Composers Datebook

SynopsisCarlos Salzedo, the most influential harpist of the 20th century, was born in Arcachon, France, on today's date in 1885. Salzedo transformed the harp into a virtuoso instrument, developing new techniques showcased in his own compositions and that others like Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Britten adopted in theirs.In 1921, Salzedo and Edgard Varese co-founded the International Composers Guild, promoting works by progressive composers like Bartok and Honegger. Salzedo's compositions for harp include both transcriptions as well as original works like Scintillation, probably his most famous piece, and Four Preludes to the Afternoon of a Telephone, based on the phone numbers of four of his students. He taught at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School, and offered summer courses in Camden, Maine. Hundreds of Salzedo pupils filled harp positions with major orchestras around the world. Salzedo himself entered the Paris Conservatory at 9 and won the premiere prize in harp and piano when he was 16. He came to America in 1909 at the invitation of Arturo Toscanini, who wanted him as harpist at the Metropolitan Opera, and — curious to note — Salzedo died in the summer of 1961, at 76, while adjudicating Metropolitan Opera regional auditions in Maine.Music Played in Today's ProgramCarlos Salzedo (1885-1961): Scintillation; Carlos Sazledo, harp; Mercury LP MG-80003

SynopsisAs today is International Women's Day, we thought we'd tell you about a wonderful French composer you may or may not have heard of before.Mélanie Hélène Bonis, or Mel Bonis as she preferred to be called, was a prolific composer of piano and organ works, chamber music, art songs, choral music, and several orchestral pieces. She studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where her teachers included César Franck. She was born in 1858 and died in 1937, so her lifetime spanned the age of Hector Berlioz to Alban Berg.In the 1890s, Bonis reconnected with her first love, a man she had met while still a student, who had encouraged her musical talent. So she left her husband, who did not encourage her, to devote herself full-time to her music. Initially performed and admired in Paris, after World War I her music was neglected, and she became bedridden from arthritis. Despite everything, she continued to compose up to the time of her death at 79.Among her works are seven piano portraits of women, collectively titled Femmes de Légende, or Legendary Women — some of which, like Salomé, she arranged for full orchestra.Music Played in Today's ProgramMel Bonis (1858-1937): Salomé; Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse; Leo Hussain, conductor; Bru Zane BZ-2006

SynopsisOn today's date in 1953, Pageant, a new work for symphonic winds premiered with the University of Miami Band. It was written by American composer Vincent Persichetti, who conducted the performance, as he did the work's New York City debut later that same year with the Goldman Band, then America's premiere professional wind ensemble, who had commissioned the work. It might seem odd that an amateur, student ensemble should premiere a work commissioned for professionals, but in the 1950s, when the U.S. college system was rapidly expanding, the savvy Mr. Persichetti was ready and willing to supply both students and professionals with more than a dozen new wind band scores to perform.He put it this way: “I find wonderful performances in the universities around the country. They may be students, but … they'll find something there that you maybe didn't quite even dream of, and make something of it, whereas sometimes the professional orchestras don't always get it as quickly. [The student musicians] have to work harder, but they do this all through high school and college, and by the time they get to the end of college they know what music is about and can phrase and shape it with some conviction.”Music Played in Today's ProgramVincent Persichetti (1915-1987): Pageant; Winds of the London Symphony Orchestra; David Amos, conductor; Naxos 8.570123

SynopsisToday's date in 1886 marks the premiere in Paris of The Carnival of the Animals, the most popular work of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, who steadfastly refused to allow it to be published until after his death, fearing its frivolity might damage his reputation as a “serious” composer.Saint-Saëns had a point. The work was first heard at a pre-Lenten house concert, and a few days later at Émile Lemoine's exclusive members-only chamber music series, where it became an annual Shrove Tuesday Carnival tradition. Once the famous pianist Harold Bauer was one of the Shrove Tuesday performers, as he recalled in his autobiography: “Everyone who participated had to wear makeup representing the animal whose music he was supposed to be playing. The flutist had a carboard head showing him as a nightingale. The cellist was a very flabby swan; the distinguished players of the string quartet were shown as donkeys of various breeds. Saint-Saëns and I were the two pianists — he made up to look like our host Lemoine, and I, furnished with a wig and beard, disguised as Saint-Saëns. [We two] pianists were provided with immense carboard hands and feet that were clipped off at the moment of performance, which was extremely hilarious.”Music Played in Today's ProgramCamille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921): Carnival of the Animals; David Owen Norris, piano; I Musici Montreal; Yuli Turovsky, conductor; Chandos 9246

SynopsisOn today's date in 1908, the Hoffman String Quartet gave a recital at Boston's Potter Hall, opening their program with a Romantic classic, Robert Schumann's String Quartet from 1842, followed by much more modern fare — Debussy's String Quartet written in 1893.And to close their program, the Hoffman Quartet premiered a brand-new contemporary work: a piano quintet by American composer Amy Beach, with the composer at the piano.The Boston Globe's critic noted “the audience was of goodly proportions and very demonstrative in its appreciation of Mrs. Beach's composition,” but (critics being critics), did a little nit-picking, concluding, “The work is thoroughly good, though a little too choppy at times.” The critic from The Boston Evening Transcript had fewer nits to pick, writing: “The quintet begins in the luminous key of F-sharp minor, and throughout Mrs. Beach modulates freely … [she] has sought a modern sonority of utterance … Her rhythms spurred the ear, and her harmonies [have] tang and fancy … In imagination, feeling, and expression, it is distinctly rhapsodic. Mrs. Beach can think musically in truly songful melodies, and such are the themes of her new quintet.”Music Played in Today's ProgramAmy Beach (1867-1944): Piano Quintet; Garrick Ohlsson, piano; Takács Quartet; Hyperion CDA-68295

