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Archives Find past shows by date:  Complete archive Your purchase from Public Radio Market helps support the American Composers Forum and Composers Datebook.  |
November 5-11, 2012
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Monday, November 5
The Minneapolis Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Dominick Argento (b. 1927): A Ring of Time Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 91 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On the history of the Minnesota Orchestra ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1494—German poet and songwriter ("Master Singer") Hans Sachs, in Nuremberg; He is the subject of German Romantic operas by Lortzig ("Hans Sachs," 1840) and Wagner ("Die Meistersinger," 1868); 1935—British composer Nicholas Maw, in Grantham, Lincolnshire; Maw now lives in Washington, D.C.; Deaths: 1942—American songwriter and vaudevillian George M. Cohan, age 64, in New York City; He won the Congressional Medal for his patriotic song, "Over There" (recorded by Enrico Caruso among others); 1956—American jazz pianist and improviser Art Tatum, age 47, in Los Angeles; Premieres: 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 115 ("Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit") performed on the 22nd Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1846 — R. Schumann: Symphony No. 2, by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn; 1876 — Tchaikovsky: “Marche slav” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 17); 1888 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Nov. 17); 1895 — R. Strauss: tone-poem "Till Eulenspiegels Merry Pranks," in Cologne, conducted by Franz Wüllner; 1926 — de Falla: Harpsichord Concerto, with Wanda Landowska as soloist with the composer conducting; 1927 — Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2 ("To October"), by the Leningrad Philharmonic and Academic Choir, Nikolai Malko conducting; 1938 — Barber: "Adagio for Strings" and "Essay for Orchestra" No. 1, on a broadcast concert by the NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini conducting; 1943 — Martinu: Concerto for Two Pianos, with Luboshutz and Nemenoff Duo, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1987 — Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical "Into the Woods"; Other: 1903—First concert by a 50-member Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (the current Minnesota Orchestra), conducted by Emil Oberhoffer, with Metropolitan Opera soprano Marcella Sembrich as guest soloist; 1955—Karl Böhm conducts a performance of Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the gala re-opening of Vienna Opera House (damaged by Allied bombs on March 12, 1945); During the rebuilding of the Opera House, performances had continued in two nearby Viennese halls: the Theatre and der Wien and the Volksoper.
Tuesday, November 6
Beethoven and Brusa take it slow ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827): Symphony No. 7 Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado, cond. DG 471 490 & Elisabetta Brusa (b. 1954): Adagio Ukraine National Symphony; Fabio Mastrangelo, cond. Naxos 8.555267 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Beethoven On Brusa ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1814—Belgian inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax, in Dinant; He invented the instrument around 1840, and was granted a 15-year patent in 1846; 1854—American composer and bandmaster John Philip Sousa, in Washington, D.C.; 1860—Polish composer, piano virtuoso, and statesman, Ignace Jan Paderewski, in Russian Poland (Gregorian date: Nov. 18); Deaths: 1672—German composer Heinrich Schütz, age 87, in Dresden; 1795—Czech-born German opera composer Jiri Antonin (Georg Anton)Benda, age 73, in Köstritz; 1893—Russian composer Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, age 53, dies of cholera after drinking un-boiled water during an epidemic in St. Petersburg (see Julian date: Oct. 25); Some speculate this was a deliberate and suicidal act; 1965—Franco-American composer Edgard (or Edgar) Varèse, age 81, in New York City; Premieres: 1825 — Beethoven: String Quartet in a, Op.132, in Vienna, by the Schuppanzigh Quartet; The was the first public performance (The same players performed the work at a private performance two months earlier, on September 9, for an audience of fourteen at the Tavern “Zum Wilden Mann” in Vienna); 1891 — Tchaikovsky: symphonic balled “The Voyevode” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 18); 1902 — Cilea: opera, "Adriana Lecouvreur" in Milan at the Teatro Lirico; 1913 — Saint-Saëns: "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso" for violin and orchestra, in Paris; 1924 — Janácek: opera "The Cunning Little Vixen," in Brno at the National Theater; 1935 — first complete performance of Walton: Symphony No. 1, by the BBC Symphony, Sir Hamilton Harty conducting; Harty had conducted the premiere performance of this work's first three movements (the fourth and final movement had not yet been written) on a London Philharmonic concert of Dec. 3, 1934; 1936 — Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting; 