Synopsis
Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Boston (where else?), noting two musical premieres that occurred in that Celtic city.
The first premiere was in March 1922, when Pierre Monteux conducted the Boston Symphony in the premiere of three of the Five Irish Fantasies by German-born American composer Charles Martin Loeffler. These were settings for solo voice and orchestra of poetry by William Butler Yeats, and, for their Boston premiere, the vocalist was none other than great Irish tenor John McCormack.
The second premiere dates from 1947, when the Eire Society of Boston commissioned another American composer, Leroy Anderson, to write an Irish Suite for its annual Irish night at the Boston Pops. Anderson used six popular Irish tunes, ranging from the sentimental to the exuberant, for his suite, skillfully arranging them into an immediate hit and lasting success.
Arthur Fiedler conducted the premiere and the work soon became a staple item for St. Patrick’s Day concerts in Boston and concert halls all across the United States.
Music Played in Today's Program
Charles Martin Loeffler (1861-1935): Five Irish Fantasies; Neil Rosenshein, tenor; Indianapolis Symphony; John Nelson, conductor; New World 332
Leroy Anderson (1908-1975): Irish Suite; Decca studio orchestra; Leroy Anderson, conductor; MCA 9815
On This Day
Births
1839 - German composer Josef Rheinberger, in Vaduz, Liechtenstein
1920 - American composer John LaMontaine, in Chicago
Deaths
1862 - French opera composer Jacques François Halévy, 62, in Nice
Premieres
1733 - Handel: oratorio Deborah in London at the King’s Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: March 28)
1846 - Verdi: opera Atilla, in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice
1867 - Brahms: Waltzes, for piano, in Vienna
1879 - Tchaikovsky: opera Eugene Onegin, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Mar. 29)
1882 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Mar. 29)
1892 - Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 1 (first movement only) (Gregorian date: Mar. 29)
1945 - Miakovsky: Cello Concerto, in Moscow
1951 - Dessau: opera Die Verhör des Lukullus (The Sentencing of Lucullus), in East Berlin at the Deutsche Staatsoper (Berlin State Opera). This opera was revised as Die Verurteilung des Lukullus (The Judgement of Lucullus) at the same theater on October 12, 1851. The libretto is by the German poet and playwright Bertold Brecht.
1954 - Quincy Porter: Concerto Concertante for two pianos and orchestra, in Louisville, Kentucky. This work won that year’s Pulitzer Prize for Music.
1967 - Levy: opera Mourning Becomes Electra (after the play by Eugene O’Neill) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
1972 - Crumb: Vox Balaenae for three masked musicians, in Washington, D.C.
2002 - Paul Schoenfield: Partita for violin and piano, at a Chamber Music Society of Minnesota concert in St. Paul, by violinist Young-Nam Kim, with the composer at the piano
Others
1830 - Frederic Chopin makes his concert debut in Warsaw, performing his own Piano Concerto No. 2.
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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.