Composers Datebook

SynopsisComposers can be quite superstitious about numbers. Gustav Mahler, for example, was reluctant to assign the number 9 to his song cycle symphony, Das Lied von der Erde, fearing it would turn out to be his last: after all, Beethoven and Bruckner had only completed nine symphonies. Ironically, Mahler did go on to complete a ninth, but died before he could finish work on his tenth.Most American composers have avoided this problem by rarely if ever producing more than one or two symphonies of their own. Naturally there are exceptions.On today’s date in 1963, the Symphony No. 9 of American composer Roy Harris was given its premiere by the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Eugene Ormandy, who had commissioned it. Like many other symphonies by Harris, his Symphony No. 9 has a patriotic program, with each movement having a subtitle from either the American Constitution or Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.Harris went on to write thirteen symphonies in all — although, perhaps submitting to a bit of numerological superstition himself — when his symphony No. 13, a bicentennial commission, was first performed in Washington, D.C. in 1976, it was billed as his Symphony No. 14!Music Played in Today's ProgramGustav Mahler (1860-1911): Symphony No. 9; New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor; Sony 60597Roy Harris (1898-1979): Symphony No. 9; Albany Symphony; David Alan Miller, conductor; Albany 350

SynopsisWhen TIME magazine chose Albert Einstein as their Millennium Person of the Century in 1999, their profile catalogued his achievements in physics and philosophy but made no mention of Einstein’s interest in music — or music’s interest in him. That’s where we come in.In addition to being a brilliant thinker, Einstein was a talented amateur violinist. On this day in 1934, he even performed the second violin part of Bach’s Double Concerto at a private recital in New York to raise money for scientists who had suffered at the hands of Hitler.So, was Einstein any good? After that concert, the Musical America critic wrote, “The press had been asked not to criticize Professor Einstein’s playing. Unofficially, however, they confessed to being impressed. He played, according to their report, as all great artists play, with ‘technique,’ ‘expression’ and a complete absorption in his music.”And Einstein himself has inspired more than a few musical works. The 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach by Philip Glass, for example, features a solo violinist dressed as Einstein who wanders in and out of scenes. Music from Glass’s opera was quoted as an in-joke during a TV commercial showing Einstein trying to choose between Coke and Pepsi.Music Played in Today's ProgramPhilip Glass (b. 1937): Cadenza, from Einstein on the Beach; Philip Glass Ensemble; Michael Riesman, conductor; Nonesuch 79323

SynopsisToday marks the anniversary of the creation of a famous classical music nickname, “Les Six” — French for “The Six.” That’s what Parisian music critic Henri Collet dubbed six composers in a magazine article on this day in 1920.Three of the composers Collet named are performed more often these days — Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger and Francis Poulenc — while the other three composers — George Auric, Louis Durey and the only woman in the group, Germaine Tailleferre — are heard less frequently.Though Tailleferre is counted among the neglected half of Les Six, her music has been having something of a revival lately, perhaps it’s a belated recognition that much of her work remains fresh and appealing. This music is from her Violin Sonata No. 1, composed in 1921 and dedicated to great French violinist Jacques Thibaud.Born near Paris in 1892, Tailleferre was a prodigy with an astounding memory. Erik Satie proclaimed her his “musical daughter,” and she was also close friends with Maurice Ravel. Two unhappy marriages and resulting financial insecurity inhibited Tailleferre’s talent in later years, and dimmed her fame, but she continued to compose and teach until her death at 91, in 1983.Music Played in Today's ProgramGermaine Tailleferre (1892-1983): Violin Sonata No. 1; Renate Eggebrecht, violin; Angela Gassenhuber, piano; Troubadisc 1406

