Synopsis
Famous composers have been, on occasion, famous performers as well. Think of Bach on the organ, or Rachmaninoff on the piano. And if Mozart’s father is to be believed, young Wolfgang could have Europe’s finest violinist — if he had only practiced more.
But how many famous composers can you name who played the bassoon? Well, British composer Edward Elgar, for one. As a young musician in Worcester, he played the bassoon in a wind quintet. While never becoming famous as a bassoonist, his love for and understanding of the instrument is evident in all his major orchestral works, and he counted one skilled player among his friends: this was Edwin F. James, the principal bassoonist of the London Symphony in his day.
In 1910, while working on his big, extroverted, almost 50-minute violin concerto, Elgar tossed off a smaller, much shorter, and far more introverted work for bassoon and orchestra as a gift for James. Since he was working on both pieces at the same time, if you’re familiar with he Violin Concerto, you can’t help but notice a familial resemblance to his six-minute Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra.
The Romance was first performed by Edwin F. James at a Herefordshire Orchestral Society concert conducted by the Elgar on today’s date in 1911.
Music Played in Today's Program
Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Romance for Bassoon and Orchestra; Graham Salvage, bassoon; Halle Orchestra; Mark Elder, conductor; Halle Elgar Edition HLL-7505
On This Day
Births
1709 - English composer and writer on music Charles Avison, in Newcastle upon Tyne
1878 - Finnish composer Selim Palmgren, in Björneborg (now Pori)
1907 - American composer Alec Wilder (Alexander Lafayette Chew), in Rochester, New York
1938 - American composer John Corigliano, in New York
Deaths
1829 - Belgian-born French composer François Joseph Gossec, age 95, in Paris
1868 - Canadian composer Healey Willian, 87, in Toronto
1963 - Hungarian composer Laszlo Lajtha, 70, in Budapest
1987 - Soviet composer Dmitri Kabalevsky, 82, in Moscow
Premieres
1737 - Handel: opera Giustino, in London at the Covent Garden Theater (Gregorian date: Feb. 27)
1884 - Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 2, in Moscow (Julian date: Feb. 4)
1892 - Massenet: opera, Werther, in Vienna at the Court Opera
1893 - Sibelius: tone-poem En Saga, in Helsinki
1929 - Copland: Vitebsky Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello, at New York’s Town Hall at a League of Composers concert featuring two members of the Pro Arte Quartet (violinist Alphonse Onnou and cellist Robert Mass) and the German pianist Walter Gieseking
1936 - Varèse: Density 21.5 for solo flute, in New York, by flutist Georges Barrère
1956 - Leon Kirchner: Toccata for strings, winds and percussion, in San Francisco
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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.