Synopsis
Imagine the cocktail party bragging rights you’d have if you had attended the first night of Girl Crazy, a musical that opened in New York on today’s date in 1930. That show marked the Broadway debut of Ethel Merman, and co-starred Ginger Rogers.
But that’s just for starters.
The pit orchestra that night included Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Glenn Miller, Jimmy Dorsey and Jack Teagarden — gentlemen who would all go on to become famous band leaders in their own right.
Speaking of band leaders, for the opening night of Girl Crazy, the show’s composer, George Gershwin himself, was there conducting that all-star ensemble.
For his part, Gershwin recalled, “With the exception of some dead head friends of mine, especially the critics, I think the notices, especially of the music, were the best I have ever received.”
Gershwin was right; Girl Crazy included two songs that quickly became classics: “I Got Rhythm” and “Embraceable You.” The show ran for 272 performances — an impressive statistic in the first year of the Great Depression, and Hollywood produced not one but two cinematic versions of the show in 1932 and 1943.
Music Played in Today's Program
George Gershwin (1898-1937): Girl Crazy; Studio Cast Recording; Sony 60704
On This Day
Births
1871 - Austrian composer and conductor Alexander Zemlinsky, in Vienna
1935 - American composer La Monte (Thorton) Young, in Bern, Idaho
1952 - Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, in Helsinki
Deaths
1990 - American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, 72, in New York City
Premieres
1670 - Lully: comedy-ballet, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (to a text by Molière), at the Château de Chambord
1883 - Dvořák: Violin Concerto, in Prague
1924 - Schoenberg: opera Die Glückliche Hand (The Fateful Hand), in Vienna at the Volksoper
1930 - Gershwin: musical Girl Crazy, at the Alvin Theater in New York City. This show includes the classic Gershwin songs “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm”
1956 - Hovhaness: Symphony No. 3, by the Symphony of the Air, Leopold Stokowski conducting
1960 - Piston: Violin Concerto No. 2, by the Pittsburgh Symphony, William Steinberg conducting, with soloist Joseph Fuchs
1970 - Lutoslawski: Cello Concerto, in London, by the Bournemouth Symphony conducted by Edward Downes, with Mstislav Rostropovich the soloist
1971 - Argento: opera Postcard from Morocco, by the Center Opera at the Cedar Village Theater, in Minneapolis, Minnesota
1995 - George Tsontakis: The Dove Descending (No. 3 of Four Symphonic Quartets after poems by T.S. Eliot), by the Pasadena Symphony, Jorge Mester conducting
1999 - Peter Lieberson: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Red Garuda) by soloist Peter Serkin with the Boston Symphony, Seiji Ozawa conducting
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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.