Paine in Boston

Synopsis

Following the successful premiere of his Symphony No. 1 in 1876, New England composer John Knowles Paine finished a second, which he gave a German subtitle: Im Fruehling or In Springtime. In 19th century America, “serious” music meant German music, and “serious” musicians like Paine all studied in Germany. Returning home, Paine became the first native-born American to win acceptance as a symphonic composer, and, accepting a teaching post at Harvard, became that school’s first professor of music.

On today’s date in 1880, when Paine’s Spring Symphony was premiered at Sanders Theater, the normally staid Bostonians went nuts. One critic who was present, recalled that “ladies waved their handkerchiefs, men shouted in approbation, and the highly respected John S. Dwight, arbiter in Boston of music criticism, stood in his seat frantically opening and shutting his umbrella as an expression of uncontrollable enthusiasm.”

Paine’s music remained tremendously popular in his own day. In 1883 George Henschel, then the conductor of the Boston Symphony, was sent the following poetic suggestion about his programming:

Let no more Wagner themes thy bill enhance
And give the native workers just one chance.
Don’t give that Dvořák symphony a-gain;
If you would give us joy, oh give us Paine!

Music Played in Today's Program

John Knowles Paine (1839-1906): Symphony No. 2; New York Philharmonic; Zubin Mehta, conductor; New World 350

On This Day

Births

• 1839 - American composer and organist Dudley Buck, in Hartford, Connecticut

• 1844 - Spanish composer and violinist Pablo de Sarasate, in Pamplona

• 1892 - French composer Arthur Honegger, in Le Harve

• 1903 - American composer and jazz cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, in Davenport, Iowa

Deaths

• 1832 - Italian-born composer Muzio Clementi, 80, in Evesham, England

• 1870 - Czech-born composer and pianist Ignaz Moscheles, 75, in Leipzig

• 1910 - German composer Carl Reinecke, 85, in Leipzig

• 1991 - American composer Elie Siegmeister, 82, in Manhasset, New York

Premieres

• 1785 - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21, at the Burgtheater in Vienna, with the composer as soloist

• 1837 - Mercadante: opera Il Giuramento (The Oath), in Milan

• 1875 - Goldmark: opera Die Königin von Saba (The Queen of Sheba), in Vienna at the Court Opera (Hofoper)

• 1877 - Borodin: Symphony No. 2, in St. Petersburg, by the Russian Musical Society, Eduard Nápravik conducting (Julian date: Feb. 26)

• 1880 - Paine: Symphony No. 2 (Spring), at Sanders Theater in Boston, by the Boston Philharmonic, Bernard Listermann conducting. The following day, the orchestra of the Harvard Musical Association performed the same work downtown at Boston’s Musical Hall, with Carl Zerrahn conducting.

• 1888 - Franck: symphonic poem Pysché, in Paris

• 1912 - Gliere: Symphony No. 3 (Ilya Murometz) in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 23)

• 1916 - Granados: Intermezzo & Epilogue, from Goyescas, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting

• 1922 - Loeffler: Irish Fantasies (Nos. 2, 3 & 5 only) for voice and orchestra, by the Boston Symphony, with Pierre Monteux conducting and tenor John McCormack the soloist

• 1932 - Wallingford Riegger: Dichotomy for orchestra, in Berlin

• 1952 - David Diamond: Quintet for clarinet and strings, at Town Hall in New York City, by clarinetist David Oppenheim, Nathan Gordon and Lillian Fuchs (violins), and Aaron Twerdowsky and Bernard Greenhouse (cellos)

• 1963 - Henze: opera Il Re Cervo (The Stag King), in Kassel at the Staatstheater. This is the second version of Henze’s opera König Hirsch which was first staged in an abridged version in Berlin on September 24, 1956. The complete original version of the opera was eventually staged in Stuttgart on May 7, 1985.

• 1964 - John Harbison: Sinfonia, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with violinist Rose Mary Harbison and the Bach Society Orchestra of Harvard, Gregory Biss conducting

• 1977 - John Harbison: Diotima for orchestra, in Boston, with the Boston Symphony, Joseph Silverstein conducting

Others

• 1937 - Frank Capra’s film The Lost Horizon opens at the Four Stars Theater in Los Angeles, featuring a classic film score composed by Dmitri Tiomkin (and conducted by Max Steiner).