On this day in Classical music history...

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 17th

We go now to Beverly Hills, CA circa 1983. On this day the lyricist Ira Gershwin passed away. Gershwin was the first lyricist to ever be awarded a Pulitzer Prize (Of Thee I Sing, 1932). Gershwin and his younger brother, George, found legendary success when the two teamed up. Ira wrote the lyrics and George provided the music. The brothers collaborated to write such stage hits as I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise, Lady Be Good, Tip Toes, Oh Kay, Funny Face, Strike Up the Band!, Girl Crazy, and Porgy and Bess (a lethargic success; it opened poorly but has since become known as Ira's best work). Numerous hit songs made up these stage shows. If your browser has Flash 5 plug-in, you can go to this Website and hear many or these songs for free. After his brother's untimely death, Ira went on to create another hit, A Star is Born, along with the composers Jerome Kerm and Harold Arlen.



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Other events C&P

Births:
1903 — American composer and pianist Abram Chasins, in New York City;
1928 — American composer T.J. (Thomas Jefferson) Anderson, in Coatesville, Pa.;
1943 — English composer Edward Cowie, in Birmingham;

Deaths:
1786 — Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, flute player and amateur composer, age 74, in Potsdam;
1958 — French composer Florent Schmitt, age 87, in Neuilly-sur-Seine;
1961 — French-born American composer and harpist Carlos Salzedo, age 76, in Waterville, Maine;
1973 — French composer Jean Barraque, in Paris;
1981 — American composer Robert Russell Bennett, age 87, in New York City;

Premieres:
1876 — First complete performance of Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle concludes at Bayreuth with a performance of "Götterdämmerung" (The Twilight of the Gods);
1937 — John Ireland: "A London Overture" at a Proms Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood;
1946 — Honegger: "Symphonie Liturgique" (No. 3) in Zürich, conducted by Charles Munch, to whom the work is dedicated;
1953 — von Einem: opera "Der Prozess" (The Trial), at the Salzburg Festival in Austria; This opera is based on the novel by Franz Kafka;
1955 — Werner Egk: opera "Irische Legende" (Irish Legend), at the Salzburg Festival in Austria;
1974 — Penderecki: "Magnificat," for bass solo, chorus, and orchestra, in Salzburg, Austria;

Other:
1928 — Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg wins $10,000 Schubert Centenary Prize offered by Columbia Phonograph Company of New York for his Symphony in C;
1957 — During lecture at the Tanglewood Festival, American composer Gunther Schuller coins the phrase "third stream" to describe a type of composition in which elements of jazz are organized within a classical musical structure.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 18th

We go to Legnano, Italy circa the year of J.S. Bach's death, 1750. Born on this day was the composer Antonio Salieri. Salieri studied with Gassmann and others in Vienna, and also knew Gluck (who became his patron) and Metastasio. In 1774 he succeeded Gassmann as court composer and conductor of the Italian opera; from 1788 he was also court Kapellmeister. He made his reputation as a stage composer, writing operas for Vienna from 1768 and presenting several in Italy, 1778-80. Later he dominated Parisian opera with three works of 1784-7; Tarare (1787), his greatest success, established him as Gluck's heir. In 1790 he gave up his duties at the Italian opera. As his style became old-fashioned his works lost favour, and he composed relatively little after 1804, but he remained a central and influential figure in Viennese musical Iife. His many pupils included Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt. There is little evidence of any intrigues against Mozart, still less of the charge of poisoning.

<img src="http://i.cnn.net/cnn/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/18/bartolis.salieri.ap/story.salieri.jpg" alt=" - " />

Salieri's circa 40 Italian operas are traditional in their emphasis on melodic expression, but they also show Gluck's influence, with dramatic choral writing, much accompanied recitative and careful declamation: some combine seria and buffa elements. In Tarare he came close to Gluck's dramatic ideals. Among his many other compositions are oratorios, church music, cantatas, arias, vocal ensembles, songs and orchestral and chamber works.

<img src="http://www.karadar.com/Jpg/Salieri_image_02.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy Birthday, Antonio Salieri!

C&P Source

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We now go to Simao, China circa 1957. Born on this day was the composer and conductor Tan Dun. Tan Dun has made an indelible mark on the world's music scene with a creative repertoire that spans the boundaries of classical, multimedia, Eastern and Western musical systems. A winner of today's most prestigious honors — the Grawemeyer Award for classical composition, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Musical America's "Composer of The Year" — Tan Dun's music has been played throughout the world by the leading orchestras, opera houses, international festivals, and on radio and television. His latest work, Secret Land for Orchestra and Twelve Violoncelli for the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle was premiered on June 17, 2004 in Berlin. Tan Dun's current commissions include a new opera for the Metropolitan Opera and James Levine to premiere in December 2006. As a conductor whose primary interest is in creating programs that reach a new and diverse audience and which break the boundaries between classical and non-classical, East and West, avant-garde and indigenous art forms, Tan Dun has led many of the world's leading orchestras. Among them are the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, National Orchestra de France, Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, Montreal Symphony, NHK Symphony of Japan, National Orchestra de Lyon, Sydney Symphony, and London Sinfonietta.

