Synopsis
August 1613 proved to be an especially eventful month in the life and career of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi. The previous summer his old employer, Duke Vincenzo of Mantua, had died, and Monteverdi was looking for a job. Fortunately, the position of Master of Music for the Republic of Venice opened up, and, on today’s date Monteverdi was probably rehearsing musicians for a trial concert of his music at St. Mark’s Cathedral. The concert was a success. Monteverdi got the job, a generous salary, and even a cash advance to cover the move from his home.
So much for the good news — on his trip back home, Monteverdi was robbed by highwaymen armed with muskets. In a surviving letter, Monteverdi described the incident in some detail, noting that the muskets were very long and of the flint-wheel variety, and that he lost more than a hundred Venetian ducats.
Despite the trauma — and the humiliation of being strip-searched for valuables by one of the robbers — Monteverdi recovered his fortunes in Venice. In addition to his church duties at St. Mark’s, he became famous writing a newfangled sort of commercial entertainment called opera, and lived to the ripe old age of 77.
Music Played in Today's Program
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643): “Che dar piu vi poss’io” from Fifth Book of Madrigals; Consort of Musicke; Anthony Rooley, conductor; L’oiseau Lyre 410 291
On This Day
Births
1750 - Italian opera composer Antonio Salieri, in Legnago (near Verona)
1849 - French composer Benjamin Godard, in Paris
1893 - Canadian composer and conductor Sir Ernest MacMillan, in Mimico, Ontario
Deaths
1942 - Austrian composer Erwin Schulhoff, 48, in a German concentration camp in Wülzburg
Premieres
1820 - Schubert: opera Die Zauberharfe (The Magic Harp) in Vienna
1912 - Schreker: opera Der Ferne Klang (The Distant Sound), in Frankfurt at the Opernhaus
1938 - Britten: Piano Concerto, with the composer as soloist, at a Proms Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood
1956 - Henry Brant: On the Nature of Things, for spatially grouped instruments and strings, in Bennington, Vermont
1966 - Ulysseys Kay: Markings (dedicated to the late Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjöld), at the Meadow Brook Music Festival in Rochester, Michigan
Others
1906 - Gustav Mahler conducts the first of two performances of Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro in Salzburg, Austria, during a Mozart Festival that also included Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte conducted by Richard Strauss
Love the music?
Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.
Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.
YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.
Your Donation
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.