1940 — Florence Price: Symphony No. 3, in Detroit, by the Michigan WPA Symphony, Valter Poole conducting; Also on the program was Price’s Piano Concerto (which had premiered earlier in Chicago) with the composer as soloist; First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt attended a rehearsal for this concert, and wrote favorably about Price’s Symphony in her national newspaper column “My Day” for November 14, 1940; 1943 — Orff: "Catulli carmina," in Leipzig at the Städische Bühnen; 1950 — Copland: Clarinet Concerto, on an NBC Symphony broadcast conducted by Fritz Reiner, with Benny Goodman as soloist; 1953 — Nikolaus Nakokov: Cello Concerto ("Les Hommages"), with Lorne Munroe, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1976 — Andrew Imbrie: opera "Angle of Repose," in San Francisco; 1999 — Elisabetta Brusa: “Adagio” for strings, by the Virtuosi of Toronto, Fabio Mastrangelo conducting; 2004 — Augusta Read Thomas: "Brass Rush" for brass band, by the Illinois Brass Band at the U.S. Open Brass Band Competition in Arlignton Heights, Il. Other: 1717—J.S. Bach temporarily imprisoned by his employer, Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar, who was upset that Bach had taken another post (with Prince Leopold of Coethen) without first securing the Duke's permission to do so.
Wednesday, November 7
Stravinsky in C Major ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971): Symphony in C Chicago Symphony; Sir Georg Solti, cond. London 458 898 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Stravinsky ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1810—Hungarian composer Ferenc (Franz) Erkel, in Gyula; 1859—Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, in Gatchina (Gregorian date: Nov. 19); 1905—English composer William Alwyn, in Northampton; Deaths: 1983 —French composer Germaine Tailleferre, age 91, in Paris; Premieres: 1723 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 60 ("O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" I)performed on the 24th Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1867 — Liszt: "Dante Symphony" in Dresden; 1875 — Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 19); 1924 — American premiere of Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel): “Pictures at an Exhibition,” by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1934 — Rachmaninoff: "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," in Baltimore, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, with the composer as soloist; 1940 — Stravinsky: Symphony in C, by the Chicago Symphony, with the composer conducting; This work was commissioned by Mrs. R. Woods Bliss in honor of the Chicago Symphony's 50th Anniversary; 1987 — Daniel Asia: "Scherzo Sonata" for piano, at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., by pianist Jonathan Shames (who commissioned the work); 1988 — Leo Ornstein: Piano Sonata No. 7, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, by pianist Marvin Tartak; 1991 — Christopher Rouse: “Karolju” for chorus and orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and Chorus, David Zinman conducting; 1997 — Peter Maxwell Davies: Piano Concerto, in Nottingham, England, with soloist Kathryn Stott and the Royal Philharmonic, conducted by the composer; Other: 1785—The first American musical society founded at Stoughton, Massachusetts; 1950—A "Look" magazine feature on composer Edgar Varèse attracts the attention of 9-year old Frank Zappa and leads to a life-long fascination with the music of Varèse; Zappa would later found the unconventional rock band "The Mothers of Invention."
Thursday, November 8
"Beethoven's" Jena Symphony ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Friedrich Witt (1770 – 1832): Jena Symphony in C Westphalian Symphony; Hubert Reichert, cond. Turnabout LP TV-S 34409 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: More on Friedrich Witt ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1770—German composer Friedrich Witt, in Niederstetten, Württemberg; Like Beethoven, he composed 9 symphonies, and one of them, his “Jena Symphony,” was for a time mistakenly believed to be an early work by Beethoven; 1883—English composer Arnold Bax, in Streatham; 1945—American composer and pianist Judith Lang Zaimont, in Memphis; Deaths: 1599—Spanish composer Francisco Guerrero, age 71, in Seville; 1890—Belgian-French composer César Franck, in Paris, age 67; 1894—Russian composer Anton Rubinstein, age 64, near St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Nov. 20); 1924—Russian composer Sergie Liapunov, age 65, in Paris; Premieres: 1879 — Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G, Op. 78, in Bonn, by violinist Joseph Joachim and the composer at the piano; 1919 — Stravinsky: "The Soldier's Tale" Suite (for violin, clarinet and piano), in Lausanne; The staged version of "The Soldier's Tale" had premiered in Lausanne at the Théatre Municipal on September 28, 1918; 1926 — Gershwin: musical "Oh, Kay!" at the Imperial Theater in New York City; This show featured Gertrude Lawrence, and included the classic Gershwin songs "Clap Yo' Hands," "Do, Do, Do," and "Someone to Watch over Me"; 1936 — Jean Françaix: Piano Concerto, in Berlin.
