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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 21-27, 2007
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Monday, May 21
Brubeck's "Pange Lingua Variations" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Dave Brubeck (b. 1920): "Pange Lingua" Variations Brubeck Quartet; London Voices; London Symphony; Russell Gloyd, cond. Telarc 80621 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Dave Brubeck More on Brubeck ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1904—American composer and jazz pianist Thomas "Fats" Waller, in New York City; Deaths: 1895—Austrian composer Franz von Suppé, age 76, in Vienna; Premieres: 1739 — Rameau: opera-ballet "Les Fêtes d'Hébé," in Paris; 1892 — Leoncavallo: opera "Pagliacci," in Milan at Teatro dal Verme, with Arturo Toscanini conducting; 1925 — Busoni: "Doctor Faust," posthumously, in Dresden (completed by Philip Jarnach); 1956 — Perischetti: Piano Sonata No. 7, at the Philadelphia Conservatory, by pianist Robert Smith; 1962 — Stockhausen: "Momente" for soprano, choruses, and instruments, in Cologne; 1980 — Jacob Druckman: "Prism" for orchestra, by the Baltimore Symphony, Sergiu Commissiona conducting; 1983 — Dave Brubeck: "Pange Lingua" Variations for chorus, jazz quartet, and orchestra, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, Calif., with Russell Gloyd conducting; 1987 — Harrison Birtwistle: opera "The Mask of Orpheus," at the London Coliseum by the English National Opera, Elgar Howarth and Paul Daniel conducting; 2000 — Bruce Adolphe: "Tyrannosaurus Sue (A Cretaceous Concerto)", at the Field Museum in Chicago, by the Chicago Chamber Players.
Tuesday, May 22
Still and Singleton ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: William Grant Still (1895–1978): Sahdji Ballet Eastman-Rochester Orchestra & Chorus; Howard Hanson, cond. Mercury 434 324 & Alvin Singleton (b.1940): A Yellow Rose Petal Atlanta Symphony; Louis Lane, cond. Nonesuch 79231 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On William Grant Still On Alvin Singleton ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1813—German composer Richard Wagner, in Leipzig; Deaths: 1949—German composer Hans Pfitzner, age 80, in Salzburg; Premieres: 1813 — Rossini: "L'Italiana in Algeri" (The Italian Woman in Algiers), in Venice at the Teatro San Benedetto; 1836 — Mendelssohn: oratorio "Paulus" (St. Paul), at the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Düsseldorf, with the composer conducting; 1874 — Verdi: "Requiem Mass," at the Milan Cathedral, with the composer conducting; 1911 — Debussy: "Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastien," in Paris at the Théatre du Châtelet, André Caplet conducting; 1924 — Stravinsky: Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments, at the Paris Opéra at a concert conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with the composer as the piano soloist; 1931 — William Grant Still: ballet "Sahdji," by the Eastman Ballet and Rochester Civic Orchestra, Howard Hanson conducting; 1950 — R. Strauss: "Four Last Songs" for soprano and orchestra, in London, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtw ä ngle and Kristen Flagstad the vocalsoloist; 1982 — Alvin Singleton: "A Yellow Rose Petal" for orchestra, by the Houston Symphony, C. William Harwood conducting; 1990 — John Harbison: "Simple Daylight" (to a text by Michael Fried) at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco, by soprano Dawn Upshaw and pianist Alan Feinberg; 1999 — Bright Sheng: "Flute Moon," with soloist Aralee Dorough (flute/piccolo) and the Houston Symphony, Christoph Eschenbach conducting; Other: 1723—J.S. Bach, the newly appointed cantor of Leipzig's St. Thomas Church, arrives in that city with his family; 1790—Possible premiere of Mozart's String Quartets in D (K. 575) and Bb (K. 589) at Mozart's apartment in Vienna, very likely with the composer as violist; 1872—On his 59th birthday, Richard Wagner lays the cornerstone of his Festival Theater in Bayreuth, Germany.
