Noteworthy Boulanger and Zwilich
It was on this day in 1913 that the French Academy of Fine Arts presented its highest award, the Prix de Rome, to Lili Boulanger.
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Composer's Datebook - July 6, 2022
2:00
The Theme to Seinfeld
On today’s date in 1989, NBC transmitted the pilot episode of a sitcom that 180 episodes later would be recognized as a TV classic.
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Born on the Fourth of July?
Today we celebrate three legendary figures in American popular music.
2:00
Plucky music with Landowska and Harbach
J. S. Bach (1685-1750) – Little Prelude in C, S. 934 (Wanda Landowska, harpsichord) Pearl 9489 Barbara Harbach (b. 1946) – Cante Flamenco, from Tres Danzas para Clavecin (Barbara Harbach, harpsichord) Gasparo 290
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Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
On this date in 1723, church-goers in Leipzig were presented with Bach’s “Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben.”
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Brahms and Berg on busman holidays?
In the summers of 1877 and 1878, Johannes Brahms composed his Second Symphony and Violin Concerto.
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Anton Arensky
Under the old Julian calendar in use in Czarist Russia, on today’s date in 1861, the Romantic composer Anton Arensky was born in Novgorod.
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A modern Monteverdi premiere
Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea” had its first full professional staging at the Glyndebourne Festival in England on today’s date in 1962.
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Leoni in San Francisco
Franco Leoni (1864 – 1937) L'Oracolo Tito Gobbi, baritone; National Philharmonic; Richard Bonynge, cond. London OSA-12107 (LP)
2:00
Schoenberg for Winds
Arnold Schoenberg’s “Theme and Variations” was given its first performance on today’s date in 1946 by the Goldman Band.
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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.