Sir Thomas Beecham

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Handel (1685 – 1757) arr. Beecham Love in Bath Ballet Suite Royal Philharmonic; Sir Thomas Beecham, cond. EMI 63374

On This Day

Births

• 1714 - German composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (the third son of J.S. Bach), in Weimar;

• 1904 - Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas, on the island of Euboca;

• 1911 - American composer Alan Hovhaness, in Somerville, Mass.;

Deaths

• 1869 - French composer Hector Berlioz, age 62, in Paris;

• 1957 - Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck, age 70, in Zurich;

• 1961 - British conductor and arranger Sir Thomas Beecham, age 81, in London;

• 1983 - English composer and conductor Sir William Walton, age 80, in Ischia;

Premieres

• 1752 - Handel: oratorio "Jephtha," in London (Julian date: Feb. 26);

• 1896 - Rachmaninoff: symphonic fantasy "The Rock," in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 20);

• 1898 - R. Strauss: tone-poem "Don Quixote," in Cologne, Wüllner conducting;

• 1902 - Sibelius: Symphony No. 2, by the Helsinki Philharmonic, with the composer conducting;

• 1903 - Enescu: "Rumanian Rhapsodies" Nos. 1 and 2, in Bucharest, with the composer conducting;

• 1934 - Piston: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting;

• 1954 - Stravinsky: "Three Songs from William Shakespeare," at an "Evenings on the Roof" concert in Los Angeles conducted by Robert Craft;

• 1956 - David Diamond: Symphony No. 6, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting;

• 1957 - Xenakis: "Pithoprakta," in Munich;

• 1979 - Rihm: opera "Jakob Lenz," in Hamburg at the Opera stabile (Staatsoper);

• 1991 - Daniel Asia: "At the Far Edge" for orchestra, by the Seattle Youth Symphony, Ruben Gurevich conducting;

• 2000 - Karen Tanaka: "At the Grave of Beethoven" for string quartet, in London, by the Brodsky Quartet;

• 2000 - John Tavener: "The Lord's Prayer," in Guildford (England), by the Tallis Scholars.