Athletically-inclined music by Janacek and Torke

Synopsis

One sunny afternoon in 1925, the Czech composer Leos Janácek was sitting in a park listening to a military band concert. He was so taken with the fanfares he heard that he decided to write something along these lines himself. He was asked to write music for the Sokol gymnastic festival the next year, and soon he was enthusiastically working on what would become his “Sinfonietta for Orchestra,” which had its first performance on today’s date in 1926.

Janácek dedicated the work to the Czechoslovak Armed Forces, and said the music was meant to express, quote, “the contemporary free man, his spiritual beauty and joy, his strength, courage and determination to fight for victory.”

Another concert showpiece inspired by an athletic event is “Javelin” commissioned from the American composer Michael Torke for the 1996 Olympic Games in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

“I liked the word ‘javelin’,” says Torke. “The sweeping motion of a lot of the music is like an object thrown; a slender spear such as a javelin seemed apt, I knew the title would be appropriate.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Leos Janácek (1854-1928) Sinfonietta Boston Symphony; Seiji Ozawa, cond. EMI 47837

Michael Torke (b. 1961) Javelin Atlanta Symphony; Yoel Levi, cond. Argo 452 101

On This Day

Births

• 1902 - British composer Sir William Walton, in Oldham;

• 1936 - British composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, in Broadstairs;

Deaths

• 1697 - German composer and organist Nicolaus Bruhns, age c. 32, in Husum;

• 1888 - French composer Charles-Henri Alkan, age 75, in Paris;

• 1911 - French composer and organist Alexandre (Felix) Guilmant, age 74, in Meudon;

• 1924 - British composer Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, age 71, in London;

• 2001 - American jazz pianist and composer John Lewis, a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet, age 80, in New York;

Premieres

• 1795 - possible premiere of Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in Bb, in Vienna, with the composer as soloist; This concerto was written and premiered before Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C, which was, however, published first;

• 1806 - Beethoven: "Leonore" Overture No. 3, as part of the second, revised version of the opera "Fidelio," at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna;

• 1836 - Wagner: opera "Das Liebesverbot" (The Ban on Love), in Magdeburg at the Stadttheater; Wagner's libretto is based on Shakespeare's play "Measure for Measure";

• 1874 - Dvorak: Symphony No. 3 in Eb, in Prague;

• 1879 - Tchaikovsky: opera "Eugene Onegin," in Moscow at the Malïy (Small) Theater (Julian date: Mar. 17);

• 1882 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Mar. 17);

• 1892 - Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 1 (first movement only), in Moscow, Vasily Safanov conducting and with the composer as soloist (Julian date: Mar. 17);

• 1911 - Chadwick: "Suite Symphonique," by the Philadelphia Orchestra, with the composer conducting;

• 2000 - Bright Sheng: String Quartet No. 4, in Richmond, Va., by the Shanghai String Quartet;

Others

• 1871 - Royal Albert Hall is formally opened in London by Queen Victoria.