Synopsis On the popular NPR quiz show Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, there is a segment called “Bluff the Listener” where three outlandish news stories are read to a contestant, who then has to guess which one is true. So, for the voice of Bill Kurtis on your home answering machine, which of these really happened in London on today's date in 1732:a) George Frideric Handel got into a sword fight with his Southbank wigmaker, screaming at the poor man, “Donnervetter! In dis vig I luk like ein Pomeranian hund!”b) Handel's especially smooth trip across the Thames to buy said wig provided the inspiration for his famous Water Music, orc) as part of his 47th birthday celebration, choir boys from the Chapel Royal sang and acted in a staged performance of Handel's sacred oratorio Esther in the Crown and Anchor Tavern on the Strand.If you guessed “C” you would be correct. Extra points if you knew that this would be the only staged performance of any of Handel sacred oratorios before the twentieth century, and that in Handel's day there was a ban on presenting staged biblical dramas in public theaters — but not, apparently, in pubs.Music Played in Today's ProgramGeorge Friedrich Handel (1835-1921): Overture from Esther (1732 version); London Handel Orchestra; Laurence Cummings, conductor; SOMM CD-2389

SynopsisToday, some unfamiliar Christmas carols — or perhaps very familiar ones, if you're Polish.In 1946, the Director of Polish Music Publishing asked composer Witold Lutosławski to make some new arrangements of old Polish carols. During World War II, Poland had been under the control of Nazi Germany, and after the war dominated by the Soviet Union. In addition to material hardships, in the cultural sphere 1946 was a difficult time for Polish artists. Overnight Communist ideology was imposed on all endeavors, including music. The Polish Music Publishing director probably thought collecting and publishing Christmas carol arrangements was a relatively safe activity. And so, Lutosławski collected and arranged 20 old Polish Christmas carols for voice and piano, and these were premiered in Kraków soon after. In the political and cultural turmoil of the decades that followed, these arrangements were pretty much forgotten until almost 40 years later, when Lutosławski re-arranged them for solo soprano, chorus, and orchestra.  And, even if you don't speak Polish, if you sing in a choir looking for some new Christmas music, you should know these Lutosławski carol arrangements are available in English-language versions, too.Music Played in Today's ProgramWitold Lutosławski (1913-1994): The Angels Came to the Shepherds and Hey, We Look Forward Now (excerpts), from 20 Polish Christmas Carols; Polish Radio Chorus, Kraców; Polish National Radio Chorus and Symphony; Antoni Wit, conductor; Naxos 8.555994

SynopsisToday's date in 1906 marks the birthday of Alexander Naumovich Tsfasman, a Ukrainian composer from pre-revolutionary Tsarist Russia who would become an important figure in Soviet jazz. Jazz first came to the Soviet Union in 1922, four years after Lenin's Bolshevik Revolution, and at first was welcomed as the music of the oppressed African-American minority, and therefore considered an expression of the worldwide class struggle. Tsfasman encountered jazz while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory and formed his own jazz band in 1926, the first to be heard on Soviet radio. In the decades that followed, Tsfasman made over 140 records, composed music for films, and gave concerts during WWII for Red Army soldiers.But after 1945, jazz fell out of favor in the USSR. During the Cold War, it came to be seen as a prime export of the decadent bourgeois West and performances were limited. “Today he plays jazz, tomorrow he'll betray his country” was a widespread propaganda slogan in the Stalinist post-war USSR. Only in the 1960s did attitudes change, and we're happy to report Alexander Tsfasman lived to see it before his death in 1971.This music is from his Jazz Suite for piano and orchestra.Music Played in Today's ProgramAlexander Tsfasman (1906-1971): Snowflakes and Polka (excerpts), from Jazz Suite;Zlata Chochieva, piano; BBC Scottish Symphony; Karl-Heinz Steffens, conductor; Naïve V-8448

SynopsisOn today's date in 1943, Cuban Independence Day was celebrated with a big concert at Carnegie Hall. The first half of the concert, which was relayed to Cuba and South American by NBC radio, was devoted solely to works by Ernesto Lecuona, the best-known and most successful Cuban composer of the day.Lecuona was born in Havana in 1895, when Cuba was still part of the Kingdom of Spain. He died in 1963, as an expat of choice after Fidel Castro came to power. In the 1920s, after successful piano recitals in Paris, Lecuona's popularity brought him to concert halls in not only Europe, but North and South America as well. His over 600 compositions include songs, zarzuelas for the stage, contributions to musical films, and pieces for solo piano and symphony orchestra.His most famous concert work, Rapsodia Negra, or Black Rhapsody, for piano and orchestra, received its premiere at the 1943 Carnegie Hall concert. As the New York Times review noted, “[Lecuona] may be termed the Gershwin of Cuba, … like Gershwin [he] is an outstanding performer of his own music at the piano and has composed music of the more serious type, based on the popular idiom.”Music Played in Today's ProgramErnesto Lecuona (1895-1963): Rapsodia Negra; Thomas Tirino, piano; Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Michael Bartos, conductor; BIS CD-754

SynopsisToday's date in 1922 marks the birthday of Héctor Campos Parsi, one of Puerto Rico's finest composers.Campos Parsi originally planned to become a doctor, but after a meeting with the Mexican composer Carlos Chávez, ended up studying music at the New England Conservatory in 1949 and 1950 with the likes of Aaron Copland, Olivier Messiaen and Serge Koussevitzky, and between 1950 and 1954 with Paul Hindemith at Yale and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris.Returning to Puerto Rico, Campos Parsi pursued a dual career: as a writer, he contributed short stories, essays, poems to Puerto Rican magazines, and wrote music reviews and articles for island newspapers. As a composer, he wrote instrumental and vocal works for chamber, orchestral, and choral ensemble. Two of his best-known works are Divertimento del Sur, written for string orchestra with solo flute and clarinet, and a piano sonata dedicated to Puerto Rican pianist Jesús María Sanromá. As a musicologist, Campos Parsi wrote entries for music encyclopedias and served as the director of the IberoAmerican Center of Musical Documentation and as composer-in-residence at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, where died in 1998 at 75.Music Played in Today's ProgramHéctor Campos Parsi (1922-1998): Divertimento del Sur; Members of the Casals Festival Orchestra; Milton Katims, conductor; Smithsonian Folkways COOK-01061

