Copland's "Appalachian Spring" Suite

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Appalachian Spring Suite New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony Classical 63082

On This Day

Deaths

• 1970 - American composer George Frederick McKay, age 71, in Stateline, Nev

• 1982 - Canadian pianist and occasional composer Glenn Gould, age 50, in Toronto;

Premieres

• 1803 - Cherubini: opera "Anacréon," at the Paris Opéra;

• 1815 - Rossini: opera, "Elisabetta, Regina d'Inghilterra" (Elizabeth I, Queen of England), in Naples;

• 1910 - Korngold: pantomime, "The Snowman," at the Vienna Court Opera, conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky; Korngold was 13 at the time;

• 1916 - R. Strauss: opera, "Ariadne auf Naxos" (revised version), at the Vienna Court Opera, conducted by Franz Schalk, with vocal soloists Maria Jertiza (Ariadne), Selma Kurz (Zerbinetta), Lotte Lehmann (Composer), and Bela Kornyey (Bacchus); An earlier version of this opera (minus its prologue) had premiered in Stuttgart on Oct. 24, 1912, conducted by the composer;

• 1936 - Dvorák: Symphony No. 1 in c ("The Bells of Zlonice"), in Prague, posthumously; This symphony was composed in 1865;

• 1941 - Manuel Ponce: "Concierto del Sur" for guitar and orchestra, in Montevideo;

• 1945 - Copland: "Appalachian Spring" Orchestra Suite, at Carnegie Hall by New York Philharmonic conducted by Artur Rodzinski, with simultaneous performances the next day by the Boston Symphony and Cleveland Orchestra; the original chamber orchestra version of Copland's complete ballet score(choreographed by Martha Graham) had premiered at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on October 30, 1944;

• 1956 - Leon Kirchner: "Toccata" for strings, winds and percussion, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, by the Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski conducting;

• 1956 - Martinu: Piano Concerto No. 4 ("Incantations"), at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, by the Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski conducting, with pianist Rudolf Firkusny;

• 1959 - Shostakovich: Cello Concerto No. 1, by the Leningrad Philharmonic conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky, with Mstislav Rostropovich as soloist;

• 1962 - William Schuman: Symphony No. 8 (commissioned for opening season of New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center);

• 1982 - Glass: "Koyaanisqatsi" film score premiered at Radio City Music Hall Film Festival in New York;

• 1991 - Lou Harrison: "Homage to Pacifica," over KPFA radio in Berkeley, Calif.;

• 1997 - Michael Daugherty: "Niagra Falls" for winds, in Ann Arbor, by the University of Michigan Symphonic Band, conducted by H. Robert Reynolds.

Others

• 1738 - London music publisher John Walsh the younger issues Handel's Organ Concertos, Op. 4 (Gregorian date: Oct. 15);

• 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 6, no. 2 (Gregorian date: Oct. 15);

• 1921 - The American Academy in Rome awards American composer Leo Sowerby its first two-year composition fellowship; American composer Howard Hanson was awarded the second two-year composition fellowship on November 9, 1921; The third fellowship was awarded to Randall Thompson on June 6, 1922; The fellowship awards continue to this day.