Composers Datebook®

Bolcom's Bicentennial send-up

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

William Bolcom (b. 1938) Piano Concerto William Bolcom, piano; Rochester Philharmonic; Sydney Hodkinson, cond. Vox Box 7509

On This Day

Births

  • 1714 - German composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (the third son of J.S. Bach), in Weimar;

  • 1904 - Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas, on the island of Euboca;

  • 1911 - American composer Alan Hovhaness, in Somerville, Mass.;

Deaths

  • 1869 - French composer Hector Berlioz, age 62, in Paris;

  • 1957 - Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck, age 70, in Zurich;

  • 1961 - British conductor and arranger Sir Thomas Beecham, age 81, in London;

  • 1983 - English composer and conductor Sir William Walton, age 80, in Ischia;

Premieres

  • 1752 - Handel: oratorio "Jephtha," in London (Julian date: Feb. 26);

  • 1896 - Rachmaninoff: symphonic fantasy "The Rock," in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 20);

  • 1898 - R. Strauss: tone-poem "Don Quixote," in Cologne, Wüllner conducting;

  • 1902 - Sibelius: Symphony No. 2, by the Helsinki Philharmonic, with the composer conducting;

  • 1903 - Enescu: "Rumanian Rhapsodies" Nos. 1 and 2, in Bucharest, with the composer conducting;

  • 1934 - Piston: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting;

  • 1954 - Stravinsky: "Three Songs from William Shakespeare," at an "Evenings on the Roof" concert in Los Angeles conducted by Robert Craft;

  • 1956 - David Diamond: Symphony No. 6, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting;

  • 1957 - Xenakis: "Pithoprakta," in Munich;

  • 1979 - Rihm: opera "Jakob Lenz," in Hamburg at the Opera stabile (Staatsoper);

  • 1991 - Daniel Asia: "At the Far Edge" for orchestra, by the Seattle Youth Symphony, Ruben Gurevich conducting;

  • 2000 - Karen Tanaka: "At the Grave of Beethoven" for string quartet, in London, by the Brodsky Quartet;

  • 2000 - John Tavener: "The Lord's Prayer," in Guildford (England), by the Tallis Scholars.

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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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