Higdon's "Rhythm Stand"
Jennifer Higdon’s “Rhythm Stand” premiered in Philadelphia in 2003.
John Birge
YourClassical MPR
Composers Datebook®
Reminding you that all music was once new ® • with host John Birge
Composer's Datebook - May 27, 2022
2:00
Edward Collins premieres
In 1923, the Chicago North Shore Festival sponsored a competition for new orchestral works. Of the 47 scores submitted, five finalists were selected. Two of those were by the same composer, a 33-year-old Illinois native named Edward Collins.
2:00
Verdi, Wagner and Sousa for the Red Cross
On May 25, 1944, the combined orchestras of the New York Philharmonic and the NBC Symphony presented a Red Cross Benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, with Arturo Toscanini conducting.
2:00
Carter and Copland in dancing shoes
On today's date in 1939, the orchestral version of Elliott Carter's "Pocahontas" Ballet was presented by the Ballet Caravan at its home base at the Martin Beck Theater in New York.
2:00
Daniel Pinkham's "Nocturnes"
Daniel Pinkham’s Nocturnes premiered on today’s date in 1993, at the First and Second Church in Boston.
2:00
Richard Wagner at 200+
Richard Wagner (1813 - 1883) Transformation music from Parsifal
2:00
Brubeck's "Pange Lingua Variations"
On May 21, 1983, Dave Brubeck’s “Pange Lingua Variations” for chorus, jazz ensemble and orchestra had its premiere at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, California.
2:00
Alfons Diepenbrock
In Amsterdam on today’s date in 1906, the Concertgebouw Orchestra and conductor Willem Mengelberg premiered a work of Alfons Diepenbrock’s entitled “In Great Silence – a Mood Poem based on an Aphorism of Friedrich Nietzsche.”
2:00
Jodie Blackshaw's "Letter from Sado"
On today’s date in 2014, a new work by Jodie Blackshaw intended for middle-school band students was premiered by the Rosemount Middle School Band of Rosemount, Minn., under the direction of John Zschunke.
2:00
Milhaud's "Sacred Service"
Milhaud’s Sabbath Morning Service was first heard at Temple Emanu-El on today’s date in 1949, with its composer conducting.
2:00
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.