Friday, November 9
Corigliano tunes up ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Corigliano (b. 1938): Oboe Concerto Humbert Lucarelli, oboe; American Symphony; Kazuyoshi Akiyama, cond. RCA/BMG 60395 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Corigliano More on Corigliano ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1907—American composer Burrill Phillips, in Omaha, Nebraska; Deaths: 1951—Hungarian-born American operetta composer, Siegmund Romberg, age 64, in New York City; Premieres: 1879 — Dvorák: String Sextet No. 1, Op. 48, in Berlin; 1881 — Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, in Budapest, by the National Theater Orchestra conducted by Alexander Erkel and the composer as the soloist; 1901 — Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 (first complete performance), in Moscow, with Alexander Siloti conducting and the composer as soloist (see Julian date: Oct 27); The second and third movements had been premiered in Moscow on Dec. 2/15, 1900, by the same conductor and soloist (Rachmaninoff finished the first movement of this concerto on April 21/May 4, 1901); 1926 — Hindemith: opera, "Cardillac" (1st version) in Dresden at the Sächisches Staatstheater; 1940 — Rodrigo: "Concierto de Aranjuez" for guitar and orchestra, in Barcelona; 1945 — American premiere of Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting. 1967 — Takemitsu: "November Steps" for biwa (Japanese lute), shakuhachi (bamboo flute) and orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, Seiji Ozawa conducting; Corigliano: Oboe Concerto, in New York City; 1975 — Corigliano: Oboe Concerto, at Carnegie Hall in New York City by the American Symphony, with Kazuyoshi Akiyama conducting Bert Lucarelli the soloist; 1994 — Michael Torke: “Nylon” for guitar and chamber orchestra, at the Assembly Rooms in Derby (U.K.), by the East of England Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Nabarro, with Nicola Hall the soloist; 2000 — Karen Tanaka: "Guardian Angel," at Carnegie Hall in New York, by the Brooklyn Philharmonic; 2002 — David Del Tredici: “Grand Trio” for piano, violin and cello, in College Park, Md., by the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Other: 1760—Joseph Haydn signs a marriage contract with Maria Anna Keller (after her younger sister, whom Haydn reportedly preferred, became a nun); See also Nov. 26 below for the actual ceremony; 1784 —Mozart finishes his String Quartet in Bb, K. 458 ("The Hunt"); 1878—Leopold Damrosch conducts first concert of the New York Symphony Society Orchestra in Steinway Hall; This orchestra merged with its older competitor, the New York Philharmonic, in 1928; 1921—The American Academy in Rome awards American composer Howard Hanson its second two-year composition fellowship; The first fellowship was awarded to Leo Sowerby on October 4, 1921; The third fellowship was awarded to Randall Thompson on June 6, 1922; The Academy's fellowship awards for composers continue to this day.
