Podcasts about serge koussevitzky

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

durée : 00:25:23 - Serge Koussevitzky, de la contrebasse du Bolchoï au podium de Boston - par : Anne-Charlotte Rémond - Du jeu en amateur dans des petits orchestres klezmer au podium de l'Orchestre de Boston, Serge Koussevitzky est devenu l'un des chefs d'orchestre les plus renommés de son époque, travaillant notamment avec Igor Stravinsky. - réalisé par : Philippe Petit

SynopsisFor most music lovers, the phrase “Italian composers of the 19th and 20th centuries” means, first and foremost, opera composers.But during the 1920s and 1930s, when great Italian opera conductor Arturo Toscanini was music director of the New York Philharmonic, American audiences heard many nonoperatic, symphonic works by modern Italian composers.On today's date in 1929, for example, Toscanini led the New York Philharmonic in the world premiere performance of Concerto dell ‘Estate (Summer Concerto), by contemporary Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti.In addition to premieres by Pizzetti, New York audiences heard recent Italian symphonic works by Respighi, Tommasini, Martucci, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Wolf-Ferrari and others.Absent from Toscanini's New York programs were new works by the rising American composers of the day. There were no Toscanini premieres — or even performances — of works by Copland, Harris or Piston. Those composers had to look to the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky if they wanted a hearing.American composer Daniel Gregory Mason complained in 1931 that the Philharmonic was run by “fashion-enslaved, prestige-hypnotized minds ... totally devoid of any American loyalty to match the Italian loyalty” that was, as Mason admitted, “rather likeable” in the charismatic Italian maestro.Music Played in Today's ProgramIldebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968): Rondo Veneziano; BBC Scottish Symphony; Osmo Vänskä, cond. Hyperion 67084

SynopsisTanglewood is one of America's most famous summer-time classical music festivals and can boast a long and impressive list of premieres and performances by famous American composers and conductors. It takes place each year around this time in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.Tanglewood has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home for more than 60 years, but it wasn't the symphony's first location in the Berkshires.  In August of 1936, the first in a three-concert series was performed at Holmwood, a former Vanderbilt estate. The great Russian-born conductor of the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, moved the festival to Tanglewood and expanded the concert series into a kind of intensive summer camp for young musicians and composers. Among those who particularly benefited were two young composer-conductors named Leonard Bernstein and Lukas Foss.In 1940, the Berkshire Music Center (now the Tanglewood Music Center) opened, and to mark the occasion, American composer Randall Thompson's famous choral work titled Alleluia received its premiere performance. Music Played in Today's ProgramRandall Thompson (1899 – 1984) Alleluia Dale Warland Singers; Dale Warland, conductor. Minnesota Public Radio 201

Synopsis On today's date in 1945 Peter Grimes, a new opera by the English composer Benjamin Britten, debuted at Sadler's Wells Theater in London. The libretto was based on George Crabbe's long poem, The Borough, published in 1810, which described life along England's North Sea coast. In the early 1940's, Britten was living in America, and had read Crabbe's poem in California. The commission for the opera was also American, coming from Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony and one of the leading music patrons of the day. But Britten's opera is intensely English – evoking, as it does, the images and sounds of the North Sea off the east coast of Suffolk. Britten was born within sight of this seascape, and lived, for the better part of his later life, a little farther down the coast at Aldeburgh – the "Borough," on which George Crabbe had based his poem. From the start, Peter Grimes was an immediate success. Within a week of its June 7th premiere, Britten conducted the London Philharmonic in an orchestral suite of Sea Interludes from his new opera, and these, too, have since firmly established themselves in the concert repertory. Music Played in Today's Program Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) Sea Interludes, fr Peter Grimes London Symphony; André Previn, conductor. EMI 72658

Synopsis In the early years of the 20th century, a hauntingly beautiful piece of Grecian sculpture – a bust of the head of the goddess Aphrodite – was donated to the Boston Museum of Fine Art. There it inspired this orchestral work by Boston composer George Whitefield Chadwick. Chadwick's symphonic tone poem Aphrodite was, in the words of the composer, “an attempt to suggest in music the poetic and tragic scenes which may have passed before the sightless eyes of such a goddess.” Chadwick composed this music during East Coast holidays on Martha's Vineyard, inspired, he said, by the play of light and wind on the sea before him. It received its premiere at the Norfolk Festival in Connecticut on this date in 1912. On today's date in 1999, at a summer musical festival on the opposite coast of America, another musical work inspired by ancient Greece received its first performance. This music was entitled Five Images after Sappho, inspired by texts of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho and written for the remarkable voice of a modern American soprano, Dawn Upshaw. It was premiered at the Ojai Festival in California, and was written by the Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Music Played in Today's Program George Whitefield Chadwick (1854 - 1931) Aphrodite Brno State Philharmonic; Jose Serebrier, conductor. Reference 74 Esa-Pekka Salonen (b. 1958) Five Images after Sappho Dawn Upshaw, soprano; London Sinfonietta; Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor. Sony 89158 On This Day Births 1770 - possible birthdate of the British-born early American composer, conductor, and music publisher James Hewitt, in Dartmoor; 1932 - American composer and jazz arranger Oliver Nelson, in St. Louis; Deaths 1872 - Polish opera composer Stanislaw Moniuszko, age 53, in Warsaw; 1907 - Norwegian composer Agathe Backer-Groendahl, age 59, in Kristiania (now Oslo); 1951 - Russian-born American double-bass player, conductor and new music patron, Serge Koussevitzky, age 76, in Boston; Premieres 1811 - Weber: opera, "Abu Hassan." In Munich; 1883 - Tchaikovsky: "Festival Coronation March," in Moscow (Julian date: May 23); Tchaikovsky conducted this march at the gala opening concert of Carnegie Hall (then called just "The Music Hall")in New York on May 5, 1891; 1912 - Chadwick: tone poem "Aphrodite" in Norfolk, Conn., at the Litchfield Festival; 1914 - Sibelius: "Oceanides," in Norfolk, Conn., at the Litchfield Festival, with the composer conducting; 1935 - Shostakovich: ballet "The Limpid Stream," in Leningrad at the Maliiy Opera Theater; 1935 - R. Strauss: opera "Die schweigsame Frau" (The Silent Woman), in Dresden at the Staatsoper; 1994 - Philip Glass: opera "La Belle et la Bête" (Beauty and the Beast) based on the film by Jean Cocteau), by the Philip Glass Ensemble at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville (Spain), with Michael Riesman conducting; 1997 - Richard Danielpour: ballet "Urban Dances," at New York State Theater by the New York Ballet, choreographed by Miriam Mahdaviani; 1999 - Esa-Pekka Salonen: "Five Images after Sappho" for voice and orchestra, at the Ojai Festival in California, with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, conducted by the composer. Links and Resources On Chadwick On Salonen

Synopsis The thick historical novels of the 19th century French writer Alexandre Dumas, Sr. are packed with some fact and a lot of fiction. Chapter 22 of "The Three Musketeers," for example, set during the 17th century reign of King Louis XIII, begins as follows: "Nothing was talked of in Paris but the ball which the aldermen were to give to the king and queen in which their Majesties were to dance the famous 'La Merlaison' — the favorite ballet of the king. Eight days had been spent preparing for the important evening. The city carpenters erected risers for the guests; the hall would be lit by two hundred huge candles of white wax, a luxury unheard of; and twenty violins were ordered, the price for them double the usual rate, since they would be playing all night." In this case, Dumas was referencing a real event. On today's date in 1635, at Chantilly castle, a gala ballet premiered. It depicted in stylized dance the Louis's favorite activity: hunting the blackbird ("la merlaison" in French). The choreography, the costumes, and music were all created by the King himself—who also danced several of the lead roles. It got a rave review in the press of the day. If there were any critics, we suspect Cardinal Richelieu, the dreaded power behind the throne in Dumas's novel—and in real life—had them hauled off and "dealt with." Ah yes, it's good to be King. Music Played in Today's Program Louis XIII Roi de France (1601 - 1643) Ballet de la Merlaison Ancient Instrument Ensemble of Paris; Jacques Chailley, conductor. Nonesuch LP H-71130 On This Day Births 1835 - Austrian composer and conductor Eduard Strauss, in Vienna; He was the youngest son of Johann Strauss, Sr.; 1864 - Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist Johan Halvorsen, in Drammen; 1901 - American composer Colin McPhee, in Montréal, Canada; 1926 - American composer Ben Johnston, in Macon, Ga.; 1928 - American composer Nicolas Flagello, in New York City; Deaths 1842 - Italian composer Luigi Cherubini, age 81, in Paris; 1918 - French composer Lili Boulanger, age 24, in Mezy; 1942 - Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, age 70, in Larchmont, N.Y.; Premieres 1807 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 (first public performance), in Vienna, at a benefit concert conducted by the composer; 1885 - Franck: symphonic poem "Les Dijinns" (The Genies), in Paris; 1897 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1 (Gregorian date: Mar. 27); 1908 - Ravel: "Rapsodie espagnole" (Spanish Rhapsody), in Paris; 1911 - Scriabin: Symphony No. 5 ("Prometheus: Poem of Fire"), in Moscow, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and with the composer performing the solo piano part (Julian date: Mar. 2); 1981 - Stockhausen: opera "Donnerstag, aus Licht" (Thursday, from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; This is one of a projected cycle of seven operas, each named after a day of the week; 1994 - Peter Maxwell Davies: "Chat Moss" (the name of a quagmire in Lancashire) for orchestra, in Liverpool by the orchestra of St. Edward's College, John Moseley conducting; 2000 - Corigliano: "Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan," at Carnegie Hall, by soprano Sylvia McNair and pianist Martin Katz; An orchestrated version of this song-cycle premiered in Minneapolis on October 23, 2003, with soprano Hila Plitmann and the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano; Others 1895 - Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, age 22, makes his operatic debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples, singing the lead tenor role in Domenico Morelli's comic opera "L'Amico Francesco." Links and Resources On Louis XIII

I lead off my new episodes for Black History Month 2023 with one of the most glorious voices ever captured on recordings, Dorothy Maynor (03 September 1910 – 19 February 1996), one of the most glorious lyric soprano voices ever captured on recording. Discovered by Serge Koussevitzky in the late 1930s and championed by him and a host of other conductors (including Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy), she became renowned as a recitalist but, because of restrictions of the era placed upon Black singers, never sang on any operatic stage. Nevertheless, her studio recordings of arias by Mozart, Debussy, and Charpentier are legendary. Our appreciation of Maynor the singer is greatly enhanced by the presence of live radio recordings as well as a recently-issued live 1940 song recital from the Library of Congress. It is one of the great injustices of musical history that gifted Black singers of Maynor's caliber from that era were outrightly denied the opportunity to perform in staged opera performances at venues like the Metropolitan Opera. Dorothy Maynor nonetheless persevered and left an incredible legacy, and not just a vocal one: in 1963, the year of her retirement from singing, she founded the Harlem School of the Arts, for which, before she stepped down as President in 1979, she raised more than $2 million dollars for the construction of a new facility for the institution. She also was the first African American singer to perform at a presidential inaugural (both for Harry S. Truman in 1949 and Dwight D. Eisenhower four years later), as well as the first African American to sit on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Opera. This episode features Maynor in live, studio, and radio recordings of repertoire by Bach, Handel, Schubert, and Mendelssohn, as well as some of the finest recordings of spirituals ever made. Also heard are the songs of three Black composers, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Cecil Cohen, and R. Nathaniel Dett, the latter of which Maynor studied with at the Hampton Institute, whose work Maynor frequently programmed on her recitals. The episode opens with a joyous birthday tribute to next week's subject, Martina Arroyo, whose 1974 album of spirituals was backed by the Choir of the Harlem School of the Arts conducted by Maynor herself. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Synopsis Today marks the birthday of the American pianist and composer Donald Shirley, who was born in Pensacola, Florida, in 1927, to Jamaican immigrant parents: a mother who was a teacher and a father an Episcopalian priest. Young Donald was a musical prodigy who made his debut with the Boston Pops at age 18, performing Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto. If Shirley had been born 20 years later, he might have had the career enjoyed by Andre Watts, who born in 1946. But in the late 1940s, when Shirley was in his 20s, impresario Sol Hurok advised him that America was not ready for a black classical pianist, so instead Shirley toured performing his own arrangements of pop tunes accompanied by cello and double-bass. His Trio recorded successful albums marketed as “jazz” during the 1950s and 60s, but Shirley also released a solo LP of his piano improvisations that sounds more like Debussy or Scriabin, and he composed organ symphonies, string quartets, concertos, chamber works, and a symphonic tone poem based on the novel Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. The 2018 Oscar-winning film “Green Book” sparked renewed interest in Shirley's career as a performer, but those of us curious to hear his organ symphonies and concert works hope they get a second look as well. Music Played in Today's Program On This Day Births 1715 - Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil, in Vienna; 1782 - French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, in Caen; 1852 - British composer Frederic Hymen Cowen, in Kingston, Jamaica; 1862 - English composer Fritz (Frederick) Delius, in Bradford, Yorkshire; 1876 - English composer Havergal Brian, in Dresden, Staffordshire; 1924 - Italian composer Luigi Nono, in Venice; Deaths 1946 - British composer Sydney Jones, age 84, in London, age 84; 1962 - Austrian composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, age 86, in New York City; Premieres 1728 - Gay & Pepusch: ballad-opera, “The Beggar's Opera,” at Lincoln's Inn Fields, London; This work, mounted by the London impresario John Rich, proved so popular that it was staged 62 times that season; As contemporary wags put it, the wildly successful work “made Gay Rich and Rich Gay&rdquo(Gregorian date: Feb. 9); 1781 - Mozart: opera, "Idomeneo" in Munich at the Hoftheater; 1826 - Schubert: String Quartet in D minor, "Death and the Maiden," as a unrehearsed reading at the Vienna home of Karl and Franz Hacker, two amateur musicians; Schubert, who usually played viola on such occasions, could not perform since he was busy copying out the parts and making last-minute corrections; 1882 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "The Snow Maiden," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 10); 1892 - Chadwick: “A Pastoral Prelude,” by the Boston Symphony. Arthur Nikisch conducting; 1916 - Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite ("Ala and Lolly"), Op. 20, at the Mariinsky Theater in Petrograd, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 16); 1932 - Gershwin: "Second Rhapsody" for piano and orchestra, in Boston, with the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and the composer as soloist; 1936 - Constant Lambert: "Summer's Last Will and Testament" for chorus and orchestra, in London; 1981 - John Williams: first version of Violin Concerto (dedicated to the composer's late wife, actress and singer Barbara Ruick Williams), by Mark Peskanov and the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin; Williams subsequently revised this work in 1998; This premiere date is listed (incorrectly) as Jan. 19 in the DG recording featuring Gil Shaham; Links and Resources On Donald Shirley