SynopsisFrench composer Olivier Messiaen played the piano part in one of the strangest premiere performances of the 20th century on today’s date in 1941. As the composer put it, “My Quartet for the End of Time was conceived and written during my captivity as a prisoner of war and received its premiere at Stalag 8a in Görlitz, Silesia.”One of the four performers was cellist Etienne Pasquier, who offered this recollection: “We were captured at Verdun. Our entire company was initially held in a large field near Nancy. Among our comrades was a clarinetist who had been allowed to keep his clarinet. Messiaen started to write a piece for him … as he was the only person there with an instrument. [That] solo was later to become the third movement of the quartet. The clarinetist practiced in the open field and I acted as his music stand. The piece seemed too difficult … and he complained about it to Messiaen. ’You’ll manage,’ was Messiaen’s only reply.”Pasquier said the quartet’s premiere was a great success and led to the release of Messiaen and his three colleagues, because the Germans assumed — wrongly, it turns out — that the four musicians must have all been non-combatants.Music Played in Today's ProgramOlivier Messiaen (1908-1992): Quartet for the End of Time; Tashi; RCA/BMG 7835

SynopsisSome instruments seem to have all the luck — or at least all the concertos!If you play piano or violin, you have hundreds of concertos to choose from. But if your instrument is the harp — and you will forgive the pun — the pluckings are slim.This hardly seems fair to one of mankind’s oldest instruments, depicted on murals from ancient Egypt and traditionally associated with King David in the Bible. In the 18th and early 19th century, there are a handful of great classical harp concertos by Handel, Mozart, and others. In the 20th century, things start to improve a little, with modern concertos by Gliere, Pierne, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, and Rodrigo.On today’s date in 1955, we’re happy to report, one of the finest modern works for harp and orchestra had its premiere performance when harpist Nicanor Zabeleta premiered a new harp concerto by prolific Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos — with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by the composer.One more recent addition came in 2000 from the pen of Finnish composer Einojuhanni Rautavaara. His harp concerto was commissioned by the Minnesota Orchestra, who premiered the new work with Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä and Kathy Kienzle as soloist.Music Played in Today's ProgramHeitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959): Harp Concerto; Catherine Michel, harp; Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra; Antonio de Almeida, conductor; Philips 462 179Einojuhani Rautavaraa (1928-2016): Harp Concerto; Marielle Nordmann, harp; Helsinki Philharmonic; Leif Segerstam, conductor; Ondine 978

SynopsisOn today’s date in 1945, Sergei Prokofiev conducted the Moscow Philharmonic in the premiere performance of his Symphony No. 5. Written when the tide of World War II was turning in the favor of the Allies, the premiere came one day after news reached Moscow that Soviet troops had begun a successful counteroffensive against the Germans.The symphony proved to be one of Prokofiev’s strongest works, and in the context of 1945 must have had an incredible emotional impact. It was a tremendous success in Moscow, and also in Boston, where Serge Koussevitzky conducted the American premiere later that same year. Prokofiev even made the cover of Time magazine. As musicologist Michael Steinberg put it, “No question, the Fifth was a repertory piece from day one.”How sad, then, to realize how soon things would change for the man who wrote it. In three years Prokofiev — along with Shostakovich and others — would be denounced by Soviet authorities for supposedly straying from the party line. In five years, when the Red Scare in America turned our one-time Ally into public enemy No. 1, conductor Maurice Abravenel received a death threat when the Utah Symphony announced the Salt Lake City premiere of Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5.Music Played in Today's ProgramSergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Symphony No. 5; St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Yuri Temirkanov, conductor; RCA/BMG 60984

SynopsisOn today’s date in 1961, a new work by German-born American composer Ingolf Dahl received its premiere performance in Los Angeles. Sinfonietta for Concert Band was commissioned by the College Band Directors National Association, who were eager to expand band repertory with major new works of the highest quality.Dahl had emigrated to the United States in 1938 and settled in Los Angeles, where he met and befriended Igor Stravinsky, who gave him some practical advice about composing for wind band. “You must approach this task as if it had always been your greatest wish to write for these instruments,” suggested Stravinsky, “as if all your life you had wanted to write a work for just such a group." “This was good advice,” recalled Dahl. “[And] after the work was done that it turned out to be indeed the piece that I had wanted to write all my life. I wanted it to be a substantial piece that, without apologies for its medium, would take its place alongside symphonic works of any other kind.” Dahl and the College Band Directors National Association must have been pleased to see their Sinfonietta rapidly become an established classic of the wind band repertory.Music Played in Today's ProgramIngolf Dahl (1912-1970): Sinfonietta; DePaul University Wind Ensemble; Donald DeRoche, conductor; Albany 435

