Composers Datebook®

Korngold in the Vienna Woods (and Sherwood Forest)

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897 - 1957) Soldiers March , from Die Käthrin Austrian State Radio Orchestra; Gottfried Kassowitz, cond.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold The Adventures of Robin Hood film music National Philharmonic; Charles Gerhardt, cond. BMG 0912

On This Day

Births

  • 1739 - Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Wanha (Vanhall) in Nechanicz;

  • 1754 - German composer and publisher (of Mozart and Beethoven) Franz Anton Hoffmeister, in Rottenburg;

  • 1755 - Italian violinist and composer Giovanni Viotti, in Fontanetto da Po;

  • 1842 - French composer Jules Massenet, in Montaud, near St.-Etienne, Loire;

  • 1845 - French composer Gabriel Fauré, in Pamiers (Ariège);

  • 1903 - English composer Sir Lennox Berkeley, in Boar's Hill, near Oxford;

  • 1941 - American composer, harpsichordist and organist Anthony Newman, in Los Angeles;

Deaths

  • 1871 - French opera composer Daniel-François Auber, age 89, in Paris;

  • 1884 - Bohemian composer Bedrich Smetana, age 60, in Prague;

  • 1931 - Belgian composer, violinist and conductor Eugene Ysaÿe, age 72, in Brussels;

Premieres

  • 1736 - Handel: opera "Atalanta" in London at the Covent Garden Theater; Handel dedicated the opera to the recently-married Frederick, Prince of Wales (Gregorian date: May 23);

  • 1832 - Donizetti: "L'Elisir d'Amore" (Elixir of Love), in Milan;

  • 1894 - R. Strauss: opera "Guntram," in Weimar , with Strauss conducting;

  • 1917 - Bartók: ballet "The Wooden Prince," in Budapest;

  • 1926 - Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1, by Leningrad Philharmonic, Nikolai Malko conducting;

  • 1937 - Walter Damrosch: "The Man Without a Country," in New York at the Metropolitan Opera;

  • 1938 - Honegger: opera "Joan of Arc at the Stake" (concert performance) in Basel, Switzerland, at the Grosser Musiksaal; The first staged production occurred in Zürich on June 13, 1942;

  • 1938 - Korngold: premiere showing of Warner Brothers' film "The Adventures of Robin Hood";

  • 1943 - Glière: Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra, in Moscow;

  • 1944 - Ginastera: "Overture to the Creole Faust," in Santiago, Chile;

  • 1980 - John Harbison: Concerto for Piano, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, with soloist Robert Miller and the American Composers Orchestra, Gunther Schuller conducting;

  • 1983 - Earle Brown: "Sounder Rounds" for orchestra, in Saarbrücken, Germany;

  • 2002 - Steve Reich & Beryl Korot: multi-media presentation "Three Tales" ("Hindenburg," "Bikini," and "Dolly") at the Vienna Festival in Austria, by members of the Ensemble Moderne and Synergy Vocals, directed by Bradley Lubman.

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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.

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