Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
John Williams (b. 1932) Treesongs Gil Shaham, violin; Boston Symphony; John Williams, cond. DG 471 326
On This Day
Births
1882 - Australian-born American composer and pianist Percy Aldrich Grainger, in Melbourne; He became a USA citizen in 1919
1900 - American composer George Antheil, in Trenton, N.J.
Deaths
1839 - Spanish composer Fernando Sor, age 61, in Paris
Premieres
1940 - Randall Thompson: "Allelujah" at the opening of the Berkshire Music Center in Lenox, Mass.
1942 - Sir Lenox Berkeley: Symphony No. 1 in London, conducted by the composer
1987 - Judith Weir: opera "A Night at the Chinese Opera" in Cheltenham, England
1988 - Philip Glass: opera "The Making of the Representative for Planet 8" (after a sci-fi novel by Doris Lessing), by Houston Grand Opera
2000 - John Williams: "TreeSong" for Violin and Orchestra, at Tanglewood with Gil Shaham and the Boston Symphony, composer conducting
Others
1588 - English composer and lutenist John Dowland receives B. Mus. Degree from Christ Church, Oxford
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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.