First — and last — orchestral pieces by Brahms and Harrison?

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1873, a new piece by the German composer Johannes Brahms received its first performance by the Vienna Philharmonic. The piece was titled Variations on a Theme by Haydn, and was a big success at its premiere. Brahms must have heaved a great sigh of relief.

For the previous 18 years, Brahms had struggled to complete his First Symphony, unconvinced that he had “the right stuff” to pull it off. In the summer of 1873, he wrote his Haydn Variations as a kind of personal test to see how audiences would react—and to bolster his own confidence. Lucky for us, it worked: Brahms returned to work on his First Symphony and went on to write four symphonies in all!

On today’s date in 1990, the Fourth Symphony of American composer Lou Harrison received its premiere by the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Much of Harrison’s music has been influenced by non-Western traditions, especially the Javanese gamelan music, and his Symphony No. 4 is no exception.

Harrison was 73 when this symphony premiered, and he dubbed it his “Last Symphony” —apparently agreeing with Brahms that four was enough. When asked what would happen should he decide to write still another, Harrison quipped, “I’ll call it the ‘VERY Last Symphony.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Variations on a theme by Haydn, Op. 56a Cleveland Orchestra; Christoph von Dohnanyi, conductor. Teldec 8.44005

Lou Harrison (1917-2003) Symphony No. 4 (Last Symphony) California Symphony; Barry Jekowsky, conductor. Argo 455 590

On This Day

Births

• 1739 - Austrian composer and violinist Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf, in Vienna;

• 1752 - Russian diplomat, violinist and music lover Count (later Prince) Andrei Razumovsky, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Oct. 22) Razumovsky was the Russian ambassador to Vienna from 1783 to 1809; Beethoven dedicated his three String Quartets, Op. 59, to him, and (with Prince Lokowitz) his Fifth and Sixth Symphonies;

• 1880 - English composer and conductor John Foulds, in Manchester;

• 1915 - New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn, in Wanganui;

• 1929 - American composer and conductor Harold Farberman, in New York;

• 1946 - Italian conductor and composer Giuseppe Sinopoli, in Venice; Sinopoli died of a heart attack on April 20th, 2001, while conducting Verdi’s “Aida” at the German Opera in Berlin;

Deaths

• 1960 - Greek conductor and composer Dimitri Mitropoulos, age 64, of a heart attack, while rehearsing Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the La Scala Orchestra in Milan;

Premieres

• 1723 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 194 ("Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest") for the dedication of the Störmthal church and organ; Bach was in Störmthal to inspect the new organ;

• 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in d, Op. 6, no. 10 (see Julian date: Oct. 22);

• 1873 - Brahms: "Variations on a Theme by Haydn," Felix Otto Dessoff conducting the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra;

• 1877 - Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor, in Paris, composer at piano;

• 1882 - Dvorák: String Quartet No. 11, in Berlin;

• 1928 - American premiere of Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1, by Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting;

• 1945 - Menotti: Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony with Richard Burgin conducting with Rudolf Firkusny the soloist;

• 1959 - Henry Cowell: "Variations for Orchestra," by the Houston Symphony, Leopold Stokowski conducting;

• 1978 - Druckman: Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, soloist Sol Greiyzer, with James Levine conducting;

• 1990 - Lou Harrison: Symphony No. 4, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, by the Brooklyn Philharmonic (with tenor Damon Evan), Dennis Russell Davies conducting;

Others

• 1748 - J.S. Bach writes a letter to his cousin, J.E. Bach of Schweinfurt, regarding a mishap concerning a cask of wine his cousin sent to Leipzig as a gift;

• 1900 - French composer Vincent d'Indy reorganizes the Schola Cantorum of Paris as a music school;

• 1937 - Artur Rodzinski conducts a "dress rehearsal" broadcast of the NBC Symphony, an orchestra formed specifically for Arturo Toscanini; Pierre Monteux led the first "official" broadcast on Nov. 13, 1937; Toscanini's debut concert with the NBC Symphony occurred on Christmas Day, 1937; Toscanini's final NBC Symphony broadcast, an all-Wagner program, occurred on April 4, 1954;

• 1979 - Peter Shaffer's drama "Amadeus" premieres at the National Theatre in London, directed by Peter Hall, starring Simon Callow as Mozart and Paul Scofield as Salieri; The British composer Harrison Birtwistle acted as Music Director for this production.