Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
Samuel Barber (1910-1981) First Essay for Orchestra, Op. 12 Detroit Symphony; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 9053
Samuel Barber (1910-1981) Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 Berlin Philharmonic; Semyon Bychkov, cond. Philips 434 108
On This Day
Births
1494 - German poet and songwriter ("Master Singer") Hans Sachs, in Nuremberg; He is the subject of German Romantic operas by Lortzig ("Hans Sachs," 1840) and Wagner ("Die Meistersinger," 1868);
1935 - British composer Nicholas Maw, in Grantham, Lincolnshire;
Deaths
1942 - American songwriter and vaudevillian George M. Cohan, age 64, in New York City; He won the Congressional Medal for his patriotic song, "Over There" (recorded by Enrico Caruso among others);
1956 - American jazz pianist and improviser Art Tatum, age 47, in Los Angeles;
Premieres
1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 115 ("Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit") performed on the 22nd Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25);
1846 - R. Schumann: Symphony No. 2, by Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn;
1876 - Tchaikovsky: “Marche slav” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 17);
1888 - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Nov. 17);
1895 - R. Strauss: tone-poem "Till Eulenspiegels Merry Pranks," in Cologne, conducted by Franz Wüllner;
1926 - de Falla: Harpsichord Concerto, with Wanda Landowska as soloist with the composer conducting;
1927 - Shostakovich: Symphony No. 2 ("To October"), by the Leningrad Philharmonic and Academic Choir, Nikolai Malko conducting;
1938 - Barber: "Adagio for Strings" and "Essay for Orchestra" No. 1, on a broadcast concert by the NBC Symphony, Arturo Toscanini conducting;
1943 - Martinu: Concerto for Two Pianos, with Luboshutz and Nemenoff Duo, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting;
1987 - Broadway premiere of Sondheim: musical "Into the Woods";
Others
1903 - First concert by a 50-member Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra (the current Minnesota Orchestra), conducted by Emil Oberhoffer, with Metropolitan Opera soprano Marcella Sembrich as guest soloist;
1955 - Karl Böhm conducts a performance of Beethoven's "Fidelio" at the gala re-opening of Vienna Opera House (damaged by Allied bombs on March 12, 1945); During the rebuilding of the Opera House, performances had continued in two nearby Viennese halls: the Theatre and der Wien and the Volksoper.
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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.
