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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.  |
July 21-27, 2008
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Monday, July 21
Hindemith's St. Francis ballet ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963): Nobilissima Visione San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, cond. London 433 809 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Paul Hindemith ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1896—French composer Jean Rivier, in Villemomble Deaths: 1838—German inventor of the metronome, Johann Nepomuk Maelzel, age 65, on board the brig Otis in the harbour of La Guiara, Venezuela, en route to Philadelphia; Beethoven's orchestral battle-symphony, "Wellington's Victory," was originally written for one of Maelzel's mechanical music-machines Premieres: 1733 — Handel: oratorio "Athalia," in Oxford (Julian date: July 10) 1938 — Hindemith: ballet, "St. Francis," at Covent Garden in London, with composer conducting (the suite titled "Nobilissima Visone" is drawn from this score) 1971 — William Bolcom: “Frescoes” in Montreal, with Bruce Mather (piano and harmonium) and Pierrette LePage (piano and harpsichord); 1983 — Thomas Oboe Lee: "Morango …almost a tango" for string quartet, at the Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Mass., by the Composers in Red Sneakers ensemble
Tuesday, July 22
A Verdi premiere in London ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901): I masnadieri Overture Hungarian State Opera Orchestra; Iper Giorgio Morandi, cond. Naxos 8.554077 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Verdi and his operas ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1822—Italian composer Luigi Arditti, in Crescentino, Piedmont Deaths: 1870—Austrian composer Josef Strauss, age 42, in Vienna; Premieres: 1833 — Cherubini: opera,"Ali Baba," at Paris Opéra 1844 — Wagner: "A Faust Overture," in Dresden 1847 — Verdi: opera "I Masnadieri" (The Bandits), in London at Her Majesty's Theater 1919 — Manuel de Falla: ballet, "The Three Cornered Hat," in London, by Diaghilev's Ballet Russe 1930 — Chavez: ballet "The Four Suns," in Mexico City; 1934 — Cowell: "Movement" for string quartet (String Quartet No. 2), at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., by the Pro Arte String Quartet 2000 — London premiere of Colin Matthews: "Pluto - The Renewer" (intended as a contribution to Gustav Holst's "The Planets"), at a BBC Proms concert; This music was first performed on May 11, 2000, by the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, with Kent Nagano conducting
Wednesday, July 23
Scarlatti (and Persichetti) Sonatas ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Domenico Scarlatti (1685 - 1757): : Sonata in c, K. 363 Elaine Comparone, harpsichord Laurel 838 & Vincent Pershichetti (1915 - 1987): Sonata No. 4 Elaine Comparone, harpsichord Laurel 838 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Domenico Scarlatti On Vincent Persichetti ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1796—Swedish composer Franz Berwald, in Stockholm 1866—Italian opera composer Francesco Cilea, in Palmi, Calabria 1916 —American composer Ben Weber, in St. Louis, Mo. Deaths: 1757—Italian composer and harpsichordist Domenico Scarlatti, age 71, in Madrid 1983—French composer Georges Auric, age 84, in Paris Premieres: 1982 — John Harbison: "Variation" for clarinet, violin and piano, at the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival in New Mexico, by clarinetist David Satz, violinist Rose Mary Harbison, and pianist Ursula Oppens
Thursday, July 24
Arnaud's after-the-fact Olympic tune ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Leo Arnaud (1904 - 1991): Olympic Theme Cleveland Symphonic Winds; Frederick Fennell, cond. Telarc 80099 & Meredith Willson (1902-1984) arr. Arnaud: The Unsinkable Molly Brown Overture MGM studio orchestra CBS 45442 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Leo Arnaud On Felix Slatkin and his "Charge!" LP ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1803—French opera composer Adolph-Charles Adam, in Paris 1880—Swiss-born American composer Ernest Bloch, in Geneva 1904—French-born American composer and arranger Leo (Noël) Arnaud, in Lyon 1922—American composer Leo Kraft, in New York City Deaths: 1739—Italian composer Benedetto Marcello, in Brescia 1971 —British composer Alan Rawsthorne, in Cambridge, England Premieres: 1926 — Hindemith: Concert Music for Winds, Op. 4, in Donaueschingen, Germany, with Hermann Scherchen conducting 1938 — R. Strauss: opera, "Friedenstag" (Peace Day), in Munich at the National Theater, Clemens Krauss conducting, with vocal soloists Hans Hotter (Commandant) and Viorca Ursuleac (Maria); 1964 — Ginastera: opera, "Don Rodrigo," at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires 1983 — Elisabetta Brusa: "Favole" (Fables) for chamber orchestra, by the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, George Hanson conducting 1995 — Michael Torke: opera "Strawberry Fields," at Cooperstown, N.Y., by the Glimmerglass Opera, Stewart Robinson conducting Other: 1838 —Mendelssohn finishes in Berlin his String Quartet in D, Op. 44, no. 1; In a letter dated July 30 that year, he writes to the violinist Ferdinand David: "I have just finished my third Quartet, in D Major, and like it very much. I hope it may please you as well. I rather think it will, since it is more spirited and seems to me likely to be more grateful to the players than the others."
