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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.  |
December 3-9, 2007
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Monday, December 3
Gershwin's Jazz Age concerto ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: John Harbison (b.1938): Remembering Gatsby Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, cond. Argo 444 454 & George Gershwin (1898-1937): Piano Concerto in F Peter Jablonski, piano; Royal Philharmonic; Vladimir Ashkenazy, cond. London 430 542 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On George Gershwin On John Harbison ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1729—Baptism of Spanish composer and organist, Padre Antonio Soler, in Olot; 1883—Austrian composer Anton Webern, in Vienna; 1914—American composer Irving Fine, in Boston; 1938—Uruguayan-born American composer and conductor, José Serebrier, in Montevideo; Deaths: 1866—Bohemian composer Johann Wenzel Kalliwoda, age 65, in Karlsruhe, Germany; 1876—German opera composer Hermann Goetz, age 35, in Hottingen, near Zurich, Switzerland; 1941—Norwegian composer Christian Sinding, age 85, in Oslo; 1978—American composer William Grant Still, age 83, in Los Angeles; Premieres: 1712 — Handel: opera “Il pastor fido,” in London (Julian date: Nov. 22); 1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 62 ("Nun komm der Heiden Heiland" I) performed on the 1st Sunday in Advent as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1739 — Handel: “Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day,” in London (Julian date: Nov. 22); 1740 — Handel: opera “Imeneo” in London (Julian date: Nov. 22); 1908 — Elgar: Symphony No. 1, at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, with the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Hans Richter; 1913 — Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 2 (Gregorian date: Dec. 16); 1913 — Franz Schmidt: Symphony No. 2, in Vienna; 1925 — Gershwin: Piano Concerto in F, at Carnegie Hall in New York, with the composer as soloist and the New York Symphony conducted by Walter Damrosch; 1931 — Edward Joseph Collins: Piano Concerto No. 2 in a (“Concert Piece”), by the Chicago Symphony, Frederick Stock conducting and the composer as soloist; 1943 — Hanson: Symphony No. 4 ("Requiem"), with the Boston Symphony conducted by the composer; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1944; 1949 — Grofé: "Death Valley" Suite, at Desolation Canyon, Calif., by the Hollywood Bowl, conducted by the composer; 1953 — Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 4, in Moscow, by the Beethoven Quartet; 1954 — Barber: oratorio “Prayers of Kierkegaard” for soloists, chorus and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting; 1954 — Walton: opera "Troilus and Cressida," at Covent Garden in London; 1958 — Colin McPhee: "Nocturne" for orchestra, by Lepold Stokowski and "his orchestra"'; 1963 — Copland: ballet "Dance Panels," in Munich; 1992 — John Harbison: Oboe Concerto, with soloist William Bennett and the San Francisco Symphony, Herbert Blomstedt conducting; Other: 1721—J.S. Bach (age 36) marries his second wife, Anna Magdalena Wülken (age 20) at Cöthen;
Tuesday, December 4
Tchaikovsky and North endure unkind cuts ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Violin Concerto, Op. 35 Itzhak Perlman, violin; London Symphony; Alfred Wallenstein, cond. Chesky 12 & Alex North (1910-1991): Unused Opening Theme, for 2001: A Space Odyssey National Philharmonic; Jerry Goldsmith, cond. Varese Sarabande 66225 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Alex North ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1660—Baptism of French composer André Campra, in Aix-en-Provence; 1667—Baptism of French composer and theorist Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, in Andelot; 1879—Irish composer and conductor (Sir) Hamilton Harty, in Hillsborough, County Down; Deaths: 1935—Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen, age 71, in Oslo; 1953—American composer and writer on music Daniel Gregory Mason, age 80, Greenwich, Conn.; 1976—British composer Benjamin Britten, age 63, in Aldeburgh; 1993—American composer and guitarist Frank Zappa, age 52, in Los Angeles; Premieres: 1693 — M.-A, Charpentier: opera, "Médée," in Paris; 1816 — Rossini: opera "Otello," in Naples at the Teatro del Fondo; 1920 — Korngold: opera "Die tote Stadt," simultaneously in Hamburg and Cologne; The Hamburg premiere was conducted by Egon Pollak, the Cologne premiere by Otto Klemperer; 1845 — R. Schumann: Piano Concerto in a, Op. 54, in Dresden, Ferdinand Hiller conducting, with Clara Schumann the soloist; 1881 — Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto, in Vienna by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Hans Richter, with Adolf Brodsky as soloist; 1885 — American premiere of Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 in d, at the Old Metropolitan Opera House in New York, during an afternoon public rehearsal by the New York Symphony Society, with the 23-year old Walter Damrosch; The “official” concert occurred the following evening; This was the first time any Bruckner Symphony was performed in America; In his Preface to a 1942 book by Werner Wolff entitled “Anton Bruckner: Rustic Genius,” Damrosch incorrectly states it was Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony (in E-flat Major, subtitled “Romantic”) that he performed on Dec. 5, 1885; 1895 — Rachmaninoff: “Caprice bohémien” (Capriccio on Gypsy Themes), in Moscow, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Nov. 22); 1898 — Dvorák: symphonic poem "Hero's Song," Op. 111, in Vienna; 1909 — Wolf-Ferrari: opera, "Il segreto di Susanna," in Munich, at the Hoftheater; 1922 — Bax: Symphony No. 1, in London; 1949 — Dallapiccola: opera "I Prigioniero" (The Prisoner), in a broadcast concert performance in Turin by the Italian Radio; The first staged performance of this opera took place on May 20, 1950, in Florence.