<img src="http://www.perthfestival.com.au/files/events/tan-dun.jpg" alt=" - " />

Central to his body of work, Tan Dun has composed distinct series of works which reflect his individual compositional concepts and personal ideas. Among them are the Orchestral Theatre Series, bringing his childhood memories of shamanistic ritual into symphonic performances, from which The Gate was premiered by the NHK Symphony, conducted by Charles Dutoit; Organic Music, consisting of works which incorporate elements from the natural world, such as the Water Concerto for Water, Percussion, and Orchestra, commissioned and premiered by the New York Philharmonic with Kurt Masur, and Paper Concerto for Paper Instruments and Orchestra for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen for the openings of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in October 2003; and Concerto Multimedia, including the symbolic work The Map: Concerto for Cello, Video and Orchestra premiered by Boston Symphony Orchestra and Yo-Yo Ma with the composer conducting. Opera has played a significant role in Tan Dun's creative output of the past decade. Marco Polo (1995-96), set to a libretto by Paul Griffiths, has had three different productions and been performed in more than 20 cities worldwide. Peony Pavilion (1998), on a text by Tang Xianzu (1598), and directed by Peter Sellars, had more than 50 performances at major festivals in Vienna, Paris, London and Rome. Tea: A Mirror of the Soul (2002) on a libretto by Xu Ying and set to music of ceramic, stone and paper instruments with orchestra, premiered at Japan's Suntory Hall and the Netherlands Opera with Pierre Audi directing, and received a new production at Lyon National Opera with Stanislas Nordey directing in June 2004. Other major and influential works are: Water Passion after St. Matthew, for the Internationale Bachakadamie in Stuttgart, commemorating the 250th anniversary of Bach's death; Eight Memories in Watercolor, performed internationally by pianist Lang Lang; the Oscar Award-winning original score for Ang Lee's film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; and Ghost Opera, toured worldwide by the Kronos Quartet.

<img src="http://www.schirmer.com/composers/tan.jpg" alt=" - " />

Based in New York, Tan Dun was born in Simao, China. Having served as a rice-planter and performer of Peking opera during the Cultural Revolution, he later studied at Beijing's Central Conservatory. He holds a doctoral degree in musical arts from Columbia University of New York. Among the many international honors he has received, Tan Dun was elected by Toru Takemitsu for the Glenn Gould Prize in Music Communication, and by Hans Werner Henze for the Munich International Music Theatre Award. Tan Dun was the music director of the Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival in 1999 and artistic director of the London Barbican Centre's international festival in 2000. Currently, he is the music director of a multimedia festival with the Orchestre de la Radio Flamande.

<img src="http://us.movies1.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/oscars/73rd_academy_awards_photos/tan_dun/oscars.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy 48th Birthday, Tan Dun!

C&P Source

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Other events C&P

Births:
1849 — French composer Benjamin Godard, in Paris;
1893 — Canadian composer and conductor Sir Ernest MacMillan, in Mimico, Ontario;

Deaths:
1942 — Austrian composer Erwin Schulhoff, age 48, in a German concentration camp in Wülzburg;

Premieres:
1820 — Schubert: opera "Die Zauberharfe" (The Magic Harp) in Vienna;
1912 — Schreker: opera "Der ferne Klang" (The Distant Sound), in Frankfurt at the Opernhaus;
1938 — Britten: Piano Concerto, with the composer as soloist, at a Proms Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood;
1956 — Henry Brant: "On the Nature of Things," for spatially grouped instruments and strings, in Bennington, Vt.;
1966 — Ulysseys Kay: "Markings" (dedicated to the late Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld), at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester, Michigan;

Other:
1906 — Gustav Mahler conducts the first of two performances of Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" in Salzburg, Austria, during a Mozart Festival that also included Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" conducted by Richard Strauss.

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That is all I have for today.

<small>[ 08-17-2005, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: hal 9000 ]</small>

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 19th

We go today to Liveni, Romania circa the year 1881. Born on this day was the composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher George Enescu. Enescu showed musical talent from early in his childhood. His father presented him to the professor and composer Eduard Caudella, who admitted him at the Conservatoire from Iaşi. At the age of seven, he was guided to follow his studies at the Vienna Conservatory. Here he studied with great professors such as Joseph Hellmesberger, Robert Fuchs, and Sigismond Bachrich, and graduated before his 13th birthday, earning the silver medal. In his Viennese concerts young Enescu played Brahms, Sarasate and Mendelssohn Bartholdy. In 1895 he went to Paris to continue his studies. He studied violin with Armand Marsick, harmony with André Gédalge, and composition with Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. Many of Enescu's works were influenced by Romanian folk music, his most popular compositions being the Romanian Rhapsodies (1901–1902), the opera Oédipe (1936), and the suites for orchestra. He also wrote five symphonies, a symphonic poem Vox maris, and much chamber music (three sonatas for violin and piano and two for cello and piano, a piano trio, quartets with and without piano, a dixtuor, an octet for strings, a piano quintet, a chamber symphony for twelve solo instruments). Some of his creations were composed in Sinaia, at his villa in Luminiş.

