Synopsis
Interest in the life of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has been on the rise since her death in 1954, so it’s not surprising that in 1991 she became the subject of the opera Frida, by American composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez, who was born in San Antonio on today’s date in 1946.
Like Kahlo’s paintings, Rodriguez’ opera evokes Mexican folk traditions. As a composer, Rodriguez says he strives “to show how it feels to be alive … I’m also impatient with music that doesn’t laugh — or at least smile — as much as it weeps, sulks, or gnashes its teeth.”
Rodriguez also has a wicked sense of humor, and perhaps even a sweet tooth: one of his works is titled Hot Buttered Rumba and another, a setting of texts from a cookbook, is titled Praline and Fudge.
Another Rodriguez opera, Tango, is based on newspaper clippings circa 1914, documenting both the dance’s wild popularity and serious attempts in Boston and Rome to have it banned. In one scene, Cardinal Basilio Pompili, Vicar of Rome, delivers a thunderous sermon denouncing the tango — but getting caught up in the tango spirit, starts dancing it in spite of himself.
Music Played in Today's Program
Robert Xavier Rodriguez (b. 1946): Frida and Tango Suites; Voices of Change; Robert Xavier Rodriguez, conductor; CRI 824
On This Day
Births
1491 - English monarch, instrument collector and part-time composer Henry Tudor (as King Henry VIII he reigned 1509-1547) in Greenwich
1712 - Swiss author, philosopher and composer Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in Geneva
1831 - Hungarian violinist and conductor and composer Joseph Joachim, in Kittsee (now Köpcsény), near Poszony
1902 - American composer Richard Rodgers, in Hammels Station, Long Island, New York
1913 - English composer George Lloyd, in St. Ives, Cornwall
1946 - American composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez, in San Antonio, Texas
Deaths
1745 - French composer and gamba virtuoso Antoine Forqueray, 74, in Nantes
1979 - German composer Paul Dessau, 85, in Königs Wusterhausen, near (then) East Berlin
Premieres
1905 - Leoni: opera, L'oracolo (The Oracle), in London. The opera's story of opium and crime is set in San Francisco, and caused protests from that city's Chinese community when it was revived in San Francisco in 1937.
1916 - Hindemith: Cello Concerto, by the Frankfurt Conservatory Orchestra, with the composer conducting and Maurits Frank the soloist
1951 - Leroy Anderson: Blue Tango at a Decca recording session in New York City, with the composer conducting. This recording reached No. 1 on the pops charts and earned Anderson a Gold Record award in 1952 when it became the first instrumental record to sell over one million copies (see also June 29).
1959 - Hovhaness: Symphony No. 4 for wind band, in Pittsburgh
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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.