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Composers Datebook®

with host John Birge

Quintessential Verdi

On today’s date in 1853, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Il Trovatore” (or “The Troubador”) had its premiere performance at the Teatro Apollo in Rome. It proved an immediate hit. True, some did complain at the time about its gloomy, complicated and downright confusing plot. But Verdi’s music setting...Episode details...

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John Birge takes over as host of 'Composers Datebook'

John Birge is the new host of 'Composers Datebook,' the award-winning program about this day in classical music history. A well-known name at Classical Minnesota Public Radio, he will take over from retiring and longtime host John Zech on May 1.

Stravinsky and J.F.K.

On today’s date in 1962, President John F. Kennedy received two memos regarding a dinner party at the White House scheduled the following evening honoring composer Igor Stravinsky and his wife Vera. The Kennedys were famous for inviting the finest artists and performers to the White House for...Episode details...

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Who’s who and what’s what is our specialty at Composers Datebook. Take 2 minutes to make a gift today, to help us continue to share this musical education experience.

Adams shakes things up

On today’s date in 1994, at 4:30 a.m. Pacific Coast time, an earthquake struck Southern California. It was located some 20 miles west-northwest of Los Angeles and centered 1 mile south-southwest of Northridge. It registered 6.7 on the Richter scale and caused 44 billion dollars in damage. The...Episode details...

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The leftist Britten

Coming of age in the first half of the 20th century were two exceptionally talented children of the wealthy Austrian steel magnate Karl Wittgenstein: Ludwig Wittgenstein became a famous philosopher and Paul Wittgenstein a concert pianist. Paul served in the Austrian army in World War I, and, for...Episode details...

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Rouse on Wagner

“Das Rheingold” is the opening work in a 4-opera cycle, Wagner titled “The Ring of the Nibelungen.” No pun intended, but one of the most striking moments in that opera occurs when the Norse gods Wotan and Loge descend to Nibelheim, where the poor race of Nibelung dwarfs are toiling away under...Episode details...

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Ravel reviewed

On today’s date in 1932, an all-Ravel concert was given in Paris by the Lamoureux Orchestra at the Salle Erard. Ravel himself was on hand, conducting some of his own works, including the premiere of his new Piano Concerto in G Major with pianist Marguerite Long the soloist. The critics were...Episode details...

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Before you go...

Who’s who and what’s what is our specialty at Composers Datebook. Take 2 minutes to make a gift today, to help us continue to share this musical education experience.

Stravinsky at the circus

Late in 1941, the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky was living in Hollywood – at 1260 North Wetherly Drive, to be precise. Notoriously unflappable, and eminently practical when it came to commissions, Stravinsky apparently did not even bat an eye when he received a phone call from the...Episode details...

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Athena on the air

Like everyone else, young composers indulge in daydreams from time to time. One can easily imagine a 15-year-old composer wanna-be staring out the window and fantasizing that one day her music will be performed by big-name virtuosos and heard coast-to-coast on a national broadcast. That is...Episode details...

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