Synopsis
In July 1936, this notice concerning an upcoming Hollywood Bowl concert appeared in The Los Angeles Times: “William Grant Still will conduct two of his own works.” The nonchalance of the paper’s music and dance critic overlooked the fact that the occasion marked the first time that an African-American conductor would lead a major American orchestra.
On the second half of that July concert in Los Angeles, Still conducted his orchestral piece The Land of Romance, and the “Scherzo” from his Afro-American Symphony. The entire symphony had been premiered in 1931 by the Rochester Philharmonic — another landmark event, being the first time a symphonic work by an African-American composer was performed by an American orchestra.
Meanwhile, at a 1947 outdoor concert in Philadelphia, composer and pianist Duke Ellington joined forces with members of the Philadelphia Orchestra to play his A New World A-Comin’, marking Ellington’s first appearance with a symphony orchestra. It wouldn’t be his last.
In 1963, The Symphonic Ellington appeared, an album featuring Ellington and his band in recordings of original compositions recorded in Europe with symphony orchestras from Paris, Stockholm, Hamburg, and the Orchestra of La Scala in Milan.
Music Played in Today's Program
Duke Ellington (1899-1974) (arr. Peress): New World A-Comin’; Sir Roland Hanna, piano; American Composers Orchestra; Maurice Peress, conductor; MusicMasters 7011
On This Day
Births
1883 - Italian composer, pianist and conductor Alfredo Casella, in Turin. He was the conductor of the Boston Pops from 1927-29.
Deaths
1969 - American opera composer, Douglas Moore, 75, in Greenport (Long Island), New York
Premieres
1937 - Copland: Music for Radio (or Saga of the Prairies) on CBS radio network, performed by CBS Symphony
1970 - Dutilleux: Tout un Monde Lointain for Cello and Orchestra, in Aix-en-Provence
1976 - Glass: opera, Einstein on the Beach, in Avignon, France, at the Théatre Municipale. The American premiere took place as a non-season event at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 21, 1976.
Others
1788 - Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 40
1937 - Barber’s Symphony No. 1 is performed at the Salzburg Music Festival is Austria, by the Vienna Philharmonic, Artur Rodzinsky, conducting. This was the first American symphonic work to be performed at this prestigious international festival. The symphony had received its world premiere performance in Rome on Dec. 13, 1935, during Barber’s Rome Prize residency.
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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.