Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
show #1) Edgar Varèse (1883 - 1965) Ionisation New York Philharmonic; Pierre Boulez, cond. Sony 45844
Frank Zappa (1940 – 1993) Dog Breath Variations Cincinnati Conservatory Wind Symphony; Eugene Corporon, cond. Mark 1116
show #2) Kalevi Aho Insect Symphony Lathti Symphony; Osmo Vänsä, cond. Bis 936
On This Day
Births
1810 - Hungarian composer Ferenc (Franz) Erkel, in Gyula;
1859 - Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, in Gatchina (Gregorian date: Nov. 19);
1905 - English composer William Alwyn, in Northampton;
Deaths
1983 - French composer Germaine Tailleferre, age 91, in Paris;
Premieres
1723 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 60 ("O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort" I)performed on the 24th Sunday after Trinity as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);
1867 - Liszt: "Dante Symphony" in Dresden;
1875 - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 3, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Nov. 19);
1924 - American premiere of Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel): “Pictures at an Exhibition,” by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting;
1934 - Rachmaninoff: "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini," in Baltimore, by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski, with the composer as soloist;
1940 - Stravinsky: Symphony in C, by the Chicago Symphony, with the composer conducting; This work was commissioned by Mrs. R. Woods Bliss in honor of the Chicago Symphony's 50th Anniversary;
1987 - Daniel Asia: "Scherzo Sonata" for piano, at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., by pianist Jonathan Shames (who commissioned the work);
1988 - Leo Ornstein: Piano Sonata No. 7, at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, by pianist Marvin Tartak;
1991 - Christopher Rouse: “Karolju” for chorus and orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony and Chorus, David Zinman conducting;
1997 - Peter Maxwell Davies: Piano Concerto, in Nottingham, England, with soloist Kathryn Stott and the Royal Philharmonic, conducted by the composer;
Others
1785 - The first American musical society founded at Stoughton, Massachusetts;
1950 - A "Look" magazine feature on composer Edgar Varèse attracts the attention of 9-year old Frank Zappa and leads to a life-long fascination with the music of Varèse; Zappa would later found the unconventional rock band "The Mothers of Invention."
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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.