<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ac/Enescu01.jpg/180px-Enescu01.jpg" alt=" - " />

In 1923 he made his debut as a conductor in a concert given by the Philadelphia Orchestra in New York. He also conducted the New York Philharmonic between 1937 and 1938. He lived in Paris and in Romania, but after World War II and the communist occupation of Romania, he remained in Paris. He was also a noted violin teacher. Yehudi Menuhin, Christian Ferras, Ivry Gitlis and Arthur Grumiaux were amongst his pupils. He promoted the contemporary Romanian music, playing works of Constantin Silvestri, Mihail Jora, Ionel Perlea and Marţian Negrea. On his passing in 1955, George Enescu was interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. The symphony orchestra of Bucharest is named in his honor; that city also houses a museum in his memory.

<img src="http://www.aol.ro/2001/09/imagini/enescu.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy Birthday, George Enescu!

C&P Source
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Other events C&P

Births:
1813 — American composer and journalist, William Henry Fry, in Philadelphia (see also August 10);

Deaths:
1929 — Russian ballet impressario Sergei Diaghilev, age 57, in Venice;

Premieres:
1952 — Ginastera: ballet "Estancia," in Buenos Aires;
1957 — Bernstein: musical "West Side Story," as a trial run in Washington, D.C. at the National Theater, choreography and direction by Jerome Robbins, conducted by Max Goberman; The show opened in New York City at the Winter Garden on September 26, 1957;
1961 — Peggy Glanville-Hicks: opera "Nausicaa," in Athens, Greece;
1988 — Lutoslawski: Piano Concerto, at the Salzburg Festival in Austria;

Other:
1990 — At Tanglewood, Leonard Bernstein conducts the Boston Symphony in Britten's "Three Sea Interludes" from "Peter Grimes" and Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 at his last concert appearance before his death; On the same program, Carl St. Clair conducted a performance of Bernstein's "Arias and Barcarolles" (as orchestrated by Bright Sheng); The Bernstein-led performances from this concert have been issued on compact disc on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 20th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1561 — Italian composer Jacopo Peri, in Rome; His setting of Rinuccini's poem "Dafne," staged in 1600, is credited as the first opera;

Deaths:
1813 — Bohemian composer Jan Krittel Vanhal (Johann Baptist Wanhal), age 74, in Vienna;

Premieres:
1882 — Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture, on an all-Tchaikovsky program presented during an Art and Industrial Exhibition in Moscow (Julian date: Aug. ;
1943 — Manuel Ponce: Violin Concerto, in Mexico City, conducted by Carlos Chavez;
1956 — Bliss: "Edinburgh Overture," at the opening of the Edinburgh Festival of Music and Drama;
1958 — Menotti: opera "Maria Golovin," at the International Exposition in Brussels, Belgium;
1961 — John Harbison: "Duo" for flute and piano, at the Brooklyn Museum, with flutist Neil Zaslaw and pianist Juliette Arnold;
1965 — Harrison Birtwistle: "Tragoedia" for chamber ensemble, at Wardour Castle in England, during the Castle Summer School of Music, by the Melos Ensemble conducted by Lawrence Foster;
1973 — Carl Orff: cantata "De Temporum Fine Commedia" (A Play of the End of Time) at the Salzburg Festival, with Herbert von Karajan conducting;
1979 — Harbison: opera "The Winter's Tale" in San Francisco;
1980 — Rubbra: Symphony No. 11, in London by the BBC Northern Symphony;
1992 — Joan Tower: "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman" No. 5 (dedicated to Joan Harris), at the opening of the Joan and Irving Harris Concert Hall at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado.
2004 — Zhou Long: “The Immortal” for orchestra, at a BBC Proms concerts with the BBC Symphony, Leonard Slatkin conducting;
2004 — Peter Maxwell Davies: “Naxos Quartet” No. 4 (“Children’s Games”), in the Chapel of the Royal Palace, Oslo (Norway) during the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, by the Maggini Quartet.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 21st

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1893 — French composer Lili Boulanger, in Paris; She was the younger sister of Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), the famous French composition teacher;
1927 — German composer Willhelm Killmayer, in Munich;

Deaths:
1951 — British composer and writer Constant Lambert, age 45, in London;

Premieres:
1966 — Creston: "Pavane Variations" at the La Jolla Music Festival in California;

Other:
1800 — The U.S. Marine Band presented its first public concert in Washington, DC, "on a hill overlooking the Potomac," near the future site of the Lincoln Memorial.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 22nd

We go today to St. Germain-en-Laye, France circa the year 1862. Born on this day was the composer and father of Impressionism in music, Claude Debussy. Debussy studied with Guiraud and others at the Paris Conservatoire (1872-84) and as prizewinner went to Rome (1885-7), though more important Impressions came from his visits to Bayreuth (1888, 1889) and from hearing Javanese music in Paris (1889). Wagner's influence is evident in the Cantata La damoiselle élue (1888) and the Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire (1889) but other songs of the period, notably the settings of Verlaine (Ariettes oubliées, Trois mélodies, Fêtes galantes, set 1) are in a more capricious style, as are parts of the still somewhat Franckian G Minor String Quartet (1893); in that work he used not only the Phrygian mode but also less standard modes, notably the whole-tone mode, to create the floating harmony he discovered through the work of contemporary writers: Mallarmé in the orchestral Prélude à 'L'après-midi d'un faune (1894) and Maeterlinck in the opera Pelléas et Mélisande, dating in large part from 1893-5 but not completed until 1902. These works also brought forward a fluidity of rhythm and colour quite new to Western music.

