Composers Datebook®

Jon Leifs of Iceland

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Jón Leifs (1899 -1968) Hekla Helsinki Philharmonic; Leif Segerstam, cond. Ondine 894

On This Day

Deaths

  • 1968 - Icelandic composer Jon Leifs, age 68, in Reykjavik

Premieres

  • 1965 - Duke Ellington: "The Golden Broom and the Golden Apples," by the New York Philharmonic, with the composer conducting, on the same concert as the belated premiere of Ives: "From the Steeples and the Mountains," with Lukas Foss conducting

  • 1983 - Michael Torke: "Ceremony of Innocence," for chamber quintet, at the Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Mass., by fellows of the Tanglewood Center, Gunther Schuller conducting

Others

  • 1829 - On a visit to Edinburgh, Mendelssohn visits Holyrood Palace and writes down the first measures of his "Scottish" Symphony

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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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