Verdi and Creston

Synopsis

Music Played in Today's Program

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) Triumphal March, fr Aida New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond. Sony 45734

Paul Creston (1906-1985) Symphony No. 1 National Symphony of Ukraine; Theodore Kuchar, cond. Naxos 8.559034

On This Day

Births

• 1813 - Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, in Le Roncole, near Parma. Probable true date of his birth, according to parish records, though Verdi celebrated it on the 9th, the date he believed correct;

• 1903 - Russian-born American composer and songwriter Vernon Duke (Vladimir Dukelsky), in Pskov (Julian date: Sept. 27);

• 1906 - American composer Paul Creston (Giuseppe Guttoveggio), in New York;

• 1920 - American Jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, in Rocky Mount, N.C.;

Deaths

• 1825 - Russian composer Dimitri Bortniansky, age c. 74, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Sept. 28);

Premieres

• 1919 - R. Strauss: opera, "Die Frau ohne Schatten" (The Woman Without a Shadow) at the Vienna Staatsoper, conducted by Franz Schalk, and with vocal soloists Lotte Lehmann (Barak's wife), Maria Jeritza (The Empress), Karl Oestvig (The Emperor), Richard Mayr (Barak), and Lucie Weidt (The Nurse);

• 1931 - Walton: oratorio, "Belshazzar's Feast," at the Leeds Festival;

• 1935 - Gershwin: opera "Porgy and Bess" at the Alvin Theater in New York City; The opera had a trial run in Boston which opened on September 30, 1935;

• 1938 - Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 1, in Leningrad, by the Glazunov Quartet;

• 1948 - Bernstein: song-cycle, "La Bonne Cuisine" (Four Recipes for Voice and Piano), at Town Hall in New York City, with mezzo-soprano Marion Bell and pianist Edwin MacArthur;

• 1968 - Berio: "Sinfonia," by New York Philharmonic and The Swingle Singers, with the composer conducting;

• 1985 - Benjamin Lees: Symphony No. 4 ("Memorial Candles") in Dallas, with Pinchas Zukerman the soloist;

Others

• 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in D, Op. 6, no. 5 and possibly his Concerto Grosso in F, Op. 6, no. 9 as well (Gregorian date: Oct. 21).

• 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in G, Op. 6, no. 1 (see Julian date: Sept. 29);