Saturday, November 10
The "historically informed" Mahler ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: J.S. Bach (arr. Gustav Mahler): Orchestral Suite Berlin Radio Symphony; Peter Schwarz, cond. Schwann 11637 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Mahler ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1668—French composer, organist and harpsichordist François Couperin ("Le Grand"), in Paris; 1873—French composer and conductor Henri Rabaud, in Paris; 1928—Italian film music composer Ennio Morricone, in Rome; Premieres: 1726 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 98 ("Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" II) performed on the 21st Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's third annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1725/27); 1733 — Handel: opera "Semiramide" in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (see Julian date: Oct. 30); 1739 — Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in A, Op. 6, no. 11 (see Julian date: Oct. 30); 1862 — Verdi: opera "La Forza del destino" (The Force of Destiny) in St. Petersburg at the Grand Imperial Theater; 1872 — Bizet: suite, "L'Arlèsienne," in Paris, at a Pasdeloup concert;; 1896 — Dvorák: String Quartet No. 12 in Ab, Op. 105, in Vienna; 1910 — Elgar: Violin Concerto, at Queen's Hall, London, during a concert of the Philharmonic Society of London with the composer conducting, and Fritz Kreisler the soloist; 1932 — Bernard Wagenaar: Symphony No. 2, Arturo Toscanini conducting the New York Philharmonic; 1957 — Copland: incidental music for "The World of Nick Adams" (after stories by Ernest Hemingway), for a live CBS television dramatization; 1994 — Stephen Albert: Symphony No. 2, by the New York Philharmonic, with Hugh Wolff conducting; Other: 1595—Lute virtuoso and composer John Dowland pens a letter from Nuremberg to Robert Cecil (a member of Queen Elisabeth the First’s Privy Council), warning of a plot against the Protestant Queen he discovered among some expatriate English Catholics in Italy; In the long, defensively autobiographical letter, Dowland protests his own loyalty, despite admitting his previous Catholic leanings; 1888—Fritz Kreisler, age 13, makes his New York City debut in recital at Old Steinway Hall; 1900—Russian pianist Ossip Gabrilowitsch makes his Carnegie Hall debut in New York City during his first American tour; In 1909 he married contralto Clara Clemens, the daughter of the American writer Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain (see also listing for Nov. 16); 1909—Gustav Mahler conducts the New York Philharmonic from the keyboard of a Steinway piano (whose action had been altered to imitate a harpsichord) in his symphonic arrangement of movements from Bach’s Orchestral Suites during the first of a series of “historical” concerts surveying music from the Baroque Age to the present day.
Sunday, November 11
Bloch's Quintet ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ernest Bloch (1880 – 1959): Piano Quintet No. 1 Portland String Quartet; Paul Posnak, piano Arabesque 6618 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Bloch ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1872—German-born American conductor of the Chicago Symphony (and occasional composer) Frederick Stock, in Jülich; Deaths: 1936—English composer Sir Edward German, age 74, in London; 1945—American songwriter, Jerome Kern, age 60, in New York City; 1979—Ukranian-born American film music composer Dimitri Tiomkin, age 85, in London; Premieres: 1727 — Handel: opera “Riccardo Primo, re d’Inghilterra” (Richard the First, King of England), in London at the King’s Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Nov. 22); 1866 — Brahms: String Sextet in G, Op. 36, in Boston, at a concert by the Mendelssohn Quintet Club; The European premiere occurred in Zürich, Swizterland, a few days later, on November 20; 1889 — R. Strauss: tone-poem "Don Juan," in Weimar, with the composer conducting; 1890 — Brahms: String Quintet No. 2 in G, Op. 111, in Vienna, by the Rosé Quintet; 1898 — Coleridge-Taylor: oratorio "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast," in London; 1899 — Leslie Stuart: operetta "Floradora" in London; This operetta was tremendously popular in England and America for many seasons, but is seldom heard today; 1906 — Ethel Smyth: opera "The Wreckers" (under its German title "Strandrecht") in Leipzig; 1923 — Bloch: Piano Quintet, in New York, with Harold Bauer piano, at the first concert of the League of Composers; 1952 — Stravinsky: "Cantata," by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer; 1999 — Corigliano: "Vocalise," for soprano, electronics and orchestra, by Sylvia McNair, with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur; 2004 — Augusta Read Thomas: “Dancing Galaxy” for wind ensemble, in Boston, Ma. by the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble. Other: 1898—Shortly after it was finished, the painting “Nevermore” by Gaugin is purchased by the English composer Frederick Delius; The painting was inspired by Poe’s famous poem and is now in the collection of London’s Cortland Gallery; 1922 —The British Broadcasting Company (BBC) begins daily radio transmissions; The BBC had been formed on Oct. 18, 1922, broadcast its first orchestral concert on Dec. 23, 1922, and on Dec. 24 its first radio play, “The Truth About Father Christmas.” |
