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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.  |
May 7-13, 2007
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Monday, May 7
Thomson's "Mother of Us All" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Virgil Thomson (1896 - 1989): The Mother of Us All Santa Fe Opera; Raymond Leppard, cond. New World 288 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Virgil Thomson More on Thomson ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1833—German composer Johannes Brahms, in Hamburg; 1840—Russian composer Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, in Votkinsk, district of Viatka (Julian date: April 25); 1850—Hungarian conductor Anton Seidl, in Budapest; He was Wagner assistant at the first Bayreuth Festival performances of the "Ring" operas in 1876-79, was engaged to conduct the German repertory at the Metropolitan Opera in 1885, and in 1891 as the permanent conductor of the New York Philharmonic; He conducted the American premieres of Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" in 1886 and the world premiere of Dvorák's "New World" Symphony in 1893; He died of ptomaine poisoning in 1898; Deaths: 1793—Italian composer and violinist Pietro Nardini, age 71, in Florence; 1818—Bohemian composer Leopold (Jan Antonín, Ioannes Antonius)Kozeluch (Kotzeluch, Koželuh), age 70, in Vienna; 1825—Italian composer Antonio Salieri, age 74, in Vienna; Premieres: 1824 — Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 ("Choral") at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna, with the deaf composer on stage beating time, but with the performers instructed to follow the cues of Beethoven's assistant conductor, Michael Umlauf; 1888 — Lalo: "Le Roi d'Ys" (The King of Ys) at the Opéra Comique, in Paris; 1926 — Milhaud: opera "Les malheurs d'Orphée" (The Sorrows of Orpheus), in Brussels at the Théatre de la Monnaie; 1944 — Copland: "Our Town" Film Music Suite (revised version), by the Boston Pops conducted by Leonard Bernstein; An earlier version of this suite aired on CBS Radio on June 9, 1940, with the Columbia Broadcasting Symphony conducted by Howard Barlow; 1947 — Virgil Thomson: opera "The Mother of Us All," at Columbia University in New York City; 1985 — David Ward-Steinman: "Chroma" Concerto for multiple keyboards, percussion, and chamber orchestra, in Scottsdale, Ariz., by the Noveau West Chamber Orchestra conducted by Terry Williams, with the composer and Amy-Smith-Davie as keyboard soloists; 1988 — Stockhausen: opera "Montag von Licht" (Monday from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 1988 — Michael Torke: ballet "Black and White," at the New York State Theater, with the NY City Ballet Orchestra, David Alan Miller conducting; 1993 — Harrison Birtwistle: "Five Distances for Five Instruments," in London at the Purcell Room, by the Ensemble InterContemporain; 1998 — Joan Tower: "Tambor," by the Pittsburgh Symphony, Mariss Jansons conducting; 1999 — Robert X. Rodriguez: "Bachanale: Concertino for Orchestra," by the San Antonio Symphony, Wilkins conducting; Other: 1747—J.S. Bach (age 62) visits King Frederick II of Prussia at his court in Potsdam on May 7-8; Bach improvises on a theme submitted by the King, performing on the King's forte-piano; In September of 1747 Bach publishes a chamber work based on the royal theme entitled "Musical Offering." 1937—The RKO film "Shall We Dance?" is released, with a filmscore by George Gershwin; This film includes the classic Gershwin songs "Beginner's Luck," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and an instrumental interlude "Walking the Dog" (released as a solo piano piece under the title "Promenade").
