Strong's "Sintram" Symphony

Synopsis

On today’s date in 1893, a New York Philharmonic concert at Carnegie Hall featured the premiere of a big new symphony by a 37-year old American composer and New York native named George Templeton Strong, Jr. This was a pretty big deal at a time when the Philharmonic regularly played new works from Europe, but paid little attention to what Americans were composing.

As the Philharmonic’s program book put it, somewhat defensively: “The acceptance of a work for performance is to a certain extent a declaration that it belongs to the very best class of contemporaneous literature according to the unbiased judgment of those who are entrusted with these concerts.”

Strong’s Symphony No. 2, subtitled “Sintram,” was inspired by a literary work of that name depicting the victory of good over evil. The New York Times review gave it high marks, praising the composer’s imagination and mastery of instrumentation, but ventured to suggest that a few cuts might be welcomed by future audiences, as the new symphony WAS a tad long and unremittingly serious in tone. Still, the Times gave the opinion that Strong belonged to “the front rank of living composers.”

Strong himself was not present. He was in Switzerland, a country he was soon to adopt as his permanent home. His absence on the American scene caused his music to be largely forgotten, but recently there has been a revival of interest in this late Romantic expatriate composer.

Music Played in Today's Program

George Templeton Strong (1856–1948) Symphony No. 2 (Sintram) Moscow Symphony; Adriano, cond. Naxos 8.559018

On This Day

Births

• 1678 - Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, in Venice;

• 1915 - Spanish-born American composer Carlos Surinach, in Barcelona;

• 1928 - German-born American composer Samuel Adler, in Mannheim;

Deaths

• 1925 - German-born composer Moritz Moszkowski, age 70, in Paris;

Premieres

• 1791 - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in Bb, K. 595, in Vienna with the composer as soloist;

• 1870 - 1870–Tchaikovsky: fantasy-overture "Romeo and Juliet" (first version) in Moscow, with Nicolas Rubinstein conducting (Gregorian date: Mar. 16);

• 1877 - Tchaikovsky: ballet "Swan Lake," at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow (Julian date: Feb. 20);

• 1885 - R. Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1, by the Meiningen Orchestra conducted by Hans von Bülow, with Gustav Leinhos, that orchestra's principal horn, as the soloist;

• 1895 - movements 1-3 only of Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection"), by Berlin Philharmonic, with Mahler conducting; The first complete performance, also with the composer conducting the Berlin Philharmonic, took place on December 13 that same year;

• 1905 - Glazunov: Violin Concerto, in St. Petersburg, with violinist Leopold Auer as the soloist (Julian date: Feb. 19);

• 1921 - Daniel Gregory Mason: "Prelude and Fugue" for piano and orchestra, in Chicago;

• 1988 - Argento: "Te Deum" for chorus and orchestra, by the Buffalo (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra and Schola Cantorum, Thomas Swan conducting;

• 1995 - Christopher Rouse: Symphony No. 2, by the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach conducting;

Others

• 1809 - The U.S. Marine Band performed for James Madison's Presidential inaugural ball, the first ever held. The President, First Lady Dolly Madison, and their guests were serenaded by popular songs and dances of the period;

• 1965 - American premiere of Ligeti: "Poème symphonique" for 100 metronomes, in Buffalo, N.Y.