SynopsisOn today's date in 2000, King's Chapel in Boston presented a festival of music by the early American composer William Billings, honoring the 200th anniversary of his death in 1800.  As the Chapel's records of 1786 stated, Billings taught singing “to such persons of both sexes as incline to sing psalm-tunes.” They must have liked him, because in 1790, when Billings was in financial trouble, the Chapel held a benefit concert for him.When Billings was born in 1746, America was still a British colony. The last record we have of him as a composer dates from 1799, when he wrote music for a memorial concert for George Washington, the first president of the United States, who had died in December of that year.Today, Billings is regarded as America's first truly original composer. His contemporaries agreed. The Reverend William Bentley of Salem was moved to write in his diary: “Many who have imitated him have excelled him, but none had better original powers … he was a singular man, short of one leg, with one eye, and with an uncommon negligence of person. Still, he spake and sung and thought as a man above common abilities.”Music Played in Today's ProgramWilliam Billings (1746-1800): Emmaus and Shiloh; His Majestie's Clerkes; Paul Hillier, conductor; Harmonia Mundi 90.7048

SynopsisToday's date in 1914 marks the birthday of Polish-born composer and conductor Andrzej Panufnik, whose life was dramatic — and romantic — enough for a Netflix mini-series. It involved resisting the Nazis in war-torn Warsaw, struggles with the Communist Party in the post-war years, a daring Swiss escape to Great Britain worthy of a John Le Carré novel, love affairs and marriages with beautiful women, the tragic death of one of his children, and long years trying to balance the demands of his conducting and composing careers. And, despite the admiration of some of the biggest names in classical music, for years his music met with indifference from the general public. But at this point in the mini-series, cue the triumphant grand finale soundtrack theme. In the closing decades of his life, Panufnik won increasing recognition as one of the 20th century's finest composers and was showered with high-profile commissions by major orchestras around the world. Panufnik refused to return to Poland until democracy was restored in 1990. Shortly before his death in 1991, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and posthumously awarded the Polonia Restituta Medal by his native land.Music Played in Today's ProgramAndrzej Panufnik (1914-1991): Old Polish Suite; Polish Chamber Orchestra; Mariusz Smolij, conductor; Naxos 8.570032

SynopsisThe Radetzky March is undoubtedly Johann Strauss, Sr.'s most famous work. Its performance has become obligatory at the New Year's concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic — it's that piece that involves audience participation in the form of a “clap along.” The premiere of this familiar music took place on today's date in 1848 with a distinct political subtext — back then, not everyone back then was clapping along.Field Marshall Radetzky was the commander of the Austrian forces that rather brutally put down “insurgent democrats” in Italy during the liberal revolutions of 1848, and, as such, became a counter-revolutionary hero in Europe. The premiere of Radetzky March occurred at a concert attended chiefly by monarchists and the Austrian military, and the tune quickly became the unofficial anthem of the Austrian military and ultra-conservatives — the “far right” of that time.Curiously enough, Johann Strauss, Jr. held diametrically opposite, and considerably liberal, political sympathies from his father. By the end of the 19th century, however, the bloody political troubles of 1848 were diplomatically swept under the collective Austrian carpet, and Johann Strauss, Jr.'s Blue Danube Waltz became the unofficial anthem for all Austrians, right, left and center. Music Played in Today's ProgramJohann Strauss, Sr. (1804-1849): Radetzky March; Vienna Philharmonic; Willi Boskovsky, conductor; London/Decca 460250

SynopsisIn the 1930s, American composer Ferde Grofé was on a roll. During the previous decade, as staff arranger for the Paul Whiteman orchestra, Grofé had orchestrated all the music that popular ensemble had premiered, including George Gershwin's 1924 jazz classic Rhapsody in Blue. But by the late 1920s, Grofé was composing his own original scores, and in 1931 finished his Grand Canyon Suite.Around that time, Grofé left the Whiteman band, and signed on as staff conductor of the NBC Radio Network, and soon became a familiar figure on the American music scene from coast to coast.On today's date in 1935, a new ballet score by Grofé premiered at the Hollywood Bowl. It took as its story line a familiar Hollywood theme: the exploited “double” who stands in for a starlet during the making of a film. The ballet music was later recast as Hollywood Suite, a concert work. In the 1960s, looking back on his long career in music, Grofé said, “Many of my compositions, I believe, were born of sight, sound, and sensations common to all of us. I think I have spoken of America in this music simply because America spoke to me.” Music Played in Today's ProgramFerde Grofé (1892-1972): Hollywood Suite; Bournemouth Symphony; William Stromberg, conductor; Naxos 8.559017

SynopsisSummer music camps offer young talent a chance to rub shoulders with seasoned professional musicians and to perform both old and new musical works. On today's date in 1977, American composer, conductor and educator Howard Hanson led the premiere of his Symphony No. 7 at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. Hanson subtitled his Seventh A Sea Symphony, and it includes a choral setting of passages from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. For 40 years, Hanson headed the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. And years later, Eastman professor Augusta Read Thomas follows in Hanson's footsteps as composer-in-residence at various summer music camps. On today's date in 2001, at the annual Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, her piece Murmurs in the Mist of Memory received its world premiere.Speaking of music in general, Thomas says, “Music of all kinds constantly amazes, surprises, propels and seduces me into a wonderful and powerful journey. I am happiest when listening to music and in the process of composing music. I care deeply that music is not anonymous and generic or easily assimilated and just as easily dismissed.”Music Played in Today's ProgramHoward Hanson (1896-1981): Symphony No. 7 (A Sea Symphony); Seattle Symphony and Chorale; Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Delos 3130Augusta Read Thomas (b. 1964): Wind Dances; Louisville Orchestra; Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor; Albany/Louisville First Edition 010

