Ruth Gipps

Synopsis

Today marks the birthday of British composer Ruth Gipps, who lived from 1921 to 1999. She wrote five symphonies, dozens of concertos, chamber works, and vocal scores.

Gipps said she found it “difficult to understand young people who don’t know what they want to be when they grow up.” She published her first music at 8, and by her twenties had also become a professional oboist and pianist. Her triple career peaked in 1945, when in Birmingham, she performed the Glazunov Piano Concerto on the first half of a concert, then, on the second, played the English horn part in the premiere performance of her own Symphony No. 1.

Vaughan Williams was one of her composition teachers, and her music was, like his, firmly based in melody and traditional harmony. Ironically, this counted against her in the years following World War II when music that wasn’t atonal and avant-garde was deemed old-fashioned.

Even so, in 1981, Gipps was included in the Queen’s Honors List, but Dame Ruth probably derived as much pleasure from her MG as her MBE: an avid sports car enthusiast, her obituary noted that, heavily swathed, Gipps enjoyed driving her roadster though whatever the British climate threw at her.

Music Played in Today's Program

Ruth Gipps (1921-1999): Symphony No. 2; Munich Symphony Orchestra; Douglas Bostock, conductor; Cameo Classics 9046 (also Classico 274)

On This Day

Births

• 1749 - Baptism of German composer, violinist and famous London impresario Johann Peter Salomon, in Bonn

• 1770 - Italian composer and guitarist Ferdinando Carulli, in Naples

• 1791 - Austrian composer and pianist Carl Czerny, in Vienna

• 1802 - Belgian composer and violinist Charles-Auguste de Bériot, in Louvain

• 1911 - American composer Robert McBride, in Tucson, Arizona

• 1929 - Japanese composer Toshiro Mayuzumi, in Yokohama

Deaths

• 1961 - Australian-born American composer and pianist Percy Grainger, 78, in White Plains, New York

Premieres

• 1722 - first concert performance of Handel: Water Music (Julian date: Feb. 9)

• 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 22 (Jesus Nahm zu Sich die Zwölfe) and No. 23 (Du Wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn performed on Estomihi Sunday as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24)

• 1724 - Handel: opera Giulio Cesare (Julius Ceasar) in London at The King’s Theatre in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Mar. 2)

• 1816 - Rossini: opera, The Barber of Seville, in Rome at the Teatro Argentina, with the composer conducting

• 1827 - Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture, in Stettin (first public performance), with Carl Loewe conducting

• 1877 - Tchaikovsky: ballet Swan Lake, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 4)

• 1881 - Bruckner: Symphony No. 4 (Romantic), with Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Hans Richter; This was the second (revised) version of Bruckner's original 1874 score

• 1897 - Kalinnikov: Symphony No. 1, in Kiev (Julian date: Feb. 8)

• 1907 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theater, Blumenfeld conducting (Julian date: Feb. 7)

• 1910 - Debussy: orchestral suite, Ibéria, at a Colonne Concert in Paris, conducted by Pierné

• 1937 - Prokofiev: Lt. Kijé Suite (first public performance)in Paris, with composer conducting; A radio performance of this film music suite was broadcast in Moscow on December 21, 1934

• 1942 - Menotti: one-act opera The Island God, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York

• 1943 - Orff: opera Die Kluge (The Clever Girl), in Frankfurt at the Städtische Bühnen

• 1962 - Henri Lazaroff: Viola Concerto, in Monaco

• 2003 - Tan Dun: The Map, multi-media concerto for cello and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, with the composer conducting and Yo-Yo Ma the soloist

Others

• 1626 - English composer and lutenist John Dowland, 63, is buried in London. This date suggests Dowland most likely died in mid-February, although some older sources improbably cite Jan. 20 as his death date (That was the day Dowland's son assumed his father's post as a royal court musician).