Synopsis
On today’s date in 1899, English composer Frederick Delius mounted at his own expense an all-Delius concert in London, performed by a hand-picked orchestra and well-rehearsed chorus.
Although born and raised in England, Delius had been living as an expat in Europe, so this concert would be the first opportunity for British audiences to hear his music. The opening work on the program, Over the Hills and Far Away, could just as well have described the 37-year old composer’s prior career to the Brits.
The good news was the concert was a great success, with one critic stating “a composer wholly unknown to this country burst upon us with something like the astonishing effect of an unexpected thunderstorm.”
The bad news was almost immediately after the concert, Delius returned to France. The concert’s organizer wrote to him, “I was extremely sorry that you had to go … It was a business mistake, as you would have been the lion of the season … and would have made many useful musical and moneyed friends.”
In fact, it wasn’t until 1907 that the musical and moneyed British conductor Thomas Beecham would discover and champion Delius’s music in his own homeland.
Music Played in Today's Program
Frederick Delius (1862-1934): Over the Hills and Far Away; Royal Philharmonic; Sir Thomas Beecham, conductor; EMI Classics 94653 and Warner Classics 47509
On This Day
Births
1883 - Italian opera composer Riccardo Zandonai, in Sacco, Trentino
1932 - American composer Pauline Oliveros, in Houston, Texas
1953 - American composer Anne LeBaron, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Deaths
1971 - French composer and organist Marcel Dupré, 85, in Meudon
Premieres
1846 - Lortzing: opera Der Waffenschmied (The Armorer), in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien;
1866 - Smetana: The Bartered Bride (first version) in Prague at the Provisional Theater
1923 - Hanson: Symphony No. 1 (Nordic), in Rome, composer conducting
1927 - Stravinsky: opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex, at the Sarah Bernhardt Theater in Paris (in concert performance; first staged performance took place in Berlin on Feb. 25, 1928)
1938 - Piston: ballet The Incredible Flutist, in Boston
1962 - Britten: oratorio War Requiem, in the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral in England
1991 - Harrison Birtwistle: opera Gawain in London at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Elgar Howarth conducting
1995 - Alla Pavlova: Symphony No. 1 (Farewell Russian), in Moscow at the Concert Hall of the Union of Russian Composers, by the Russian Philharmonia, Konstantin Krimets, conducting
Others
1723 - Bach's first cantata performance in Leipzig (Cantata No. 75, Die Elenden sollen essen), presented at St. Nicolai Church, the day before his official induction as Cantor in that city
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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.
