Synopsis
From 1976 to 1984, Estonian composer Arvo Pärt kept revising and adjusting his chamber piece If Bach had Raised Bees.
On today’s date in 1983 one version of this piece — for harpsichord, electric bass guitar, tape and small chamber ensemble — received its premiere performance at a new music festival in Graz, Austria.
Pärt’s work opens like a minimalist piece, with repeated notes perhaps imitating the buzzing of the bees mentioned in the title. What he meant by If Bach had Raised Bees is open to various interpretations, but technically speaking, the piece is a slow transformation of an instrumental humming in the key of B-flat into a Bach-like cadence in the key of B-minor. Was the deeply religious-minded Estonian composer suggesting that bees somehow symbolized a harmonious community of God’s creatures? Or was the title, in English at least, a pun on the shifting key of “BEE-flat” to “BEE-minor?”
In any case, this piece was one of several Bach-inspired works, “Bach collages,” as Pärt called them, each he said “an attempt to replant a flower in alien surroundings … if they grow together into one, then the transplantation was the right move.”
Music Played in Today's Program
Arvo Pärt (b. 1935): If Bach had Raised Bees; Philharmonia Orchestra; Neeme Järvi, conductor; Chandos 9134
On This Day
Births
1746 - American composer of hymns, anthems, and fuging tunes, William Billings, in Boston
Deaths
1918 - English composer Sir Hubert Parry, 70, at Knight’s Croft, Rustington (Sussex)
Premieres
1893 - Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta Utopia Unlimited, at the Savoy Theatre in London
1905 - Victor Herbert: operetta Mlle. Modiste, in Trenton, New Jersey
1909 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera The Golden Cockerel, posthumously, in Moscow at the Solodovnikov Theater, Emil Cooper conducting (Julian date: Sept. 24)
1951 - Lukas Foss: Piano Concerto No. 2, in Venice, with the composer as soloist
1955 - Milhaud: Symphony No. 6, by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting
1956 - Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 6, in Leningrad, by the Beethoven Quartet
1961 - Henry Cowell: Symphony No. 15 (Thesis), in Murray, Kentucky, by the Louisville Orchestra, Robert Whitney conducting;
1963 - José Serebrier: Poema Elegiaco, by the American Symphony Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting
1976 - Del Tredici: Final Alice, in Chicago, with soprano Barbara Hendricks and the Chicago Symphony conducted by Sir Georg Solti
1983 - Arvo Pärt: If Bach Had Raised Bees for harpsichord, electric bass guitar, tape and ensemble, in Graz, Austria
1994 - Daniel Asia: Gateways for orchestra, by the Cincinnati Symphony, Herrman Michael conducting
2000 - Jake Heggie: opera Dead Man Walking, at the San Francisco Opera, Patrick Summers conducting
Love the music?
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.
Your Donation
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.