SynopsisIn the summer of 1764, eight-year-old child prodigy Wolfgang Mozart was in England, accompanied by his 13-year-old sister, Nanerl, and their father, Leopold. The Mozarts had arrived in London wearing what back home in Salzburg would have passed as fashionable French-style clothing back home in Salzburg. But since England had just ended the Seven Years War with France, this faux pas resulted in the Mozarts receiving some rude comments and even ruder gestures from London street urchins, so Papa Leopold quickly acquired more “politically correct” attire for himself and the children.On August 5, 1764, the family settled in at a quiet house in Chelsea, as Papa Leopold had taken ill. While his father recovered, Wolfgang was temporarily forbidden to practice piano or make any noise, so he decided to try his hand at writing his first symphony. Perhaps as compensation for having to keep so quiet, Mozart suddenly was keen on writing for as many instruments as possible. As Nanerl later recalled, “While he composed and I copied, he said to me, ‘Remind me to give the horn something worthwhile to do!'”And so, Mozart's first symphony is scored for two oboes, two horns and strings.Music Played in Today's ProgramWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Symphony No. 1; Prague Chamber Orchestra; Charles Mackerras, conductor; Telarc 80256The “bad news” relates to Bach's previous employer, namely the Duke of Weimar, who was not exactly pleased that Bach had accepted the new job. Court intrigue complicated the matter, and the Prince's “poaching” of Bach might have been perceived as just another indirect slap at the Duke maneuvered by a long-standing feud between the two noblemen. The upshot was that Bach was put on the Prince's payroll effective in August of 1717, but the Duke didn't accept Bach's resignation until five months later, and then only after throwing Bach in jail for almost a month to teach him a lesson, as the court secretary put it, “for too stubbornly forcing the issue of his dismissal.”In an age when Dukes and Princes could do as they pleased, it seems giving two weeks notice was a tad more complicated than it is today!Music Played in Today's ProgramJ. S. Bach (1685 - 1750) — Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 (Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; David Shifrin, cond.) Delos 3185

SynopsisIt's likely you'll hear a good deal of American music today — and rightly so — but we're taking a minute or two to acknowledge a special British composer's anniversary, as today's date marks the anniversary of the passing of William Byrd, one of England's greatest composers, who produced both sacred and secular works that are still regularly performed today on both sides of the Atlantic. William Byrd was born in London around 1542 — we don't know exactly when — and died on July 4, 1623, at the age of some 80 years — a remarkably long lifespan for that time. He was also a remarkably prolific composer, a master of intricate choral counterpoint and virtuosic keyboard pieces. He was the first Englishman to write madrigals in the Italian fashion, but his chief significance lies in his many sacred works. Byrd lived during the tumultuous period of the English Reformation, and produced works for both the Roman Catholic Church and England's new Anglican service. Queen Elizabeth I was a great admirer of his music, so much so that she overlooked the fact that Byrd remained an unashamed Roman Catholic in Protestant England, and even granted him a royal patent related to publishing music.Music Played in Today's ProgramWilliam Byrd (c. 1540-1623): Sanctus, from Mass for Five Voices; The Cardinall's Musick; Andrew Carwood; Gaudeamus CD 206

SynopsisIn 1895, H.G. Wells published The Time Machine, a sci-fi classic that fired the imagination of Victorian readers. How fantastic it would be to be able to experience past, present, and future at will!Well, on today's date in 2019, Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir invited the audience at that year's Point Music Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, to experience past, present and future all at once via the premiere of an orchestral work she titled Aiōn, after the ancient Greek god of time.The title is a metaphor, as Thorvaldsdottir put it, “connected to a number of broader ideas: How we relate to our lives, to the ecosystem, and to our place in the broader scheme of things, and how at any given moment we are connected both to the past and to the future, not just of our own lives but across — and beyond — generations.”At the 2019 premiere, dancers from the Iceland Dance Company moved in and around the players of the Gothenburg Symphony, creating striking visuals to accompany music one reviewer described as “weirdly unearthly, or awesome with oceanic majesty,” and another suggested that “[Aiōn] has the same archaic brutality as Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.”Music Played in Today's ProgramAnna Thorvaldsdottir (b. 1977): Aiōn; Iceland Symphony Orchestra; Eva Ollikainen, conductor; innova 810 (original release) and Sono Luminus 92268

SynopsisMarcel Proust, James Joyce and Pablo Picasso walk into a bar. No, it's not the start of some high-brow joke; that really happened in Paris on today's date in 1922.Well, not exactly: it was a hotel, not a bar, but certainly drinks were served when Sydney and Violet Schiff, two wealthy British patrons of the arts staying at the Hotel Majestic arranged what was called “soirée of the century.” The premiere of Igor Stravinsky's opera-ballet Renard had just taken place across town, and the Schiffs decided to throw a late-night party in Stravinsky's honor, and, to make things more interesting, invited Picasso, Joyce and Proust.While other guests were in full evening dress, Picasso arrived with a traditional Catalan sash wrapped around his forehead. Joyce arrived late, underdressed, and already tipsy. Proust arrived even later — at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m., wearing a big fur coat and with a face “pale as the afternoon moon,” as Stravinsky later recalled.So what did they all have to say to each other? Not much, according to all accounts. After all, it was a party, not a university seminar — or a bar joke, so there was punch, but no punch line.Music Played in Today's ProgramIgor Stravinsky (1882-1971): Renard; Orchestre Du Domaine Musical; Pierre Boulez, conductor; Decca 481151

SynopsisToday's date in 1879 marks the birthdate of composer and pianist Régine Wieniawski, born in Brussels, the daughter of the Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Although a Franco-Belgian composer in style, she published her music under the Slavic-sounding pen name Poldowski. She was admired by many of the most famous musicians of her day. Henry Wood programmed her works on Proms concerts, and in 1912, she gave a concert at London's Aeolian Hall, that, quite unusual for the time, consisted solely of her own works with the her at the piano. That concert introduced 24 of her songs, many to texts of French poet Paul Verlaine. The review in the Daily Telegraph noted, “nearly every song was a distinguished example of the art of word setting; and the sense of harmonic color is decidedly strong.” The performance of her Violin Sonata, also on the program, was not as well received; the London Times sniffed, “the method which was successful in the songs was less effective in the Violin Sonata.”Oh well, Poldowski's Verlaine settings are still very much admired and performed, and her instrumental music, neglected for decades, is also getting renewed attention.Music Played in Today's ProgramRégine Wieniawski (aka Poldowski) (1879-1932): Scherzo from Violin Sonata; Clare Howick, violin; Miroslaw Feldgebel, piano; Dux 1840