Wednesday, May 23
Daniel Pinkham's "Nocturnes" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Daniel Pinkham (1923 - 2006): Nocturnes Fenwick Smith, flute; David Leisner, guitar Koch 7423 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Daniel Pinkham ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1794—Bohemian composer and pianist Ignaz Moscheles, in Prague; 1864—Danish composer Louis Glass, in Frederiksberg; 1901—English composer Edmund Rubbra, in Northhampton; 1912—French composer and pianist Jean Françaix, in Le Mans; The composer himself has written that his family name is pronounced with the final "x" sounded (as in "Aix"-en-Provence), although is commonly pronounced "Français" in both Europe and America; 1934—American electronic engineer and inventor, Robert Moog (pronounced: "Mohg"), inventor of the synthesizer bearing his name which was made famous by performers such as Wendy Carlos (of "Switched-On Bach" fame); Premieres: 1736 — Handel: opera "Atalanta" (Julian date: May 12); 1814 — Beethoven: "Fidelio" Overture, in Vienna, as part of a third and final revision of the opera "Fidelio," at the Kärntnertor Theater; 1876 — Brahms: String Quartet No. 3, in Berlin at the home of Clara Schumann by the Joachim Quartet; The work was subsequently performed for a small circle of friends at the Joachim home on June 4 that year, and given its first public performance in Berlin on October 30, 1876, again by the Joachim Quartet; 1883 — Tchaikovsky: "Festival Coronation March," in Moscow (Gregorian date June 4); 1926 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 8, in Moscow; 1937 — William Grant Still: "Lenox Avenue" for narrator and orchestra, broadcast over the CBS radio network, with Howard Barlow conducting; 1943 — Barber: "Commando March," in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Army Air Force Technical Training Command Band, composer conducting; 1971 — Einem: "Der Besuch der alten Damen" (The Visit of the Old Lady), at the Vienna State Opera; 1971 — Sessions: cantata "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" (after Walt Whitman), in Berkley, Calif.; 1993 — Daniel Pinkham: "Nocturnes" for flute and guitar, at the First and Second Church in Boston, by flutist Fenwick Smith and guitarist John Curtis; Other: 1826—American premiere of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" at New York City's Park Theater, presented by members of the Garcia family with Lorenzo da Ponte (Mozart's librettist) in the audience.
Thursday, May 24
Carter and Copland in dancing shoes ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Elliot Carter (b. 1908): Pocahontas Ballet American Composers Orchestra; Paul Dunkel, cond. CRI 610 & Aaron Copland (1900–1990): Billy the Kid Ballet St. Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin, cond. EMI 73653 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Carter On Copland's "Billy the Kid" ballet ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1886—French conductor and composer conductor Paul Paray, in Le Tréport; 1903—Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian (Gregorian date: June 6); 1936—American composer Harold Budd, in Los Angeles; 1941—American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan (born Robert Zimmerman), in Duluth, Minn.; Deaths: 1968—American composer Bernard Rogers, age 75, in Rochester, N.Y.; 1974—American composer Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, age 75, in New York City; 1996—American composer Jacob Druckman, age 67, in New Haven, Conn.; Premieres: 1803 — Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 ("Kreutzer Sonata"), in Vienna, with violinist George Bridgetower and Beethoven at the piano; 1810 — Beethoven: incidental music for Goethe's play "Egmont," in Vienna at the Hofburg Theater; 1833 — Marschner: opera "Hans Heiling," in Berlin at the Königliches Opernhaus; 1899 — Massenet: "Cendrillon," in Paris; 1906 — Delius: "Sea Drift" (to a text by Walt Whitman, in Essen, Germany; 1911 — Elgar: Symphony No. 2, at the London Festival with the Queen's Hall Orchestra conducted by the composer; 1918 — Bartók: opera "Bluebeard's Castle," at the Budapest Opera; 1939 — Elliott Carter: "Pocahontas" Ballet, at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City , with an orchestra conducted by Fritz Kitzinger; Following Carter's ballet, the New York premiere of Copland's ballet "Billy the Kid" was presented (Copland's ballet had been premiered in Chicago on October 16, 1938); 1948 — John Gay: "The Beggar's Opera" arranged by Benjamin Britten, in Cambridge; 1970 — Panufnik: "Universal Prayer," at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City, Leopold Stokowski conducting.
Friday, May 25
Verdi, Wagner and Sousa for the Red Cross ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Wagner (1813–1883): Ride of the Valkyries , from Die Walkűre New York Philharmonic & NBC Orchestra; Arturo Toscanini, cond. Radio Years 71/72 & John Philip Sousa (arr. Toscanini): Stars and Stripes Forever New York Philharmonic & NBC Orchestra; Arturo Toscanini, cond. Radio Years 71/72 ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1926—American composer and jazz trumpet Miles Davis, in Alton, Ill.; Deaths: 1934—English composer Gustav Holst, age 59, in London; Premieres: 1715 — Handel: opera "Amadigi di Gauli" at the King's Theater in London (Gregorian date: June 5); 1723 — Handel: opera "Flavio, re de' Langobardi" (Julian date: May 14); 1870 — Delibes: ballet "Coppelia" at the Paris Opéra; 1878 — Gilbert and Sullivan: "H.M.S. Pinafore," at the Opera Comique Theatre in London; This production ran for 700 consecutive performances; 1953 — Marc Blitzstein: musical "The Harpies," at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City; 1961 — Castelnuovo-Tedesco: opera "Il Mercante di Venzia" (The Merchant of Venice), at the Maggio Musicale Festival in Florence, Italy; 1962 — Webern: "Im Sommerwind" (composed in 1904), at the First International Anton von Webern Festival at the University of Washington in Seattle; 1984 — Stockhausen: opera "Samstag von Licht" (Saturday from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; 2001 — Philip Glass: "Voices" for pipe organ, two didgeridoos, clap sticks and narrator performed by didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins, Calvin Bowman (organ), Ron Murray (second didgeridoo and clapsticks) and Wurundjeri elder Joy Murphy Wandin (narrator) at City of Melbourne Town Hall to celebrate the refurbishment of the Melbourne (Australia) Town Hall Grand Organ; 2001 — Salonen: "Fanfare for Betty," dedicated to the 80-year old music patron, Betty Freeman, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting; See May 26-27 as well; 2001 — David Ward-Steinman: "Millennium Dances," for percussion and orchestra, by soloist John Flood and the San Diego Symphony, Jung-Ho Pak conducting; Other: 1869—The newly completed Vienna Opera on the Ringstrasse opens with a production of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" (sung in German); 1944—Arturo Toscanini conducts the combined NBC Symphony and New York Philharmonic in a benefit concert of music by Wagner, Verdi, and Sousa at the old Madison Square Garden; The concert raised $100,000 for the Red Cross; During an intermission auction, New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia auctioned off Toscanini's baton for $10,000.
