Mr. Gershwin goes to Washington

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) Of Thee I Sing soloists; Orchestra of St. Luke's; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. Sony 42522

On This Day

Births

• 1731 - Baptism of Bohemian composer and pianist Frantisek Xaver Dussek, in Choteborky;

• 1865 - Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, in Tavastehus;

• 1882 - Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, in Fresnillo, Zacatecas;

• 1890 - Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu, in Policka;

• 1919 - Polish-born Russian composer Moisei Vainberg (also Weinberg/Vaynberg, Moisey/Mieczyslaw), in Warsaw;

Deaths

• 1562 - Flemish composer Adrian Willaert, age. c. 72, in Venice;

• 1924 - German composer and pianist Xaver Scharwenka, age 74, in Berlin;

• 1980 - John Lennon (of the Beatles), age 40, is shot dead in New York City;

Premieres

• 1733 - Bach: Secular Cantata No. 214 ("Tönet ihr Pauken, erchallet Trompeten") at a public performance in the garden of Zimmermann's Coffee House in Leipzig, for the birthday of the Princess-Elector and Queen of Poland, Maria Josepha (the wife of August III); One year later, Bach recycled some of the music for this secular cantata into his sacred "Christmas Oratorio" (S.213-219);

• 1743 - Handel: “Dettingen Te Deum and Anthem” in London (Julian date: Nov. 27);

• 1813 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 7, in Vienna, the composer conducting; Also on the program was the orchestral version of "Wellington's Victory" (originally conceived for performance by a mechanical orchestra invented by Maelzel called the "panharmonicon";

• 1844 - Schumann: Piano Quartet, Op. 47, in Leipzig, at the Gewandhaus, with Clara Schumann (piano), Ferdinand David (viola), Niels W. Gade (viola), and Count Wielhorsky (cello); A private performance had also occured in Leipzig in 1842 (see Dec. 6);

• 1849 - Verdi: opera "Luisa Miller," in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo;

• 1879 - Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite No. 1, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Dec. 20);

• 1915 - first version (of three) of Sibelius: Symphony No. 5, with the Helsinki Municipal Orchestra, with the composer conducting (on his 50th birthday); A second revision of this symphony was premiered by the same orchestral and conductor on Dec. 14, 1916, and a third and final version premiered in Helsinki under the composer's direction on Oct. 21, 1921;

• 1931 - Gershwin: musical show, "Of Thee I Sing," in Boston, at the Majestic Theater; This musical opened in New York on Dec. 26th that year, and went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1932;

• 1943 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 24, in Moscow;

• 1992 - Michael Torke: “Monday and Tuesday,” for chamber ensemble, at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, by the London Sinfonietta, Lothar Zagrosek conducting;

Others

• 1911 - At the Cort Theater in San Francisco, American composer and conductor Henry Hadley leads the first subscription concert of the San Francisco Symphony; The program included Wagner's Act I Prelude from "Die Meistersinger," Tchaikovsky's "Pathétique" Symphony, the "Theme and Variations," from Haydn's "Emperor Quartet," and Liszt's tone-poem "Les Préludes."