SynopsisAs 1999 drew to a close, it was a matter of debate whether — chronologically speaking — the new Millennium really began in 2000 or 2001. As far as the musical world was concerned, why wait? The shift from 1999 to 2000 occasioned hundreds of celebratory concerts and special commissions worldwide.While not originally intended as a Millennium commission, a major new work by American composer John Adams had its European premiere in December of 1999 and its American debut in January of 2000. Years before, the San Francisco Symphony had asked Adams to write a big work for their chorus and orchestra. Then came a request from the Châtelet Theater in Paris for a new opera. Adams combined both requests, folding in a dream of his own. As he put it, “I wanted to write a Messiah.” The result was El Niño, a Nativity oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra that could be performed as either a concert hall piece or a fully staged theatrical work.Kent Nagano conducted El Niño’s world premiere in Paris on December 15, 1999, and the same cast and conductor gave its American premiere in San Francisco on today’s date in 2000.Music Played in Today's ProgramJohn Adams (b. 1947): excerpts from El Niño; soloists; Kent Nagano, conductor; Nonesuch 79634

SynopsisFranz Berwald was a Swede who lived in the early 19th century and who made his living first as an orthopedic surgeon and later as the manager of a sawmill and glass factory. But these days, nobody cares very much about all that. Berwald’s true passion was music, and in addition to operas and concertos, he wrote four symphonies, only one of which was performed during his lifetime, and that to mixed reviews.Berwald spent some years in Vienna, where a few of his works were performed. After Berwald’s death in 1868, the crusty, conservative Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick appraised him as “a man stimulating, witty, prone to ‘bizarrerie,’ [but who] as a composer lacked creative power and fantasy.”Oddly enough, it’s exactly Berwald’s “bizarrerie,” or amusing strangeness, that appealed to later generations — and likewise his creative power and fantasy. For many music lovers today, Berwald ranks as Sweden’s first great Romantic composer and symphonist.This did not happen overnight, however. Berwald’s Symphony No. 3, (Singulière), was written in 1845, but had to wait 37 years after the death of its composer for its first public performance in Stockholm on today’s date in 1905.Music Played in Today's ProgramFranz Berwald (1796-1868): Symphony No. 3 (Singulière); Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra; Okko Kamu, conductor; Naxos 8.553052

SynopsisOn this day in 1947, Pierre Monteux led the San Francisco Symphony in the premiere performance of the Symphony No. 2 by American composer Roger Sessions. Prior to this work, Sessions had written in a more broadly accessible style, but this new symphony proved more dissonant and challenging. At the time, Sessions cautiously stated, “Tonality is complex and even problematical nowadays.” For their part, the San Francisco audiences found the new work both complex and problematical. There was hardly any applause. Musical America’s critic wrote that Sessions “seemed to express the epitome of all that is worst in the life and thinking of today.”Ouch! Today, Sessions’ Symphony No. 2 doesn’t sound all that challenging, but performances of this or any of his symphonies remain rare events.While Sessions’ symphony was being panned in San Francisco, a new stage work by expatriate German composer Kurt Weill opened to rave reviews in New York. Kurt Weill’s Street Scene opened on Broadway on this same date in 1947. “[It’s] the best contemporary musical production to grace any American stage,” enthused the Musical America critics. “We cannot imagine that an audience from any walk of life would not enjoy it. It has everything.” Music Played in Today's ProgramRoger Sessions (1896-1985): Symphony No. 2; San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt, conductor; London 443 376Kurt Weill (1900-1950): Act 1 Intro from Street Scene; Scottish Opera Orchestra; John Mauceri, conductor; London 433 371

