Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) The Star Spangled Banner (arrangement) London Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. BMG/RCA 68865
On This Day
Births
1730 - Italian opera composer Antonio Sacchini, in Florence;
1835 - Russian composer, pianist and conductor Nicolai Rubinstein (brother of Anton), in Moscow (Julian date: June 2); He is probably best known for his severe criticism of Tchaikovksy's Piano Concerto No. 1 when the new work was submitted to him for consideration in 1874; He eventually changed his mind, and conducted the work as part of all-Russian concerts at the Paris Exposition in 1878;
Deaths
1594 - Flemish composer Orlande de Lassus (aka Orlando di Lasso, Orlandus Lassus, Roland Delattre), in Munich, age 61 or 62 (exact date of his birth is not known);
1911 - Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist Johan Svendsen, age 70, in Copenhagen;
Premieres
1876 - Delibes: ballet, "Sylvia," in Paris;
1927 - Gliere: ballet, "The Red Poppy," in Moscow;
1952 - Americanized version of Kurt Weill's "The Threepenny Opera" translated by Marx Blitzstein premieres at Brandeis University as part of the first Festival of the Creative Arts, with Leonard Bernstein conducting;
1962 - Stravinsky: "The Flood," on CBS Television;
1985 - John Harbison: Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and Strings, in Sarasota, Fla., with oboist Sarah Bloom and clarinetist Charles Russo, with the New College Festival Orchestra, Paul Wolfe conducting;
2001 - Daniel S. Godfrey: revised version of String Quartet No. 3, at the Seal Bay Music Festival in Rockport, Maine, by the Cassett Quartet;
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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.