Cowell's "Seven Rituals"

Synopsis

In all, the American composer Henry Cowell composed 20 symphonies, and left sketches for a 21st. On today’s date in 1954, the Louisville Orchestra gave the premiere of Cowell’s 11th Symphony, subtitled “The Seven Rituals of Music.”

“There are seven rituals of music in the life of man from birth to death,” so Cowell explained in program notes. He said that these musical rituals included work, play, dance, love, and war, bracketed by the mysteries of birth and death.

Although interest in Cowell’s music has risen steadily since his death in 1965, performances of Cowell symphonies are still rare events. Part of the problem lies in the eclectic range of styles to be found in Cowell’s music. There is, for example, a Cowell “Gaelic” Symphony, another entitled the “Icelandic” Symphony, and yet another, influenced by Indian ragas and talas, entitled the “Madras” Symphony.

This didn’t bother Cowell at all. As he once explained it: “I have never deliberately concerned myself with developing a distinctive PERSONAL style, but only with the excitement and pleasure of writing music as beautifully, as warmly, and as interestingly as I can.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Henry Cowell (1897 – 1965) Symphony No. 11 (Seven Rituals of Music) The Louisville Orchestra; Robert S. Whitney, cond. First Editions 0003

On This Day

Births

• 1860 - Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz, in Camprodón;

• 1873 - Estonian composer Rudolf Tobias, in Kaina on Haiiumaa Island;

• 1897 - Austrian composer Eric Wolfgang Korngold, in Brno;

• 1922 - Greek composer Iannis Xenakis, in Braila, Roumania;

• 1948 - English composer Michael Berkley, in London; He is the son of English composer, Sir Lennox Berkeley (1903-89);

Deaths

• 1910 - Russian composer Mily Balakirev, age 73, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: May 16);

• 1911 - British lyricist Sir William S. Gilbert (of "Gilbert & Sullivan" fame), age 74, from a heart attack after rescuing a drowning woman, at Harrow Weald, England;

• 1935 - Czech composer Josef Suk, age 61, in Benesov;

• 1951 - Czech composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster, age 91, in Vestec, near Stará Boleslav;

Premieres

• 1901 - Paderewski: "Manru," in Dresden; Also staged at the Metropolitan Opera in 1902;

• 1905 - Scriabin: Symphony No. 3 ("'Divine Poem"), in Paris, Arthur Nikisch conducting;

• 1913 - Stravinsky: "Le Sacre du printemps" (The Rite of Spring), in Paris, by Diaghilev's Ballet Russe, Pierre Monteux conducting;

• 1954 - Cowell: Symphony No. 11 ("Seven Rituals"), by the Louisville Orchestra, Robert S. Whitney conducting;

• 1970 - Rautavaara: Piano Concerto, in Helsinki, with composer as soloist, and the Finnish Radio Symphony, Paavo Berglund conducting;

Others

• 1873 - American premiere of Brahms's Serenade No. 1 in D, at Steinway Hall, by the New York Symphony, Theodore Thomas conducting;

• 1963 - The New York Philharmonic "Promenade" concert series is inaugurated.