Synopsis Late in 2013, the musical world was gearing up to celebrate the 70th birthday of British composer John Tavener, but sadly he died, so his 70th birthday, which fell on today's date in 2014, became a memorial tribute instead. Tavener had suffered from ill health throughout his life: a stroke in his thirties, heart surgery and the removal of a tumor in his forties, and two subsequent heart attacks. In his early twenties, Tavener became famous in 1968 with his avant-garde cantata entitled The Whale, based loosely on the Old Testament story of Jonah. That work caught the attention of one of The Beatles, and a recording of it was released on The Beatles' own Apple label. Tavener converted to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1977, and his music became increasingly spiritual. Millions who watched TV coverage of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, were deeply moved by his “Song for Athene,” which was performed to telling effect as Diana's casket left Westminster Abbey. Taverner was knighted in 2000, becoming Sir John Tavener In 2003, Tavener's Ikon of Eros, commissioned for the Centennial of the Minnesota Orchestra, and premiered at St. Paul's Cathedral—the one in St. Paul, Minnesota, that is, not the one in London—and Tavener came to Minnesota for the event. Music Played in Today's Program Sir John Tavener (1944-2013) Ikon of Eros Jorja Fleezanis, vn; Minnesota Chorale; Minnesota Orchestra; Paul Goodwin, conductor. Reference Recording 102 On This Day Births 1791 - French opera composer Louis Joseph F. Herold, in Paris; 1898 - Italian-American composer Vittorio Rieti, in Alexandria, Egypt; 1944 - British composer Sir John Tavener, in London; Deaths 1935 - Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, age 75, in Moscow; 1947 - Venezuelan-born French composer Reynaldo Hahn, age 72, in Paris; Premieres 1725 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 92 ("Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn") performed on Septuagesimae Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1828 - Schubert: Piano Trio in Bb, Op. 99 (D. 898), at a private performance by Ignaz Schuppanzigh (violin), Josef Linke (cello), and Carl Maria von Bocklet (piano); 1830 - Auber: opera "Fra Diavolo" in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1876 - Tchaikovsky: "Serenade mélancolique" for violin and orchestra, in Moscow (Julian date: Jan. 18); 1897 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 5, in London; 1915 - Ravel: Piano Trio in a, in Paris, by Gabriel Wilaume (violin), Louis Feuillard (cello), and Alfredo Casella (piano); 1916 - Granados: opera "Goyescas," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; 1927 - Copland: Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with the composer as soloist; 1941 - Copland: "Quiet City," at Town Hall in New York City by the Little Symphony conducted by Daniel Saidenberg; This music is based on incidental music Copland wrote for Irwin Shaw's play of the same name produced by the Group Theater in New York in 1939; 1944 - Bernstein: Symphony No. 1 ("Jeremiah"), at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by the composer, with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel as vocal soloist; 1972 - Scott Joplin: opera "Treemonisha" (orchestrated by T.J. Anderson), in Atlanta; 1990 - Joan Tower: Flute Concerto, at Carnegie Hall in New York, with soloist Carol Wincenc and the American Composers Orchestra, Hugh Wolff, conducting; 1995 - Elinor Armer: “Island Earth” (to a text by Sci-Fi writer Usula K. Le Guin), at the University of California, Berkeley, by the various San Francisco choirs and the Women's Philharmonic, conducted by JoAnn Falletta; On the same program were the premiere performance's of Chen Yi's “Antiphony” for orchestra and Augusta Read Thomas's “Fantasy” for piano and orchestra (with piano soloist Sara Wolfensohn); 1997 - Morten Lauridsen: “Mid-Winter Songs” (final version) for chorus and orchestra, by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, John Currie conducting; Earlier versions of this work with piano and chamber orchestra accompaniment had premiered in 1981, 1983, and 1985 at various Californian venues; 2000 - André Previn: "Diversions," in Salzburg, Austria, by the Vienna Philharmonic, the composer conducting; Others 1742 - Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin (and the author of "Gulliver's Travels"), objects to the cathedral singers taking part in performances of Handel's works while the composer is in that city (Gregorian date: Feb. 8); Rehearsals for the premiere performance of Handel's "Messiah" would begin in April of that year, involving the choirs of both Christ Church and St. Patrick's Cathedrals in Dublin; 1971 - William Bolcom completes his "Poltergeist" Rag (dedicated to Teresa Sterne, a one-time concert pianist who was then a producer for Nonesuch Records); According to the composer's notes, the "Poltergeist" Rag was written "in a converted garage next to a graveyard in Newburgh, N.Y." Links and Resources On Tavener

Synopsis In 1933, Aaron Copland introduced Roy Harris to Serge Koussevitzky, the famous conductor of the Boston Symphony in those days. Now, Koussevitzky was one of the great patrons of American music and was always looking for new American music and new American composers. Roy Harris had been described to him as an "American Mussorgsky," which probably intrigued the Russian-born conductor. When Koussevitzky learned that Harris had been born in a log cabin in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, no less – well, perhaps he hoped the 41-year old Harris might produce music equally all-American in origin. "Write me a big symphony from the West," asked Koussevitzky, and Harris responded with a three-movement orchestral work titled: "Symphony, 1933," which had its premiere performance on today's date in 1934 with the Boston Symphony under Koussevitzky's direction. Koussevitzky loved it. "I think that nobody has captured in music the essence of American life -- its vitality, its greatness, its strength -- so well as Roy Harris," enthused the famous conductor, who recorded the piece at Carnegie Hall in New York just one week after its premiere. And it was Koussevitzky's Boston Symphony that would subsequently premiere Harris's Second, Third, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies as well. Music Played in Today's Program Roy Harris (1898 – 1979) Symphony 1933 (No. 1) Louisville Orchestra; Jorge Mester, conductor Albany 012 On This Day Births 1924 - American composer Warren Benson, in Detroit, Michigan; Deaths 1795 - German composer Johann Christioph Friedrich Bach, age 62, in Bückeburg 1993 - American composer and teacher Kenneth Gaburo, age 66, in Iowa City; Premieres 1732 - Handel: opera "Ezio" (Julian date: Jan.15); 1790 - Mozart: opera, "Così fan tutte," in Vienna at the Burgtheater; 1873 - Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 2, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Feb. 7); 1882 - Borodin: String Quartet No. 2 in D, in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 7); 1905 - Schoenberg: symphonic poem "Pelleas und Melisande," in Vienna, with the composer conducting; 1908 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2 in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 8); 1911 - Richard Strauss: opera, “Der Rosenkavalier,” in Dresden at the Hofoper, conducted by Ernst von Schuch, with vocal soloists Margarethe Siems (Marschallin), Eva von der Osten (Octavian), Minnie Nast (Sophie), Karl Perron (Baron Ochs), and Karl Scheidemantel (Faninal); 1920 - Prokofiev: "Overture on Hebrew Themes," in New York by the Zimro Ensemble, with the composer at the piano; 1922 - Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 3 "Pastoral," by the Royal Philharmonic, London, Sir Adrian Boult conducting; 1934 - Roy Harris: Symphony No. 1, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1952 - Ernst von Dohnányi: Violin Concerto No. 2, in San Antonio, Texas; 1957 - Bernstein: "Candide" Overture (concert version), by New York Philharmonic conducted by the composer; The musical "Candide" had opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York City on December 1, 1956; 1957 - Poulenc: opera, "Les dialogues des carmélites" (The Dialogues of the Carmelites) in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala, Nino Sanzogno conducting; 1962 - Diamond: Symphony No. 7, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1966 - Dominick Argento: Variations for Orchestra and Soprano (The Masque of Night"), at the St. Paul Campus Student Center of the University of Minnesota, by the Minneapolis Civic Orchestra, Thomas Nee conducting, with soprano Carolyn Bailey; A second performance took place on Jan. 27th at Coffmann Memorial Union on the Minneapolis campus of the University of Minnesota; 1967 - Frank Martin: Cello Concerto, in Basel, Switzerland; 1994 - Elisabetta Brusa: “La Triade” for large orchestra, by the Tirana (Albania) Radio and Television Orchestra, Gilberto Serembe conducting; 1994 - Christopher Rouse: Cello Concerto, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by David Zinman, with Yo-Yo Ma the soloist; 1995 - Joan Tower: "Duets for Orchestra," by the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Christoph Perick conducting. Links and Resources On Roy Harris

Synopsis On New Year's Eve, 1948, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra gave the first performance of the Symphony No. 5 by the American composer George Antheil. Now, in his youth, Antheil was something of a wild man, composing a Ballet mechanicque for a percussion ensemble that included electric bells, sirens, and airplane propellers. It earned him a reputation, and Antheil titled his colorful 1945 autobiography what many called him: "The Bad Boy of Music." But the great Depression and World War II changed Antheil's attitude. Rather than write for small, avant-garde audiences, Antheil found work in Hollywood, with enough time left over for an occasional concert work, such as his Symphony No. 5. In program notes for the premiere, Antheil wrote: "The object of my creative work is to disassociate myself from the passé modern schools and create a music for myself and those around me which has no fear of developed melody, tonality, or understandable forms." Contemporary critics were not impressed. One called Antheil's new Symphony "nothing more than motion-picture music of a very common brand" and another lamented its "triviality and lack of originality," suggesting it sounded like warmed-over Prokofiev. The year 2000 marked the centennial of Antheil's birth, and only now, after years of neglect, both Antheil's radical scores from the 1920s and his more conservative work from the 1940s is being performed, recorded and re-appraised. Music Played in Today's Program George Antheil (1900-1959) Symphony No. 5 (Joyous) Frankfurt Radio Symphony; Hugh Wolff, conductor. CPO 999 706 On This Day Births 1894 - Anglo-Irish composer Ernest John Moeran, in Heston, Middlesex; 1899 - Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas, in Santiago, Papasquiaro; 1962 - American composer Jennifer Higdon, in Brooklyn, New York; Deaths 1950 - French composer Charles Koechlin, age 83, in Canadel, France; 1970 - British composer Cyril Scott, age 91, in Eastbourne, England; Premieres 1724 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 122 ("Das neugeborne Kindelein") performed on the Sunday after Christmas as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1842 - Lortzing: opera "Der Wildschütz" (The Poacher), in Leipzig at the Stadttheater; 1865 - Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg, with Balakirev conducting (Julian date: Dec. 19); 1879 - Gilbert & Sullivan: operetta "The Pirates of Penzance," at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York, with the composer conducting (see also Dec. 30 above); 1943 - Martinu: Violin Concerto (No. 2), by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting and Micsha Elman the soloist; 1948 - Antheil: Symphony No. 5, by Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting; 1948 - Howard Hanson: Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony with the composer conducting and Rudolf Firkusny the soloist. Links and Resources On George Antheil More on Antheil