Wednesday, December 5
A wild night with Berlioz ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Hector Berlioz (1803-1869): Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14 Cleveland Orchestra; Pierre Boulez, cond. DG 453 432 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Berlioz ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1687—Baptism of Italian composer, violinist and theorist Francesco Geminiani, in Lucca; 1870—Czech composer Vitezslav Novák, in Kamenice nad Lipou; Deaths: 1791—Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadé (aka Amadeus) Mozart, age 35, in Vienna; Premieres: 1749 — Rameau: opera "Zoroastre," in Paris; 1830 — Berlioz: "Symphonie fantastique" in Paris, with François-Antoine Habaneck conducting; 1837 — Berlioz: "Requiem," in Paris, François Habeneck conducting (Berlioz later claimed that at one point he had to jump on stage and take over when Habeneck stopped to take snuff, but some eyewitnesses denied this happened); 1865 — Brahms: Horn Trio in Eb, Op. 40, in Karlsruhe, with two musicians identified only as Strauss (violin) and Segisser (horn), with the composer at the piano; The latest edition of the Grove Dictionary lists an earlier performance in Zürich, Swizterland, on November 28 that same year, however; 1911 — Rachmaninoff: Piano Preludes, Op. 32 (Gregorian date: Dec. 18); 1927 — Janácek: "Slavonic Mass," in Brno; 1930 — Milhaud: Concerto for Percussion and Small Orchestra, in Paris; 1930 — Sessions: "The Black Maskers" Suite, in Cincinnati; 1947 — Barber: "Medea" Ballet Suite, Op. 23, by Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1952 — Menotti: Violin Concerto, with Efrem Zimbalist, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1991 — Zwilich: Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchesra, by the Louisville Orchestra with Lawrence Leighton Smith conducting, and soloists Jaime Laredo (violin) and Sharon Robinson (violoncello); 1998 — Libby Larsen: "String Symphony," in Minneapolis by the Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue conducting Other: 1704—George Frideric Handel (age 19) refuses to turn over the harpsichord to Johann Mattheson (age 23) during a performance of Mattheson's opera "Cleopatra," leading to a sword duel between the two; It is said that during the swordplay, Handel was saved by a button on his coat that deflected Mattheson's mortally-directed blade; The two reconciled on December 30 that year, dining together and attending a rehearsal of Handel's opera "Almira," becoming, as Mattheson put it: "better friends than ever."
Thursday, December 6
Brubeck, sacred and profane ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Dave Brubeck (b. 1920): Blue Rondo a la Turk The Dave Brubeck Quartet Columbia 40585 & Dave Brubeck (b. 1920): La Fiesta del Posada Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Dennis Russell Davies, cond. Columbia Legacy 64669 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Dave Brubeck ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1550—Baptism of Italian composer Orazio Vecchi, in Modena; 1920—American jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck, in Concord, Calif.; 1933—Polish composer Henryk Górecki, in Czernica; 1955—Chinese-American composer Bright Sheng, in Shanghai; Premieres: 1841 — R. Schumann: Symphony No. 4 (as his Symphony No. 2), by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Ferdinand David conducting; Schumann withdrew the score, revised it, and reintroduced it in 1853 with the Düsseldorf Municipal Orchestra as his Symphony No. 4 (his "other" Symphony No. 2 and a Symphony No. 3 have been premiered in the meantime); 1842 — Schumann: Piano Quintet in Eb, Op. 44, at a private concert in the Leipzig home of Carl and Heinrich Voigt; Schumann’s wife, Clara, was to perform, but took ill, and Felix Mendelssohn stepped in for the informal performance, reading the work at sight; Mendelssohn’s critic of the work’s original second movement led Schumann to write a livelier replacement (see also Dec. 8, 1844); 1846 — Berlioz: dramatic legend, "The Damnation of Faust," at the Paris Opéra-Comique, with the composer conducting; 1876 — Tchaikovsky: opera "Vakula the Blacksmith," at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Nov. 24); 1880 — Tchaikovsky: "Capriccio italien," in