Synopsis
On today’s date in 1717, King George and his entourage took a barge trip on the river Thames, traveling from Whitehall to Chelsea, accompanied by about 50 musicians, also on barges. A contemporary newspaper account reported that they performed “the finest Symphonies, composed express for this occasion by Mr. Handel, which his Majesty liked so well that he caused it to be played three times in going and returning.”
Another report refers to “trumpets, horns, oboes, bassoons, flutes, recorders, violins and basses” being employed. In our time, Handel’s Water Music — as the three suites have come to be known — is one of the best-known and best-loved works of the entire Baroque Age.
In 1985, three hundred years after the birth of Handel, American composer Libby Larsen composed a Symphony she titled Water Music, written as a tribute to Handel and as an expression of her own enthusiasm for sailing.
Larsen is one of today’s busiest American composers, and in the year 2000 the American Academy of Arts and Letters presented her with its Award in Music, honoring her lifetime achievements as a composer. When asked how she finds time to balance her busy life as a composer, she answered, “I can’t not do it — having a life and a life in music is as natural and necessary to me as breathing.”
Music Played in Today's Program
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759): Water Music; Royal Philharmonic; Yehudi Menuhin, conductor; MCA 6186
Libby Larsen (b. 1950): Symphony (Water Music); Minnesota Orchestra; Sir Neville Marriner, conductor; Nonesuch 79147
On This Day
Births
1832 - Swedish composer August Söderman, in Stockholm
1875 - English composer, pianist, and music scholar Sir Donald Tovey, in Eton
1935 - American composer and musical satirist Peter Schickele, in Ames, Iowa. He “discovered” and performed the music of P.D.Q. Bach (1807-1742?).
Deaths
1937 - French composer and conductor Gabriel Pierné, 73, in Ploujean, Brittany
1967 - Jazz saxophonist John Coltrane, 40, in Huntington, Long Island (New York
Premieres
1717 - Handel: Water Music on the river Thames, during a royal barge trip from Whitehall to Chelsea (Gregorian date: July 28)
1927 - Milhaud: opera L’enlèvement d’Europe (The Rape of Europa), in Baden-Baden at the Stadthalle
1975 - Sallinen: opera, The Horseman at the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland
1983 - Lenox Berkeley: Cello Concerto, in Manchester
Others
1877 - Otto Dessoff conducts the Vienna Philharmonic on its first concert tour to Salzburg, as part of a three-day Salzburger Musikfest (Salzburg Music Festival) on July 17-19. The orchestra would return to Salzburg in 1879, 1891, 1901, 1904, 1906 and 1910, for special concerts, and in 1925 the annual Salzburg Festival was established, with the Vienna Philharmonic as the Festival’s prominent participant.
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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.