SynopsisIn the biographical film Maestro, Leonard Bernstein's dramatic 1943 Carnegie Hall debut conducting the New York Philharmonic, filling in at the last moment for Bruno Walter, receives a masterful cinematic treatment.But the first time Bernstein wielded a baton in public took place on today's date in 1939, when Lenny was still a student at Harvard and conducted his own incidental music for a student performance of the ancient Greek comedy, The Birds, by Aristophanes.The play was performed in the original Greek, and since almost no one in the audience would understand what was being said, the production relied on visual, slapstick comedy and Bernstein's electric music to bring the ancient text to life. Bernstein's score referenced everything from sitar music to the blues to get the humor across. The student production was a surprise smash hit. Aaron Copland and Walter Piston were in the audience, and photos even appeared in Life magazine.Bernstein recycled one of his bluesy songs from The Birds into his 1944 musical On the Town, but the rest of the 1939 score was never published, and only revived in 1999 for a performance by the EOS Orchestra in New York, and to date has never been recorded.Music Played in Today's ProgramLeonard Bernstein (1918-1990): On the Town: Three Dance Episodes; New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, conductor; Sony 42263

SynopsisWe're cranking up the Datebook time machine today to take you back to a charity concert that took place in Hamburg on today's date in 1786. The concert was organized and conducted by 72-year-old composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who had been producing new sacred music in Hamburg for many years.But instead of new works, for the charity concert C.P.E. Bach programmed some music that in 1786 was almost 40 years old: he opened with the Credo from his father J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor, followed by two excerpts from Handel's Messiah, namely the Hallelujah Chorus and I Know that My Redeemer Liveth, both sung in German, and then his own setting of the Latin Magnificat, a work he had composed back in 1749 when his father was still alive.C.P.E. Bach's Magnificat is not heard as often as J.S. Bach's more famous setting, which is a shame, since, like his father's Magnificat, C.P.E.'s is a festive, exciting piece of sacred music with trumpets and drums and tuneful vocal solos, along with great choral writing — and we suspect papa J.S. Bach would have nodded with approval that his son's version concluded with a well-constructed choral fugue.Music Played in Today's ProgramC.P.E. Bach (1714-1788): Sicut Erat In Principio, from Magnificat; RIAS Kammerchor & Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Hans-Christoph Rademann; Harmonia Mundi 902167

SynopsisOn today's date in 1828, Franz Schubert gave his first — and only — public concert in Vienna, which opened with the first movement of a recently composed string quartet. We don't know for sure which one, since Schubert was writing a lot of new music then, but most likely it was from his String Quartet in G, which we know as No. 15.Schubert's friends had tried to promote his music by holding “Schubertiades,” informal house concerts at which his music would be performed and wine and free food offered, but that didn't help Schubert earn any money. And being a prolific composer — as Schubert certainly was — created its own problems. What publishers Schubert had couldn't keep up with him.And then, as now, star performers — not composers — seemed to get all the money and attention. In Schubert's day, it was Italian violin virtuoso Nicolo Paganini who got all the press and big fees. Schubert's single concert earned him 800 florins, for example, while Paganini, who arrived in Vienna the same month as Schubert's concert, made over 6,000 florins per concert, and by the time he left Vienna later in 1828 had netted 75,000 florins.Music Played in Today's ProgramFranz Schubert (1795-1828): String Quartet in G; Emerson String Quartet; DG 459151

SynopsisOn today's date in 2012, the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet — an ensemble committed to commissioning original works as well as performing new arrangements for four guitars — gave the premiere performance of a suite that took them far afield: to Guangxi province in China, to be exact. The new work, Guangxi Impression, took place at Sundin Hall in St. Paul, but the sounds the four guitarists produced evoked not only a far-off Chinese landscape, but Chinese instruments, as well.  That should not have been all that surprising, since the composer of the specially commissioned piece, Gao Hong, is a virtuoso performer on one of them: the pipa, the traditional pear-shaped, plucked lute of China. Hong has made the United States her home since 1994, and her Guangxi Impressions for a quartet of traditional Western guitars is a suite in three movements, played without pause. The third and final movement is titled ‘Celebrating the Harvest.'“A bountiful harvest is cause for celebration in Guangxi,” Hong writes, “and I depict this with sounds of percussion bands and people yelling with excitement as they dance. Near the end of the movement I [ask the performers to shout Chinese] words expressing happiness.”Music Played in Today's ProgramGao Hong (b. 1964): 'Celebrating the Harvest,' from 'Guangxi Impression'; Minneapolis Guitar Quartet; innova 858

SynopsisOne of Handel's “greatest hits” had its premiere on today's date in 1749 at London's Covent Garden Theatre, as part of his new biblical oratorio, Solomon.The text of Handel's oratorio praises the legendary Hebrew king's piety in Part 1, his wisdom in Part 2 and the splendor of his royal court in Part 3.As the instrumental introduction to the third part of Solomon, Handel composed a jaunty sinfonia he titled “The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.” In the Book of Kings, the Queen of Sheba travels from afar to visit the splendid court of King Solomon, arriving, as the Bible puts it, “with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, very much gold, and precious stones.”Handel's music admirably captures the excitement of a lavish state visit of an exotic foreign queen, and first-night London audiences would have had no problem reading into Handel's depiction of an elaborate compliment of their reigning monarch, King George II.Speaking of reigning monarchs, at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, Handel's Sinfonia was used to accompany a video of James Bond (played by Daniel Craig) arriving at Buckingham Palace, where 007 was received by Queen Elizabeth II.Music Played in Today's ProgramGeorge Frederic Handel (1685-1757): excerpt from ‘Solomon'; English Baroque Soloists; John Eliot Gardiner, cond. Philips 412 612

SynopsisIn St. Petersburg on today's date in 1897, the First Symphony of Sergei Rachmaninoff had its disastrous premiere.Now, there are bad reviews and then there are really bad reviews. When Rachmaninoff opened up a newspaper the next day he read, “If there were conservatory in hell, and if one of its students were instructed to write a symphony based on the seven plagues of Egypt, and if he were to compose a symphony like Rachmaninoff's, he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and delighted the inmates of hell.”Ouch!What must have really hurt was that the review was written by a fellow composer, Cesare Cui, and the premiere was conducted — poorly, it seems — by another composer colleague, Alexander Glazunov.The whole affair was so painful that Rachmaninoff needed therapy before he could compose again, and when he left Russia for good in 1917, he left the symphony's manuscript behind, and in the turmoil of the Bolshevik revolution it was lost. However, the original orchestral parts for the 1897 premiere survived. They were rediscovered in 1945, two years after Rachmaninoff's death, and a belated — and this time successful — second performance took place that same year.Music Played in Today's ProgramSergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943): Symphony No. 1; St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Mariss Jansons, cond. EMI 56754