Synopsis On today's date in 1943, the Boston Symphony and conductor Serge Koussevitzky gave the first performance of a Symphony for Strings by the American composer William Schuman. Schuman was just 33 years old at the time, but Koussevitzky had already been programming and commissioning Schuman's music for about 5 years. Koussevitzky had already given the premiere performances of his popular “American Festival Overture” and the Third Symphony. Schuman's Symphony for Strings is dedicated to the memory of Koussevitzky's wife, Natalie, whose family fortune that enabled Serge Koussevitzky to establish himself as a conductor, found a publishing house, and commission many of the 20th century's most significant works, including Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms and Bartok's “Concerto for Orchestra.” In Russia, the Koussevitzkys championed Russian music. In France, they supported French composers. And, beginning in 1924, when Koussevitzky became the music director of the Boston Symphony, many American composers benefited from this remarkable couple's enthusiasm for new music. Schuman's Symphony for Strings is just one of a long list of the Koussevitzky's American commissions, which includes works by Aaron Copland, Roy Harris, Samuel Barber, Walter Piston, and Leonard Bernstein. Taken as a whole, the concert music commissioned by Serge and Natalie Koussevitzky remains one of the most remarkable musical legacies of the 20th century. Music Played in Today's Program William Schuman (1910-1992) Symphony No. 5 (Symphony for Strings) I Musici de Montreal; Yuli Turovsky, cond. Chandos 9848

Synopsis On today's date in 1944, a 29-year-old American composer named David Diamond had his Second Symphony premiered by the Boston Symphony under the famous Russian conductor Serge Koussevitzky. Diamond says he had written this music for the charismatic Greek maestro Dimitri Mitropoulos, then the music director of the Minneapolis Symphony. “Mitropoulos had given a fine performance of my First Symphony,” said Diamond. “When I showed him the score of the Second he said, ‘you must have the parts extracted at once!' As these were readied, I asked him whether he was planning to perform the work. He then told me he thought he would not stay on in Minneapolis, but said, ‘Why don't you send it to Koussevitzky?' I did so, and Koussevitzky [invited me to a] trial reading at Symphony Hall. When it was over, the orchestra applauded like crazy. Koussevitzky turned to me and said, ‘I will play!'” Successful as Diamond was back in 1944, for many decades thereafter his neo-Romantic symphonic scores were neglected until Gerard Schwartz's CD recordings of some of them with the Seattle Symphony sparked a revival.  By then, Diamond was in his 70s, and commented: “The romantic spirit in music is important because it is timeless.” Music Played in Today's Program David Diamond (1915-2005) — Symphony No. 2 (Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond.) Delos 3093

Synopsis 1991 was a big year for American composer John Corigliano. The Metropolitan Opera premiered his opera “The Ghosts of Versailles” and the 53-year old composer won two Grammys and the Grawemeyer Award for his Symphony No. 1. Corigliano was increasingly recognized as one of the leading American composers of his generation, and was deluged with commissions for new works. But about 10 years before all that, guitarist Sharon Isbin had asked Corigliano to write a concerto for her, and kept on asking him. On today's date in 1993, her persistence paid off when, with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and conductor Hugh Wolff, she gave the premiere performance of Corigliano's “Troubadours — Variations for Guitar and Orchestra.” This piece was inspired by the courtly love tradition of the medieval troubadours, whose songs combined sophisticated word play with simple but elegantly communicative melodies. “For composers the idea of true simplicity — in contrast to chic simple-mindedness — is mistrusted and scorned,” wrote Corigliano. “But the guitar has a natural innocence about it… So the idea of a guitar concerto was, for me, like a nostalgic return to all the feelings I had when I started composing — before the commissions and deadlines and reviews. A time when discovery and optimistic enthusiasm ruled my senses… Troubadours is a lyrical concerto.” Music Played in Today's Program John Corigliano (b. 1938) Troubadours Sharon Isbin, guitar; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; Hugh Wolff, cond. Virgin 55083 On This Day Births 1870 - French composer and organist Louis Vierne, in Poitiers; 1930 - Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu, in Tokyo; 1953 - English composer Robert Saxon, in London; Deaths 1834 - French composer François Boieldieu, age 58, in Jarcy; Premieres 1903 - Nielsen: "Helios" Overture, in Copenhagen; 1943 - Stravinsky: "Ode" (in memory of Natalie Koussevitzky), by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky; 1960 - Prokofiev: opera "The Story of a Real Man" (posthumously) at the Bolshoi in Moscow; A semi-public performance of this opera was given in Leningrad on Dec. 3, 1948, but the opera was rejected by Soviet authorities for subsequent performances during the composer's lifetime; 1966 - Stravinsky: "Requiem Canticles," in Princeton, with Robert Craft conducting; 1992 - Ligeti: Violin Concerto, in Cologne, by the Ensemble Moderne conducted by Peter Eötvös, and Saschko Gawriloff the soloist; 1993 - Corigliano: "Troubadours (Variations for Guitar and Orchestra)," at the Ordway Music Theater in St. Paul, with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Hugh Wolff, and guitar soloist Sharon Isbin; 1999 - Kernis: "Garden of Light" and Torke: "Four Seasons" (both commissioned by the Disney Company at the urging of its Chief Executive, Michael Eisner), for the Millennium season of the New York Philharmonic, with Kurt Masur conducting the orchestra, vocal soloists, and choirs in both pieces; Others 1739 - Handel completes in London his Concerto Grosso in a, Op. 6, no. 4 (Gregorian date: Oct. 19); 1898 - The first issue of the magazine "Musical America" is published. Links and Resources On John Corigliano On Sharon Isbin

Did you know that music, power, and national identity are entangled and constantly changing? In this Episode, Hermann Hudde and Patricia Caicedo talk about the political and cultural relations between the United States and Latin America and how these were staged at the Tanglewood festival led by Serge Koussevitzky in the 1940s. An opportunity to discover the role of music in what we know as cultural diplomacy.

Synopsis On today's date in 1946, Leonard Bernstein conducted the American premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera, "Peter Grimes," at the Tanglewood Festival in Lenox, Massachusetts. "Peter Grimes" had received its very first performance in London the previous year, and had already been staged elsewhere in Europe before reaching America. In fact, this quintessentially British opera was originally an American commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation run by the famous conductor and music patron Serge Koussevitzky, who was the founder and guiding spirit of the Tanglewood Festival. Opera News covered the American premiere with a feature titled "Peter Grimes On Trial – A Symposium of Verdicts," beginning by quoting with the grudging praise of the New York Times' very conservative critic that the opera was "a very interesting modern work in a provocative form." Also included were quotes from the lead singers, who noted its "strange intervals, harmonies, and difficult counter-play of the various voices." But Boris Goldowsky, the music director of the Tanglewood Center, provided the most accurate assessment, given the hindsight of history: "The opera has lasting merit," said Goldovsky, "and it will join the standard repertory. Like all new works, it was difficult at first, but future productions will be easier." Here's an additional historical footnote: the Tanglewood premiere of "Peter Grimes" was the first opera Leonard Bernstein conducted professionally, and the opera's instrumental "Sea Interludes" were on the program of the last orchestral concert he ever conducted, 44 years later, in August of 1990, and again at Tanglewood. Music Played in Today's Program Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) –Sunday Morning and Storm, fr Peter Grimes (New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein, cond.) Sony Classical 47541

Synopsis In a 1964 essay, the American composer Samuel Barber wrote: “I want my music to be of use to people, to please them, to enhance their lives... I do not write for posterity.” And in a 1979 interview, he said: “I write for the present, and I write for myself... I think that most music that is really good will be appreciated by the audience – ultimately.” Barber was 35 years old when he composed his Cello Concerto in 1945, finishing the work around the same time he was discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corps. The Concerto was written for the cellist Raya Garbousova, who gave the premiere performance of the work with the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky on today's date in 1946. The new Concerto was warmly received in Boston, and even won an award from New York music critics. Oddly enough, soon after its premiere, Barber's Cello Concerto was pretty much ignored for several decades, and to date has yet to catch on with performers or audiences to the same degree as his earlier Violin Concerto – another work that took quite a while to become popular. Still, in recent years both performers and audiences seem more than willing to revisit ALL of Barber's scores, including his Cello Concerto, and a major reappraisal of Barber seems well underway, and, to paraphrase the composer himself, we think most of Barber's music that is really good will be appreciated by audiences – ultimately. Music Played in Today's Program Samuel Barber (1910 -1981) — Cello Concerto (Yo Yo Ma, cello; Baltimore Symphony; David Zinman, cond.) CBS/Sony 44900

Synopsis For their February 2013 cover story, the editors of BBC Music Magazine, came up with a list of the 50 most influential people in the history of music.  Bach was on it, as you might expect – but so was Shakespeare. Any music lover can see the logic in that, and cite pieces like Mendelssohn's music for “A Midsummer Night's Dream” or Tchaikovsky's Overture-Fantasy entitled “Romeo and Juliet,” or all the great operas based on Shakespeare's plays, ranging from Verdi's “Falstaff” to a recent setting of “The Tempest” by Thomas Adès. And speaking of “The Tempest,” in New York on today's date in 1981, Sharon Robinson premiered a new solo cello suite she commissioned from the American composer Ned Rorem,  a work titled “After Reading Shakespeare.” “Yes,” says Rorem,  “I was re-reading Shakespeare the month the piece was accomplished… Yet the experience did not so much inspire the music itself as provide a cohesive program upon which the music be might formalized, and thus intellectually grasped by the listener.” Rorem even confessed that some of the titles were added AFTER the fact, “as when parents christen their children.“   After all, as Shakespeare's Juliet might put it, “What's in a name?” Music Played in Today's Program Ned Rorem (b. 1923) — After Reading Shakespeare (Sharon Robinson, cello) Naxos 8.559316 On This Day Births 1835 - Austrian composer and conductor Eduard Strauss, in Vienna; He was the youngest son of Johann Strauss, Sr.; 1864 - Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist Johan Halvorsen, in Drammen; 1901 - American composer Colin McPhee, in Montréal, Canada; 1926 - American composer Ben Johnston, in Macon, Ga.; 1928 - American composer Nicolas Flagello, in New York City; Deaths 1842 - Italian composer Luigi Cherubini, age 81, in Paris; 1918 - French composer Lili Boulanger, age 24, in Mezy; 1942 - Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, age 70, in Larchmont, N.Y.; Premieres 1807 - Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 (first public performance), in Vienna, at a benefit concert conducted by the composer; 1885 - Franck: symphonic poem "Les Dijinns" (The Genies), in Paris; 1897 - Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 1 (Gregorian date: Mar. 27); 1908 - Ravel: "Rapsodie espagnole" (Spanish Rhapsody), in Paris; 1911 - Scriabin: Symphony No. 5 ("Prometheus: Poem of Fire"), in Moscow, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and with the composer performing the solo piano part (Julian date: Mar. 2); 1981 - Stockhausen: opera "Donnerstag, aus Licht" (Thursday, from Light), in Milan at the Teatro alla Scala; This is one of a projected cycle of seven operas, each named after a day of the week; 1994 - Peter Maxwell Davies: "Chat Moss" (the name of a quagmire in Lancashire) for orchestra, in Liverpool by the orchestra of St. Edward's College, John Moseley conducting; 2000 - Corigliano: "Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan," at Carnegie Hall, by soprano Sylvia McNair and pianist Martin Katz; An orchestrated version of this song-cycle premiered in Minneapolis on October 23, 2003, with soprano Hila Plitmann and the Minnesota Orchestra conducted by Robert Spano; Others 1895 - Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, age 22, makes his operatic debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples, singing the lead tenor role in Domenico Morelli's comic opera "L'Amico Francesco." Links and Resources On Ned Rorem An essay on "Shakespeare and Music"

Synopsis On today's date in the year 2000, the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen gave the premiere of a new opera entitled “The Handmaid's Tale,” based on the dystopian novel by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. The book and opera tell of a nightmarish future: following a nuclear disaster in the United States, infertility rates have soared, and a religious sect has staged a military coup, enslaving the few fertile women who remain as breeders, or “handmaids,” for the military and religious commanders of their sect. Says Atwood, "There is nothing new about the society I depicted in The Handmaid's Tale except the time and place. All of the things I have written about have been done before – more than once, in fact." Despite its grim subject matter, Danish composer Poul Ruders says he saw "huge operatic potential" when he first read the book back in 1992. The original production in Copenhagen was sung in Danish, but Ruders says he conceived the work in English. The opera was staged in that language first in London at the English National Opera, and subsequently, at the opera's American premiere, in St. Paul by The Minnesota Opera, to great critical acclaim. Music Played in Today's Program Poul Ruders (b. 1949) — The Handmaid's Tale (Royal Danish Orchestra; Michael Schonwandt, cond.) DaCapo 9.224165-66 On This Day Births 1844 - Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Gregorian date: Mar. 18); 1870 - Austrian operetta composer Oscar Straus, in Vienna; Deaths 1932 - American composer and bandleader John Philip Sousa, age 77, in Reading, Pa.; 1967 - Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály, age 84, in Budapest; Premieres 1791 - Beethoven: "Ritterballett" (Knightly Ballet), in Bonn; 1825 - Beethoven: String Quartet in Eb, Op. 127, in Vienna, the Schuppanzigh Quartet; This premiere was under-rehearsed and poorly performed (the Quartet had only received the music two weeks earlier), and Beethoven arranged for a second performance by a quartet led by violinist Joseph Boehm on March 26, which was better rehearsed and better received; 1831 - Bellini: opera "La Sonnambula" (The Sleepwalker), in Milan at the Teatro Carcano; 1853 - Verdi: opera "La Traviata" (The Lost One), in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice; 1896 - Arthur Foote: Suite in d, by the Boston Symphony, Emil Paur conducting; 1917 - Rachmaninoff: "Etudes-tableaux," Op. 39 (first complete performance of the set of nine), in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), by the composer (Julian date: Feb. 21); 1926 - Hindemith: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1927 - Prokofiev: Quintet for winds and strings, Op. 39, in Moscow; 1933 - Varèse: "Ionisation," in New York City, with Nicholas Slonimsky conducting; 1934 - Piston: "Concerto for Orchestra," in Cambridge, Mass.; 1947 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 25, at the Moscow Conservatory by the USSR State Symphony, Alexander Gauk conducting; 1984 - John Harbison: "Ulysses' Raft," by the New Haven Symphony, Murray Sidlin conducting; 2000 - Poul Ruders: opera "The Handmaid's Tale," in Copenhagen, by the Royal Danish Theater, Mark Schönwandt conducting; 2003 - John Harbison: "Requiem," by vocal soloists Christine Brewer, Margaret Lattimore, Paul Groves, and Jonathan Lemalu, with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Boston Symphony conducted by Bernard Haitink. Links and Resources On Poul Ruders More on "The Handmaid's Tale"

