Persichetti and Tania Leon for band

Synopsis

In the years following the end of World War II, the “baby boom” led to a dramatic rise in the number of high school and college music programs across the country. By the mid-1950s, a number of well-known American composers started receiving commissions from these schools for new works for wind band.

In the past half-century, the Symphony for Band, by American composer Vincent Persichetti, has been one of the most frequently performed. It was commissioned by the Washington University Chamber Band, and received its first performance by the ensemble in St. Louis, Mo., on today’s date in 1956.

In keeping with this tradition, in the late 1990s the American Composers Forum started commissioning major composers to write new works for middle-school bands. The series was dubbed BandQuest, and in addition to new scores by composers like Chen Yi, Michael Colgrass, Libby Larsen, Robert X. Rodriguez, and Alvin Singleton, the series offers music teachers interactive CD-ROMs, which place each piece of music in a wider cultural and historical context.

This music is from Alegre, by Cuban-born composer Tania Leon. “Alegre” is a Spanish word meaning “joyful,” and Leon’s piece is meant to demonstrate the link in Latin culture between music and dance. That’s something the New York-based Leon knows more than a little about — she was a founding member and the first music director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. A music educator as well as a composer, she also set up the theater’s music school and orchestra.

Music Played in Today's Program

Vincent Pershichetti (1915–1987) Symphony No. 6 (Symphony for Band) Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell, cond. Mercury 432 754

Tania Leon (b. 1943) Alegre American Composers Forum Bandquest CD-ROM Hal Leonard

On This Day

Births

• 1893 - Spanish composer Federico Mompou, in Barcelona;

• 1924 - American composer Henry Mancini, in Cleveland;

Deaths

• 1846 - Italian composer and double-bass virtuoso Domenico Dragonetti, age 83, in London;

Premieres

• 1735 - Handel: opera "Alcina," in London at the Covent Garden Theatre; This was Handel's last operatic success in London (Gregorian date: April 27);

• 1791 - Mozart: Symphony No. 40 (re-scored to include a pair of clarinets) is performed in Vienna at concerts conducted by Antonio Salieri;

• 1849 - Meyerbeer: opera "Le prophète" (The Prophet), at the Paris Opéra;

• 1896 - Dvorák: String Quartet in Ab, Op. 105, at the Prague Conservatory, by four students (at the composer's special request, on the first anniversary of his returning home from America);

• 1909 - Arthur Foote: Suite for Strings in E, by the Boston Symphony with Max Fiedler conducting;

• 1942 - Barber: "Second Essay" for orchestra, in New York City;

• 1945 - Leo Sowerby: "Canticle of the Sun" for chorus and orchestra, in New York City;

• 1956 - Persichetti: Symphony No. 6 ("Symphony for Band"), in St. Louis, by the Washington University Chamber Band, Clark Mitze conducting;

• 1959 - Ned Rorem: Symphony No. 3, by the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein conducting;

• 1967 - Ligeti: Cello Concerto, by the Berlin Radio Symphony conducted by Henryk Czyz, with Siegfried Palm the soloist;

• 1994 - David Ward-Steinman: "Cinnabar" Concerto for viola and chamber orchestra, at the University of San Diego, Calif., by the San Diego Contemporary Music Ensemble conducted by Lily Hood Gunn, with Karen Elaine as soloist;

Others

• 1888 - American premiere of Verdi's opera "Otello," at the Academy of Music in New York City;

• 1920 - American premiere of Debussy: "Fantasie," by Boston Symphony, Pierre Monteux conducting.