SynopsisThe Palladium Ballroom once stood at the corner of 53rd Street and Broadway in New York City. It opened on today's date in 1946, and in its heyday, was the mambo capital of the world, showcasing performances by Latin superstars like Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez and Machito.The Palladium closed in 1966, but its dance floor and bandstand were re-created for the 1992 film The Mambo Kings, in which Puente plays himself.The spirit of the Palladium was also evoked in a more recent chamber work by Puerto Rican composer Dan Román. Fascinated by both the music of contemporary minimalist composers and the popular dance forms of Puerto Rico, he combines the two in his four-movement work Musica de Palladium for violin, viola, cello and piano.The work's final movement, “Sensacional,” is, according to Román, “a collage of aural images taken from mambos and other dance music of Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez.”Musica de Palladium was written for the New World Trio and recorded by them, joined by violist Steve Larson.Music Played in Today's ProgramDan Román (b. 1974): ‘Musica de Palladium'; New World Trio (Annie Trepanier, vn; Carlynn Savot, vcl; Pi-Hsun Shih, p); Steve Larson, vla. innova CD 904

SynopsisJohann Strauss the Elder, patriarch of the famous waltz dynasty, was born in Vienna on this day in 1804. His music became immensely popular across Europe, and he dreamed of — but never realized — a tour of America.At the height of his fame, Strauss visited Britain, providing music for the state ball on the occasion of Queen Victoria's accession to the throne. His waltz Homage to the Queen of England, quotes Rule, Britannia at its start and God Save the Queen — in waltz tempo, of course — for its finale. The Times reported that in this case, Victoria was amused, as were her subjects. In the spring and summer of 1838, the Strauss orchestra gave 79 performances in London alone.Unfortunately, back home, Strauss was something of a cad. He abandoned his wife and his three talented musical children, Josef, Eduard and Johann Jr. for a mistress with whom he started a new family. He died at 45 of scarlet fever, contracted from one of his illegitimate children.Strauss wrote about 300 works, the most famous being his Radetzky March, the obligatory clap-along selection on every Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Day Concert.Music Played in Today's ProgramJohann Strauss Jr. (1827-1870): ‘Radetzky March'; Cincinnati Pops Orchestra; Erich Kunzel, cond. Vox 5132

SynopsisToday's date in 1962 marks the birthday in New Orleans of Terence Blanchard, American jazz trumpeter, composer and educator. “I come from a family of musicians,” Blanchard says. “My father was an opera singer, my mother played piano and taught voice, my grandfather played the guitar. What I wanted was to be a jazz musician, have a band, travel and create music.”Well, he got his wish! Blanchard started piano at 5 and trumpet at 8, playing music with childhood friends Wynton and Branford Marsalis at summer music camps and studied composition with their father, Ellis Marsalis. In 1980, while still in his teens, Blanchard began performing with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and later Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.In the 1990s, Blanchard started writing film and TV scores and has composed more than 40 of them to date. In 2019, he was nominated for an Academy Award for his music for Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman.He holds major teaching positions and tours with his quintet, the E-Collective. In 2021, his opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was premiered at the Metropolitan Opera.Music Played in Today's ProgramTerence Blanchard (b. 1962): ‘Ron's Theme,' from BlacKkKlansman Suite; the E-Collective, with a 96-piece orchestra Back Lot Music CD 779

SynopsisOn today's date in 1943, at the height of World War II, Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man had its premiere performance in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Symphony's conductor in those days, British-born Eugene Goosens, had commissioned 18 fanfares for brass and percussion. “It is my idea,” he wrote, “to make these fanfares stirring and significant contributions to the war effort.”Besides Copland, composers commissioned included Henry Cowell, Paul Creston, Morton Gould, Howard Hanson, William Grant Still and Virgil Thomson.Most of the composers dedicated their fanfares to a unit of the U.S. military or one of its wartime allies. But Copland's fanfare stood out, both musically and by virtue of its title.Among the titles Copland considered — and rejected — were Fanfare for the Spirit of Democracy and Fanfare for Four Freedoms, the latter in reference to President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address that called for the freedom of speech and religion, and from want and fear. He settled on Fanfare for the Common Man.“It was the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the war and the army,” Copland recalled. “He deserved a fanfare.”Music Played in Today's ProgramAaron Copland (1900-1990): ‘Fanfare for the Common Man'; San Francisco Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. RCA/BMG 63888

SynopsisOn today's date in 1829, a 20-year-old German composer named Felix Mendelssohn conducted the first public performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's St. Matthew Passion in almost a hundred years. Earlier, Mendelssohn had written to a friend:“You may know from the papers that I intend to perform the Passion, by Sebastian Bach, a very beautiful and worthy piece of church music from the last century, on March 11 at the Berlin Academy of Music. I ask if it would be possible for you to grant us the pleasure of your company that evening ... to honor an old master and dignify our celebration by your presence.”Mendelssohn's 1829 performance sparked a revival of interest in Bach's music, generally considered too unmelodic, mathematical, dry and incomprehensible for the audiences in Mendelssohn's day. It really took some doing for Mendelssohn to pry the score of Bach's Passion from the Berlin musician who owned it, and who said it was a total waste of time to perform such an outmoded, unfashionable piece of music.But, in fact, the performance was so well received that Bach's Passion was performed again 10 days later, to even greater acclaim, on March 21, the anniversary of Bach's birth.Music Played in Today's ProgramJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): St. Matthew Passion; Netherlands Bach Society; Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra; Ton Koopman, cond.