When you were a kid, did your mother warn you about playing with sharp sticks?Well, conductors play with sharp sticks, and it can prove dangerous. In 1976, while conducting Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, conductor Georg Solti managed to stab himself in the forehead with his own baton during the third act, causing quite a bloody mess. It’s said Solti had already broken two batons during Acts I and II but managed not to hurt anyone. Before batons came into common use in the early 19th century, musicians just used their hands or a rolled-up piece of music paper to keep time.Unfortunately for him, Italian-born French Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully chose to employ a long, heavy staff when he was conducting. He was thumping out the beat during a performance of his own Te Deum on today’s date in 1687, and, like Solti, must have gotten carried away and accidentally smashed the staff into his toe. He continued conducting, but an abscess soon developed in the self-inflicted wound, followed by gangrene which spread through his lower leg and Lully died a few weeks later.Music Played in Today's ProgramJean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687): Galliarde from Trios pour le Coucher du Roi; Chicago Baroque Ensemble; Cedille 043

SynopsisThe fairytale opera Sadko by Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov had its first performance in Moscow on today’s date in 1898. This opera is still staged in Russia, but rarely anywhere else — even though some of its wonderful melodies have proven extremely popular. One of the opera’s arias had a tune so catchy that it was set to English words as “Play That Song of India Again” and became a best-selling Paul Whiteman recording in the 1920s. In the big-band era, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Song of India even made the American hit parade.The line between popular culture and classical music has often been blurred — and seldom so wickedly as in the works of American composer Michael Daugherty. Take his Le Tombeau de Liberace, for example. Now, in classical music terminology, a “tombeau” is a memorial tribute to an eminent musician or composer — in this case, it’s Wladziu Valentino Liberace, the flamboyant, rhinestone-encrusted pianist and showman who died in 1987.Many of Daugherty’s other concert pieces have also been inspired by pop icons, real and imaginary, ranging from Desi Arnaz to Superman.Music Played in Today's ProgramNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908): Song of India from Sadko (arr Kreisler); Gil Shaham, violin; Akira Eguchi, piano; DG 447 640Michael Daugherty (b. 1954): Candelabra Rhumba from Le Tombeau de Liberace; Paul Crossley, piano; London Sinfonietta; Markus Stenz, conductor; Argo 458 145

SynopsisOn today’s date in 1733, music-loving readers of the Leipzig newspaper Nachricht auch Frag und Anzeiger would have seen this welcome announcement: “Tonight at 8 o’clock there will be a Bach concert at Zimmermann’s Coffeehouse on Catharine Street.”So, in addition to a Grande Latté or Double-shot Depth-Charge, Zimmermann’s patrons could treat themselves to a Grand Suite or Double-Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach. As if Bach wasn’t busy enough providing all those sacred cantatas and organ chorales for two Leipzig churches every Sunday, he was also in charge of that city’s Collegium Musicum, an organization that presented more secular musical fare. It’s likely that on occasional weekday nights at Catharine Street, most of Bach’s concertos and chamber works were performed by Bach, alongside many of the same musicians he employed each Sunday for his church music.Given his staggering workload, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that caffeine helped Bach stay focused and alert: one of his secular cantatas might even be considered as an early form of an advertising plug: the humorous text of Bach’s Coffee Cantata recounts how a young woman’s addiction to coffee triumphs over her stuffy father’s moral objections to the tasty brew. Music Played in Today's ProgramJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Harpsichord Concerto; Gustav Leonhardt, Herbert Tachezi, harpsichord; Leonhardt Consort; Teldec 35778Coffee Cantata; Christine Schaefer, soprano; Stuttgart Bach-Collegium; Helmuth Rilling, conductor; Hanssler 98.161