Moscow (Gregorian date: Dec. 18); 1890 — Berlioz: opera "La Prise de Troie" (The Capture of Troy), Acts 1 & 2 of "Les Troyens" (The Trojans), first staged performance in Karlsruhe, Germany at the Hoftheater; 1892 — Tchaikovsky: ballet, "The Nutcracker" and opera "Iolanta," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 18); 1919 — Stravinsky: symphonic suite, "Le chant du rossignol," in Geneva, Ernest Ansermet conducting; 1929 — Stravinsky: "Capriccio" for Piano and Orchestra, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, with the Paris Symphony conducted by Ernest Ansermet, with the composer as soloist; 1937 — Boris Blacher: "Concertante Musik," in Berlin; 1940 — Schoenberg: Violin Concerto, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, with Louis Krasner the soloist; 1949 — Prokofiev: Cello Sonata, Op. 119, at a private performance in Moscow, at the House of the Union of Composers, by cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and pianist Sviatoslav Richter; This first public performance, with the same artists, took place at the Moscow Conservatory on March 1, 1950; 1957 — Sessions: Symphony No. 3, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting; 1974 — Wuorinen: Piano Concerto No. 2, in New York, with the composer as soloist on an amplified piano; 1977 — Corigliano: Clarinet Concerto, in New York; 1997 — Kernis: "Ecstatic Meditations," in Minneapolis, by the Plymouth Music Series, Philip Brunelle, conducting; Other: 1786—Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 38 in D, K.504 "Prague";
Friday, December 7
The Philharmonic does Beethoven ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 5 Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique; John Eliot Gardiner, cond. DG Archiv 439 900 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On the New York Philharmonic ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1637—Italian composer Bernardo Pasquini, in Massa da Valdinievole, Lucca; 1840—German composer Hermann Goetz, in Königsberg (now Kaliningrad); 1863—Italian composer Pietro Mascagni, in Livorno; 1887—Austrian-born American composer Ernst Toch, in Vienna; 1910—American composer and bandmaster Richard Franko Goldman, in New York City; 1912—Welsh composer Daniel Jones, in Pembroke; Premieres: 1861 — Brahms: "Handel Variations," Op. 24, in Hamburg, by pianist Clara Schumann; 1873 — Tchaikovsky: symphonic fantasia "The Tempest", in Moscow (Gregorian date: Dec. 19); 1879 — Berlioz: opera "La Prise de Troie" (The Capture of Troy), Acts 1 & 2 of "Les Troyens" (The Trojans), posthumously, in a concert performance in Paris at the Théatre du Châtelet; 1889 — Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta, "The Gondoliers." at the Savoy Theatre in London; 1890 — Tchaikovsky: opera, "Pique Dame," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 19); 1898 — Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "Mozart and Salieri," in Moscow, Truffi conducting (Julian date: Nov. 25); 1924 — Carl Ruggles: "Men and Mountains," in New York City; 1939 — Walton: Violin Concerto, by the Cleveland Orchestra, Artur Rodzinski conducting, with Jascha Heifetz (who commissioned the work) as the soloist; 1975 — Lou Harrison Symphony No. 2 ("Elegiac"), by the Oakland Youth Symphony, Denis de Coteau conducting; 1999 — Gunther Schuller: Saxophone Sonata, in New York, by members of the Washington Square Contemporary Music Society; Other: 1732—John Rich opens his "Theatre Royal, Covent Garden" in London (Gregorian date: Dec. 18); Five years earlier, in 1728, Rich had launched English-language “ballad opera” as a genre when he staged John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London (as contemporary wags put it, the wildly successful Beggar’s Opera ”made Gay Rich and Rich Gay”); Even though The Beggar’s Opera parodied the prentions of Italian opera seria, it was Rich who gave Handel’s beleaguered opera company a home at Covent Garden in 1734-1737; Handel’s Ariodante, Alcina, Atalanta, Arminio, Giustino and Berenice were first staged at Rich’s theater; 1842—First concert by The Philharmonic Society of New York (now the New York Philharmonic Orchestra), in the Apollo Rooms at 410 Broadway, program including Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Weber's "Oberon" Overture.
