"Variations on a Nursery Tune"

Synopsis

On today's date in 1914, a new work by the Hungarian composer, piano, and conductor Ernst von Dohnányi received its premiere performance in Berlin. It was for piano and orchestra, and entitled "Variations on a Nursery Tune." For its premiere, Dohnányi himself was the piano soloist, with the foremost conductor of his day, Artur Nikisch, leading the Berlin Philharmonic.

Now, Dohnányi provided a subtitle to his new work, or a kind of dedication if you like. He wrote: "For the enjoyment of people with a sense of humor—and for the annoyance of others." You see, the tune Dohnányi had chosen as the theme for his variations was the French nursery song "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman," known on this side of the Atlantic as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." In Dohnányi's hands, the childish theme sparkles in witty piano solos set against lush, late-Romantic orchestral textures.

Dohnányi was born in 1877 in what is now known as Bratislava, the modern-day capital of Slovakia, but back then a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He died in 1960 in New York City, but was buried in Tallahassee, Florida, since he had been living and teaching there for the last decade of his life.

Dohnányi wrote a respectable body of operas, orchestral works, chamber music, and solo piano works, but his "Variations on a Nursery Tune remains his best-known and best-loved work.

Music Played in Today's Program

Erno (Ernst von) Dohnanyi (1877 - 1960) Variations on a Nursery Tune

On This Day

Births

• 1653 - Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli, in Fusignano (near Imola);

• 1820 - Belgian composer Henri Vieuxtemps, in Verviers;

• 1862 - English composer Edward German (Jones) in Whitechurch;

• 1887 - Finnish composer Leevi Madetoja, in Oulu (Uleaborg);

• 1920 - American composer Paul Fetler, in Philadelphia;

• 1926 - Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha, in Vienna;

• 1926 - American composer Lee Hoiby, in Madison, Wis.;

Deaths

• 1732 - French composer and organist Louis Marchand, age 63, in Paris;

• 1841 - Italian composer and guitarist Ferdinando Carulli, age 70, in Paris;

• 1924 - Finnish composer Oskar Merikanto, age 55, in Hausjärvi-Oiti;

• 1970 - American composer and conductor Alfred Newman, age 69, in Los Angeles;

• 1982 - American Jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, age 64, in Englewood, N.J.;

Premieres

• 1728 - Handel: opera “Siroe, re di Persia” (Cyrus, King of Persia), in London at the King’s Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Feb. 28); This was the first Handel opera with a libretto by Metastasio;

• 1792 - Haydn: Symphony No. 93, conducted by the composer, at the Hanover-Square Concert Rooms in London;

• 1855 - Liszt: Piano Concerto No. 1 in Eb, in Weimar, with the composer as soloist and Hector Berlioz conducting;

• 1859 - Verdi: opera "Un Ballo in Maschera" (A Masked Ball), in Rome at the Teatro Apollo;

• 1889 - Franck: Symphony in d, in Paris;

• 1901 - Mahler: oratorio "Das Klagende Lied" (Song of Lamentation), in Vienna, with composer conducting;

• 1904 - Puccini: opera “Madama Butterfly,”in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala;

• 1914 - Ernst von Dohnányi: "Variations on a Nursery Song" for piano and orchestra, in Berlin, with the composer as soloist;

• 1927 - Deems Taylor: opera "The King's Henchmen," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York;

• 1943 - Copland: "Music for Movies," at a Town Hall Forum concert in New York City;

• 1947 - Copland: "Danzón Cubano" (orchestral version), by the Baltimore Symphony;

• 1948 - David Diamond: Violin Sonata No. 1, at Carnegie Hall in New York, by Joseph Szigeti (violin) and Josef Lhevinne (piano);

• 1952 - Henze: opera "Boulevard Solitude," in Hanover at the Landestheater;

• 1961 - Elie Siegmeister: Flute Concerto, in Oklahoma City;

• 1977 - Elliott Carter: "A Symphony of Three Orchestra," by the New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez conducting;

• 1982 - George Perle: "Ballade" for piano, at Alice Tully Hall in New York, by Richard Goode.