Synopsis The German composer Richard Wagner tried to limit performances of his final opera, “Parsifal,” to his own theater in Bayreuth, hoping it would provide a source of income for his family after his death. “Parsifal” premiered at Bayreuth in 1882, and after Wagner died the following year, his widow forbade rental of the music for performances elsewhere. Naturally, Wagner enthusiasts all over the world were eager to hear the new work. One of them was a German-born American named Walter Damrosch, who, at the tender age of 23, headed both the New York Symphony and Oratorio Society, and was a conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. While visiting London in 1885, Damrosch had bought a miniature score of “Parsifal.” The purchase gave him no right to perform the work, but he discovered the monetary fine for doing so was so small that he hired copyists to prepare orchestral parts for a concert performance in America at the old Metropolitan Opera House on today's date in 1886. Unfortunately for Damrosch, Anton Seidl, a close friend of Wagner's widow was hired as the new music director of the Met. Seidl apparently took offense at Damrosch's audacity, and so limited Damrosch to only non-Wagnerian repertory! Music Played in Today's Program Richard Wagner (1813–1883) — Parsifal (excerpt) (SW German Radio Symphony; Erich Leinsdorf, cond.) Hannsler 93.040 On This Day Births 1891 - Spanish composer Federico Moreno Torroba, in Madrid; Deaths 1768 - Italian composer Nicola Porpora, age 81, in Naples; 1824 - Italian composer and violin virtuoso Giovanni Battista Viotti, age 68, in London; 1932 - British-born German composer and pianist Eugène d'Albert, age 67, in Riga; Premieres 1793 - Haydn: Symphony No. 101 ("The Clock"), conducted by the composer, at the Hanover-Square Concert Rooms in London; 1842 - Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish"), by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, with the composer conducting; 1853 - revised version of R. Schumann: Symphony No. 4, with the Düsseldorf Municipal Orchestra, conducted by the composer; An earlier version of this symphony premiered in Leipzig in 1841 as Schumann's Symphony "No. 2," but the composer withdrew the score and composed and premiered a new Symphony No. 2 and Symphony No. 3 before revising and reintroducing this symphony as "No. 4"; 1870 - Brahms: "Alto Rhapsody," by the singer Pauline Viardot-Garcia, in Jena, Germany; 1875 - Bizet: opera "Carmen," in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1893 - George Templeton Strong, Jr.: Symphony No. 2 ("Sintram"), at a public afternoon rehearsal by the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, with Anton Seidl conducting; The "official" premiere concert took place the following evening; 1899 - R. Strauss: tone-poem "Ein Heldenleben" (A Hero's Life), in Frankfurt, with Strauss conducting; 1918 - Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Op. 17, in Budapest, by the Waldbauer Quartet; 1944 - Barber: Symphony No, 2, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1951 - Otto Luening: "Kentucky Concerto" by the Louisville Orchestra, with the composer conducting; 1959 - Cowell: Symphony No. 13 ("Madras") in Madras, India; 1963 - Menotti: television opera "Labyrinth," broadcast over the NBC network; Others 1886 - American premiere (in a concert version) of Wagner's "Parsifal" at the Old Metropolitan Opera House, by the New York Symphony and Oratorio Society conducted by the 24-year old Walter Damrosch; The soloists included soprano Marianne Brandt, who had alternated the role of Kundry with soprano Amalie Materna in the premiere staged performances of the opera in Bayreuth in July of 1882; The first fully staged presentation of "Parsifal" in the U.S. did not occur at the Met until Dec. 24, 1903; 1922 - U.S. premiere of concert version of Stravinsky's ballet score, "The Rite of Spring," in Philadelphia, with Leopold Stokowski conducting. Links and Resources On Wagner's "Parsifal" On Walter Damrosch

Synopsis In New York City on today's date in 2008, The Juilliard School's FOCUS! Festival showcased music from the opposite coast, including the world premiere of a new string quartet by Californian composer John Adams. Some 14 years earlier, Adams had written a work for the Kronos Quartet and pre-recorded tape that he titled “John's Book of Alleged Dances,” because, as he said, “the steps for the dances had yet to be invented.” His new work for 2008 had a more serious title: simply, “String Quartet,” and was premiered by the St. Lawrence String Quartet.  Adams had heard the Saint Lawrence Quartet perform his “Book of Alleged Dances,” and was so impressed he wanted to write a new work for the ensemble, but found it an intimidating experience, given the great string quartets written by composers of the past ranging from Haydn to Ravel. “String quartet writing is one of the most difficult challenges a composer can take on,” confessed Adams. “Unless one is an accomplished string player and writes in that medium all the time – and I don't know many these days who do – the demands of handling this extremely volatile and transparent instrumental medium can easily be humbling, if not downright humiliating.”  Music Played in Today's Program John Adams (b. 1947) — String Quartet (No. 1) (St. Lawrence String Quartet) Nonesuch 523014 On This Day Births 1715 - Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil, in Vienna; 1782 - French composer Daniel-François-Esprit Auber, in Caen; 1852 - British composer Frederic Hymen Cowen, in Kingston, Jamaica; 1862 - English composer Fritz (Frederick) Delius, in Bradford, Yorkshire; 1876 - English composer Havergal Brian, in Dresden, Staffordshire; 1924 - Italian composer Luigi Nono, in Venice; Deaths 1946 - British composer Sydney Jones, age 84, in London, age 84; 1962 - Austrian composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler, age 86, in New York City; Premieres 1728 - Gay & Pepusch: ballad-opera, “The Beggar's Opera,” at Lincoln's Inn Fields, London; This work, mounted by the London impresario John Rich, proved so popular that it was staged 62 times that season; As contemporary wags put it, the wildly successful work “made Gay Rich and Rich Gay&rdquo(Gregorian date: Feb. 9); 1781 - Mozart: opera, "Idomeneo" in Munich at the Hoftheater; 1826 - Schubert: String Quartet in D minor, "Death and the Maiden," as a unrehearsed reading at the Vienna home of Karl and Franz Hacker, two amateur musicians; Schubert, who usually played viola on such occasions, could not perform since he was busy copying out the parts and making last-minute corrections; 1882 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera "The Snow Maiden," in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Feb. 10); 1892 - Chadwick: “A Pastoral Prelude,” by the Boston Symphony. Arthur Nikisch conducting; 1916 - Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite ("Ala and Lolly"), Op. 20, at the Mariinsky Theater in Petrograd, with the composer conducting (Julian date: Jan. 16); 1932 - Gershwin: "Second Rhapsody" for piano and orchestra, in Boston, with the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky and the composer as soloist; 1936 - Constant Lambert: "Summer's Last Will and Testament" for chorus and orchestra, in London; 1981 - John Williams: first version of Violin Concerto (dedicated to the composer's late wife, actress and singer Barbara Ruick Williams), by Mark Peskanov and the St. Louis Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin; Williams subsequently revised this work in 1998; This premiere date is listed (incorrectly) as Jan. 19 in the DG recording featuring Gil Shaham; Links and Resources More on John Adams More on the string quartet and its history

Synopsis Many good things come in threes – at least William Bolcom seems to think so. On today's date in 1971, in a converted garage next to a graveyard in Newburgh, New York, American composer and pianist William Bolcom put the finishes touches to the second of three piano pieces he collectively titled “Ghost Rags.” “Ghost Rag” No. 2 was titled “Poltergeist” and dedicated to Tracey Sterne, who at that time was a dynamic record producer at Nonesuch Records.  In her youth Sterne pursued a career as a concert pianist, but in the 1960s and 70s was responsible for assembling the Nonesuch label's astonishingly diverse catalog of old, new and world music.   “Ghost Rag” No. 3, titled “Dream Shadows,” was described by Bolcom as a “white rag” which evoked “the era of white telephones and white pianos” and “was in the white key of C Major.” Bolcom dedicated this rag to his fellow composer, William Albright. And Bolcom's ‘Ghost Rag” No. 1, which has proved to be the most popular of the three, was titled “Graceful Ghost.”  Bolcom dedicated this music to the memory of his father, whose benign spirit Bolcom said he often felt hovering around his piano while he played at night. Music Played in Today's Program William Bolcom (b. 1938) — Graceful Ghost Rags (Paul Jacobs, piano) Nonesuch 79006 On This Day Births 1791 - French opera composer Louis Joseph F. Herold, in Paris; 1898 - Italian-American composer Vittorio Rieti, in Alexandria, Egypt; 1944 - British composer Sir John Tavener, in London; Deaths 1935 - Russian composer Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, age 75, in Moscow; 1947 - Venezuelan-born French composer Reynaldo Hahn, age 72, in Paris; Premieres 1725 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 92 ("Ich hab in Gottes Herz und Sinn") performed on Septuagesimae Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's second annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1724/25); 1828 - Schubert: Piano Trio in Bb, Op. 99 (D. 898), at a private performance by Ignaz Schuppanzigh (violin), Josef Linke (cello), and Carl Maria von Bocklet (piano); 1830 - Auber: opera "Fra Diavolo" in Paris at the Opéra-Comique; 1876 - Tchaikovsky: "Serenade mélancolique" for violin and orchestra, in Moscow (Julian date: Jan. 18); 1897 - Glazunov: Symphony No. 5, in London; 1915 - Ravel: Piano Trio in a, in Paris, by Gabriel Wilaume (violin), Louis Feuillard (cello), and Alfredo Casella (piano); 1916 - Granados: opera "Goyescas," at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; 1927 - Copland: Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony conducted by Serge Koussevitzky, with the composer as soloist; 1941 - Copland: "Quiet City," at Town Hall in New York City by the Little Symphony conducted by Daniel Saidenberg; This music is based on incidental music Copland wrote for Irwin Shaw's play of the same name produced by the Group Theater in New York in 1939; 1944 - Bernstein: Symphony No. 1 ("Jeremiah"), at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh by the Pittsburgh Symphony conducted by the composer, with mezzo-soprano Jennie Tourel as vocal soloist; 1972 - Scott Joplin: opera "Treemonisha" (orchestrated by T.J. Anderson), in Atlanta; 1990 - Joan Tower: Flute Concerto, at Carnegie Hall in New York, with soloist Carol Wincenc and the American Composers Orchestra, Hugh Wolff, conducting; 1995 - Elinor Armer: “Island Earth” (to a text by Sci-Fi writer Usula K. Le Guin), at the University of California, Berkeley, by the various San Francisco choirs and the Women's Philharmonic, conducted by JoAnn Falletta; On the same program were the premiere performance's of Chen Yi's “Antiphony” for orchestra and Augusta Read Thomas's “Fantasy” for piano and orchestra (with piano soloist Sara Wolfensohn); 1997 - Morten Lauridsen: “Mid-Winter Songs” (final version) for chorus and orchestra, by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, John Currie conducting; Earlier versions of this work with piano and chamber orchestra accompaniment had premiered in 1981, 1983, and 1985 at various Californian venues; 2000 - André Previn: "Diversions," in Salzburg, Austria, by the Vienna Philharmonic, the composer conducting; Others 1742 - Jonathan Swift, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin (and the author of "Gulliver's Travels"), objects to the cathedral singers taking part in performances of Handel's works while the composer is in that city (Gregorian date: Feb. 8); Rehearsals for the premiere performance of Handel's "Messiah" would begin in April of that year, involving the choirs of both Christ Church and St. Patrick's Cathedrals in Dublin; 1971 - William Bolcom completes his "Poltergeist" Rag (dedicated to Teresa Sterne, a one-time concert pianist who was then a producer for Nonesuch Records); According to the composer's notes, the "Poltergeist" Rag was written "in a converted garage next to a graveyard in Newburgh, N.Y." Links and Resources On William Bolcom

Building a Library: Emily MacGregor recommends a her favourite recording of Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. For Bartók, the circumstances surrounding the composition of his Concerto for Orchestra could hardly have been more miserable. In 1940 he fled his native Hungary to escape the Nazis and spent the remaining five years of his life in the United States, those years blighted by despair, painful illness and abject poverty. But unknown to Bartók, two fellow Hungarians, violinist Joseph Szigeti and conductor Fritz Reiner, conspired to persuade Serge Koussevitzky to offer a generous commission. In 1943, the glamorous conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra visited Bartók in his New York hospital, and flamboyantly presented the composer, not only with a commission for an orchestral work but also a $500 down payment. Bartók began work in August and finished the Concerto for Orchestra just under three moths later. It spotlights, often with brilliance and playfulness, all the sections of the orchestra and perhaps only its central Elegy, which Bartók called a 'lugubrious death-song', reflects the circumstances of its composition. The work's recorded history begins at the beginning in 1944 with Koussevitzky and the Boston SO and has been much recorded ever since, a 20th-century classic by one of the century's greatest composers.