Tuesday, May 8
Beethoven's Second on first? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827): Symphony No. 2 New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony 61835 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Beethoven . . . . . . and on past American Presidents ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1745—Baptismal date of Bohemian violinist and composer Carl Philipp Stamitz, in Mannheim; He was the son of the composer JohannWenzel Anton Stamitz (b. 1717), and the brother of composer Johann Anton Stamitz (b. 1750); 1829—American pianist and composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, in New Orleans; 1945—American pianist and composer Keith Jarrett, in Allentown, Pa.; Deaths: 1829—Italian composer and guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani, age 47, in Naples; 1944—British composer and women's rights advocate Dame Ethel Smyth, age 86, in Woking; 1960—Swedish composer Hugo Alfvén, age 88, in Falun; Premieres: 1720 — Handel: opera "Radamisto" (1st version) (Julian date: April 27); 1736 — Handel: anthem "Sing unto God" (Julian date: April 27); 1749 — Handel: "Music for the Royal Fireworks" (Julian date: April 27); 1924 — Honegger: "Pacific 231," in Paris at a Koussevitzky Concert; 1938 — Stravinsky: "Dumbarton Oaks" Concerto, at Dumbarton Oaks, conducted by Nadia Boulanger; 1939 — Persichetti: Piano Sonata No. 1, at Philadelphia Conservatory, composer performing; 1946 — Menotti: "The Medium," at Columbia University in New York City; 1958 — Ligeti: String Quartet No. 1 ("Metamorphoses nocturnes"), in Vienna, by the Ramor Quartet; 1962 — Sondheim: Broadway premiere of musical "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum"; Near-disasterous trial run performances in Washington DC and other cities preceded the show's Broadway premiere; This was the first major musical for which Sondheim wrote both the lyrics and the music; It won several Tony Awards in 1962, including "Best Musical"; 1965 — Rochberg: "Zodiac" (orchestral version), by Cincinnati Symphony, Max Rudolf conducting; 1970 — Gunther Schuller: children's opera "The Fisherman and His Wife," in Boston; 1973 — Rochberg: "Imago Mundi," by Baltimore Symphony, Sergiu Commisiona conducting; 1979 — Andrew Lloyd-Webber: musical "Evita," in Los Angeles; The musical opened on Broadway on September 25, 1979; 1985 — Frank Zappa: "Time's Beach" for winds, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, by the Aspen Wind Quintet; 1996 — Lowell Liebermann: opera "The Picture of Dorian Gray," at the Monte Carlo Opera, with tenor Jeffrey Lentz in the title role and Steuart Bedford conducting; The American premiere of this opera was staged in Milwaukee, Wis., by the Florentine Opera in Feb. of 1999; 1998 — Saariaho: Cello Octet, at the Beauvais Cello Festival in Beavais, France; Other: 1747—J.S. Bach performs an organ recital at the Heiligeistkirche in Potsdam; 1821 —Earliest documented American performance Beethoven's Symphony No. 2, in Philadelphia at Washington Hall, by the Musical Fund Society, Charles Hupfeld conducting; The finale only was performed by the Philharmonic Society in New York on December 16, 1824 and repeated at Castle Garden on April 21, 1825; The first complete performance in New York was apparently given on April 22, 1843, at the Apollo Room during the first season of the New York Philharmonic with George Loder conducting; 1874 —American premiere of J.S. Bach's "St. Matthew Passion," at the Music Hall in Boston, by the Handel and Haydn Society, Carl Zerrahn conducting; The performing forces included a chorus of 600, and orchestra of 90, and a 60-voice boy's choir; For this performance, the first 12 numbers of Part II were omitted; The complete Passion was not performed by the Society until 1879; About half of Bach's Passion was given its New York City premiere at St. George's Church on March 17, 1880, by the New York Oratorio Society under Leopold Damrosch; Theodore Thomas conducted the next documented performance in Cincinnati on May 17, 1882, during that city's May Festival; 1945—Aaron Copland's Pulitzer Prize for Music for his "Appalachian Spring" ballet score is announced on V-E Day (the day the Allied Forces won the war in Europe).
