symphony, Wilhelm Gericke conducting;
Friday, February 5
Schoenberg hissed ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Arnold Schoenberg (1874 — 1951): String Quartet No 1, Op 7 Kolisch Quartet Music & Arts 1056 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Arnold Schoenberg ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1810—Norwegian composer and violinist Ole Bull, in Bergen; 1909—Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz, in Lódz; 1943—French-American composer Ivan Tcherepnin, in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris; Deaths: 1907—German composer Ludwig Thuille, age 45, in Munich; 1962—French composer Jacques Ibert, age 71, in Paris; Premieres: 1887 — Verdi: opera "Otello," in Milan at the Teatro all Scala, with composer conducting (and cellist Arturo Toscanini in the orchestra); 1895 — Ippolitov-Ivanov: “Caucasian Sketches,” in Moscow, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 24; 1907 — Schoenberg: String Quartet No. 1 in d, Op. 7, in Vienna, by the Rosé Quartet; 1939 — Carl Orff: opera "Der Mond" (The Moon), in Munich at the Nationaltheater; 1958 — Tippett: Symphony No. 2, in London, by the BBC Symphony, with Sir Adrian Boult conducting; 1969 — Thea Musgrave: Clarinet Concerto, in London; 1970 — Elliott Carter: "Concerto for Orchestra" by the New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez conducting; 1995 — Olly Wilson: "Shango Memory" for orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, Neeme Järvi conducting; 2000 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Symphony No. 4 ("The Gardens"), for chorus, children's chorus and orchestra, by Michigan State University ensembles conducted by Leon Gregorian. Other: 1875—American premiere of J.S. Bach's Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra and soloists S.E. Jacobsohn and Richard Arnold; The same performers also gave the New York City premiere at Steinway Hall the following day; Following a Dec. 10, 1881, New York Philharmonic performance under Thomas with the same soloists, the New York Times reviewer wrote: "The concert possesses no interest to anyone but a violinist and even for a musically disposed audience is not a felicitous selection."
Saturday, February 6
Purcell (and Stucky) in the 20th century ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Henry Purcell (1659 ? - 1695) arr. Steven Stucky (b. 1949) : Music for the Funeral of Queen Mary University of Minnesota Symphonic Wind Ensemble; Craig Kirchhoff, cond. innova 517 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Purcell On Stucky On the College Band Directors National Association ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1941—American composer Stephen Albert, in New York; Deaths: 1497—Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem, age c. 76, in Tours; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 144 ("Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin") performed on Septuagesimae Sunday as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1727 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 157 ("Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn") for a funeral service in Leipzig; 1813 — Rossini: opera "Tancredi," in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice; 1851 — R. Schumann: Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish"), in Düsseldorf, conducted by the composer; 1930 — Roussel: "Petite Suite" for orchestra, in Paris; 1933 — Henry Brant: "Angels and Devils" for solo flute and flute ensemble, at a Pan-American Association of Composers concert at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City, with the famous French-born flautist Georges Barrère as the soloist; On the same program, Brant accompanied soprano Judith Litante at the piano in the premiere performances of three songs by Charles Ives: "Afterglow," "Ann Street," and "Like a Sick Eagle"; 1941 — Hindemith: Cello Concerto, at the Sanders Theater (Cambridge, Mass.) by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with Gregor Piatigorsky the soloist; 1944 — Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, by the NBC Symphony conducted by Leopold Stokowski, with Eduard Steuermann as soloist; 1959 — Poulenc: opera "La voix humaine" (The Human Voice), in Paris at the Opéra Comique; 1976 — John La Montaine: opera "Be Glad, Then, America," at University Park, Pa.; 1996 — Stephen Paulus: "Dramatic Suite," for flute, viola, cello and piano, in St. Cloud, Minn., by members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Other: 1838—Mendelssohn finishes his String Quartet in Eb, Op. 44, no. 3.
Sunday, February 7
Zwilich times Three ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ellen Taafe Zwilich (b. 1939): Triple Concerto Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Florida State University; Michael Stern, cond. Koch 7537 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More on Zwilich ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1871—Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar, in Stockholm; 1883—American jazz pianist and song composer Eubie Blake, in Baltimore; 1897—American composer Quincy Porter, in New Haven, Conn.; 1925—Rumanian-born French composer Marius Constant, in Bucharest; Deaths: 1652—Italian composer and Papal Chapel singer Gregorio Allegri, age .c 70, in Rome; 1779—English composer and organist William Boyce, age 67, in Kensington; Premieres: 1733 — Handel: opera “Orlando” in London (Julian date: Jan.27); 1786 — Mozart: opera "Der Schauspieldirektor" (The Impressario), in Vienna at the Orangerie at Schönbrunn; 1792 — Cimarosa: opera "Il Matrimonio segreto" (The Secret Marriage), in Vienna at the Burgtheater; 1873 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2 (“Little Russian”), in Moscow (Julian date: Jan. 26); 1875 — Lalo: "Symphonie espagnole" for Violin and Orchestra, in Paris, Edouard Colonne conducting, with Pablo de Sarasate the soloist; 1882 — Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan.26); 1893 — Brahms: Capriccio in d, No. 7 from "Fantasies" for Piano, Op. 116, in Vienna; 1908 — Chadwick: "Symphonic Sketches," by the Boston Symphony, with Karl Muck conducting; 1907 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera “Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh,” in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 20); 1922 — Stenhammar: incidental music for Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," at the Lorensberg Theater in Gothenburg, Sweden; 1931 — Deems Taylor: opera "Peter Ibbetson" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; 1941 — first public performance of Barber: Violin Concerto, by Philadelphia Orchestra, with Eugene Ormandy conducting and Albert Spalding the soloist; 1941 — Hindemith: Cello Concerto, Op. 7, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting with Gregor Piatigorsky the soloist; 1953 — Martinu: "The Marriage," one-act opera (after Gogol) on the NBC TV network; One of the earliest operas specifically written for television, it is nowadays all but forgotten; 1957 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 7 (arr. Bogatiiryov), in Moscow; This arrangement uses sketches for Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3 and for another unfinished work for piano and orchestra as the basis for a "new" symphonic work by the late composer; 1964 — Sessions: Symphony No. 5, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1988 — Tan Dun: "Out of Peking Opera" for violin and orchestra, at Lincoln Center, with soloist Vera Weiling Tsu and the New York City Symphony, David Eaton conducting; 1996 — Zwilich: Triple Concerto for violin, cello, piano and orchestra, by the Minnesota Orchestra, Zdenek Macal conducting, with the Kalichstein/Laredo/Robinson Trio as the soloists; Other: 1973—On his 90th birthday, Jazz pianist and song composer Eubie Blake, the son of former slaves, is honored by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). |