<img src="http://www.keio-miyama.com/seminar/images/debussy.jpg" alt=" - " />

Pelléas, with its rule of understatement and deceptively simple declamation, also brought an entirely new tone to opera - but an unrepeatable one. Debussy worked on other opera projects and left substantial sketches for two pieces after tales by Poe (Le diable dans le beffroi and La chûte de la maison Usher), but nothing was completed. Instead the main works were orchestral pieces, piano sets and songs.

<img src="http://images.google.com/url?q=http://jp.rameau.free.fr/images/debussy.gif" alt=" - " />

The orchestral works include the three Nocturnes (1899), characteristic studies of veiled harmony and texture ('Nuages'), exuberant cross-cutting ('Fêtes') and seductive whole-tone drift ('Sirènes'). La mer (1905) essays a more symphonic form, with a finale that works themes from the first movement, though the centrepiece ('Jeux de vagues') proceeds much less directly and with more variety of colour. The three Images (1912) are more loosely linked, and the biggest, 'Ibéria', is itself a triptych, a medley of Spanish allusions. Finally the ballet Jeux (1913) contains some of Debussy's strangest harmony and texture in a form that moves freely over its own field of motivic connection. Other late stage works, including the ballets Khamma (1912) and La boîte à joujoux (1913) and the mystery play Le martyre de St. Sébastien (1911), were not completely orchestrated by Debussy, though St. Sébastien is remarkable in sustaining an antique modal atmosphere that otherwise was touched only in relatively short piano pieces (e.g.'La cathédrale engloutie').

<img src="http://www.classical-composers.org/img/debussy.jpg" alt=" - " />

The important piano music begins with works which, Verlaine fashion, look back at rococo decorousness with a modern cynicism and puzzlement (Suite bergamasque, 1890; Pour le piano, 1901). But then, as in the orchestral pieces, Debussy began to associate his music with visual impressions of the East, Spain, landscapes etc, in a sequence of sets of short pieces. His last volume of Etudes (1915) interprets similar varieties of style and texture purely as pianistic exercises and includes pieces that develop irregular form to an extreme as well as others influenced by the young Stravinsky (a presence too in the suite En blanc et noir for two pianos, 1915). The rarefaction of these works is a feature of the last set of songs, the Trois poèmes de Mallarmé (1913), and of the Sonata for flute, viola and harp (1915), though the sonata and its companions also recapture the inquisitive Verlainian classicism. The planned set of six sonatas was cut short by the composer's death from rectal cancer.

<img src="http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/debussy.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy Birthday, Claude Debussy!

C&P Source
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Other events C&P

Births:
1827 — Austrian composer Josef Strauss, in Vienna; He was the son of Johann Strauss I and the younger brother of Johann Strauss, II.;
1928 — German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, in Mödrath (near Cologne);

Premieres:
1968 — Birtwistle: opera "Punch and Judy," at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland;
1980 — Tippett: Triple Concerto, for violin, viola, cello and orchestra, in London by the London Symphony, Sir Colin Davis conducting;
1982 — Peter Maxwell Davies: "Image, Reflection, Shadow" at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland;

Other:
1741 — Handel begins work on his famous oratorio, "Messiah," which he finished scoring on September 14 (Gregorian dates: Sept. 2 to 25); The entire work was composed in a period of 24 days;
2002 — An opera by the Iranian-Armenian composer Loris Cheknavariyan based on the Persian epic "Rostam and Sohrab" is staged in Teheran to mark the 1000th anniversary of the birth of poet Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi, on whose epic the opera was based; The performance, at Teheran's Milad Hall, featured 125 Austrian musicians and singers; This marked the first occasion that a Western-style opera was staged in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 23rd

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1854 — German pianist and composer of Polish descent Moritz Moszkowski, in Brelau;
1900 — Austrian-born American composer Ernst Krenek, in Vienna;
1905 — English composer, conductor and writer Constant Lambert, in London;

Deaths:
1937 — French composer Albert Roussel, age 68, in Royan;
1960 — American lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, age 65, in Doylestown, Pa.;
1962 — American composer Irving Fine, age 47, in Boston;

Premieres:
1735 — Rameau, opera-ballet "Les Indes galantes," in Paris;
1906 — R. Vaughan-Williams: "Norfolk Rhapsody," in London;
1913 — Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 2 (first version), at Pavlovsk, conducted by A.P. Aslanov with the composer as soloist (Gregorian date: Sept. 5); A second version of this concerto premiered in Paris on May 8, 1924, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, again with the composer a soloist;
1964 — Stravinsky: "Abraham and Isaac" (dedicated to the people and the state of Israel), in Jerusalem by the Israel Festival Orchestra conducted by Robert Craft;