Friday, July 25
Opera Glass ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Philip Glass (b. 1937): Violin Solo, fr Einstein on the Beach Gregroy Fulkerson, violin New World 80313 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Philip Glass ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1883—Italian composer, pianist and conductor Alfredo Casella, in Turin; He was the conductor of the Boston Pops from 1927-29 Deaths: 1969—American opera composer, Douglas Moore, age 75, in Greenport (Long Island), N.Y. Premieres: 1937 — Copland: "Music for Radio"(or "Saga of the Prairies") on CBS radio network, performed by CBS Symphony 1970 — Dutilleux: "Tout un monde lointain" for Cello and Orchestra, in Aix-en-Provence 1976 — Glass: opera, "Einstein on the Beach," in Avignon, France, at the Théatre Municipale; The American premiere took place as a non-season event at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 21, 1976) Other: 1788—Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 40 in g. K. 550 1937—Barber's Symphony No. 1 is performed at the Salzburg Music Festival is Austria, by the Vienna Philharmonic, Artur Rodzinsky, conducting; This was the first American symphonic work to be performed at this prestigious international festival; The symphony had received its world premiere performance in Rome on Dec. 13, 1935, during Barber's Rome Prize residency
Saturday, July 26
Seeing things at Wagner's "Parsifal" ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883): Act I excerpt, fr Parsifal Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; James Levine, cond. DG 437 501 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Wagner and his operas ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1782—Irish composer and pianist John Field, in Dublin 1791—Austrian composer and pianist Franz Xaver Mozart in Vienna; He was the sixth child and youngest surviving son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (who died in December of 1791 when Franz Xaver was less than a year old); Franz Xaver studied with Hummel and Salieri, among others 1856 —British dramatist and music critic George Bernard Shaw, in Dublin 1866 —Italian composer opera Francesco Cilea, in Palmi, Calabria 1874—Russian-born American double-bass player, conductor and new music patron, Serge Koussevitzky, in Vishny-Volochok (Julian date: July 14) ; He was engaged as the permanent conductor of the Boston Symphony, a post he held for 25 years 1876—American composer, conductor and pianist Ernest Schelling, in Belvidere, N.J. 1949—South African-born Irish composer Kevin Volans, in Pietermaritsburg Premieres: 1882 — Wagner: opera "Parsifal," in Bayreuth at the Festpielhaus, Herrmann Levi conducting 1940 — Henry Cowell: "Pastoral and Fiddler's Delight," by the All-American Youth Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting 1985 — Elliott Carter: "Penthode" at London's Royal Albert Hall, with the Ensemble InterContemporain and the Paris Orchestral Ensemble conducted by Pierre Boulez
Sunday, July 27
Bernard Herrmann gets a pink slip from Hitch ... MUSIC PLAYED ON TODAY'S PROGRAM: Bernard Herrmann (1911 - 1975): unused Torn Curtain film score Los Angeles Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond. Sony 62700 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: On Bernard Herrmann ALSO ON THIS DATE: Births: 1867 —Spanish composer and conductor Enrique Granados, in Lérida; He died at sea in 1916, a victim of the sinking by a German submarine of the S.S. Sussex in the English Channel during World War I) 1877—Hungarian composer and pianist Ernö (Ernst) von Dohnányi; He was the grandfather of the German-born conductor Christoph von Dohnányi 1899 —American composer Harl McDonald, near Boulder, Colorado; He worked as the business manager of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years, and that orchestra performed a number of his pieces under both Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy 1912—Russian-born composer and conductor Igor Markevitch, in Kiev (Julian date: July 14) Deaths: 1924—Italian-German composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni, age 58, in Berlin Premieres: 1941 — Paul Creston: "Prelude and Dance" and "A Rumor," in New York 1941 — Bernard Herrmann: Symphony No. 1, on a radio broadcast by the Columbia Symphony with the composer conducting Other: 1733—J.S. Bach sends a letter to Frederic Augustus, Elector of Saxony, requesting an official title to bolster his reputation in Leipzig; Accompanying the letter, Bach sends the "Kyrie" and "Gloria" from his Mass in b minor 1966—Alfred Hitchcock's thriller "Torn Curtain" opens in New York — without the film score that Bernard Herrmann had composed for it (The famous director fired Herrmann during the score's first recording sessions when Hitch discovered Herrmann had composed a "symphonic" score and not the "pop" score that Hitch had specifically requested) |