Wednesday, May 9
Tavener's "wake up" call? ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Tavener (b. 1944): Wake up…and die Yo Yo Ma, vcl; Baltimore Symphony cellists; David Zinman, cond. Sony 62821 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Taverner More on Tavener ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1740—Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello, in Roccaforzata, near Taranto; 1814—German pianist and composer Adolph von Henselt, in Schwabach,Bavaria; Deaths: 1707—German organist and composer Dietrich Buxtehunde, age c. 70, in Lübeck; 1770—(on May 9 or 10) English composer, conductor and writer on music Charles Avison, age 61, in Newcastle upon Tyne ; 1791—American statesman and songwriter Francis Hopkinson, age 53, in Philadelphia; He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and dedicated a book of his songs to George Washington; 1799—French composer Claude Balbastre, age c. 72, in Paris; Premieres: 1812 — Rossini's opera "La Scala di seta" (The Silken Ladder), in Venice; 1868 — Bruckner: Symphony No. 1, in Linz, composer conducting; 1893 — Rachmaninoff: opera "Aleko," in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater (Julian date: April 27); 1924 — R. Strauss: ballet "Schlagobers" (Whipped Cream), in Vienna; 1940 — The film "Our Town" opens in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theater; The film was based on the play of the same name by Thorton Wilder, and featured a filmscore by Aaron Copland; Copland arranged a suite of music from his filmscore, which premiered on CBS Radio on June 9, 1940; A revised version of the suite was given its first public performance by the Boston Pops conducted by Leonard Bernstein on May 7, 1944; 1981 — Christopher Rouse: "The Infernal Machine" for orchestra (Movement II of Rouse's "Phantasmata"), at the Evian Festival, France, by the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Gustav Meier conducting; 1986 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: "Concerto Grosso" (after Handel's Sonata in D), by the Handel Festival Orchestra of Washington, Stephen Simon conducting; 1988 — Bernstein: "Arias and Barcarolles," at Equitable Center Auditorium in New York City, by vocalists Louise Edeiken, JoyceCastle, John Brandstetter, and Mordechai Kaston, with the composer and Michael Tilson Thomas at the piano; An orchestrated version of this work prepared by Bright Sheng premiered on September 22, 1989, at the Tilles Center of Long Island University with the New York Chamber Symphony conducted by Gerard Schwarz and featuring vocalists Susan Graham and Kurt Ollmann; 1990 — John Harbison: "Words from Patterson" (to texts by William Carlos Williams), at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with baritone William Sharp and the members of the New Jersey Chamber Music Society; 1998 — John Tavener: "Wake Up and Die," for solo cello and orchestral cello section, at the Beauvais Cello Festival in Beavais , France; 1999 — Zwillich: "Upbeat!" by National Symphony, Anthony Aibel conducting; Other: 1863—American premiere of Berlioz's "Harold in Italy," by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York.
Thursday, May 10
Maxwell Davies at a wedding (with sunrise) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Peter Maxwell Davies (b. 1934): An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise George MacIlwham, bag-pipes; Royal Philharmonic; Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, cond. Collins 1444 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Peter Maxwell Davies ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1697—French violinist and composer Jean Marie Leclair, in Lyons; 1888—Austrian-born American film composer Max Steiner, in Vienna; 1894—Russian-born American film composer, Dimitri Tiomkin, in St. Petersburg; 1916—American composer Milton Babbitt, in Philadelphia; Deaths: 1760—German composer Johann Christoph Graupner, age 77, in Darmstadt; Premieres: 1876 — Wagner: "Festival March" (commissioned for the American Centennial), at the opening of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, conducted by Theodore Thomas; 1894 — R. Strauss: opera "Guntram," in Weimar at the Hoftheater, with the composer conducting; 1904 — Alfvén: "Midsommarvaka" (Midsummer Vigil), in Stockholm; 1907 — Dukas: opera "Ariane et Barbe-Blue" (Ariane and Bluebeard),in Paris; 1954 — Rautavaara: "A Requiem in Our Time," in Cincinnati, with Cincinnati Brass Choir, Ernest N, Glover, conducting; This work had won First Prize in the Thor Johnson Composition Contest that year; 1957 — Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2, in Moscow, by the USSR State Symphony, Nikolai Anosov conducting, with the composer's son, Maxim, as the soloist; 1964 — Roy Harris: "Epilogue to ‘Profiles in Courage'" for orchestra, in Los Angeles; 1985 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "An Orkney Wedding, with Sunrise" for orchestra with bagpipe solo, ay Boston's Symphony Hall, by the Boston Pops conducted by John Williams; 1985 — Michael Torke: "Ecstatic Orange," at the Cooper Union in New York, by the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Lukas Foss conducting; 1997 — Philip Glass: opera "The Marriage Between Zones Three, Four and Five" (based on the sci-fi novel by Doris Lessing), at the State Theater in Heidelberg (Germany); Other: 1824—American premiere of Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" (sung in English ) at the Park Theater in New York.
