Miaskovsky and Brooks for band

Synopsis

Between 1908 and 1950, the Russian composer Nikolai Miaskovsky composed 27 symphonies. One of them his Symphony No. 19 for military wind band, premiered on today’s date in 1939 at the Cominterm Radio Station in Moscow, and was dedicated to the Red Army.

The Red Army’s bandmaster had asked Miaskovsky to write something, and at first the composer was rather reluctant. “The difficulties of this unusual task oppressed and discouraged me,” he wrote, “but I was anxious to keep my promise and soon mustered a fair spurt of energy, with the result that instead of a simple piece in one movement, I was able to send him a complete symphony in four movements.” The resulting work was, in fact, one of the normally melancholic Miaskovky’s most upbeat works.

These days, American audiences are most likely to encounter concert works for symphonic winds at colleges and universities. This piece from 1997, entitled “Dreadnought,” is by the American composer Jeffrey Brooks, who wrote it for the University of Minnesota Symphonic Wind Ensemble, who recorded the piece. The title “Dreadnought,” says Brooks, means a total absence of fear, and was also a name given to a class of heavily armed battleships of the early 20th century.

Brooks notes he wrote the piece while contemplating his two small childrens’ contrasting natures: “Ronan had no fears,” writes Brooks, “and would happily get in a cage with a tiger. Adelle was inventing new fears daily, trying them on, discarding some while keeping others.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Nikolai Miaskovsky (1881 - 1950) Symphony No. 19 USSR Ministry of Defence Band; Nikolai Mikailov, cond. Olympia 105

Jeffrey Brooks Dreadnought University of Minnesota Symphonic Wind Ensemble; Craig Kirchhoff, cond. innova 517

On This Day

Births

• 1571 - possible birth date of German composer Michael Praetorius, in Creuzberg an der Werra, near Eisenach;

• 1847 - Austrian composer Robert Fuchs, in Frauenthal, Styria;

• 1899 - French composer Georges Auric, in Lodève;

• 1907 - French composer and organist Jean Langlais, in La Fontenelle;

• 1947 - American composer John Adams, in Worcester, Mass.;

• 1949 - American composer Christopher Rouse, in Baltimore, Maryland;

Deaths

• 1621 - German composer Michael Praetorius, supposedly on his 50th birthday, in Wolfenbüttel;

• 1857 - Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, age 52, in Berlin;

• 1887 - Russian composer Alexander Borodin (Gregorian date: Feb. 27);

• 1974 - Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg, age 86, in Stockholm;

• 1992 - American composer William Schuman, age 81 in New York; He won the first Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1943 for his Walt Whitman cantata, "A Free Song";

Premieres

• 1686 - Lully: opera "Armide et Renaud," (after Tasso) in Paris;

• 1845 - Verdi: opera "Giovanna D'Arco" (Joan of Arc) in Milan at the Teatro all Scala;

• 1868 - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1 ("Winter Dreams") (first version), in Moscow (Julian date Feb. 3); A revised version of this symphony premiered in Moscow on Nov. 19/Dec. 1, 1883;

• 1874 - Bizet: "Patrie" Overture, in Paris, by the Concerts Pasedeoup;

• 1884 - Tchaikovsky: opera "Mazeppa" in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater (Julian date: Feb. 3);

• 1919 - Loeffler: "Music for Four Stringed Instruments" at New York's Aeolina Hall by the Flonzaley Quartet;

• 1939 - Miakovsky: Symphony No. 19 for wind band, in Moscow;

• 1945 - Paul Creston: Symphony No. 2, by the New York Philharmonic, with Arthur Rodzinski conducting;

• 1947 - Korngold: Violin Concerto, by the St. Louis Symphony, with Jascha Heifetz as soloist;

• 1958 - Diamond: orchestral suite "The World of Paul Klee," in Portland, Ore.;

• 1965 - B.A. Zimmermann: opera "Die Soldaten" (The Soldiers), in Cologne at the Städtische Oper;

Others

• 1940 - American Music Center, a library and information center for American composers, is founded in New York City.