Other:
1934 — The Berkshire Symphonic Festival in founded in Stockbridge, Mass., by American composer and conductor Henry Hadley, with the participation of the New York Philharmonic; The Festival later became associated with the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 24th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1803 — French composer Adolphe Adam, in Paris;
1837 — French composer and organist Théodore Dubois, in Rosnay;
1910 — German-born American composer Bernhard Heiden, in Frankfurt;
1919 — Danish composer Niels Viggo Bentzon, in Copenhagen;
1949 — American composer Stephen Paulus, in Summit, N.J.;

Deaths:
1985 — American composer Paul Creston, age 78, in San Diego, Calif.;

Premieres:
1846 — Suppé: operetta "Dichter und Bauer" (Poet and Peasant), in Vienna;
1907 — Elgar: "Pomp and Circumstance"March No. 4, in London;
1943 — Bernstein: song-cycle "I Hate Music!" at the Public Library in Lenox, Mass., with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel and the composer at the piano; The New York premiere of this work occurred on November 13, 1943 (the day before his surprise conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic), with the same performers;
1980 — Lutoslawski: Double Concerto, for oboe, harp and chamber orchestra, in Lucerne, Switzerland by oboist Heinz Holliger, harpisy Ursula Holliger, and the Collegium Musicum conducted by Paul Sacher;

Other:
1724 — Handel performs on the organ at St. Paul's Cathedral in London before the royal princesses Anne and Caroline (Gregorian date: Sept. 4);
1968 — Czech conductor and composer Rafael Kubelik launches an appeal to world musicians to boycott performances in the five nations which invaded Czechoslovakia on August 20-21 until their military forces evacuate the country; The appeal was joined by Igor Stravinsky, Arthur Rubinstein, Yehudi Menuhin, Otto Klemperer, Bernard Haitink, Claudio Arrau, and others.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 25th

Today we are in Lawrence, Massachusetts circa the year 1918. Born on the day was the great composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. A prodigiously talented composer, pianist, conductor and teacher, Leonard Bernstein did more to validate America's position in the musical world than virtually any other musician in history. More importantly, he contributed a galaxy of superlative compositions and recorded performances to our culture, and redefined the boundaries between classical music and other recently-derived popular styles. He was the leading light of 20th century American music, and no contemporary musician of any instrument or specialty pursues his craft without first acknowledging a debt to Bernstein. As a charismatic ambassador of music, he remains without peer.

<img src="http://www.classical-composers.org/img/bernstein3.jpg" alt=" - " />

He was born Louis Bernstein into a family of Russian Jewish immigrants in Lawrence, Mass. in 1918; he changed his name to Leonard to avoid confusion with a relative named Louis. He studied piano in Boston as a child, and entered Harvard at the age of seventeen, where his composition teachers included Walter Piston and A. Tillman Merritt. After graduating in 1939, he arrived at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, where he studied conducting with the legendary maestro Fritz Reiner. During the summers of 1940 and 1941, he went to the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood and studied with his most important musical mentor, conductor/bassist Serge Koussevitzky. Even at this relatively young age, Bernstein was considered a major talent, both on the podium and at the piano.

<img src="http://www.classical-composers.org/img/bernstein2.jpg" alt=" - " />

By 1943, Bernstein had attained a position as an assistant conductor for the New York Philharmonic; in November of that year, he had his famous musical epiphany. On November 14, he was called upon to substitute-conduct a demanding Philharmonic concert; his flair and virtuosity captivated the audience, and critics sang his praises. From this moment on, he was the darling of the classical music world, particularly in America, where he was proclaimed the greatest young musician of the age. For the next fifteen years, he conducted the greatest orchestras of the world, both in concerts and in a blistering schedule of recordings, and won the highest stature as a pianist. In 1958, he was appointed Music Director of the New York Philharmonic; in the same year, he began his legendary series of televised concerts for children, which are still regarded as definitive ground-breaking educational events. Over the course of his career as a podium celebrity, he led countless concerts of repertoire from the Baroque to contemporary music, winning particular notice for his interpretations of Beethoven and Mahler.

<img src="http://www.classical-composers.org/img/bernstein.jpg" alt=" - " />

Bernstein was also a composer of great ability and verve. He wrote several classics for orchestra, including three symphonies, Facsimile, Fancy Free, Kaddish, and the Serenade for Violin and Orchestra; his musical theater credits include West Side Story, Candide, and Wonderful Town; he was the composer of many songs, chamber pieces, and incidental works. An accomplished author, he penned several books on music-making and music education. For two generations of students, he was a demi-god; making Tanglewood his second home, he conducted legendary classes in conducting and music appreciation. He was conducting and creating music until his death in 1990.

<img src="http://www.classical-composers.org/img/bernstein4.jpg" alt=" - " />

Summarizing Bernstein's musical accomplishments - and the effect of his ebullient and headstrong personality on the world's musical landscape - is a task best left to professional biographers, and several have produced high-profile studies of his life and art. As famed for his mercurial lifestyle as his musicianship, he will be forever regarded as an enigmatic and extraordinary blessing to music.

