Harbison's "Olympic Dances"

Synopsis

In 1996, the American composer John Harbison received an unusual commission—a ballet for dancers and symphonic winds. The commission came from a consortium of 14 wind ensembles, all members of the College Band Directors National Association.

Maybe the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta had something to do with it, but Harbison's imagination turned in that direction: he titled the resulting work "Olympic Dances," and Atlanta also happened to be the venue for the work's premiere performance on today's date in 1997, with the Pilobus Dance Theatre and the University of North Texas Wind Symphony performing.

"When asked to do a piece for dancers and winds," said Harbsion, "it immediately suggested something 'classical,' not our musical 18th century, but an imaginative vision of ancient worlds… I thought of an imagined harmony between dance, sport and sound that we can imagine from serene oranges and blacks on Greek vases, the celebration of bodies in motion that we see in the matchless sculpture of ancient times, and perhaps most important to this piece, the celebration of the ideal tableau, the moment frozen in time, that is present still in the friezes that adorn the temples and in the architecture of the temples themselves."

Harbison's ballet is an austere, rather than flashy score, reminiscent of Stravinsky's austere, neo-classical scores like "Agon" and "Apollo," which—like our modern Olympics—were also inspired by ancient Greek ideals.

Music Played in Today's Program

John Harbison (b. 1938) Olympic Dances New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble;Dr. Frank Battisti, cond. Albany 340

On This Day

Births

• 1749 - Baptism of German composer, violinist and famous London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, in Bonn;

• 1770 - Italian composer and guitarist Ferdinando Carulli, in Naples;

• 1791 - Austrian composer and pianist Carl Czerny, in Vienna;

• 1802 - Belgian composer and violinist Charles-Auguste de Bériot, in Louvain;

• 1911 - American composer Robert McBride, in Tucson, Arizona;

• 1929 - Japanese composer Toshiro Mayuzumi, in Yokohama;

Deaths

• 1961 - Australian-born American composer and pianist Percy Grainger, age 78, in White Plains, N.Y.;

Premieres

• 1722 - first concert performance of Handel: “Water Music” (Julian date: Feb. 9);

• 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 22 ("Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe") and No. 23 ("Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn" performed on Estomihi Sunday as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);

• 1724 - Handel: opera “Giulio Cesare (Julius Ceasar)” in London at The King’s Theatre in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Mar. 2);

• 1816 - Rossini: opera, "The Barber of Seville," in Rome at the Teatro Argentina, with the composer conducting;

• 1827 - Mendelssohn: "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Overture, in Stettin (first public performance), with Carl Loewe conducting;

• 1877 - Tchaikovsky: ballet “Swan Lake,” in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 4);

• 1881 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 ("Romantic"), with Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Hans Richter; This was the second (revised) version of Bruckner's original 1874 score;

• 1897 - Kalinnikov: Symphony No. 1 in g, in Kiev (Julian date: Feb. 8);

• 1907 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera “Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh,” in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theater, Blumenfeld conducting (Julian date: Feb. 7);

• 1910 - Debussy: orchestral suite, "Ibéria," at a Colonne Concert in Paris, conducted by Pierné;

• 1937 - Prokofiev: "Lt. Kijé" Suite (first public performance)in Paris, with composer conducting; A radio performance of this film music suite was broadcast in Moscow on December 21, 1934;

• 1942 - Menotti: one-act opera "The Island God," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York;

• 1943 - Orff: opera "Die Kluge" (The Clever Girl), in Frankfurt at the Städtische Bühnen;

• 1962 - Henri Lazaroff: Viola Concerto, in Monaco;

• 2003 - Tan Dun: "The Map," multi-media concerto for cello and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, with the composer conducting and Yo-Yo Ma the soloist;

Others

• 1626 - English composer and lutenist John Dowland, age c. 63, is buried in London; This date suggests Dowland most likely died in mid-February, although some older sources improbably cite Jan. 20 as his death date (That was the day Dowland's son assumed his father's post as a royal court musician).