SynopsisOn this date in 1785, a new Piano Concerto in C major was given its premiere at the Burgtheater in Vienna, with its composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at the keyboard.Years later, this piano concerto was labeled as Mozart's 21st, and given the number 467 in the chronological list of his works compiled by Ludwig Ritter von Koechel, an Austrian botanist, mineralogist and Mozart enthusiast.Today, this work is popularly referred to as the Elvira Madigan Concerto, for the simple reason that its romantic slow movement was used to great effect in a 1967 Swedish film of that name to underscore a passionate love story.That Swedish movie helped to bring Mozart's concerto to the attention of a far wider audience than ever before, as did the 1984 movie Amadeus, with Mozart's music in general.Musicologists might wince when they hear the title Amadeus. It's a matter of historical record that Mozart signed his name “Amadeo” or “Amadé.” Others object that a Swedish film should provide a nickname for one of Mozart's most sublime works — but, for better or worse, both Amadeus and Elvira Madigan are labels that seem to have stuck to Mozart's name and his concerto.Music Played in Today's ProgramWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): Piano Concerto No. 21; Alfred Brendel, piano; Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields; Neville Marriner, cond. Philips 412 856

SynopsisOn today's date in 1902, composer Gustav Mahler, 41, married Alma Schindler, 22. Mahler was the famous director of the Vienna Court Opera, and by 1902 had written four symphonies. Schindler was considered one of the most beautiful women in Vienna, and also independent, unpredictable and remarkably free-spirited.Perhaps that, as much as her beauty, appealed to Mahler, but many of the composer's longtime friends did not approve and predicted disaster. One of them even suggested the composer convert to Protestantism, which would make getting a divorce easier in ultra-Catholic Vienna.On today's date in 1902, a large crowd of curious onlookers gathered in Vienna's majestic Baroque Karlskirche at 5:30 p.m., the time the wedding was thought to take place, only to discover the couple had been married hours earlier in the privacy of its sacristy with just the immediate family present.The next symphony that Mahler wrote, his Fifth, contains a lovely adagietto movement that Mahler's friend Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg claims was inspired by Alma. “It was his declaration of love. Instead of a letter, he confided it in this manuscript without a word of explanation,” Mengelberg said. “She understood. He tells her everything in music.”Music Played in Today's ProgramGustav Mahler (1860-1911): Symphony No. 5; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, cond. London 458 860

SynopsisAt Carnegie Hall on today's date in 2015, the Met Chamber Ensemble gave the posthumous premiere of a new work by American composer Elliott Carter, who died in November 2012, a month or so shy of what would have been his 104th birthday.The debut of The American Sublime marked the last world premiere performance of Carter's 75-year-long composing career.Hearing Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring at Carnegie Hall in the 1920s inspired Carter to become a composer. A high school teacher introduced him to Charles Ives, who became a mentor. By the mid-1930s, Carter was writing music in the “populist modern” style, à la Copland, but during a year spent in the Arizona desert in 1950, Carter finished his String Quartet No. 1 — 40 minutes of music uncompromising in both its technical difficulty and structural intricacy."That crazy long first quartet was played in Belgium," Carter recalled. "It was played over the radio, and I got a letter from a coal miner, in French, who said, 'I liked your piece. It's just like digging for coal.' He meant that it was hard and took effort."Music Played in Today's ProgramElliott Carter (1908-2012): Horn Concerto (2006); Martin Owen, fh; BBC Symphony; Oliver Knussen, cond. Bridge 9314

SynopsisPerhaps there is some poetic justice in the fact that maverick American composers like Charles Ives had a hard time getting performances of their music during their lifetime, only to be both lionized and frequently performed after their deaths. Conversely, many mainstream American composers who were lionized and frequently performed when they were alive seldom show up on concert programs anymore — and in some cases, that's a darn shame.Take Walter Piston, for example, who in his day was regarded as one of America's premier composers. On today's date in 1957, his Viola Concerto received its premiere performance by the Boston Symphony, in a concert conducted by Charles Munch, with soloist Joseph de Pasquale, a Curtis Institute professor and first-chair violist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.It's a lovely, lyrical work and a terrific showcase for a great violist. But have you ever heard it in concert — or on the radio, for that matter? A British reviewer, writing in the UK's Gramophone magazine, was bowled over by this music, writing, “Piston's concerto opens pensively, quickly builds to an aching climax … in the final pages, a sweeter lyricism that prepares the listener perfectly for the playful syncopations of the exuberant finale.”Music Played in Today's ProgramWalter Piston (1951-1987): Viola Concerto; Randolph Kelly, viola; Latvian National Symphony; Alexandrs Vilumanis, cond. Albany TROY-558

SynopsisHave you ever sent someone an email you regretted the second you hit send? Even in the 19th century, it was often prudent to sleep on a message before sending off words written in the heat of passion.On today's date in 1853, Giuseppe Verdi sent a barrage of short notes to friends after what he felt was the disastrous premiere of his latest opera at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice.“I am sorry,” Verdi wrote to his publisher, “but I cannot conceal the truth from you. Let's not investigate the reason. It happened. Goodbye, goodbye.” To another colleague Verdi wrote: “It was a fiasco. My fault. Or the singers? Time alone will tell.”But, apparently after a little more thought, he wrote to another friend, “The audience laughed. Well, what of it! Either I'm wrong or they are. I personally don't think that last night's verdict will be the last word.”After a year waiting for just the right cast, Verdi allowed his new opera to be restaged — in Venice once again, but this time at a different theater. Much to his satisfaction, this time, his new opera La Traviata was a big hit.Music Played in Today's ProgramGiuseppe Verdi (1813-1901): ‘La Traviata'; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Georg Solti, cond. London 448 119

SynopsisWhat's your favorite recording of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23? It is said that Joseph Stalin's was one with Russian pianist Maria Yudina, and that recording was spinning on his turntable when the dictator was found dead on today's date in 1953. In 1944, Stalin had heard Yudina perform this concerto on the radio and called the Soviet broadcaster and asked for the recording. Now, no one dared say “no” to Stalin, so, even though the performance had been live and had not been recorded, the performers were hastily called back to the studio, and by morning a private recording was ready for delivery.Stalin was so pleased, that — again, according to the stories — he sent Yudina 20,000 rubles. In defiance of state-imposed Soviet atheism, the pianist was a devout Orthodox Christian who always wore a cross while performing and considered her music an expression of faith. Stalin really must have liked her playing, since he did nothing — so the story goes — when she sent him a thank-you note letting him know that she gave all the money to her church and that she would pray for him and ask God to forgive all his great sins against his own people.Music Played in Today's ProgramWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791): 2nd Movement from Piano Concerto No. 23Marina Yudina, piano; USSR Radio Symphony; Alexander Gauk, cond. Melodiya MELCO0377