Synopsis On today's date in 1945, Sergei Prokofiev conducted the Moscow Philharmonic in the premiere performance of his Fifth Symphony. Written when the tide of the Second World War was turning in the favor of the Allies, the premiere came one day after news reached Moscow that Soviet troops had begun a successful counteroffensive against the Germans. The symphony proved to be one of Prokofiev's strongest works, and in the context of 1945 must have had an incredible emotional impact. It was a tremendous success in Moscow, and also in Boston, where Serge Koussevitzky conducted the American premiere later that same year. Prokofiev even made the cover of Time magazine. As musicologist Michael Steinberg puts it: “No question, the Fifth was a repertory piece from Day One.” How sad, then, to realize how soon things would change for the man who wrote it. In three years Prokofiev – along with Shostakovich and others – would be denounced by Soviet authorities for supposedly straying from the party line. In five years, when the Red Scare in America turned our one-time Ally into Public Enemy No. 1, conductor Maurice Abravenel received a death threat when the Utah Symphony announced the Salt Lake City premiere of Prokofiev's Fifth. Music Played in Today's Program Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) — Symphony No. 5 in Bb, Op. 100 (St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Yuri Temirkanov, cond.) RCA/BMG 60984

Synopsis In the 1940s, the Boston Symphony gave the premiere of more than 60 new orchestral works – most of them conducted by the very charismatic and very wealthy Serge Koussevitzky, the music director of the Boston Symphony. And why not? It was the Koussevitzky Foundation that commissioned most of those pieces in the first place, and certainly Maestro Koussevitzky had the knack for picking winners and advancing the careers of composers he admired. In the 1940s, for example, Koussevitzky premiered no less than four major works by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu. On today's date in 1943, one of these pieces, Martinu's Second Violin Concerto, received its first performance under Koussevitzky with Mischa Elman as the soloist. But not all the Boston premieres were conducted by Koussevitzky. Earlier that same December of 1943, the American composer and conductor Howard Hanson led the orchestra in the first performance of his Symphony No. 4, and on today's date in 1948, the premiere of his own Piano Concerto, with the Boston Symphony and the Czech pianist Rudolf Firkusny as soloist. Like the Martinu Concerto, this, too, was a Koussevitzky Foundation commission. Music Played in Today's Program Bohuslav Martinu (1890–1959) — Violin Concerto No. 2 (Josef Suk, violin; Czech Philharmonic; Vaclav Neumann, cond.) Supraphon 11 0702 Howard Hanson (1896–1981) — Piano Concerto, Op. 36 (Alfred Mouledous, piano; Eastman-Rochester Orchestra; Howard Hanson, cond.) Mercury 434 370

Synopsis On today's date in 1930, Igor Stravinsky's “Symphony of Psalms” received its American premiere by the Boston Symphony. The Russian-born conductor and new music impresario Serge Koussevitzky had commissioned the work to celebrate the Boston Symphony's 50th anniversary. Stravinsky said later that for some time he had been carrying around in his head the idea for a choral symphony based on psalm texts. Since Koussevitzky's commission was for “anything Stravinsky had on his mind” that is exactly what emerged. Even though Stravinsky is on record stating that “music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all,” in “Symphony of Psalms,” Stravinsky gave powerful expression to his own very deep religious convictions. Koussevitzky's performance was supposed to be the world premiere of the new work, but the conductor took ill, forcing the originally scheduled December 12th world premiere in Boston to be postponed until the 19th. By then, a European performance of Stravinsky's new score conducted by Ernest Ansermet had already occurred. No matter. Koussevitzky had the satisfaction of knowing that he had commissioned a masterpiece. Stravinsky's “Symphony of Psalms” has come to be regarded as one of the great sacred works of the 20th century. Music Played in Today's Program Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) — Symphony of Psalms (The Monteverdi Choir; London Symphony; John Eliot Gardiner, cond.) DG 436 789

Synopsis On today's date in 1949, Leonard Bernstein conducted the Boston Symphony in the first complete performance of Olivier Messiaen's ten-movement, 75-minute long “Turangalila” Symphony. “Turangalila” is the Sanskrit word for love, and Messiaen's score is meant to be a voluptuous evocation of the emotion at its most exalted state. Messiaen had spent the summer of 1949 as composer-in-residence at Tanglewood at the invitation of the great Russian conductor and new music impresario, Serge Koussevitzky, who was also Bernstein's mentor. Before arriving in Tanglewood, Messiaen had written to Bernstein as follows: “I have put into my symphony all of my strengths of love, of hope and of musical research. But I know you are a man of genius and that you will conduct it the way I feel it.”  The exotic French score was a modest success in Massachusetts. At least it provoked no riot, but then, as The Christian Science Monitor noted: “If Bostonians suffer, they suffer in silence.” When Bernstein and the Boston Symphony took the new score to New York's Carnegie Hall, however, critical reaction ranged from “a really rousing experience” to the view that (quote) “the trashiest Hollywood composers have met their match.” Music Played in Today's Program Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) — Turangalila Symphony (Concertgebouw Orchestra; Riccardo Chailly, cond.) London 436 626

Synopsis On today's date in 1919, the eminent French conductor Pierre Monteux, led the Boston Symphony in the premiere performance of “The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan,” a new orchestral score written by the American composer Charles Tomlinson Griffes. This music was inspired by the famous Romantic poem of that name by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, but owes its exotic orchestral coloring to Griffes' interest in the music of Asia and the Pacific Rim. Although Griffes himself never traveled there, he knew someone who had: the influential Canadian soprano Eva Gauthier, famous for her avant-garde song recitals that included music by Stravinsky and Schoenberg, and her later association with Gershwin and Ravel. It was the well-traveled Gauthier who introduced Griffes to the musical traditions of Japan and Java. The 1919 Boston premiere of “Kubla Khan” was the highpoint of Griffes' career, and all the critics agreed a major new talent had arrived on the American music scene. Unfortunately, one month later, Griffes took ill and in a few months died from a severe lung infection. He was just 35 years old. How his music would have developed had Griffes lived remains one of the most intriguing “what might have beens” of American music. Music Played in Today's Program Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884 - 1920) — The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan (Boston Symphony; Seiji Ozawa, cond.) New World 273 On This Day Births 1784 - Baptismal date of German composer and pianist Ferdinand Ries, in Bonn; 1829 - Russian composer and pianist Anton Rubinstein, in Vikhvatinets, Podolia (see Julian date: Nov. 16); Deaths 1972 - British composer Havergal Brian, age 96, in Shoreham-by-Sea; He composed 32 symphonies between 1919-1968 (most remained unperformed during his lifetime); Premieres 1723 - Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 61 ("Nun komm der Heiden Heiland" I) performed on the 1st Sunday in Advent as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24); 1811 - Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5, by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Johann Philip Christian Schultz conducting, and Friedrich Schneider as the soloist; 1895 - Rimsky-Korsakov: opera “Christmas Eve,” in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 10); 1896 - Mussorgsky: opera “Boris Godunov” (Rimsky-Korsakov version), in St. Petersburg (Gregorian date: Dec. 10); 1909 - Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3, in Carnegie Hall, composer at piano, Walter Damrosch conducting New York Symphony Society Orchestra; 1919 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes: "The Pleasure Dome of Kublai Khan," Pierre Monteux conducting Boston Symphony Orchestra; 1930 - Hanson: Symphony No. 2 ("Romantic"), by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1930 - Kodály: "Marosszék Dances," in Dresden; 1940 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 20, in Moscow; 1990 - Christopher Rouse: “Concerto per Corde” (Concerto for Strings), at Avery Fisher Hall in New York, by the American Symphony Orchestra, Catherine Comet conducting; Links and Resources On Charles Tomlinson Griffes

Synopsis On today's date in 1944, a 29-year-old American composer named David Diamond had his Second Symphony premiered by the Boston Symphony under the famous Russian conductor Serge Koussevitzky. Diamond says he had written this music for the charismatic Greek maestro Dimitri Mitropoulos, then the music director of the Minneapolis Symphony. “Mitropoulos had given a fine performance of my First Symphony,” said Diamond. “When I showed him the score of the Second he said, ‘you must have the parts extracted at once!' As these were readied, I asked him whether he was planning to perform the work. He then told me he thought he would not stay on in Minneapolis, but said, ‘Why don't you send it to Koussevitzky?' I did so, and Koussevitzky [invited me to a] trial reading at Symphony Hall. When it was over, the orchestra applauded like crazy. Koussevitzky turned to me and said, ‘I will play!'” Successful as Diamond was back in 1944, for many decades thereafter his neo-Romantic symphonic scores were neglected until Gerard Schwartz's CD recordings of some of them with the Seattle Symphony sparked a revival.  By then, Diamond was in his 70s, and commented: “The romantic spirit in music is important because it is timeless.” Music Played in Today's Program David Diamond (1915-2005) — Symphony No. 2 (Seattle Symphony; Gerard Schwarz, cond.) Delos 3093

Synopsis On today's date in 1945, Serge Koussevitzky conducted the Boston Symphony in the premiere performance of the Third Symphony of the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu. Martinu had finished the first two movements of his symphony as the Second World War was rushing to a close and later claimed he had Beethoven's Third, the “Eroica,” very much on his mind, convinced that there was somehow an ethical force at work in the creation of a symphony, and, just as in Beethoven's “Eroica,” it was possible to express moral and ethical ideals in music. As an exile from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and France, Martinu had come to the United States in 1941, and his mood is understandable in the anxious yet hopeful spring and summer of 1945. After liberation of Czechoslovakia, Martinu returned to his homeland and was offered a teaching post in Prague. Martinu, unhappy with Czechoslovakia's new Communist rulers, declined the offer, and returned to America, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1952.  After his death in 1957, Martinu's remains were eventually returned to his family mausoleum in Czechoslovakia, and in 1990, the Centenary of his Birth was celebrated in that country as a major cultural event. Music Played in Today's Program Bohuslav Martinu (1890 – 1959) — Symphony No. 3 (National Orchestra of Ukraine; Arthur Fagen, cond.) Naxos 8.553350

Synopsis The Russian Revolution of 1917 wiped out many family fortunes, and many penniless, Russian émigrés who fled the Bolsheviks had to start from scratch in exile. Natalie Koussevitzky, however, was not one of them. Her family fortune was fairly diversified, which meant that even the loss of her large Russian holdings left her with considerable wealth elsewhere. And since Natalie was married to the Russian émigré music publisher, conductor, and new music impresario Serge Koussevitzky, that meant a number of famous 20th century composers benefited as well. It's not an exaggeration to say that, culturally speaking, without Natalie's fortune, the history of 20th century music would have been noticeably poorer. When Natalie died, Serge Koussevitzky established a Music Foundation in her honor. One of the Foundation's memorial commissions was premiered on today's date in 1943 by the Boston Symphony, led by Serge Koussevitzky. This was a three-part symphonic “Ode” written by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, and dedicated to Natalie's memory. Curiously, the second movement of Stravinsky's “Ode” was actually a bit of recycled film music originally intended for the Orson Welles version of the English novel “Jane Eyre.”  In the final cut, Welles opted for a Bernard Herrmann score instead. Music Played in Today's Program Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971) — Ode (London Symphony; Michael Tilson Thomas, cond.) BMG 68865

Nearly 20 years ago, Robert Stiles discovered 29 unknown works by virtuosic bassist and composer Serge Koussevitzky. Now, Stiles is the Principal Librarian for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, where he puts his knowledge of music history and U.S. copyright law to work. Stiles spoke with Ann Delisi about his early career, discovering Koussevitzky's works, and gives a behind-the-scenes look at how orchestra find and obtain the music for their performances.

