Weddings Presents, Brunelle Honored

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

1) Cesar Franck (1822-1890) Violin Sonata in A Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin; Lambert Orkis, piano DG 445 826

Witold Lutoslawski (1913-1994) Partita Krzysztof Bakowski, violin; Polish National Radio Orchestra; Antoni Wit, cond. Naxos 8.553202

2) Dominick Argento (b. 1927) Jonah and the Whale Plymouth Music Series;Philip Brunelle, cond. Plymouth LP-001 (r. 1973 - out of print)

William Bolcom (b. 1938) Songs of Innocence and of Experience (excerpt) VocalEssence et. al.;Philip Brunelle, cond. MPR live recording (April 29, 2007)

On This Day

Births

• 1870 - French composer Florent Schmitt, in Blámont;

• 1913 - American composer Vivian Fine, in Chicago;

Deaths

• 1825 - Russian composer Dimitri Bortniansky, age c. 74, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Oct. 10);

• 1964 - English composer Sir George Dyson, age 81, in Winchester;

Premieres

• 1918 - Stravinsky: "The Soldier's Tale" for narrator and seven instruments, in Lausanne at the Théatre Municipal with Ernest Ansermet conducting;

• 1961 - Bartók: "Scherzo" for Piano and Orchestra, an early work by the late composer, in Budapest;

• 1972 - Petrassi: Concerto for Orchestra No. 8, in Chicago;

• 1997 - James MacMillan: Symphony ("Vigil"), at the Barbican in London, by the London Symphony, Mstislav Rostropovich conducting;

Others

• 1951 - Sci-fi classic "The Day the Earth Stood Still" opens in theaters across America, featuring memorable score by Bernard Herrmann that included eerie, other-worldly sounds imitating the electronic instrument known as a "Theremin" (after its Russian-born inventor, Leon Theremin); In the movie, actress Patricia Neal's rendition of the space alien command "Gort: Klaatu barada nikto" prevents Earth's destruction by a death-ray robot from outer space.

• 2007 - Conductor Philip Brunelle awarded the "Champion of New Music" Award by the American Composers Forum at their 2007 Annual Meeting in St. Paul, Minn.; This award recognizes artists who have commissioned and performed a significant number of new works by living composers.