Friday, May 11
Bernstein at the temple ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990): Psalm 148 Angelina Reaux, mezzo-soprano; Barry Snyder, piano Naxos 8.559407 & Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990): Hashkiveinu soloists; BBC Singers; Avner Itai, cond. Naxos 8.559407 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Bernstein ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1791—Bohemian composer Jan Václav (Johann) Voríšek(Worzischek), in Vamberk; 1855—Russian composer Anatoly Liadov, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: April 29); 1888—American popular song composer Irving Berlin (Isidore Balin) inTemun, Russia (Julian date: April 29); 1895—American composer William Grant Still, in Woodville, Miss.; 1954—Scottish composer Judith Weir, in Aberdeen; Deaths: 1849—German composer Otto Nicolai, age 38, in Berlin; 1916—German composer, Max Reger, age 43, in Leipzig; 1947—Swedish composer Ture Rangström, age 62, in Stockholm; Premieres: 1728 — Handel: opera "Tolomeo, re d'Egitto" (Julian date: April 30); 1917 — Busoni: opera "Arlecchino" (Harlequin) and "Turandot" in Zürich at the Stadttheater; 1945 — Bernstein: "Hashkiveinu" (text from the Sabbath Evening Service) for Cantor, Choir and Organ, at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, by Cantor David Puttterman, Max Heffman conducting; 1948 — Cowell: "Hymn, Chorale, and Fuguing Tune" No. 8 for strings, at Florida State University Recital Hall by the School of Music Faculty String Quartet; 1955 — Bliss: Violin Concerto, in London; 1963 — William Grant Still: opera "A Southern Interlude," by the University of Miami Opera; This opera was later revised as "Highway 1, U.S.A."; 1966 — Andrew Imbrie: Symphony No. 1, by the San Francisco Symphony; 1981 — Andrew Lloyd-Webber: musical "Cats" (after T.S. Eliot's "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats") in London at the New London Theatre; This enormously popular and long-running musical opened on Broadway on October 7, 1982; 1984 — John Harbison: "Ulysses' Bow," by the New Haven Symphony, Murry Sidlin conducting; 1995 — John Adams: musical "I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky"at the Zellerbach Playhouse in Berkeley, California, with the Paul Dresher Ensemble conducted by Grant Gershon; 2000 — Colin Matthews: "Pluto The Renewer" (as a new contribution to Gustav Holst's "The Planet"), in Manchester, by the Hallé Orchestra, Kent Nagano conducting; 2002 — Kenneth Frazelle: "Concerto for Chamber Orchestra," in Glendale, Calif., by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Kahane conducting.
