Frederick the Great, composer

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Frederick II, King of Prussia (1712 – 1786) Flute Concerto No. 3 Patrick Gallois, flute; CPE Bach Chamber Orchestra; Peter Schreier, cond. DG 439 895

On This Day

Births

• 1903 - American composer and pianist Abram Chasins, in New York City;

• 1928 - American composer T.J. (Thomas Jefferson) Anderson, in Coatesville, Pa.;

• 1943 - English composer Edward Cowie, in Birmingham;

Deaths

• 1786 - Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, flute player and amateur composer, age 74, in Potsdam;

• 1958 - French composer Florent Schmitt, age 87, in Neuilly-sur-Seine;

• 1961 - French-born American composer and harpist Carlos Salzedo, age 76, in Waterville, Maine;

• 1973 - French composer Jean Barraque, in Paris;

• 1981 - American composer Robert Russell Bennett, age 87, in New York City;

• 1983 - American lyricist Ira Gershwin, age 86, in Beverly Hills, Calif.;

Premieres

• 1876 - First complete performance of Richard Wagner's "Ring" cycle concludes at Bayreuth with a performance of "Götterdämmerung" (The Twilight of the Gods);

• 1937 - John Ireland: "A London Overture" at a Proms Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood;

• 1946 - Honegger: "Symphonie Liturgique" (No. 3) in Zürich, conducted by Charles Munch, to whom the work is dedicated;

• 1953 - von Einem: opera "Der Prozess" (The Trial), at the Salzburg Festival in Austria; This opera is based on the novel by Franz Kafka;

• 1955 - Werner Egk: opera "Irische Legende" (Irish Legend), at the Salzburg Festival in Austria;

• 1974 - Penderecki: "Magnificat," for bass solo, chorus, and orchestra, in Salzburg, Austria;

Others

• 1928 - Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg wins $10,000 Schubert Centenary Prize offered by Columbia Phonograph Company of New York for his Symphony in C;

• 1957 - During lecture at the Tanglewood Festival, American composer Gunther Schuller coins the phrase "third stream" to describe a type of composition in which elements of jazz are organized within a classical musical structure.