Synopsis On today’s date in 1899, Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. The son of a former White House butler, Elllington was born into a comfortable middle-class African American household. After piano lessons from the aptly named Miss Klinkscales, Ellington composed his first original piece, “The Soda Fountain Rag.” Two important mentors were a local dance band leader, Oliver “Doc” Perry and a high school music teacher named Henry Grant, who introduced Ellington to classical composers like Debussy. “From both these men I received freely and generously,” recalled Ellington. “ I repaid them as I could, by playing piano for Mr. Perry, and by learning all I could from Mr. Grant.” Always a stylish dresser, Ellington was nicknamed “The Duke” by friends, and while still in his teens, the five-piece dance band he formed was playing in New York City. That ensemble grew to 11 men by 1930 and to an orchestra of 19 by 1946. The Ellington orchestra was an ensemble of jazz virtuosos, and for them Ellington would compose some 2000 original works, a body of music extensively documented in public and private recordings, and now regarded as one of the most astonishing musical accomplishments of the 20th century. Music Played in Today's Program Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) The River Suite Detroit Symphony; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 9154 On This Day Births 1879 - British conductor and occasional orchestrator-arranger of Handel scores, Sir Thomas Beecham, in St. Helens (near Liverpool); 1855 - Russian composer Anatoly Liadov (Gregorian date: May 11); 1888 - American popular song composer Irving Berlin (Isidore Balin) (Gregorian date: May 11); There are several possibilities concerning his birth city. It could be Tyumen or Tumen, any one of several villages near the city of Mogilyov, Russia (now Belarus), not the city in Siberia. 1885 - American composer Wallingford Riegger, in Albany, Ga.; 1899 - American composer and jazz band leader, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, in Washington, D.C.; 1920 - American composer Harold Shapero, in Lynn, Mass.; 1929 - Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, in Launeceston; Deaths 1712 - Spanish composer and organist Juan Bautista José (Juan Bautista Josep; Joan) Cabanilles (Cavanilles, Cabanillas, Cavanillas), age c. 67, in Valencia; Premieres 1784 - Mozart: Violin Sonata in Bb, K. 454, at Vienna's Kärtnertor Theater in the presence of Emperor Joseph II, with the composer at the piano with Italian violinist Regina Strinasacchi; Mozart also performed one of his Piano Concertos, possibly the premiere performance of the Concerto No. 17 in G, K. 453 (see also June 13, 1784); 1798 - Haydn: oratorio "The Creation" at a private performance in Vienna at Schwarzenbgerg Palace; The first public performance occurred n March 19, 1799 (Haydn's nameday); 1927 - Vladimir Dukelsky (Vernon Duke): "Zephyr et Flore"ballet suite, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1928 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 9, in Moscow; 1929 - Prokofiev: opera "The Gambler" (sung in French) in Brussels; 1962 - Stravinsky: "Eight Instrumental Miniatures" (based on his "Five Fingers" of 1921), in Toronto by the CBC Symphony conducted by the composer; 1980 - John Williams: "The Reivers " (Suite for narrator and orchestra) with a William Faulkner, as part of the first concert Williams conducted as music director of the Boston Pops, with Burgess Meredith as narrator; 1988 - Peter Maxwell Davies: "Strathclyde Concerto" No. 1 for oboe and orchestra, at Glasgow's City Hall, by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer, with soloist Robin Miller; 1990 - Philip Glass: chamber opera "Hydrogen Jukebox" (to poems by Allen Ginsberg), by the Philip Glass ensemble conducted by Martin Goldray, in a concert version presented at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia; A staged production was presented at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C,, on May 26, 1990; 1993 - Michael Torke: "Run" for orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Slatkin conducting; Others 1906 - Victor Herbert conducts a benefit concert at the Hippodrome in New York City for victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; 1969 - On his 70th birthday, Duke Ellington receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House from then-President Richard Nixon. Links and Resources On Ellington

Synopsis On today’s date in 1899, Edward Kennedy Ellington was born in Washington, D.C. The son of a former White House butler, Elllington was born into a comfortable middle-class African American household. After piano lessons from the aptly named Miss Klinkscales, Ellington composed his first original piece, “The Soda Fountain Rag.” Two important mentors were a local dance band leader, Oliver “Doc” Perry and a high school music teacher named Henry Grant, who introduced Ellington to classical composers like Debussy. “From both these men I received freely and generously,” recalled Ellington. “ I repaid them as I could, by playing piano for Mr. Perry, and by learning all I could from Mr. Grant.” Always a stylish dresser, Ellington was nicknamed “The Duke” by friends, and while still in his teens, the five-piece dance band he formed was playing in New York City. That ensemble grew to 11 men by 1930 and to an orchestra of 19 by 1946. The Ellington orchestra was an ensemble of jazz virtuosos, and for them Ellington would compose some 2000 original works, a body of music extensively documented in public and private recordings, and now regarded as one of the most astonishing musical accomplishments of the 20th century. Music Played in Today's Program Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899-1974) The River Suite Detroit Symphony; Neeme Järvi, cond. Chandos 9154 On This Day Births 1879 - British conductor and occasional orchestrator-arranger of Handel scores, Sir Thomas Beecham, in St. Helens (near Liverpool); 1855 - Russian composer Anatoly Liadov (Gregorian date: May 11); 1888 - American popular song composer Irving Berlin (Isidore Balin) (Gregorian date: May 11); There are several possibilities concerning his birth city. It could be Tyumen or Tumen, any one of several villages near the city of Mogilyov, Russia (now Belarus), not the city in Siberia. 1885 - American composer Wallingford Riegger, in Albany, Ga.; 1899 - American composer and jazz band leader, Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington, in Washington, D.C.; 1920 - American composer Harold Shapero, in Lynn, Mass.; 1929 - Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, in Launeceston; Deaths 1712 - Spanish composer and organist Juan Bautista José (Juan Bautista Josep; Joan) Cabanilles (Cavanilles, Cabanillas, Cavanillas), age c. 67, in Valencia; Premieres 1784 - Mozart: Violin Sonata in Bb, K. 454, at Vienna's Kärtnertor Theater in the presence of Emperor Joseph II, with the composer at the piano with Italian violinist Regina Strinasacchi; Mozart also performed one of his Piano Concertos, possibly the premiere performance of the Concerto No. 17 in G, K. 453 (see also June 13, 1784); 1798 - Haydn: oratorio "The Creation" at a private performance in Vienna at Schwarzenbgerg Palace; The first public performance occurred n March 19, 1799 (Haydn's nameday); 1927 - Vladimir Dukelsky (Vernon Duke): "Zephyr et Flore"ballet suite, by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; 1928 - Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 9, in Moscow; 1929 - Prokofiev: opera "The Gambler" (sung in French) in Brussels; 1962 - Stravinsky: "Eight Instrumental Miniatures" (based on his "Five Fingers" of 1921), in Toronto by the CBC Symphony conducted by the composer; 1980 - John Williams: "The Reivers " (Suite for narrator and orchestra) with a William Faulkner, as part of the first concert Williams conducted as music director of the Boston Pops, with Burgess Meredith as narrator; 1988 - Peter Maxwell Davies: "Strathclyde Concerto" No. 1 for oboe and orchestra, at Glasgow's City Hall, by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra conducted by the composer, with soloist Robin Miller; 1990 - Philip Glass: chamber opera "Hydrogen Jukebox" (to poems by Allen Ginsberg), by the Philip Glass ensemble conducted by Martin Goldray, in a concert version presented at the American Music Theater Festival in Philadelphia; A staged production was presented at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C,, on May 26, 1990; 1993 - Michael Torke: "Run" for orchestra, by the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Slatkin conducting; Others 1906 - Victor Herbert conducts a benefit concert at the Hippodrome in New York City for victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; 1969 - On his 70th birthday, Duke Ellington receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House from then-President Richard Nixon. Links and Resources On Ellington

The celebrated children's tale with music, Peter and the Wolf - as WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us - was first heard in Moscow in the spring of 1936, an ominous time in the Soviet Union. Everywhere it went after that, it thrilled a listenership of kids. More, in this episode of Fishko Files. Walt Disney and Sergei Prokofiev met in Hollywood in 1938. Later, Disney made this promotional film about their meeting. (The man at the piano is an actor, not Prokofiev) Peter and the Wolf showcased some of the great voices and orchestras of the 20th century. See a list of some of the recordings used in Fishko Files, below.  Peter and the Wolf(s) Koussevitzky Conducts Prokofiev: Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, conductor, Richard Hale, narrator.  Pearl 1991. (recorded 1939) Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky, conductor, Eleanor Roosevelt, narrator. Listen to the recording here. (Recorded 1950) Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Mario Rossi, conductor, Boris Karloff, narrator. Vanguard, 1992. (Recorded 1957) Vienna State Opera Orchestra, Sir Eugene Goossens, conductor, Jose Ferrer, narrator. MCA, 1989. (Recorded 1959) Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York, Leopold Stokowski, conductor, Bob Keeshan, narrator. Everest, 1997. Academy of London, Richard Stamp, conductor, John Gielgud, narrator. Virgin, 1989. (Recorded 1989) Orchestra of St. Luke’s, James Levine, conductor, Sharon Stone, narrator. DG, 2001. (Recorded 2001) The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, conductor, David Bowie, narrator. RCA, 1978. (Recorded 1978) New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, conductor and narrator. Sony, 1998. (Recorded 1960) Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, conductor, Itzhak Perlman, narrator. EMI, 1996. (Recorded 1986) Other music by Prokofiev used in this episode Romeo and Juliet, excerpt from Suite #2 Op. 64 C. Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Armin Jordan, conductor. Erato, 1992. Sonata #6, excerpt from 1st movement, Sviatoslav Richter. Philips Classics, 1998. Winter Bonfire, Op. 122, excerpt from “Departure.” The New London Orchestra. Ronald Corp, conductor. Hyperion, 1991. Fishko Files with Sara Fishko Assistant Producer: Olivia BrileyMix Engineer: Wayne ShulmisterEditor: Karen Frillmann

durée : 00:30:31 - Disques de légende du vendredi 19 mars 2021 - Ce 19 août 1990, Leonard Bernstein donne son tout dernier concert à Tanglewood avec l'Orchestre Symphonique de Boston, afin de rendre hommage à Serge Koussevitzky. Au programme : la "Septième Symphonie" de Beethoven et les "Four Sea Interludes" de Britten. Un concert émouvant et hors du temps.

For most music lovers, the phrase “Italian composers of the 19th and 20th centuries” means first and foremost OPERA composers. But during the 1920s and 1930s, when the great Italian opera conductor Arturo Toscanini was music director of the New York Philharmonic, American audiences heard many non-operatic, symphonic works by modern Italian composers. On today’s date in 1929, for example, Toscanini led the New York Philharmonic in the world premiere performance of the “Concerto dell ‘estate” or “Summer Concerto of the contemporary Italian composer, Ildebrando Pizzetti. In addition to premieres by Pizzetti, New York audiences heard recent Italian symphonic works by Respighi, Tommasini, Martucci, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Wolf-Ferrari, and others. Absent from Toscanini’s New York programs were new works by the rising AMERICAN composers of the day. There were no Toscanini premieres—or even performances—of works by Copland, Harris, or Piston. Those composers had to look to the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky if they wanted a hearing. The American composer Daniel Gregory Mason complained in 1931 that the Philharmonic was run by (quote): “fashion-enslaved, prestige-hypnotized minds... totally devoid of any American loyalty to match the Italian loyalty” that was, as Mason admitted, “rather likeable” in the charismatic Italian maestro.

For most music lovers, the phrase “Italian composers of the 19th and 20th centuries” means first and foremost OPERA composers. But during the 1920s and 1930s, when the great Italian opera conductor Arturo Toscanini was music director of the New York Philharmonic, American audiences heard many non-operatic, symphonic works by modern Italian composers. On today’s date in 1929, for example, Toscanini led the New York Philharmonic in the world premiere performance of the “Concerto dell ‘estate” or “Summer Concerto of the contemporary Italian composer, Ildebrando Pizzetti. In addition to premieres by Pizzetti, New York audiences heard recent Italian symphonic works by Respighi, Tommasini, Martucci, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Wolf-Ferrari, and others. Absent from Toscanini’s New York programs were new works by the rising AMERICAN composers of the day. There were no Toscanini premieres—or even performances—of works by Copland, Harris, or Piston. Those composers had to look to the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky if they wanted a hearing. The American composer Daniel Gregory Mason complained in 1931 that the Philharmonic was run by (quote): “fashion-enslaved, prestige-hypnotized minds... totally devoid of any American loyalty to match the Italian loyalty” that was, as Mason admitted, “rather likeable” in the charismatic Italian maestro.

durée : 00:25:03 - Arthur Honegger, Pacific 231 - par : Anne-Charlotte Rémond - 8 mai 1924. Opéra de Paris. Le chef russe Serge Koussevitzky offre au public la création de la nouvelle oeuvre orchestrale d'Arthur Honegger, "Pacific 2.3.1", du nom de la célèbre la locomotive à vapeur. Ce "mouvement symphonique" est l'une des plus célèbres oeuvres du compositeur - réalisé par : Claire Lagarde

At the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition, Semifinalist Tzu-Yin Huang performed Intermezzo interrotto, György Sándor's solo piano arrangement of the fourth movement of Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. Concerto for Orchestra is one of Bartók's best known, most popular, and most accessible works. In 1943, Bartók was in and out of the hospital, thinking his career in music was over, when the Boston Symphony conductor, Serge Koussevitzky, came to offer him the commission. He completed the Concerto in only a few months. It premiered on 1 December 1944. After his death, Bartók's son, Peter, discovered a manuscript for a piano reduction of the score. Soon after, he asked Sándor to prepare the script for publication and performance, which is the arrangement you are about to hear. Enjoy this performance from Semifinalist Tzu-Yin Huang recorded live at the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition! Watch the video edition of this excerpt at honens.com/home.