Saturday, May 12
Korngold in the Vienna Woods (and Sherwood Forest) ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957): Soldiers March , from Die Käthrin Austrian State Radio Orchestra; Gottfried Kassowitz, cond. & Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957): The Adventures of Robin Hood film music National Philharmonic; Charles Gerhardt, cond. BMG 0912 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Korngold Korngold works and recordings ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1739—Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Wanha (Vanhall) in Nechanicz; 1754—German composer and publisher (of Mozart and Beethoven) Franz Anton Hoffmeister, in Rottenburg; 1755—Italian violinist and composer Giovanni Viotti, in Fontanetto da Po; 1842—French composer Jules Massenet, in Montaud, near St.-Etienne, Loire; 1845—French composer Gabriel Fauré, in Pamiers (Ariège); 1903—English composer Sir Lennox Berkeley, in Boar's Hill, near Oxford; 1941—American composer, harpsichordist and organist Anthony Newman, in Los Angeles; Deaths: 1871—French opera composer Daniel-François Auber, age 89, in Paris; 1884—Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetana, age 60, in Prague; 1931—Belgian composer, violinist and conductor Eugene Ysaÿe, age 72, in Brussels; Premieres: 1736 — Handel: opera "Atalanta" in London at the Covent Garden Theater; Handel dedicated the opera to the recently-married Frederick, Prince of Wales (Gregorian date: May 23); 1832 — Donizetti: "L'Elisir d'Amore" (Elixir of Love), in Milan; 1894 — R. Strauss: opera "Guntram," in Weimar , with Strauss conducting; 1917 — Bartók: ballet "The Wooden Prince," in Budapest; 1926 — Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1, by Leningrad Philharmonic, Nikolai Malko conducting; 1937 — Walter Damrosch: "The Man Without a Country," in New York at the Metropolitan Opera; 1938 — Honegger: opera "Joan of Arc at the Stake" (concert performance) in Basel, Switzerland, at the Grosser Musiksaal; The first staged production occurred in Zürich on June 13, 1942; 1938 — Korngold: premiere showing of Warner Brothers' film "The Adventures of Robin Hood"; 1943 — Glière: Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra, in Moscow; 1944 — Ginastera: "Overture to the Creole Faust," in Santiago, Chile; 1980 — John Harbison: Concerto for Piano, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, with soloist Robert Miller and the American Composers Orchestra, Gunther Schuller conducting; 1983 — Earle Brown: "Sounder Rounds" for orchestra, in Saarbrücken, Germany; 2002 — Steve Reich & Beryl Korot: multi-media presentation "Three Tales" ("Hindenburg," "Bikini," and "Dolly") at the Vienna Festival in Austria, by members of the Ensemble Moderne and Synergy Vocals, directed by Bradley Lubman.
Sunday, May 13
New York "novelties" by Liszt et. al. ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Schubert arr. Franz Liszt (1811–1886): Wanderer Fantasy Leslie Howard, piano; Budapest Symphony; Karl Anton Rickenbacher, cond. Hyperion 67403 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Thomas in Chicago ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1842—English composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, in Lambeth (London); 1913—American organist and record retailer, William Schwann, in Salem Ill.; In 1949 he began publication of the Schwann Record Catalog, a guide to phonograph records in print; Premieres: 1833 — Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 4 ("Italian"), in London, by the Philharmonic Society, with the composer conducting; 1877 — Franck: "Les Eolides," in Paris at a Lamoureux Concert; 1949 — Panufnik: "Sinfonia Rustica," in Warsaw; 1987 — Harbison: Symphony No. 2, by the San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt conducting; 1993 — Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Bassoon Concerto, by the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by Lorin Maazel, with Nancy Groeres the soloist; 1995 — first professional production of Any Beach: opera "Cabildo," at Alice Tully Hall in New York City as a "Great Performances" telecast conducted by Ransom Wilson; The world premiere performance was given on Feb. 27, 1945 (two months after Beach's death), by the Opera Workshop at the University of Georgia in Athens, directed by Hugh Hodgson; 2001 — Harbison: "North and South (Elizabeth Bishop Cycle)," by the Chicago Chamber Musicians; Other: 1862—First concert by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra in New York City; His program includes the American premieres of Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" Overture and Liszt's arrangement for piano and orchestra of Schubert's "Wanderer Fantasy." 1875—American premiere of J.S. Bach's "Magnificat," during the May Festival in Cincinnati, conducted by Theodore Thomas; The Cincinnati Commercial review of May 14 was not favorable: "The work is difficult in the extreme and most of the chorus abounds with rambling sub-divisions. We considering the ‘Magnifcat' the weakest thing the chorus has undertaken . . . possessing no dramatic character and incapable of conveying the magnitude of the labor that has been expended upon its inconsequential intricacies. If mediocrity is a mistake, the ‘Magnifcat' is the one error of the Festival"; Thomas also conducted the next documented performance in Boston on Mar. 1, 1876 (for which composer John Knowles Paine performed as organ accompanist to a chorus of 300). |