<img src="http://inkpot.com/classical/people/bernstein1.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy Birthday, Leonard Bernstein!

C&P Source
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Other events C&P

Births:
1880 — Austrian operetta composer Robert Stoltz, in Graz;
1902 — German-born American composer Stefan Wolpe, in Berlin;

Deaths:
1742 — Portuguese composer José Antonio Carlos de Seixas, age 38, in Lisbon;
1774 — Italian opera composer Niccolò Jommelli, age 59, in Naples;

Premieres:
1830 — Auber: opera, "La muette de Portici" (aka "Masaniello"), in Brussels, igniting political riots leading to expulsion of Dutch and the Belgian Revolution of 1830;
1948 — Henze: Symphony No. 1 at Bad Pyrmont;
1978 — Rorem: "Sunday Morning" at Saratoga Springs, New York, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy;

Other:
1830 — Auber: opera, “La muette de Portici” (aka “Masaniello”), in Brussels, igniting political riots leading to expulsion of Dutch and the Belgian Revolution of 1830;
1870 — Richard Wagner marries Cosima Liszt von Bulow;
1959 — On his 41st birthday, Leonard Bernstein conducts a tour performance by the New York Philharmonic in Moscow; The program includes Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" and Ives' "The Unanswered Question."

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That is all I have for today.

[Trumpetmaster]

Happy Birthday to Lenny!!
He was the Best!!!!

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 26th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1887 — Nicaraguan composer Luis Delgadillio, in Managua;
1915 — British composer Humphrey Searle, in Oxford;

Deaths:
1958 — British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, age 85, in London;

Premieres:
1815 — Weber: Clarinet Quintet in Bb, Op. 34, in Munich, featuring clarinetist Heinrich Bärmann;
1846 — Mendelssohn: oratorio "Elijah," at Birmingham Festival in England, with composer conducting;
1954 — Alan Rawsthorne: "Practical Cats" (after T.S. Eliot), for speaker and orchestra, at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland
1956 — Martinu: "Frescoes of Piero della Francesca," for orchestra, at the Salzburg Festival in Austria
1957 — Panufnik: "Rhapsody" for orchestra, in London
2001 — André Previn: "Tango, Song and Dance," at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and pianist Lambert Orkis.

Other:
1717 — French flutist and composer Jacques-Martin Hotteterre is appointed royal flutist (“flutte de la chamber de Roy”) at a salary of 6000 livres

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 27th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1886 — English light music composer, Eric Coates, in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire
1886 — English-born American composer and viola player Rebecca Clarke, in Harrow
1944 — Australian composer Barry Conyngham, in Sydney;

Deaths:
1521 — Flemish composer Josquin Des Prez, age c. 81, in Condé-sur-Escaut
1611 — Spanish composer Tomas Luis de Victoria, age c. 62, in Madrid;

Premieres:
1748 — Rameau: opera-ballet "Pygmalion," in Paris;
1900 — Fauré: Prométhée," in Béziers, France;
1937 — Copland: "El Salon Mexico," in Mexico City, with Carlos Chávez conducting;
1940 — Meredith Wilson: Symphony No. 2 ("The Missions of California") during a San Francisco Symphony concert on Treasure Island conducted by the composer; On the same program was the premiere of Wilson's "Prelude to 'The Great Dictator'" (based on Wilson's film score to the Charlie Chapin film, whose musical themes were provided by Chaplin himself);
1979 — Bernstein: song "Piccola Serenata" (for Karl Böhm's 80th Birthday), at Salzburg Festival, with mezzo-soprano Christa Ludwig and pianist James Levine

Other:
1734 — Handel and John Rich agree to hold the next opera season of Handel's "Royal Academy" at Rich's Covent Garden Theater in London (Gregorian date: Sept. 7).

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[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 28th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1867 — Italian opera composer Umberto Giordano, in Foggia;

Deaths:
1572 — Huguenot composer Claude Goudimel, age c. 52-58, in Lyons, sometime between August 28-31, during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of Protestants by Catholic partisans;
1914 — Russian composer Anatol Liadov, age 59, at his estate near Novgorod (Julian date: Aug 16);
1959 — Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu, age 68, in Liestal, Switzerland;

Premieres:
1733 — Pergolesi: one-act opera "La Serva Padrona," in Naples, as a comic interlude during the presentation of his serious opera, "Il Prigionier superbo"; The comic interlude became his most famous work, while the serious opera has been long forgotten;
1849 — Liszt: tone-poem "Tasso," in Weimarduring Goethe Centennery Festival;
1850 — Wagner: "Lohengrin," in Weimar at the Hoftheater, with Liszt conducting;
1922 — Gershwin: one-act opera "Blue Monday," as a part of "George White's Scandals of 1922" at the Globe Theater in New York City; The opera was cut from the "Scandals" after its one opening night performance; Reorchestrated by Ferde Grofe, it was given again as a concert performance by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on Dec. 29, 1925;
1954 — Persichetti: Symphony No. 5 for strings, by the Louisville Orchestra;
1956 — Martinu: "Frescoes of Piero della Francesca," for orchestra, at the Salzburg Festival in Austria, by the Vienna Philharmonic, Rafael Kubelik conducting;
1963 — Tippett: "Concerto for Orchestra," at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland;
1999 — Philip Glass: Symphony No. 5 ("Requiem, Bardo and Nirmanakaya"), at the Salzburg Festival in Austra, with Dennis Russell Davies conducting soloists, choruses, and the Vienna Radio Symphony;

Other:
1949 — Founding of the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado as part of a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Goethe's birth.

