Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
Walter Piston (1894 -1976) The Incredible Flutist Columbia Symphony; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony 61849
On This Day
Births
1883 - Italian opera composer Riccardo Zandonai, in Sacco, Trentino;
1932 - American composer Pauline Oliveros, in Houston, Texas;
1953 - American composer Anne LeBaron, in Baton Rouge, La.;
Deaths
1971 - French composer and organist Marcel Dupré, age 85, in Meudon;
Premieres
1846 - Lortzing: opera "Der Waffenschmied" (The Armorer), in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien;
1866 - Smetana: "The Bartered Bride" (1st version) in Prague at the Provisional Theater;
1923 - Hanson: Symphony No. 1 ("Nordic"), in Rome, composer conducting;
1927 - Stravinsky: opera-oratorio "Oedipus Rex," at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris (in concert performance; first staged performance took place in Berlin on Feb. 25, 1928);
1938 - Piston: ballet "The Incredible Flutist," in Boston;
1962 - Britten: oratorio "War Requiem," in the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral in England;
1991 - Harrison Birtwistle: opera "Gawain" in London at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Elgar Howarth conducting;
1995 - Alla Pavlova: Symphony No. 1 (“Farewell Russian”), in Moscow at the Concert Hall of the Union of Russian Composers, by the Russian Philharmonia, Konstantin Krimets, conducting;
Others
1723 - Bach's first cantata performance in Leipzig (Cantata No. 75, "Die Elenden sollen essen"), presented at St. Nicolai Church, the day before his official induction as Cantor in that city.
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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.