Composers Datebook®

Mendelssohn and Porter see double

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Felix Mendelssohn (1811 - 1835) Double Concerto Güher and Süher Pekinel, pianos; Philharmonia Orchestra; Sir Neville Marriner, cond. Chandos 9711

Quincy Porter (1897 - 1966) Concerto for Two Pianos Joshua Pierce and Dorothy Jonas, duo pianists; Moravian Philharmonic; David Amos, cond. Helcion 1044

On This Day

Births

  • 1932 - Danish composer Per Norgaard, in Gentofte (near Copenhagen);

Deaths

  • 1951 - Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, in Los Angeles, on a Friday the 13th; He was superstitiously obsessed with the number 13 and, ironically, was 76 years old at the time of his death (7+6 = 13)

Premieres

  • 1829 - Mendelssohn: Double Concerto (in e) for two pianos and orchestra, in London at a benefit concert, with the composer and Ignaz Moscheles as the soloists

  • 1995 - Corigliano: "Soliloquy" for clarinet and string quartet, in Portland, Oregon, by Chamber Music Northwest

Others

  • 1937 - The first Pan-American Chamber Music Festival is held in Mexico City

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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.

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