Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) Sea Interludes, fr Peter Grimes London Symphony; André Previn, cond. EMI 72658
On This Day
Births
1897 - Hungarian born American conductor and occasional composer/arranger George Szell, in Budapest; He was led the Cleveland Orchestra from 1946 until the time of his death in 1970;
Deaths
1863 - Austrian composer Franz Xaver Gruber, age 75, in Hallen (near Salzburg); He composed the famous Christmas Carol, “Silent Night” (Stille Nacht), in 1818, while serving as a church organist and schoolmaster in Oberndorf;
Premieres
1896 - Hugo Wolf: opera "Der Corregidor" (The Governor) (1st version) in Mannheim at the Nationaltheater;
1920 - Gershwin: musical revue, "George White's Scandals of 1920," at the Globe Theater in New York City;
1922 - American premiere of Vaughan Williams: "Pastoral" Symphony (no.3), at the Litchfield County Choral Festival in Norfolk, Conn., with the composer conducting.; The world premiere had taken place in London on Jan. 26, 1922;
1927 - Prokofiev: ballet, "Pas d'Acier," in Paris, by the Ballet Russe;
1933 - Weill: "The Seven Deadly Sins of the Bourgeoisie," in Paris; text by Bertolt Brecht;
1945 - Britten: opera "Peter Grimes," in London at Sadler's Wells Theater;
1951 - Dutilleux: Symphony No. 1, in Paris;
1972 - Copland: "Three Latin American Sketches," at Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) in New York City, by New York Philharmonic conducted by André Kostelanetz;
1984 - Crumb: "A Haunted Landscape," by the New York Philharmonic, Arthur Weisberg conducting.
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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.