David Raksin goes "noir"
Today marks the birthday of American composer David Raksin, born in 1912 in Philadelphia.
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Composer's Datebook - 20220804
2:00
Rossini asks "Who was that masked man?"
Rossini’s “William Tell” was first heard in Paris on today’s date in 1829.
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Gluck and Glass in the Underworld
On this day in 1774, in Paris, the first performance of the French version of the opera “Orpheus and Eurydice” by Christoph Willibald Gluck took place.
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Dvorak's "American" Quintet
Dvorak’s “American” String Quartet was completed on today’s date in 1893 in Spillville, Iowa.
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Bach at rest
J.S. Bach (1685-1750) St. Matthew Passion SW German Madrigal Chorus; Wolfgang Gönnenwein, cond. EMI Classics 79544 J.S. Bach (1685-1750) arr. Chris Brubeck Variations on Themes by Bach Joel Brown, guitar; London Symphony; Joel Revzen, cond. Koch International 7485
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Ellington honored -- finally!
On today’s date in 1965, the New York Philharmonic gave the premiere performance of an orchestral work by Duke Ellington, titled “The Golden Broom and the Golden Apples.”
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Caruso sings Cohan
On today’s date in 1918, the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso performed George M. Cohan’s “Over There” for an audience of 10,000 at an open-air concert in Ocean Grove, N.J.
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Berlioz gets hot
On today’s date in 1840, Hector Berlioz conducted 210 musicians under a broiling noonday sun as they slowly progressed to the Place de Bastille.
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Lindberg by Weill, Hindemith and Waxman
It was on this day in 1929 that the first performance was given of a radio cantata – not on the radio, oddly enough, but in a concert hall in Baden-Baden, Germany.
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"Parsifal" in Bayreuth
On today’s date in 1882, the eminent German conductor Hermann Levi led the first performance of Richard Wagner’s new opera, “Parsifal.”
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.