Composers Datebook®

Rossini's first big hit

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Mauro Giuliani (1781 — 1829) Tancredi Variations, Op. 87 Ricardo Gallén, guitar Naxos 8.555284

On This Day

Births

  • 1941 - American composer Stephen Albert, in New York;

Deaths

  • 1497 - Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem, age c. 76, in Tours;

Premieres

  • 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 144 ("Nimm, was dein ist, und gehe hin") performed on Septuagesimae Sunday as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);

  • 1727 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 157 ("Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn") for a funeral service in Leipzig;

  • 1813 - Rossini: opera "Tancredi," in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice;

  • 1851 - R. Schumann: Symphony No. 3 ("Rhenish"), in Düsseldorf, conducted by the composer;

  • 1930 - Roussel: "Petite Suite" for orchestra, in Paris;

  • 1933 - Henry Brant: "Angels and Devils" for solo flute and flute ensemble, at a Pan-American Association of Composers concert at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City, with the famous French-born flautist Georges Barrère as the soloist; On the same program, Brant accompanied soprano Judith Litante at the piano in the premiere performances of three songs by Charles Ives: "Afterglow," "Ann Street," and "Like a Sick Eagle";

  • 1941 - Hindemith: Cello Concerto, at the Sanders Theater (Cambridge, Mass.) by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with Gregor Piatigorsky the soloist;

  • 1944 - Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, by the NBC Symphony conducted by Leopold Stokowski, with Eduard Steuermann as soloist;

  • 1959 - Poulenc: opera "La voix humaine" (The Human Voice), in Paris at the Opéra Comique;

  • 1976 - John La Montaine: opera "Be Glad, Then, America," at University Park, Pa.;

  • 1996 - Stephen Paulus: "Dramatic Suite," for flute, viola, cello and piano, in St. Cloud, Minn., by members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center;

Others

  • 1838 - Mendelssohn finishes his String Quartet in Eb, Op. 44, no. 3.

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About Composers Datebook®

Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.

He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.

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