Synopsis
Music Played in Today's Program
Ned Rorem (b. 1923) Pilgrims Royal Liverpool Philharmonic;José Serebrier, cond. Naxos 8.559278
On This Day
Births
1697 - German composer and flutist Johann Joachim Quantz, in Oberscheden, Hannover;
1861 - French-born American composer Charles Martin Loeffler, in Alsace;
1862 - German-born American composer and conductor, Walter Damrosch, in Breslau;
Deaths
1963 - French composer Francis Poulenc, age 64, in Paris;
Premieres
1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 81 ("Jesus schläft, was soll ich hoffen?") performed on the 4th Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);
1735 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 14 ("Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit") performed in Leipzig on the 4th Sunday after Epiphany;
1892 - Rachmaninoff: “Trio élégiaque” No. 1 in G minor (Gregorian date: Feb. 11);
1893 - Brahms: Fantasies for piano Nos. 1-3, from Op. 117 and Intermezzo No. 2, from Op. 117, in Vienna;
1917 - Zemlinsky: opera "A Floretine Tragedy," in Stuttgart at the Hoftheater;
1920 - Frederick Converse: Symphony in c, by the Boston Symphony, Pierre Monteux conducting;
1942 - Copland: Orchestral Suite from "Billy the Kid" ballet, by the Boston Symphony;
1948 - Harold Shapero: "Symphony for Classical Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony conducted by Leonard Bernstein;
1958 - Walton: "Partita" for orchestra, in Cleveland;
1959 - Hindemith: "Pittsburgh Symphony," by the Pittsburgh Symphony, conducted by the composer;
1970 - William Schuman: "In Praise of Shahn," in New York;
1985 - Libby Larsen: Symphony ("Water Music"), by the Minnesota Orchestra, Sir Neville Marriner conducting.
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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.