Moross's First, Copland's Third

Synopsis

Two very fine American symphonies had their premiere performances today.

On today's date in 1943, the British conductor Sir Thomas Beecham led the Seattle Symphony in the premiere performance of the Symphony No. 1 by a 30-year old composer named Jerome Moross.

The slow movement of the Moross symphony was inspired by the American hobo tune "The Midnight Special." As Moross once said, "A composer must reflect his landscape and mine is the landscape of America. I don't do it consciously, it is simply the only way I can write."

The new symphony was well received, but subsequent performances have been rare events. These days, Moross is better known for his film and TV work. His 1958 score for "The Big Country" was nominated for an Academy Award, and he also wrote the music for the popular TV Western series "Wagon Train."

Three years after the Seattle premiere of the Moross First Symphony, Aaron Copland's Third Symphony had its premiere on the opposite coast. Serge Koussevitzky conducted the Boston Symphony in the 1946 premiere of Copland's score, which includes as one of its themes Copland's enormously popular "Fanfare for the Common Man," a work the Cincinnati Symphony had premiered in 1943.

Critics may prefer Copland's more adventurous first two symphonies, but the Third has proven the clear choice of audiences and orchestras over the years.

Music Played in Today's Program

Jerome Moross (1913 – 1983) Symphony No. 1 London Symphony; JoAnn Falletta, cond. Koch International 7188

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) Symphony No. 3 Minnesota Orchestra; Eiji Oue, cond. Reference 93

On This Day

Births

• 1706 - Italian composer Baldassare Galuppi, in Burano, near Venice;

• 1924 - Norwegian composer Egil Hovland, in Mysen, near Oslo;

• 1961 - Jazz trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis in New Orleans;

Deaths

• 1545 - English composer and organist John Taverner, age 55, in Boston, England;

• 1817 - French composer Etienne Méhul, age 54, in Paris;

• 1893 - French composer Charles Gounod, age 75, in St. Cloud;

Premieres

• 1873 - Brahms: String Quartet in a, Op. 51, no. 2, in Berlin by the Joachim Quartet;

• 1887 - Brahms: Double Concerto in a, Op. 102, in Cologne, by the Gürzenich Orchestra, with Joseph Joachim (violin), Robert Hausemann (cello), and the composer conducting;

• 1881 - Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings (Gregorian date: Oct. 30);

• 1882 - Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio, Op. 50 (Gregorian date: Oct. 30);

• 1904 - Mahler: Symphony No. 5, in Cologne, by the Gürzenich Orchestra, with the composer conducting;

• 1923 - Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1, in Paris, at a concert conducted by Serge Koussevitsky, with Marcel Darrieux, the concertmaster of Koussevitzky's orchestra, as the soloist; At this same concert, Igor Stravinsky leads members of the orchestra in the premiere of his Octet for Winds;

• 1943 - Jerome Moross: Symphony No. 1, by the Seattle Symphony, Sir Thomas Beecham conducting;

• 1946 - Copland: Symphony No. 3 (in memory of Mme. Natalie Koussevitzky), by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky;

• 1953 - Stravinsky: "Preludium" for Jazz Ensemble, at an "Evenings on the Roof" concert in Los Angeles, with Robert Craft conducting;

• 1957 - Creston: "Toccata" for orchestra, by the Cleveland Orchestra;

• 1958 - Harald Saeverud: "Minnesota Symphony," by the Minneapolis Symphony. Antal Dorati conducting;

• 1981 - Pierre Boulez: "Répons" for 30 instruments and electronics, at the Donaueschingen Festival of Contemporary Music in West Germany;

• 1984 - Harrison Birtwistle: "Secret Theatre" for chamber ensemble, in London at Queen Elisabeth Hall, by the London Sinfonietta, David Atherton conducting;

• 1990 - Elisabetta Brusa: “Nittemero Symphony,” by the London Chamber Orchestra, Odaline de la Martinez conducting;

• 2000 - Lukas Foss: "Solo Transformed" for piano and orchestra, in Minneapolis by Peter Serkin with the Minnesota Orchestra, Eiji Oue conducting;

Others

• 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in c, Op. 6, no. 8 (Gregorian date: Oct. 29);

• 1961 - premiere of United Artists film "West Side Story," based on the musical by Leonard Bernstein.