Composers Datebook®

Schoenberg and Strauss in the E.R.?

Composers Datebook - July 13, 2024
DOWNLOAD

Synopsis

In 1949, while on his deathbed, German composer Richard Strauss supposedly turned to his beloved daughter-in-law, and said, “Funny thing, Alice. Dying is just the way I composed it in Death and Transfiguration.” Strauss was referring to a tone-poem he had written some 60 years earlier depicting an artist on his deathbed, reviewing his life in art between bouts of an eventually fatal fever.

On today’s date in 1951, Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg was on his deathbed in Los Angeles — on a Friday the 13th, in fact. Now, Schoenberg had a “thing” about numbers. He developed an atonal 12-tone style of composition, and assigned a mystical, quasi-religious significance to numbers. One might imagine Schoenberg on his deathbed, turning to someone he loved and said, “Funny thing: I’m dying on Friday the 13th at the age of 76, which, numerically speaking, is 7+6, or 13, don’t you see.”

We do know that in 1946, after suffering a near-fatal heart attack, Schoenberg wrote a string trio and told his friend Thomas Mann it was a musical representation of both that coronary incident and its subsequent medical treatment, including, at one point, the penetration of a hypodermic needle!

Music Played in Today's Program

Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Death and Transfiguration; Berlin Philharmonic; Herbert von Karajan, conductor; DG 447 422

Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951): String Trio; Members of the Juilliard String Quartet; Sony 47690

On This Day

Births

  • 1932 - Danish composer Per Norgaard, in Gentofte (near Copenhagen)

Deaths

  • 1951 - Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, in Los Angeles, on a Friday the 13th. He was superstitiously obsessed with the number 13 and, ironically, was 76 years old at the time of his death (7+6 = 13).

Premieres

  • 1829 - Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, in London at a benefit concert, with the composer and Ignaz Moscheles as the soloists

  • 1995 - Corigliano: Soliloquy for clarinet and string quartet, in Portland, Oregon, by Chamber Music Northwest

Others

  • 1937 - The first Pan-American Chamber Music Festival is held in Mexico City

Love the music?

Donate by phone
1-800-562-8440

Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.

Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.

YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.

More Ways to Give

Your Donation

$5/month
$10/month
$15/month
$20/month
$

Latest Composers Datebook® Episodes

VIEW ALL EPISODES

Latest Composers Datebook® Episodes

YourClassical

Barber's Cello Concerto

Samuel Barber (1910-1981): Cello Concerto; Yo Yo Ma, cello; Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, conductor; CBS/Sony 44900

2:00
Get Composers Datebook in your inbox
YourClassical

A Sondheim opening (and closing)

Steven Sondheim (1930-2022): ‘Me and My Town,’ from ‘Anyone can Whistle’; Angela Lansbury; orchestra; Paul Gemignani, conductor; RCA Victor 60515

2:00
YourClassical

Carter's 'Boston Concerto'

Elliott Carter (1908-2012): ‘Boston Concerto’; BBC Symphony; Oliver Knussen, conductor; Bridge 9184

2:00
YourClassical

Beethoven's First

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Symphony No. 1; Concertgebouw Orchestra; Bernard Haitink, conductor; Philips 442 073

2:00
YourClassical

The truth about Alkan

Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888): ‘Bombardo-Carillon’; Caroline Clemmow and Anthony Goldstone, pedal-piano; Symposium 1062

2:00
YourClassical

Dvorak's 'Rusalka'

Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904): ‘O Silver Moon,’ from ‘Rusalka’; Renée Fleming, soprano; London Symphony; Sir Georg Solti, conductor; London 455 760

2:00
YourClassical

Symphonies by Strauss

Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Symphony No. 1; Bavarian Radio Symphony; Karl Anton Rickenbacker, conductor; Koch/Schwann 365 322

2:00
YourClassical

Sheng's 'Silent Temple'

Bright Sheng (b. 1955): String Quartet No. 4 (‘Silent Temple’); Shanghai Quartet; BIS 1138

2:00
YourClassical

Beethoven in Vienna

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’; Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; DG 453 713

2:00
VIEW ALL EPISODES

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.

About Composers Datebook®
YourClassical Radio
0:00
0:00