Composers Datebook®

Chamber Diamond

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

David Diamond (1915 - 2005) Clarinet Quintet David Shifrin, clarinet; Chamber Music Northwest Delos 3088

On This Day

Births

  • 1839 - American composer and organist Dudley Buck, in Hartford, Conn.;

  • 1844 - Spanish composer and violinist Pablo de Sarasate, in Pamplona;

  • 1892 - French composer Arthur Honegger, in Le Harve;

  • 1903 - American composer and jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, in Davenport, Iowa;

Deaths

  • 1832 - Italian-born composer Muzio Clementi, age 80, in Evesham, England;

  • 1870 - Czech-born composer and pianist Ignaz Moscheles, age 75, in Leipzig;

  • 1910 - German composer Carl Reinecke, age 85, in Leipzig;

  • 1991 - American composer Elie Siegmeister, age 82, in Manhasset, N.Y.;

Premieres

  • 1785 - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, K. 467, at the Burgtheater in Vienna, with the composer as soloist;

  • 1837 - Mercadante: opera "Il Giuramento" (The Oath), in Milan;

  • 1875 - Goldmark: opera "Die Königin von Saba" (The Queen of Sheba), in Vienna at the Court Opera (Hofoper);

  • 1877 - Borodin: Symphony No. 2, in St. Petersburg, by the Russian Musical Society, Eduard Nápravik conducting (Julian date: Feb. 26);

  • 1880 - Paine: Symphony No. 2 ("Spring"), at Sanders Theater in Boston, by the Boston Philharmonic, Bernard Listermann conducting; The following day, the orchestra of the Harvard Musical Association performed the same work downtown at Boston's Musical Hall, with Carl Zerrahn conducting;

  • 1888 - Franck: symphonic poem "Pysché," in Paris;

  • 1912 - Gliere: Symphony No. 3 ("Ilya Murometz") in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 23);

  • 1916 - Granados: "Intermezzo & Epilogue," from "Goyescas," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting;

  • 1922 - Loeffler: "Irish Fantasies" (Nos. 2, 3 & 5 only) for voice and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, with Pierre Monteux conducting and tenor John McCormack the soloist;

  • 1932 - Wallingford Riegger: "Dichotomy" for orchestra, in Berlin;

  • 1952 - David Diamond: Quintet for clarinet and strings, at Town Hall in New York City, by clarinetist David Oppenheim, Nathan Gordon and Lillian Fuchs (violins), and Aaron Twerdowsky and Bernard Greenhouse (cellos);

  • 1963 - Henze: opera "Il re cervo" (The Stag King), in Kassel at the Staatstheater; This is the 2nd version of Henze's opera "König Hirsch" which was first staged in an abridged version in Berlin on September 24, 1956; The complete original version of the opera was eventually staged in Stuttgart on May 7, 1985;

  • 1964 - John Harbison: "Sinfonia," in Cambridge, Mass., with violinist Rose Mary Harbison and the Bach Society Orchestra of Harvard, Gregory Biss conducting;

  • 1977 - John Harbison: "Diotima" for orchestra, in Boston, with the Boston Symphony, Joseph Silverstein conducting;

Others

  • 1937 - Frank Capra's film "The Lost Horizon" opens at the Four Stars Theater in Los Angeles, featuring a classic film score composed by Dmitri Tiomkin (and conducted by Max Steiner).

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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.

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