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That is all I have for today.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 29th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1920 — Virtuoso jazz saxophonist and "Be-bop" innovator, Charlie Parker, in Kansas City;
1936 — French composer and conductor Gilbert Amy, in Paris;

Deaths:
1661 — French composer Louis Couperin, in Paris; His brother, Charles Couperin (1638-1679) was also a composer, as was his nephew - the famous François Couperin (1668-1733), nicknamed "Le Grand."
1972 — French composer and conductor, René Leibowitz, age 59, in Paris;

Premieres:
1720 — Handel: oratorio, "Esther," at Canons, county seat of the Duke of Chandos (Gregorian date: Sept. 9);
1853 — Josef Strauss: "The First and the Last" Waltz (his first composition), at Unger's Casino in Hernals (Austria) by the Johann Strauss Orchestra, conducted by the composer (who had taken over the family orchestra for a time due to the sickness of his older brother, Johann Strauss, Jr.);
1882 — Brahms: Piano Trio in C, Op. 97, at a private home in Bad Ischl; Brahms played a practical joke on the audience by introducing the trio as having been composed by his friend, the composer and pianist Ignaz Brull, who was also in Bad Ischl at the time; The official premiere of the Trio occurred in Frankfurt on December 29 that year, with a violinist named Heermann and a cellist name Müller, with Brahms at the pianist;
1952 — John Cage "4:33," for any instrument, in Woodstock, N.Y.;
1981 — Stephen Paulus: "Courtship Songs" for flute, oboe, cello and piano, in St. Paul, Minn.;
1995 — Kaija Saariaho: "Graal Théàtre" for violin and orchestra, in London by the BBC Symphony, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen with Gidon Kremer the soloist;
2000 — Wolfgang Rihm: "Deus Passus (after St. Luke)," at the International Bach Academy in Stuttgart, by the Gächinger Kantorei and Stuttgart Bach Collegium, conducted by Helmut Rilling; This work was one of four passion settings commissioned by the International Bach Academy to honor the 250th anniversary of Bach's death in the year 2000 (see also: Sept 1, 5 & .

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[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 30th

Today is a C&P day

Births:
1820 — American song composer and music publisher George F. Root; He wrote "The Battle Cry of Freedom" and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp - The Boys are Marching
1943 — American composer David Maslanka, in New Bedford, Mass.;

Premieres:
1933 — Barber: "School for Scandal" Overture, at a Robin Hood Dell concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra.

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That is all I have for today.

[Trumpetmaster]

Not Classical Music History, but I though this was interesting

Born on August 30
1797 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, novelist best known for Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus.
1871 Ernest Rutherford, physicist who discovered and named alpha, beta and gamma radiation and was the first to achieve a man-made nuclear reaction.
1893 Huey P. Long, Louisiana politician who served as governor and U.S. senator, known as "The Kingfish."
1918 Ted Williams, Hall of Fame outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, the last man to hit .400 in a season.

[hal 9000]

Today in Classical Music History- August 31st

Our first stop today takes us to Paderno-Cremona, Italy circa the year 1834. Born on this day was the composer Amilcare Ponchielli. Ponchielli entered the Milan Conservatory in his ninth year and stayed there nine years. While still a student he wrote an operetta, Il Sindaco Babbeo, in collaboration with three other students. When his studies ended, he became an organist in Cremona, and then a bandmaster in Piacenza. During this period he wrote his first opera, I promessi sposi , introduced in Cremona in 1856. For the opening of the Teatro dal Verme in Milan in 1872, Ponchielli was commissioned to write an opera. For this occasion he revised I promessi sposi which was received to much acclaim. His next work, the ballet Le due gemelle, produced by La Scala in 1873, was also well received.

<img src="http://www.rodoni.ch/OPERNHAUS/gioconda/immagini/ponchielli7.jpg" alt=" - " />

Ponchielli became world famous with La Gioconda, introduced at La Scala on April 8, 1876. The opera was a triumph at its premiere and it was highly successful when heard throughout Europe. None of the operas Ponchielli wrote after La Gioconda was able to repeat either the popular success or the consistently high level of dramatic and musical interest of that work. In 1881, Ponchielli was appointed maestro di cappella of the Bergamo Cathedral, and from 1883 on he was professor of composition at the Milan Conservatory. Two of his students were Mascagni and Puccini. His operas are: I promessi sposi (1856), La Savoiarda (1861, revised as Lina, 1877), Roderico (1863), La stella del monte (1867), Le due gemelle (1873), I Lituani (1874, revised as Alduna, 1884), La Gioconda (1876), Il figliuol prodigo (1880), Marion Delorme (1885), Bertrando de Bornio, I mori di Valenza (completed by A. Cadora).

