Synopsis
On today’s date in 2009, Hilary Hahn premiered a new violin concerto by American composer Jennifer Higdon, a work tailor-made for the violinist, according to Higdon: “She’s got gorgeous tone in the top register, but also down really low, so I tried to utilize her entire range, her lyrical gift, her ability to play super fast and negotiate through complex meter changes.”
When asked if it wasn’t intimidating writing a violin concerto in the 21st century, considering the incredible legacy of great violin concertos already written, Higdon said a little intimidation is a good thing: “There’s nothing like fear to get the imagination running. Starting a piece is the worst, and that can stretch from one day to three weeks of agony. The cats run and hide.”
Higdon’s Violin Concerto for Hilary Hahn won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and the composer said she found that out in a very 21st century fashion, when she noticed her cell phone was suddenly flooded with dozens and dozens of messages.
“I jumped up and down a little,” she confessed — and that probably scared her cats, too.
The cats’ names, for the record, are Beau and Squeak.
Music Played in Today's Program
Jennifer Higdon (b. 1962): Violin Concerto; Hilary Hahn, violin; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic; Vasily Petrenko, conductor; DG 146980-2
On This Day
Births
1941 - American composer Stephen Albert, in New York
Deaths
1497 - Flemish composer Johannes Ockeghem, 76, in Tours
Premieres
1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 144 (Nimm, was Dein Ist, und Gehe Hin) performed on Septuagesimae Sunday as part of Bach’s first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24)
1727 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 157 (Ich Lasse dich Nicht, du Segnest Mich Denn) for a funeral service in Leipzig
1813 - Rossini: opera Tancredi, in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice
1851 - R. Schumann: Symphony No. 3 (Rhenish), in Düsseldorf, conducted by the composer
1930 - Roussel: Petite Suite for orchestra, in Paris
1933 - Henry Brant: Angels and Devils for solo flute and flute ensemble, at a Pan-American Association of Composers concert at Carnegie Chapter Hall in New York City, with the famous French-born flautist Georges Barrère as the soloist. On the same program, Brant accompanied soprano Judith Litante at the piano in the premiere performances of three songs by Charles Ives: Afterglow, Ann Street, and Like a Sick Eagle.
1941 - Hindemith: Cello Concerto, at the Sanders Theater (Cambridge, Massachusetts) by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with Gregor Piatigorsky the soloist
1944 - Schoenberg: Piano Concerto, by the NBC Symphony conducted by Leopold Stokowski, with Eduard Steuermann as soloist
1959 - Poulenc: opera La Voix Humaine (The Human Voice), in Paris at the Opéra Comique
1976 - John La Montaine: opera Be Glad, Then, America, at University Park, Pennsylvania
1996 - Stephen Paulus: Dramatic Suite, for flute, viola, cello and piano, in St. Cloud, Minnesota, by members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Others
1838 - Mendelssohn finishes his String Quartet No. 3
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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.