SynopsisAntonio Lucio Vivaldi came into the world on today's date in 1678 a few days after an earthquake shook Venice. The newborn was baptized immediately — just in case little Antonio's first day also turned out to be his last.Vivaldi's father was a violinist, and even though Antonio quickly became a virtuoso on that instrument himself, he became a Roman Catholic priest.Vivaldi complained of chest pains whenever he celebrated Mass — a medical excuse that allowed him to forgo his priestly duties and to concentrate on writing music, including dozens of operas and hundreds of concertos.By his mid-40s, Vivaldi was a major figure on the European musical scene, but his fortunes gradually took a turn for the worse. The church ordered him to stop composing music for the theater and, for heaven's sake, to stop gadding around Europe in the company of female opera singers!Vivaldi went to Vienna in 1740, hoping to find a court position with Emperor Charles VI, a big fan of his music, but after eating some bad mushrooms, the emperor died. And the following year, Vivaldi died — from an internal infection, not an earthquake — at 63 and heavily in debt.Music Played in Today's ProgramAntonio Vivaldi (1678-1741): ‘The Four Seasons'; Enrico; Onofri, violin; Il Giardino Armonico; Giovanni Antonini, cond. Teldec 97671

SynopsisToday marks the birth in 1913 of American composer Margaret Bonds. Her mother was a church musician in Chicago; her father was a physician and one of the founders of a medical association for Black physicians denied membership in the American Medical Association.One of the visitors to Bonds' childhood home was composer Florence Price, with whom she studied composition. At 16, Bonds became one of the few Black students enrolled at Northwestern University, although she was not allowed to live on campus. At the 1933 World's Fair, Bonds performed Price's Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony, becoming the first African-American woman soloist to appear with a major American orchestra.After earning her master's degree, she moved to New York to study at the Juilliard School. She met and became a close friend of poet Langston Hughes, with whom she collaborated on many projects.Bonds wrote about 200 works, but only 47 were published during her lifetime, and only about 75 of her scores are known today. The rest exist as privately held manuscripts scattered all over the country.One of her best-known works is Troubled Water, a solo piano fantasia on the spiritual “Wade in the Water.”Music Played in Today's ProgramMargaret Bonds (1913-1972): ‘Troubled Water'; Joel Fan, piano; Reference Recordings RR-119

SynopsisOn today's date in 1965, the now-classic and mega-iconic musical film The Sound of Music officially debuted at the Rivoli Theater at Broadway and 49th Street in New York City.Since we at Composers Datebook are notorious for mentioning “little known facts,” let us state, for the record, that the first test audiences to see the film did so in flyover country — first in Minneapolis and subsequently in Tulsa, Oklahoma, about a month before the film's New York debut.The Midwestern audiences were ecstatic, and director Robert Wise knew he'd have a hit on his hands when his film, starring Julie Andrews, opened on Broadway, not far from where the stage version, starring Mary Martin, had originally debuted back in 1959.The 1965 New York Times film review was a little snarky — well, what else is new? It began by referring to “the perceptible weakness of its quaintly old-fashioned book,” while grudgingly admiring, “the generally melodic felicity of the Richard Rodgers-Oscar Hammerstein score,” and ended by opining, “Business-wise, Mr. Wise is no fool.”No fool, indeed. Wise's film won five Oscars and displaced Gone With the Wind as the highest-grossing film of all-time.Music Played in Today's ProgramRichard Rodgers (1902-1979): ‘My Favorite Things,' from ‘The Sound of Music' (arr. Hough); Stephen Hough, p. MusicMasters 60135 and/or Virgin 59509 and 61498

SynopsisFor most of the 20th century, women's history was almost totally ignored in American schools. To address this situation, an education task force in Sonoma County, California, initiated a women's history celebration in March 1978. What began as an annual Women's History Week grew over the years into a national celebration, and in 1987, Congress declared the whole of March to be Women's History Month.Appropriately enough, 1987 also saw the premiere performance of Joan Tower's Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman — music written for the same instrumentation as Aaron Copland's famous Fanfare for the Common Man.Originally, Tower chose to let the title of her Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman serve as a generic, built-in dedication to all the unsung heroes of women's struggles past and present. But eventually, Tower added a specific dedication to conductor Marin Alsop, a champion of new music.“I don't think you can play a piece of music and say whether it's written by a man or a woman,” Tower says. “I think music is genderless.”But festivals and celebrations of women in music remain important, in Tower's view, in helping to get the word out about their accomplishments.Music Played in Today's ProgramJoan Tower (b. 1938): ‘Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman'; Colorado Symphony; Marin Alsop, cond. Koch International 7469

SynopsisHappy Leap Year!Once every four years, we have the opportunity to wish the great Italian opera composer Giacomo Rossini a happy birthday — he was born on Feb. 29 in 1792 — and to note some other musical events that occurred on this unusual but recurring calendar date.The American Bicentennial Year 1976, for example, also was a leap year, and 12 months were cram-packed with specially commissioned works written on a grand scale to celebrate that major anniversary of our nation. But at Alice Tully Hall on Feb. 29, 1976, a more modest celebration was in progress: an afternoon of new chamber works for flute and harp, including the premiere performance of a piece by American composer Ned Rorem.This piece was titled Book of Hours, referring to the prayers that the clergy read at various times of the day. In 1976, when avant-garde composer Pierre Boulez was the music director of the New York Philharmonic and dense, complicated music was considered fashionable by the critics, and the reviewer for the New York Times was struck by Rorem's deceptive simplicity: “Many contemporary composers flaunt their abilities to make music complex,” he wrote, “but Rorem waves an altogether different flag. His Book of Hours seemed determined to be uneventful. Its calculated simplicities and unassertive manner recalled the bare-walls asceticism of Erik Satie, though Mr. Rorem's phrases and colors are more sensuous and do not quite evoke Satie's mood of monastic rigor.”Music Played in Today's ProgramNed Rorem (1923-2022): Book of Hours; Fibonacci Sequence; Naxos 8.559128