Born of Jewish descent in Warsaw, Poland in 1879, Wanda Landowska would go on to achieve an impressive career as a keyboardist, specializing in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and other composers from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. What is perhaps most remarkable about her career is that not only was she a performer of the highest rank – and one for whom her on-stage manner was known to have great individuality, charm and intimacy – but also she was extremely well-read, particularly in the area of musicology. Landowska’s vast writings, collected in the present volume – published five years after her death by her student and domestic partner, Denise Restout – represent discussions about many aspects pertaining to musical performance and interpretation. Regarded for her revival of the harpsichord, Landowska was a student of Jan Kleczynski and Alexander Michalowski, both of which were authorities on the music of Frédéric Chopin. Additional studies in counterpoint and composition were taken with Heinrich Urban in Berlin. Landowska also studied with Moritz Moszkowski. Following an elopement to Paris in 1900, with Henry Lew (who later died in a car accident following the First World War) Landowska began to give harpsichord performances, her famous Pleyel harpsichord having not been completed until 1912. This period saw concert tours throughout Europe. Also at this time, her essays began to be published. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Landowska taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and, a few years later, from 1912-19, at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Following her American debut in 1923, she taught for several years in Philadelphia at the Curtis Institute. By 1925, Landowska had established the École de Musique Ancienne in Paris and, by 1927, her famous home in Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, which would become a center for the performance and study of old music. She held residence there thru 1940, during which time she often attended – both as guest and performer – the famous salons of Natalie Clifford Barney. Becoming a naturalized French citizen in 1938, Landowska was the first person to record, at the harpsichord, the Goldberg Variations of J. S. Bach. The years of the Second World War were hard on Landowska, her home in Saint-Leu having been looted. Priceless instruments and manuscripts were stolen. Having fled Europe for the USA with Denise Restout, the two arrived in New York on December 7, 1941, the date of the attack on Pearl Harbour. The two eventually settled in Lakeville, Connecticut, in a peaceful home where Landowska continued performing and teaching. Landowska gave her final public performance in 1954. That same year saw the issuing of her recording of The Well-Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach. Though not limited to the harpsichord (Landowska performed frequently at the piano), the instrument was, however, her primary vehicle of expression and she achieved success in conveying to contemporary composers, the reasons they ought to write for the instrument. Both Manuel de Falla and Francis Poulenc composed for her, works for harpsichord. While the selections presented here represent a small sampling of the artist’s work, it is worth noting that the lives with whom Landowska came into contact during her life, included the likes of Louis Diémer, Gabriel Fauré, Serge Koussevitzky, Pierre Monteux, Arthur Nikisch, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Camille Saint-Saëns, Albert Schweitzer, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Leo Tolstoy and many others. Landowska passed away in 1959 in Lakeville, Connecticut, at the age of eighty. ---------- PayPal.me/pennypiano Support for this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Born of Jewish descent in Warsaw, Poland in 1879, Wanda Landowska would go on to achieve an impressive career as a keyboardist, specializing in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and other composers from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. What is perhaps most remarkable about her career is that not only was she a performer of the highest rank – and one for whom her on-stage manner was known to have great individuality, charm and intimacy – but also she was extremely well-read, particularly in the area of musicology. Landowska’s vast writings, collected in the present volume – published five years after her death by her student and domestic partner, Denise Restout – represent discussions about many aspects pertaining to musical performance and interpretation. Regarded for her revival of the harpsichord, Landowska was a student of Jan Kleczynski and Alexander Michalowski, both of which were authorities on the music of Frédéric Chopin. Additional studies in counterpoint and composition were taken with Heinrich Urban in Berlin. Landowska also studied with Moritz Moszkowski. Following an elopement to Paris in 1900, with Henry Lew (who later died in a car accident following the First World War) Landowska began to give harpsichord performances, her famous Pleyel harpsichord having not been completed until 1912. This period saw concert tours throughout Europe. Also at this time, her essays began to be published. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Landowska taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and, a few years later, from 1912-19, at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Following her American debut in 1923, she taught for several years in Philadelphia at the Curtis Institute. By 1925, Landowska had established the École de Musique Ancienne in Paris and, by 1927, her famous home in Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, which would become a center for the performance and study of old music. She held residence there thru 1940, during which time she often attended – both as guest and performer – the famous salons of Natalie Clifford Barney. Becoming a naturalized French citizen in 1938, Landowska was the first person to record, at the harpsichord, the Goldberg Variations of J. S. Bach. The years of the Second World War were hard on Landowska, her home in Saint-Leu having been looted. Priceless instruments and manuscripts were stolen. Having fled Europe for the USA with Denise Restout, the two arrived in New York on December 7, 1941, the date of the attack on Pearl Harbour. The two eventually settled in Lakeville, Connecticut, in a peaceful home where Landowska continued performing and teaching. Landowska gave her final public performance in 1954. That same year saw the issuing of her recording of The Well-Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach. Though not limited to the harpsichord (Landowska performed frequently at the piano), the instrument was, however, her primary vehicle of expression and she achieved success in conveying to contemporary composers, the reasons they ought to write for the instrument. Both Manuel de Falla and Francis Poulenc composed for her, works for harpsichord. While the selections presented here represent a small sampling of the artist’s work, it is worth noting that the lives with whom Landowska came into contact during her life, included the likes of Louis Diémer, Gabriel Fauré, Serge Koussevitzky, Pierre Monteux, Arthur Nikisch, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Camille Saint-Saëns, Albert Schweitzer, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Leo Tolstoy and many others. Landowska passed away in 1959 in Lakeville, Connecticut, at the age of eighty. ---------- PayPal.me/pennypiano Support for this podcast is greatly appreciated!

Born of Jewish descent in Warsaw, Poland in 1879, Wanda Landowska would go on to achieve an impressive career as a keyboardist, specializing in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and other composers from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. What is perhaps most remarkable about her career is that not only was she a performer of the highest rank – and one for whom her on-stage manner was known to have great individuality, charm and intimacy – but also she was extremely well-read, particularly in the area of musicology. Landowska’s vast writings, collected in the present volume – published five years after her death by her student and domestic partner, Denise Restout – represent discussions about many aspects pertaining to musical performance and interpretation. Regarded for her revival of the harpsichord, Landowska was a student of Jan Kleczynski and Alexander Michalowski, both of which were authorities on the music of Frédéric Chopin. Additional studies in counterpoint and composition were taken with Heinrich Urban in Berlin. Landowska also studied with Moritz Moszkowski. Following an elopement to Paris in 1900, with Henry Lew (who later died in a car accident following the First World War) Landowska began to give harpsichord performances, her famous Pleyel harpsichord having not been completed until 1912. This period saw concert tours throughout Europe. Also at this time, her essays began to be published. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Landowska taught at the Schola Cantorum in Paris and, a few years later, from 1912-19, at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Following her American debut in 1923, she taught for several years in Philadelphia at the Curtis Institute. By 1925, Landowska had established the École de Musique Ancienne in Paris and, by 1927, her famous home in Saint-Leu-la-Forêt, which would become a center for the performance and study of old music. She held residence there thru 1940, during which time she often attended – both as guest and performer – the famous salons of Natalie Clifford Barney. Becoming a naturalized French citizen in 1938, Landowska was the first person to record, at the harpsichord, the Goldberg Variations of J. S. Bach. The years of the Second World War were hard on Landowska, her home in Saint-Leu having been looted. Priceless instruments and manuscripts were stolen. Having fled Europe for the USA with Denise Restout, the two arrived in New York on December 7, 1941, the date of the attack on Pearl Harbour. The two eventually settled in Lakeville, Connecticut, in a peaceful home where Landowska continued performing and teaching. Landowska gave her final public performance in 1954. That same year saw the issuing of her recording of The Well-Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach. Though not limited to the harpsichord (Landowska performed frequently at the piano), the instrument was, however, her primary vehicle of expression and she achieved success in conveying to contemporary composers, the reasons they ought to write for the instrument. Both Manuel de Falla and Francis Poulenc composed for her, works for harpsichord. While the selections presented here represent a small sampling of the artist’s work, it is worth noting that the lives with whom Landowska came into contact during her life, included the likes of Louis Diémer, Gabriel Fauré, Serge Koussevitzky, Pierre Monteux, Arthur Nikisch, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Camille Saint-Saëns, Albert Schweitzer, Leopold Stokowski, Igor Stravinsky, Leo Tolstoy and many others. Landowska passed away in 1959 in Lakeville, Connecticut, at the age of eighty. ---------- PayPal.me/pennypiano Support for this podcast is greatly appreciated!

This week on Interplay, conductor Giancarlo Guerrero joins me in a Conversation In Music about his pathfinding discoveries in new American music and the influence of Serge Koussevitzky on that quest. As music director of the great Nashville Symphony and guest at the great orchestras of the world, Maestro Guerrero's elan and joyful spirit are irresistible and profound. www.michaelshapiro.com www.giancarlo-guerrero.com

On today’s date in 1941, the Boston Symphony gave the first performance of a new symphony by a 31-year old American composer named William Schuman. It is numbered as Schuman’s Third Symphony but, in reality, you might as well say it’s his First. Now, Schuman was not an early devotee of the New Math. The explanation is a fairly simple one: Schuman had written two earlier symphonies, but these were composed very much under the influence of his teacher, the American composer Roy Harris. Schuman wrote his first symphony in 1935 and a second in 1937. The Second was very well received, and had even been played by the Boston Symphony under Serge Koussevitzky. It was Koussevitzky who commissioned Schuman to write a Third Symphony, and conducted its premiere on today’s date in 1941. It was with this work that Schuman felt he really found his own distinct voice as a composer. He withdrew his two earlier symphonies, and they were never published. By the time of his death in 1992, William Schuman had completed a Symphony No. 10. So—subtract the first two, and that makes eight “authentic” and “officially authorized” William Schuman symphonies in all.