Saturday, December 8
Beethoven and Kernis in a somber mood ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 7 Vienna Philharmonic; Carlos Kleiber, cond. DG 447 400 & Aaron Jay Kernis (b. 1960): Meditation (in memory of John Lennon) Eberli Ensemble Phoenix 142 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Aaron Jay Kernis ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1731—Baptism of Bohemian composer and pianist Frantisek Xaver Dussek, in Choteborky; 1865—Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, in Tavastehus; 1882—Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, in Fresnillo, Zacatecas; 1890—Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu, in Policka; 1919—Polish-born Russian composer Moisei Vainberg (also Weinberg/Vaynberg, Moisey/Mieczyslaw), in Warsaw; Deaths: 1562—Flemish composer Adrian Willaert, age. c. 72, in Venice; 1924—German composer and pianist Xaver Scharwenka, age 74, in Berlin; 1980—John Lennon (of the Beatles), age 40, is shot dead in New York City; Premieres: 1733 — Bach: Secular Cantata No. 214 ("Tönet ihr Pauken, erchallet Trompeten") at a public performance in the garden of Zimmermann's Coffee House in Leipzig, for the birthday of the Princess-Elector and Queen of Poland, Maria Josepha (the wife of August III); One year later, Bach recycled some of the music for this secular cantata into his sacred "Christmas Oratorio" (S.213-219); 1743 — Handel: “Dettingen Te Deum and Anthem” in London (Julian date: Nov. 27); 1813 — Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, in Vienna, the composer conducting; Also on the program was the orchestral version of "Wellington's Victory" (originally conceived for performance by a mechanical orchestra invented by Maelzel called the "panharmonicon"; 1844 — Schumann: Piano Quartet, Op. 47, in Leipzig, at the Gewandhaus, with Clara Schumann (piano), Ferdinand David (viola), Niels W. Gade (viola), and Count Wielhorsky (cello); A private performance had also occured in Leipzig in 1842 (see Dec. 6); 1849 — Verdi: opera "Luisa Miller," in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo; 1879 — Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 1, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Dec. 20); 1915 — first version (of three) of Sibelius: Symphony No. 5, with the Helsinki Municipal Orchestra, with the composer conducting (on his 50th birthday); A second revision of this symphony was premiered by the same orchestral and conductor on Dec. 14, 1916, and a third and final version premiered in Helsinki under the composer's direction on Oct. 21, 1921; 1931 — Gershwin: musical show, "Of Thee I Sing," in Boston, at the Majestic Theater; This musical opened in New York on Dec. 26th that year, and went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1932; 1943 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 24, in Moscow; 1992 — Michael Torke: “Monday and Tuesday,” for chamber ensemble, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, by the London Sinfonietta, Lothar Zagrosek conducting; Other: 1911—At the Cort Theater in San Francisco, American composer and conductor Henry Hadley leads the first subscription concert of the San Francisco Symphony; The program included Wagner's Act I Prelude from "Die Meistersinger," Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" Symphony, the "Theme and Variations," from Haydn's "Emperor Quartet," and Liszt's tone-poem "Les Préludes."
Sunday, December 9
Lou Harrison takes "Old Granddad" out for a ride ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Lou Harrison (1917-2003): Suite for Violin and American Gamelan David Abel, violin; American Gamelan; John Bergamo, cond. New Albion 15 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Lou Harrison 2002 interview with Harrison (audio available) ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1837—French composer Emil Waldteufel, in Strasbourg; 1882—Spanish composer and pianist Joaquín Turina, in Seville; Premieres: 1721 — Handel: opera "Floridante" in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Dec. 20); 1832 — Berlioz: the lyric monodrama "Lélio, ou Le Retour à la vie" (Lelio, or The Return to Life" - performed with "Symphonie fantastique" as its sequel - in Paris, with François-Antoine Habaneck conducting and the composer performing as an extra timpanist; 1836 — Glinka: opera “A Life for the Tsar,” at the Main Theater in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Nov. 27); This work was originally to be titled “Ivan Susanin” after its lead character, but as a tribute to the Tsar was retitled (After the Russian Revolution, it was staged under its original title); 1842 — Glinka: opera “Russlan and Ludmilla,” at the Main Theater in St. Petesrburg (Julian date: Nov. 27); 1900 — Debussy: "Nuages" and "Fêtes" (two of the three "Nocturnes" for orchestra), in Paris at a Lamoureux concert conducted by Camille Chevillard; 1905 — R. Strauss: opera "Salome," in Dresden at the Hofoper, conducted by Ernst von Schuch; 1906 — Glazunov: Symphony No. 8, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 22); 1926 — Milhaud: "Carnival d'Aix" for piano and orchestra, in New York, with the composer as the piano soloist; 1928 — Castelnuovo-Tedesco: Piano Concerto No. 1, in Rome; 1938 — Cage: "Trio for Percussion," in Santa Monica, Calif.; 1939 — Cage: "First Construction (in Metal)," for six percussionists, in Seattle; 1942 — Copland: "Danzón Cubano" for Two Pianos at a League of Composers 20th Anniversary concert at the Town Hall Forum, with the composer and Leonard Bernstein; At this concert, the piece was billed as "Birthday Piece (on Cuban Themes"); 1949 — Barber: Piano Sonata, by Vladimir Horowitz, in Havana, Cuba; 1950 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 27, posthumously, in Moscow; 1969 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Vsalii Icones," in London; 1974 — Lou Harrison: Suite for Violin with American Gamelan, at Lone Mountain College, San Francisco, with violinist Lauren Jakey; |
