Synopsis
On today’s date in 1843, Richard Wagner’s opera The Flying Dutchman had its premiere performance in Dresden. The opera’s sea-swept overture was supposedly inspired by a stormy voyage Wagner and his wife Minna took from Riga to Paris, their journey interrupted by an emergency stop in a Norwegian fjord due to rough weather, as well as a longer layover in London.
As usual, Wagner was fleeing creditors, and made the cramped voyage — as usual — in extravagant style, namely in the company of a huge Newfoundland dog he named Robber. Imagine, if you will, being cheek-by-jowl with a wet, seasick Newfie. That North Sea crossing must have seemed as interminable as the Flying Dutchman’s eternal wanderings!
Negotiating London also proved a challenge, as Wagner recounted in his memoirs:
“The dog whisked round every corner and dragged us every which way. So the three of us sought refuge in a cab, which took us to the Horseshoe Tavern, a sailor’s pub recommended to us by our captain ... the narrow London cabs were meant to carry two people facing each other, so we had to lay Robber across our laps, his head through one window and his tail through the other...”
Music Played in Today's Program
Richard Wagner (1813-1883): The Flying Dutchman Overture; Berlin State Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor; Teldec 88063
On This Day
Births
1732 - Baptism of Bohemian composer Frantisek Xaver Brixi, in Prague
1837 - Russian composer Mily Balakirev, in Nizhny-Novgorod (Julian date: Dec. 21, 1836)
1913 - American composer Gardner Read, in Evanston, Illinois
1905 - British composer Michael Tippett, in London
Deaths
1780 - German composer Johann Ludwig Krebs, 65, in Altenburg
1915 - Austro-Hungarian composer Karl Goldmark, 84, in Vienna
Premieres
1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 153 (Schau, Lieber Gott, wie meine Feind) performed on the Sunday after New Year’s Day as part of Bach’s first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24)
1735 - Bach: Part 5 (Ehre sei dir, Gott, Gesungen) of the six-part Christmas Oratorio, in Leipzig
1843 - Wagner: opera, Der Fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), in Dresden at the Hoftheater, conducted by the composer
1936 - Morton Gould: Chorale and Fugue in Jazz, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting
2000 - Christopher Rouse: Concert de Guadi for guitar and orchestra, in Hamburg(Germany), by guitarist Sharon Isbin and the NDR (North German Radio) Symphony, Christoph Eschenbach conducting. On the same program was the premiere of Bright Sheng’s Nanking! Nanking! for orchestra.
Others
1955 - Canadian pianist Glenn Gould plays his first U.S. recital in Washington, D.C.
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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.