Symphonic Adams?

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

John Adams (b. 1947) Naïve and Sentimental Music Los Angeles Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen, cond. Nonesuch 79636

On This Day

Births

• 1743 - Italian composer and cellist Luigi Boccherini, in Lucca;

• 1880 - American composer Arthur Shepherd, in Paris, Idaho;

• 1906 - Welsh composer Grace Williams, in Barry, Glamorganshire;

• 1912 - American band leader and arranger Stan Kenton, in Wichita, Kan.;

• 1926 - Rumanian-born Hungarian composer György Kurtág, in Lugoj;

Deaths

• 1605 - Italian composer Orazio Vecchi, age 54, in Modena;

• 1941 - Irish composer and arranger Sir Hamilton Harty, age 61, in Brighton;

• 1975 - Italian composer Luigi Dallapiccola, age 71, in Florence;

Premieres

• 1736 - Handel: cantata “Alexander’s Feast,” at Covent Garden Theatre (Gregorian date: Mar. 1) ; Also on the program were Handel’s Concerto grosso in C (HWV 318), Harp Concerto, Op. 4, no. 6 (HWV 294) and Organ Concerto, Op. 4, no. 1;

• 1914 - Zandonai: opera "Francesca da Rimini," in Turin;

• 1923 - Sibelius: Symphony No. 6, in Helsinki, with composer conducting;

• 1929 - Bartók: String Quartet No. 3, in London, by the Waldbauer Quartet;

• 1932 - Copland: "Symphonic Ode," commissioned for the 50th Anniversary of the Boston Symphony and conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; For the 75th Anniversary of the Boston Symphony, Copland revised this score and dedicated it to the memory of Koussevitzky; The revised version was premiered by the Boston Symphony conducted by Charles Munch on February 3, 1956;

• 1941 - Morton Gould: "Spirituals for Orchestra," in New York City, conducted by the composer;

• 1949 - Irving Fine: Partita for winds, in New York City, by the New Art Wind Quintet;

• 1949 - Douglas Moore: opera "The Emperor's New Clothes," in New York;

• 1961 - Stravinsky: Anthem ("The dove descending breaks the air)", in Los Angeles, Robert Craft conducting;

• 1985 - Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No. 3,at Manchester's Free Trade Hall, by the BBC Philharmonic, Edward Downes conducting;

• 1990 - Daniel Asia: Symphony No. 1, by the Seattle Symphony, Christopher Kendall conducting;

• 1999 - John Adams: "Naïve and Sentimental Music," at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with Esa-Pekka Salonen, conducting.