Composers as soloists: Beach and Schuller

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Amy Beach (1867-1944) Piano Concerto in c#, Op. 45 Joanne Polk, piano; English Chamber Orchestra; Paul Goodwin, cond. Arabesque 6738

Gunther Schuller (b. 1925) Horn Concerto No. 1 Richard Todd, horn; Saarbrucken Radio Symphony; Gunther Schuller, cond. GM 2044

On This Day

Births

• 1660 - German composer and organist Johann Kuhnau, in Geising Erzgebirge; He was Bach's predecessor as cantor at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig;

• 1672 - Baptismal date of French composer André Cardinal Destouches, in Paris;

• 1815 - German composer Friedrich Robert Volkman, in Lommatzsch, near Dresden;

• 1885 - French-born American composer and harpist Carlos Salzedo, in Arcachon;

• 1887 - Rumanian opera composer Nicolas Bretan, in Nasaud;

• 1921 - American composer Andrew Imbrie, in New York City;

• 1929 - Soviet composer Edison Denisov, in Tomak; His engineer father named him after Thomas Edison;

• 1929 - German-born American composer, pianist and conductor, André Previn, in Berlin;

Deaths

• 1971 - Russian-born American composer Igor Stravinsky, age 88, in New York City;

Premieres

• 1731 - Handel: opera "Rindalo" (2nd version), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: April 17);

• 1735 - Handel: Organ Concerto Op. 4, no. 5 (Julian date: March 26);

• 1797 - Beethoven: possible public premiere of the Quintet for Piano and Winds, Op. 16, at a Schuppanzig concert in Vienna;

• 1892 - Dvorak: Symphony No. 4 in d, in Prague;

• 1900 - Amy Beach: Piano Concerto in c#, by the Boston Symphony with Wilhelm Gericke conducting and the composer as soloist;

• 1945 - Randall Thompson: "The Testament of Freedom" (to texts by Thomas Jefferson) for men's chorus and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; This was the first performance with orchestra; The world premiere (with piano accompaniment) had taken place at the University of Virginia on April 13, 1943;

• 1964 - Stravinsky: "Elegy for J.F.K.," in Los Angeles, conducted by Robert Craft;

• 1967 - Miklós Rózsa: Piano Concerto, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Leonard Pennario as soloist.