<img src="http://www.klassiekemuziekgids.net/images/morepic/ponchielli2.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy Birthday, Amilcare Ponchielli!

C&P Source
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Our next stop takes us to Tel Aviv, Israel circa the year 1945. Born on this day was the violinist Itzhak Perlman. Undeniably the reigning virtuoso of the violin, Itzhak Perlman enjoys superstar status rarely afforded a classical musician. Beloved for his charm and humanity as well as his talent, he has come to be recognized by audiences all over the world who respond not only to his flawless technique, but to the irrepressible joy of making music which he communicates. Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. Following his studies at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, Perlman won the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964, which led to a burgeoning worldwide career. Since then, Itzhak Perlman has appeared with every major orchestra and in recitals and festivals throughout the world. In November of 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern bloc countries. He again made history as he joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April/May of 1990 and was cheered by audiences in Moscow and Leningrad who thronged to hear his recital and orchestral performances. In December of 1994 he joined the Israel Philharmonic for their first visits to China and India. In December 1990, Perlman visited Russia for the second time to participate in a gala performance in Leningrad celebrating the 150th anniversary of Tchaikovsky's birth. This concert, which also featured Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman and Yuri Temirkanov conducting the Leningrad Philharmonic, was televised live in Europe and later broadcast throughout the world. In December 1993, Perlman visited the city of Prague in the Czech Republic to perform in a Dvorák gala concert with Yo-Yo Ma, Frederica von Stade, Rudolf Firkusny and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa.

<img src="http://www.ticketservice.com/assets/images/itzhak2.jpg" alt=" - " />

Itzhak Perlman has been honored with four Emmy Awards, most recently for the PBS documentary Fiddling for the Future, a film about the Perlman Summer Music Program and his work as a teacher and conductor in that program. His previous Emmy Award recognized his dedication to Klezmer music, as featured in the PBS television special In the Fiddler's House. Subsequent Klezmer tours have included concerts in Mexico, at the Hollywood Bowl and at major North American summer festivals. Perlman's recordings regularly appear on the best-seller charts and have won fifteen Grammy Awards. He has recorded a wide repertoire, collaborating with such artists as Isaac Stern, guitarist John Williams, Daniel Barenboim and conductors Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa and the Juilliard String Quartet. Perlman has also appeared on the conductor’s podium and through this medium he is further delighting his audiences. He has appeared as conductor / soloist with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Pittsburgh, Seattle and Toronto symphonies, at the Ravinia and OK Mozart festivals, with the St. Paul and New York chamber orchestras, and with the Israel Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra. In the 2000-2001 season his conducting debuts include engagements with Boston, National and San Francisco symphonies and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In January 2000 he was named Principal Guest Conductor for Detroit Symphony. Numerous publications and institutions have paid tribute to Itzhak Perlman for the unique place he occupies in the artistic and humanitarian fabric of our times. Newsweek magazine featured him with a cover story in April of 1980 and in 1981 Musical America pictured him as Musician of the Year on the cover of its Directory of Music and Musicians. Harvard, Yale, Brandeis, Roosevelt, Yeshiva and Hebrew universities are among the institutions that have awarded him honorary degrees. President Reagan honored Perlman with a "Medal of Liberty" in 1986. In December 2000, President Clinton awarded Perlman the “National Medal of Arts”.

<img src="http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~san/perlman.jpg" alt=" - " />

On television, Perlman has entertained and enlightened millions of viewers of all ages on shows as diverse as The Late Show with David Letterman, Sesame Street, the PBS series The Frugal Gourmet, the Tonight Show, the Grammy awards telecasts, several Live From Lincoln Center broadcasts and the PBS specials A Musical Toast and Mozart by the Masters, both of which he hosted. In 1992, the PBS documentary of his historic trip to the Soviet Union with the Israel Philharmonic, entitled Perlman in Russia, was honored with an Emmy award as best music documentary. In July of 1994, Perlman was seen by millions of viewers when he hosted the U.S. broadcast of the Three Tenors, Encore! live from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. One of Perlman's proudest achievements was his collaboration with film score composer John Williams in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award winning film Schindler's List in which he performed the violin solos. His presence on stage, on camera and in personal appearances of all kinds speaks eloquently on behalf of the disabled and his devotion to their cause is an integral part of his life.

<img src="http://www.fif-lso.org/artists/perlman2.jpg" alt=" - " />

Happy 60th Birthday, Itzhak Perlman!

C&P Source
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Other events C&P

Premieres:
1928 — Kurt Weill: "Die Dreigroschenoper" (The Threepenny Opera) in Berlin at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, to a libretto by German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht
1970 — Birtwistle: "Verses for Ensembles," in London;
2000 — Philip Glass: opera "In the Penal Colony" (based on a story by Franz Kafka), by A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) in Seattle.

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That is all I have for today.

[OperaTenor]

Hi Hal,

Just so's you know thread's still being read and you're efforts are very much appreciated.

Thank you so much!

[Trumpetmaster]

"Ditto"

[hal 9000]

Thank OT and TM. Closing in on 10 months so far.