SynopsisIn the opinion of General George Washington, a commanding plateau on the west bank of the Hudson River, about 40 miles north of New York City, was a key strategic position during America’s War for Independence. Washington had fortifications built there and transferred his headquarters to this “West Point” in 1779. In 1802, after America’s independence had been won, President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation establishing a United States Military Academy at West Point.150 years later, in 1952, the West Point Military Band decided to observe the Academy’s Sesquicentennial by asking prominent composers to write celebratory works to mark the occasion. A number of composers responded, including French composer Darius Milhaud. Milhaud’s West Point Suite was premiered by the West Point Band at Carnegie Hall on today’s date in 1952, with Captain Francis Resta conducting, and proved to be one of the most successful and oft-performed of these Sesquicentennial pieces.The previous year, Milhaud had paid a visit to West Point to hear the band, as he wanted to assess both their size and ability. He was impressed by what he heard — and surprised as well when the band struck up “Happy Birthday” in his honor. It seems that both Milhaud and his wife had completely forgotten their September 4 visit coincided with the composer’s 60th birthday!Music Played in Today's ProgramDarius Milhaud (1892-1974): West Point Suite; Liszt Academy Symphonic Band; Laszlo Marosi, conductor; Hungaroton 32066

SynopsisIt may be a hotly contested statement that New York is the cultural capital of the United States, but few would deny that city’s important role in so much of our musical history.In 1992, to celebrate its 150th anniversary, the New York Philharmonic commissioned many new works by leading composers and spread out their celebratory premieres over several years. On today’s date in 1996, Leonard Slatkin conducted one of these: an orchestral tribute to New York written by a native son — Toward the Splendid City, a work by Richard Danielpour. While intended as sonic portrait of his hometown, it was written entirely outside of the city. As he himself explained:“[It’s] is one of the very few works I’ve written completely away from New York — work on the piece began in Seattle and was completed in Taos, New Mexico — and, to an extent, it expresses the nostalgia I felt for the city. It became my sonic postcard of the town. One passage, a sound-painting with string harmonics, celesta, harp, vibes, and bells, was inspired by my memory of floating above New York at night on a plane and seeing the lights of the city in the mist...”Music Played in Today's ProgramRichard Danielpour (b. 1956): Toward the Splendid City; Philharmonia Orchestra; Zdenek Macal, conductor; Sony 60779

SynopsisThe comic opera Don Pasquale by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti had its first performance in Paris on this date in the year 1843. To this day it remains one of his best-loved and most frequently performed works. In all, Donizetti wrote about 70 operas, sometimes turning out four per year. Amazing as this seems today, it wasn’t at all uncommon in the 19th century, especially in Italy, where audience demand for new works was insatiable. Back then, when composers vied with one another for speed, Donizetti was asked if he believed that Rossini had written The Barber of Seville in only 13 days. “Why not?” quipped Donizetti. “He’s so lazy!”In our time, the corollary of a busy opera composer like Donizetti might be a hard-pressed Hollywood composer like John Williams, who could quip that Donizetti was the lazy one. After all, he has surpassed Donizetti’s count of 70 operas with well over 100 film scores.Williams started out in the 1960s writing scores for TV shows like Wagon Train and Gilligan’s Island before shifting primarily to movies and crafting the iconic soundtracks like Jaws, E.T., Star Wars and Schindler’s List.Music Played in Today's ProgramGaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): Don Pasquale Overture; Philharmonia Orchestra; Riccardo Muti, condcutor; EMI 54490John Williams (b. 1932): Devil’s Dance, from Witches of Eastwick; Boston Pops; John Williams, conductor; Philips 422 385

SynopsisOn today’s date in 1843, Richard Wagner’s opera The Flying Dutchman had its premiere performance in Dresden. The opera’s sea-swept overture was supposedly inspired by a stormy voyage Wagner and his wife Minna took from Riga to Paris, their journey interrupted by an emergency stop in a Norwegian fjord due to rough weather, as well as a longer layover in London.As usual, Wagner was fleeing creditors, and made the cramped voyage — as usual — in extravagant style, namely in the company of a huge Newfoundland dog he named Robber. Imagine, if you will, being cheek-by-jowl with a wet, seasick Newfie. That North Sea crossing must have seemed as interminable as the Flying Dutchman’s eternal wanderings!Negotiating London also proved a challenge, as Wagner recounted in his memoirs: “The dog whisked round every corner and dragged us every which way. So the three of us sought refuge in a cab, which took us to the Horseshoe Tavern, a sailor’s pub recommended to us by our captain ... the narrow London cabs were meant to carry two people facing each other, so we had to lay Robber across our laps, his head through one window and his tail through the other...”Music Played in Today's ProgramRichard Wagner (1813-1883): The Flying Dutchman Overture; Berlin State Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor; Teldec 88063