Saturday, May 26
Edward Collins premieres ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Edward Collins (1889–1951): Mardi Gras & Tragic Overture Concordia Orchestra; Marin Alsop, cond. Albany 267 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Collins ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1893—British composer and conductor Sir Eugene Goosens, in London; 1898—American composer, pianist and conductor Ernst Bacon, in Chicago; 1938—American composer and pianist William Bolcom, in Seattle; Deaths: 1924—Irish-born American composer and cellist Victor Herbert, age 65, in New York; Premieres: 1914 — Stravinsky: opera, "Le Rossignol" (The Nightingale), at the Paris Opéra, with Pierre Monteux conducting; 1919 — Gershwin: musical "La, La, Lucille," at the Henry Miller Theater in New York City; 1923 — Edward Joseph Collins: "Tragic Overture (1914)" and "Maardi Gras" performed at Northwestern University by the Chicago Symphony under Frederick Stock as part of the finalists' concert of the North Shore Festival competition for new works for orchestra; Collins won the $1000 first prize for his "Tragic Overture (1914)"; 1953 — Stockhausen: "Kontra-Punkte" for ten instruments, in Cologne; 1963 — Lou Harrison: "Pacifika Rondo" for an orchestra of Western and Oriental instruments, at the University of Hawaii; 1964 — Copland: "Music for a Great City" (from the filmscore to "Something Wild"), by the London Symphony conducted by the composer; 1967 — George Crumb: "Echoes of Time and the River (Four Processionals for Orchestra)", in Chicago; This work won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1967; 1990 — Philip Glass: chamber opera "Hydrogen Jukebox" (to poems by Allen Ginsberg), by the Philip Glass ensemble conducted by Martin Goldray, in a staged version presented at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C,; A concert version was premiered at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia, on April 29, 1990; 2001 — Birtwistle: "Tango for Betty," dedicated to the 80-year old music patron, Betty Freeman, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting; (see May 25 & 27 as well); 2002 — Henry Brant: "Ghosts and Gargoyles" for solo flute and flute ensemble, in Toronto, Canada, by soloist Robert Aitken and the New Music Concerts Ensemble, conducted by the composer; Other: 1731—London's "Academy for Vocal Music" is renamed "The Academy of Ancient Music, with Johann Christoph Pepsuch its artistic director (Gregorian date: June 6).
Sunday, May 27
Ravel's "Sh é h érazade" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Maurice Ravel (1875–1937): Sheherezade (Fairy Overture) Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Refereence 79 & Maurice Ravel (1875–1937): Daphnis et Chloe Suite no. 2 Minnesota Orchestra; Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, cond. Vox Box 5032 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Maurice Ravel More on Ravel ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1799—French opera composer Jacques-François-Fromental-Elie Halévy, in Paris; 1822—German composer Joseph Joachim Raff, in Lachen, near Zürich; 1888—French composer and member of "Les Six," Louis Durey, in Paris; 1922—German-born American composer Margaret Buechner, in Hannover; 1928—Scottish composer Thea Musgrave, in Edinburgh; Deaths: 1840—Italian composer and violinist Nicollo Paganini, age 57, in Nice; Premieres: 1899 — Ravel: "Sh é h érazade (Fairy Overture)," at a Societe Nationale Concert at the Salle du Nouveau-Thèâtre in Paris; 1906 — Mahler: Symphony No. 6, in Essen, with the composer conducting; 1947 — Martinu: Symphony No. 5, in Prague; 1976 — Dello Joio: "Colonial Variants" for orchestra, in Philadelphia; 1981 — Bernstein: "Halil" for Flute and Orchestra, in Tel Aviv, with the Israel Philharmonic conducted by the composer, with Jean-Pierre Rampal the soloist; 1995 — Libby Larsen: "Ring of Fire" for orchestra, by the Charlotte Symphony (N.C.), Peter McCoppin conducting; 2001 — Saariaho: "Song for Betty," dedicated to the 80-year old music patron, Betty Freeman, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting; See May 25 & 26 as well. |
