Peter Boyer's Symphony No. 1

Synopsis

Back in the 18th century, if you were Haydn, there was a friendly Austrian prince or London impresario to pay you to write symphonies and provide an orchestra to play them. If you were Mozart or Beethoven, and no prince or impresario was handy, you could always hire your own orchestra, put on a concert featuring your latest symphony, and make a profit—depending how ticket sales went, of course.

But by the 21st century, this whole writing-a-new-symphony-and-getting-it-performed business has become MUCH more complicated and expensive.

American composer Peter Boyer had years of experience writing orchestral music for film, TV, and specially-commissioned occasional scores on various historical themes, but had never been asked to write a NON-programmatic symphony. "Commissions of this nature are rare," says Boyer, "so I was pleased when the Pasadena Symphony Association offered me the opportunity."

Programmatic or not, even in an "abstract" symphony, as BBC Music magazine noted, Boyer can (quote) "set a scene or create a mood rapidly and unambiguously; he writes with great flair for big orchestras."

On today's date in 2013, Boyer himself conducted the Pasadena Symphony in the premiere performance of his Symphony No. 1, a work with no overt program but dedicated to the memory of Leonard Bernstein, and Bernstein's daughter Jaime commented, "I know how deeply Peter relates to the music of [my father], as well as to the humanitarian spirit that infuses so many Bernstein compositions."

Music Played in Today's Program

Peter Boyer (b. 1970) Symphony No. 1 London Philharmonic; Peter Boyer, cond. Naxos 8.559769

On This Day

Births

• 1812 - German opera composer Friedrich von Flotow, in Toitendorf (Teutendorf) estate, near Neu-Sanitz, Mecklenburg-Schwerin;

• 1894 - Russian-born America composer and famous musical lexicographer Nicolas Slonimsky, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: April 15);

Deaths

• 1871 - German composer and piano virtuoso Sigismond Thalberg, age 59, in Posillipo, Italy;

• 1915 - Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin, age 43, in Moscow (Julian date: April 14);

• 1992 - French composer, organist and teacher Olivier Messiaen, age 83, in Paris;

Premieres

• 1720 - Handel: opera "Radamisto" (1st version), in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket, during the first season of operas presented by the Royal Academy of Music (Gregorian date: May 8); The performance is attended by King George I and the Prince of Wales (Handel dedicates the score to the King); The singer Margherita Dursastanti appears in a Handel work for the first time in London;

• 1735 - Handel: opera "Alcina" (Julian date: April 16);

• 1736 - Handel: anthem "Sing unto God," in London at the German Chapel of St. James's Palace, during the wedding of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta, Princess of Saxe-Gotha (Gregorian date: May 8);

• 1749 - Handel: "Music for the Royal Fireworks" performed during fireworks display in London (Gregorian date: May 8);

• 1867 - Gounod: opera "Romeo and Juliet," in Paris at the Théatre-Lyrique;

• 1877 - Massenet: opera "Le Roi de Lahore" (The King of Lahore"), in Paris;

• 1893 - Rachmaninoff: opera "Aleko," in Moscow (Gregorian date: May 9);

• 1907 - Stravinsky: Symphony in Eb, at a private performance in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: May 10); The first public performance took place in St. Petersburg on January 23, 1908, conducted by F. Blumenfield (Gregorian date: Feb 5);

• 1927 - Weinberger: opera "Schwanda the Bagpiper," in Prague at the National Theater;

• 1928 - Stravinsky: ballet, "Apollon musagète," in Washington, D.C., choreographed by Adolf Bohm; The European premiere of this ballet occurred on June 12 in Paris, choreographed by Georges Balanchine;

• 1937 - Stravinsky: ballet, "Jeu de cartes" (Card Game), by the American Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, with the composer conducting; This work was part of a Stravinsky-Balanchine matinée consisting of "Apollon musagète," "Le Baiser de la fée," and the premiere of "Jeu de cartes";

• 1987 - Daniel Pinkham: Sonata No. 3 for Organ and Strings, at St. Peter's Church in Osterville, Mass., by organist Richard Benefield, with a string quartet conducted by the composer;

• 1992 - George Tsontakis: "Perpertual Angelus" (No. 2 of "Four Symphonic Quartets" after poems by T.S. Eliot), by the Tuscaloosa Symphony, Ransom Wilson conducting;