Adolphe's "Tyrannosaurus Sue"

Synopsis

Popular as the imaginary purple dinosaur named “Barney” was with American kids back in the 1990s, he got some competition from another T-Rex named “Sue.” Sue was the nearly complete fossilized skeleton of a female T-Rex discovered in South Dakota, named after the woman who found her, a paleontologist, named Susan Hendrickson.

“Sue”–the dinosaur, that is–ended up as a major display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

As part of the festivities surrounding the opening of the exhibit, on today’s date in the year 2000, the Chicago Chamber Musicians premiered a musical work that told Sue’s story in words and music. It was designed for children, very much in the style of “Peter and the Wolf,” or, in this case, “Sue EATS Peter, the wolf, and anything else she can catch.” The music was composed by the American composer Bruce Adolphe, who titled his work, “Tyrannosaurus Sue: A Cretaceous Concerto.”

Bruce Adolphe was a good choice for the project for, in addition to being a composer, author, educator and performer, Adolphe admits to being a big kid at heart, eager to share his enthusiasm for music with audiences of all ages.

Music Played in Today's Program

Bruce Adolphe (b. 1955) Tyrannosaurus Sue "A Cretaceous Concerto" Chicago Chamber Musicians Pollyrhythm Productions 30001

On This Day

Births

• 1904 - American composer and jazz pianist Thomas "Fats" Waller, in New York City;

Deaths

• 1895 - Austrian composer Franz von Suppé, age 76, in Vienna;

Premieres

• 1739 - Rameau: opera-ballet "Les Fêtes d'Hébé," in Paris;

• 1892 - Leoncavallo: opera "Pagliacci," in Milan at Teatro dal Verme, with Arturo Toscanini conducting;

• 1925 - Busoni: "Doctor Faust," posthumously, in Dresden (completed by Philip Jarnach);

• 1956 - Perischetti: Piano Sonata No. 7, at the Philadelphia Conservatory, by pianist Robert Smith;

• 1962 - Stockhausen: "Momente" for soprano, choruses, and instruments, in Cologne;

• 1980 - Jacob Druckman: "Prism" for orchestra, by the Baltimore Symphony, Sergiu Commissiona conducting;

• 1983 - Dave Brubeck: "Pange Lingua" Variations for chorus, jazz quartet, and orchestra, at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento, Calif., with Russell Gloyd conducting;

• 1987 - Harrison Birtwistle: opera "The Mask of Orpheus," at the London Coliseum by the English National Opera, Elgar Howarth and Paul Daniel conducting;

• 2000 - Bruce Adolphe: "Tyrannosaurus Sue (A Cretaceous Concerto)", at the Field Museum in Chicago, by the Chicago Chamber Players.