- In this episode of American Muse we will hear the first symphony by Roy Harris, titled for the year it was written 1933. We will discuss the odd man Harris was, his nomadic nature, and an interesting story about he, his wife, and her name... stay tuned for that. (Play opening 10 seconds)###Composer- Roy Harris, or LeRoy as is his full first name, born in Oklahoma, but quickly moved to southern California. Studied with Arthur Farwell at UC Berkeley. Had his first orchestral piece premiered at Eastman by Howard Hanson (that's about the best promotion you could ask for right out of the gate!). Then met a guy named Aaron Copland who suggested he go to Paris and study with another composer named Nadia Boulanger. It's hard to go wrong after starting a career with names like that on your resume. Oh, but let's add one more shall we?? After returning to the US, Harris eventually meets Serge Koussevitzky, another career maker at the time, who then premiered and recorded Harris' _Symphony 1933_ , and THAT became the first commercially recorded American symphony.- Another thing to know about this man is that he could NOT sit still for very long. In chronological order, he taught at Juilliard, Westminster, Cornell, Stanford, Colorado College, University of Utah, Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Pennsylvania College for Women, Southern Illinois University, Indiana University, the Inter-American University in Puerto Rico, UCLA, and finally Cal State University, Los Angeles. And that's just the university positions!- Harris had a massive composition portfolio, and while he covered most of the bases—vocal, chamber, ballet, concertos, etc.—his main focus was clearly on the symphonic form. Harris numbered 13 symphonies (although, out of superstition, he numbered the last 14 to avoid the number 13), plus the _Three Symphonic Essays_, _American Portrait_, _Our Heritage_ (which he apparently only finished one movement for), a Symphony for High School Orchestra, _American Symphony_ for jazz band, Choral Symphony for chorus and orchestra, and the _Walt Whitman Symphony_ for solo baritone, chorus and orchestra. Oh! Also a _Symphony for Voices_, an entirely a cappella work. So, I'd say, he was hooked on the symphony.- Now, though there is STILL time left for this to happen to me… I have never had the honor of being properly called a genius (uh, by anyone other than my mother…). Roy Harris, on the other hand, did have this dubious fortune. Paraphrasing a famous quote of Robert Schumann praising the talents of an up and coming Frédéric Chopin, one Arthur Farwell said of Roy Harris, quote “Gentlemen, a genius—but keep your hats on!” Later, the equally great Walter Piston would counter by complimenting Harris for quote “surviving the trying experience of having been hailed as a genius.” It would seem that Roy Harris had a strong effect on critics and contemporaries alike. One possible reason the label of genius did not effect Harris negatively was his ability to stay so presently in the moment, maintaining an intense focus on the matter at hand. Certainly an aspect that reveals itself in his compositions, and a characteristic that makes for long days and short years.- Ok, one strange story I need to tell you is about he and his second wife. In 1936, Harris married Beula Duffey. Duffey was already on her way to a spectacular career as a pianist, having been hailed as a prodigy in Canada, and then as the youngest faculty member at Juilliard. The interesting part is that Harris convinced her to changer her FIRST name to Johana, after the great Johan Sebastian Bach! From what I could find, this was welcomed and uncontentious. It seems to have been a business and career decision as much as anything else. I just can't quite imagine starting that conversation: “Darling, I love you, I love everything about you… it's just, your name… I don't like it, and no one else will either. Instead, let's name you after a VERY dead male composer. What do you say??”- It turns out that at first Harris only numbered the symphonies that used the traditional symphonic orchestra. But, then he wrote the _Abraham Lincoln Symphony_ for piano, percussion, and brass, and numbered it the 10th, so that tradition ended.- Harris' approach to the various aspects of symphonic composition is articulated nicely by a biographer of his, Dan Stehman. He says quote “Formal procedures… he employs in the symphonies are virtually the same as in his miscellaneous orchestral and band works, and his chamber compositions, for that matter. Acquaintance with all of Harris' works in the genre reveals that his most consistent view appears to have been of the symphony as a work of greater seriousness, emotional variety, intensity of expression, and length than was the norm for him. Though… the elements which went into their creation were formed and treated quite similarly to those employed in other works, the materials of the symphonies are sometimes greater in number, richer in complexity, and accorded a more elaborate development. with especially prominent use of the various types of motivic working out… Occasionally ideas recur in a thematic sense within a symphony… thus providing more of a sense of large scale unity than one finds… in the miscellaneous pieces. … [T]he quality of the ideas in the symphonies, particularly the long melodies, is sometimes more distinctive than that found elsewhere in Harris's oevre.- So, Symphony 1933, Symphony No. 1, pieced together from bits he had already composed. Yet it isn't necessary to know that to enjoy the work. The initiation of this piece came about, as I mentioned earlier, via Aaron Copland introducing Harris to Koussevitzky, who was at the time not only the music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, he premiered works by so many American composers he was basically a career maker. According to Harris' memory, Koussevitzky said “Copland told me you are the American Mussorgsky. You must write for me a big symphony from the West. I will play.” Excuse my Russian accent, but that's a pretty cool endorsement from someone that, at the time, was likely destined to make your career, right?- Now to the symphony itself. These excerpts were performed by the Louisville Orchestra under the direction of Jorge Mester.- Symphony 1933 is in 3 movements: Allegro, Andante, and Maestoso; nothing special there. What Harris does from the very beginning is establish a rhythmic theme, one that is both inherently contrasting, alternating triplets against 8ths, but is presented as triumphant and at times aggressive. At the very opening the timpani presents the rhythm and the winds furiously wind through the melodic material that will be developed, followed by a brass variation. (Play opening 45 seconds)- The middle section of this movement shows characteristic melodic writing by Harris, using a soaring string line supported by regularly interjected rhythmic motives reminiscent of the opening energy beneath.- In the final section, where the opening material returns, Harris shows his ability to play with layers and space. In this excerpt string and timpani punctuate a heavy rhythmic figure, the woodwinds play a sustained, menacing melodic line in unison, and the brass begin a fugal conversation over the top. The effect is powerful!- In the second movement, Harris' lush melodic writing is fully featured. Another aspect is the harmonic writing, that is in some ways key to the uniquely American sound that is starting develop. Here, Harris uses a tightly dense harmonic accompaniment that moves rhythmically in sync with the moldy, and has many surprising chromatic twists as it moves along.- The last movement, while not overwhelming in energy, is constantly building interest and tension. In fact, Harris does this with a motive based only on 3 notes! Throughout out the movement he morphs those 3 notes in so many fashions you likely would not notice without it being pointed out, and that's the point! - Here is the very opening with the 3 note motive- Another version with a considerable amount of variation and energy this time, and more and more rhythmic complexity as it goes along- In a moment of calmness, Harris varies the motive in a much more horizontal, lyrical fashion.- Finally, Harris falls into repetitive mode to build up some energy.- This piece is easy to listen to and take in. It is not very long, but packs quite a mental punch. Though it was his first symphony, Harris does show compositional growth and maturity here. It is more than worth your time to listen to and enjoy. I can almost guarantee you've rarely heard another piece like it.Music:Symphony No. 1 '1933'By: Roy HarrisPerformed By: The Louisville Orchestra, Jorge MesterSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/american-muse-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Tanglewood is one of America’s most famous summer-time classical music festivals and can boast a long and impressive list of premieres and performances by famous American composers and conductors. It takes place each year around this time in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Tanglewood has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home for more than 60 years, but it wasn't the symphony's first location in the Berkshires. In August of 1936, the first in a three-concert series was performed at Holmwood, a former Vanderbilt estate. The great Russian-born conductor of the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, moved the festival to Tanglewood and expanded the concert series into a kind of intensive summer camp for young musicians and composers. Among those who particularly benefited were two young composer-conductors named Leonard Bernstein and Lukas Foss. In 1940, the Berkshire Music Center (now the Tanglewood Music Center) opened, and to mark the occasion, American composer Randall Thompson's famous choral work titled Alleluia received its premiere performance.

Tanglewood is one of America’s most famous summer-time classical music festivals and can boast a long and impressive list of premieres and performances by famous American composers and conductors. It takes place each year around this time in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Tanglewood has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home for more than 60 years, but it wasn't the symphony's first location in the Berkshires. In August of 1936, the first in a three-concert series was performed at Holmwood, a former Vanderbilt estate. The great Russian-born conductor of the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky, moved the festival to Tanglewood and expanded the concert series into a kind of intensive summer camp for young musicians and composers. Among those who particularly benefited were two young composer-conductors named Leonard Bernstein and Lukas Foss. In 1940, the Berkshire Music Center (now the Tanglewood Music Center) opened, and to mark the occasion, American composer Randall Thompson's famous choral work titled Alleluia received its premiere performance.

On today's date in 1945, a month after the end of war in Europe, a new opera by the English composer Benjamin Britten debuted at Sadler's Wells Theater in London. Its title was "Peter Grimes," with its story based on George Crabbe's long poem, The Borough, published in 1810, which described life along England's North Sea coast. In the early 1940's, Britten was living in America, and had read Crabbe's poem in California. The commission for the opera was also American, coming from Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony and one of the leading music patrons of the day. But Britten's opera is intensely English—evoking, as it does, the images and sounds of the North Sea off the east coast of Suffolk. Britten was born within sight of this seascape, and lived, for the better part of his later life, a little farther down the coast at Aldeburgh—the "Borough," on which George Crabbe had based his poem. From the start, "Peter Grimes" was an immediate success. Leonard Bernstein conducted its American premiere at the Tanglewood Festival, and within three years the opera was playing around the world. Within a week of its June 7th premiere, Britten conducted the London Philharmonic in an orchestral suite of "Sea Interludes" from his new opera, and these, too, have since firmly established themselves in the concert repertory.

On today's date in 1945, a month after the end of war in Europe, a new opera by the English composer Benjamin Britten debuted at Sadler's Wells Theater in London. Its title was "Peter Grimes," with its story based on George Crabbe's long poem, The Borough, published in 1810, which described life along England's North Sea coast. In the early 1940's, Britten was living in America, and had read Crabbe's poem in California. The commission for the opera was also American, coming from Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony and one of the leading music patrons of the day. But Britten's opera is intensely English—evoking, as it does, the images and sounds of the North Sea off the east coast of Suffolk. Britten was born within sight of this seascape, and lived, for the better part of his later life, a little farther down the coast at Aldeburgh—the "Borough," on which George Crabbe had based his poem. From the start, "Peter Grimes" was an immediate success. Leonard Bernstein conducted its American premiere at the Tanglewood Festival, and within three years the opera was playing around the world. Within a week of its June 7th premiere, Britten conducted the London Philharmonic in an orchestral suite of "Sea Interludes" from his new opera, and these, too, have since firmly established themselves in the concert repertory.

durée : 00:24:59 - Manuel De Falla, L'Amour sorcier - par : Anne-Charlotte Rémond - Donné au Théâtre du Trianon Lyrique le 25 mai 1925, L'Amour sorcier est déjà connu des Parisiens, puisque les deux chefs Enrique Arbos et Serge Koussevitzky l'ont déjà interprété en version suite pour orchestre. Avec Antonia Mercé, la version chorégraphiée est un triomphe plus grand encore ! - réalisé par : Claire Lagarde

Today’s episode, spontaneously crafted over the course of a few hours, features live performances of three longer works that, each in its own way, has something very specific to offer us as we face the uncertainty of our immediate future. First, a 1946 performance of Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody featuring the African American contralto Carol Brice with Serge Koussevitzky leading the Boston Symphony Orchestra. There follows a live performance from 1954 of French soprano Françoise Ogéas performing the title role of Debussy’s Rossetti-based cantata La damoiselle élue with mezzo-soprano Ginette Guillamat as the Récitante. Debussy specialist Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht leads the forces of the ORTF. The third major work in today’s episode is Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, in a live Carnegie Hall performance from October 10, 1958 by Eleanor Steber, who commissioned and premiered the work, accompanied by pianist Edwin Bitcliffe. Guest vocal appearances by Jewel Brown singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” and Marian Anderson performing “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” round out the episode. Countermelody is a new podcast devoted to the glories of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great classical and opera singers of the past and present with the help of guests from the classical music field: singers, conductors, composers, coaches, agents, and voice teachers. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please also visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your support at whatever level you can afford.

After fleeing Hungary during World War II for the United States, Béla Bartók was commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony, to write a piece for orchestra. This resulted in one of Bartók’s best-known works, the Concerto for Orchestra, which contains a parody of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7.

This episode from the archives features an interview that Barry Lieberman did with Gary Karr. In preparation for it, Barry listened to all of Gary Karr’s recordings and picked out his very favorite, and he and Gary listen to these and discuss the context behind them. It’s a fascinating window into this great artist, and it’s well worth a listen. This was originally released in 2008 on episode 89 of the podcast. There is a video version of this episode as well. About Gary Karr: Gary Karr, acclaimed as "the world's leading solo bassist" (Time Magazine), is, in fact, the first solo double bassist in history to make that pursuit a full-time career. It is a career that adds new lustre to his already lustrous 1611 Amati doublebass which was given to him by the widow of Serge Koussevitzky. Since his debut with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in 1962, Karr has performed as soloist on six continents with orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Simon Bolivar Orchestra (Caracas, Venezuela), Jerusalem Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and with all the major orchestras of Australia. On Italian cable, three Karr doublebass recitals reached 20 million classical music lovers. The numerous CDs that Gary Karr has recorded and released in Japan are "top of the recording charts" favorites in the Far East. The BBC has featured two video films of Karr, one an illumination of his life and music (Amazing Bass) and one a series for children. On his third recording with the London Symphony Orchestra, Karr performed the Concerto for Bass by John Downey. CBS Sunday Morning celebrated Gary Karr's career and the University of Wisconsin has released a video demonstrating his instructional approach to the doublebass (BASSically Karr) in addition to a special video concert for children (Karrtunes). One of Karr's proudest achievements is the Bronze Medal he received from the Rosa Ponselle Foundation which recognizes him as an outstanding lyrical musician. Gary is the proud holder of the 1997 Artist/Teacher of the Year Award from the American String Teacher's Association (ASTA). He also holds the Distinguished Achievement Award (1995) from the International Society of Bassists (ISB). Gary Karr participated in the Bi-Annual Rainforest Concert in Carnegie Hall with fellow-bassist Sting, Stevie Wonder and others in 1997. In 1999 a new book by Claude Kenneson, entitled Musical Prodigies -- Perilous Journeys, Remarkable Lives was released by Amadeus Press, which includes a passage describing Karr's early love affair with the doublebass. In June 2001, Gary Karr played his farewell public concert as part of the International Society of Bassists 2001 Convention in Indianapolis. A large audience that included eight hundred bassists from twenty-seven different countries attended this event. At the close of this recital with his pianist, Harmon Lewis, Karr was given the ISB's Distinguished Teacher Award. He was also presented with a very special gift from more than two hundred of his colleagues and fans…a newly developed rose named in his honor to commemorate his forty years on the international concert stage.

Serge Koussevitzky, former music director for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, died on this day in 1951.  How did Koussevitzky inspire a young Leonard Bernstein?  Find out on today's “A Day in the Life.”

May 2, 2014. Serge Koussevitzky championed the music of his time throughout his career, and the Foundation established in his name has continued to support the music of living composers since his death in 1951. Members of the foundation board (James Kendrick, Fred Lerdahl, Gunther Schuller, Fred Sherry) discuss the conductor and composer's legacy with former Library staff member Jon Newsom. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6480

This week on Contrabass Conversations, we're bringing you rare footage of Serge Koussevitzky performing a few selections. Enjoy this trip back in double bass history, brought to you by double bassist John Grillo!