SynopsisWe’d like to start the new year with some upbeat music to honor American composer and bandleader Edwin Franko Goldman, who was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on today’s date in 1878. At the tender age of 14, Goldman attended the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, where he studied composition with Antonin Dvořák. At 15, Goldman became a professional trumpet player with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra.In 1911, he founded the New York Military Band, later known simply as the Goldman Band. They performed hundreds of public concerts around the city, including on the Mall in Central Park. In the 1930s, radio broadcasts made the Goldman Band famous nationwide. Their catchy signature tune, On the Mall, was composed by Goldman and invited the audiences to sing — or even whistle — along.Goldman composed about 150 band works of his own, and commissioned many more, including classics by composers such as Virgil Thomson, Walter Piston and Howard Hanson. The Goldman Band, led by Goldman or his son Richard, also premiered new works by leading European composers.Goldman founded the American Bandmasters Association in 1929 and served as its Second Honorary Life President after John Philip Sousa. Music Played in Today's ProgramEdwin Franko Goldman (1878-1956): On the Mall; Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell, conductor; Mercury 434 334

SynopsisIn the 1940s, the Boston Symphony gave the premiere of more than 60 new orchestral works — most of them conducted by the charismatic and wealthy Serge Koussevitzky, the music director of the Boston Symphony.And why not? It was the Koussevitzky Foundation that commissioned most of those pieces in the first place, and certainly Maestro Koussevitzky had the knack for picking winners and advancing the careers of composers he admired. In the 1940s, for example, Koussevitzky premiered no less than four major works by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu. On today’s date in 1943, one of these pieces, Martinu’s Violin Concerto No. 2, received its first performance under Koussevitzky with Mischa Elman as the soloist.But not all the Boston premieres were conducted by Koussevitzky. Earlier that same December of 1943, the American composer and conductor Howard Hanson led the orchestra in the first performance of his Symphony No. 4, and on today’s date in 1948, the premiere of his Piano Concerto, with the Boston Symphony and Czech pianist Rudolf Firkusny as soloist. Like the Martinu concerto, this, too, was a Koussevitzky Foundation commission.Music Played in Today's ProgramBohuslav Martinu (1890-1959): Violin Concerto No. 2; Josef Suk, violin; Czech Philharmonic; Vaclav Neumann, conductor; Supraphon 11 0702Howard Hanson (1896-1981): Piano Concerto; Alfred Mouledous, piano; Eastman-Rochester Orchestra; Howard Hanson, conductor; Mercury 434 370

SynopsisFor fans of old-time radio shows, it’s known as the theme for The FBI in Peace and War. But among classical music buffs its title is “March” from Prokofiev’s opera The Love of Three Oranges.This satirical, fairytale opera had its premiere performance in Chicago on today’s date in 1921, with Prokofiev himself was on hand to supervise the rehearsals. His opera received a lavish production which cost Chicago $250,000 — a staggering amount in 1921. The premiere was a modest success, even though the Chicago Tribune pronounced Prokofiev’s music “too much for this generation.” The production then traveled to New York for one performance which was savaged by the press as “Russian jazz with Bolshevist flourishes.”Summing up his American experience, Prokofiev wrote, “In my pocket was a thousand dollars; in my head, noise from all the running around and a desire to go away somewhere quiet to work.”In the 1930s, Prokofiev returned to the Soviet Union, where his music had to toe the Stalinist Party Line. It’s one of life’s little ironies that a theme by a then Soviet composer would be chosen for a radio show about the FBI that aired during the height of America’s postwar “Red Scare.”Music Played in Today's ProgramSergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): March from The Love of Three Oranges; Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, conductor; London 440 331