Composers Datebook

American Public Media

4.5 (6)
MUSIC HISTORY
UPDATED DAILY

Composers Datebook™ is a daily two-minute program designed to inform, engage, and entertain listeners with timely information about composers of the past and present. Each program notes significant or intriguing musical events involving composers of the past and present, with appropriate and accessible music related to each.

1D AGO

Shostakovich on NBC

Synopsis On today’s date in 1938, radio listeners across North America tuned to the NBC network to hear the first American performance of the Symphony No. 5 by 32-year-old Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich. The work premiered in Moscow the previous year to great acclaim, and many American conductors and orchestras were competing to give its first performance here, but it was Artur Rodzinski and the NBC Symphony who were chosen — for two very good reasons. First, he had traveled to Moscow in 1934 to meet Shostakovich and a kind of mutual admiration bond was formed. Second, NBC was willing to pay the outrageously high premium demanded by the Soviet government for the American premiere. Now, $5000 might not seem like a lot to us now, but in 1938 that was the equivalent of well over $100,000 in today’s money — and NBC was willing and able to pony up that much to promote their recently-formed NBC Symphony Orchestra and its coast-to-coast radio broadcasts. Rodzinski’s wife Halina recalled that upon receiving the new score after all the fuss and expense, her husband was at first not impressed, but during rehearsals fell in love with what would become Shostakovich’s most-performed symphony. Music Played in Today's Program Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 5; Cleveland Orchestra; Artur Rodzinski, conductor; Sony 19439928772

2 min
2D AGO

Bach and Mozart in New York

Synopsis It’s usually new music that gets terrible reviews, but scanning old newspapers, you’ll find that occasionally old music gets panned with equal venom. On today’s date in 1865, a concert by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra at Irving Hall opened with an orchestral arrangement of a Bach Passacaglia, followed by Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante for Violin and Viola. The New York Times reviewer was not thrilled with either selection: “The Bach is a fair representation of the treadmill. A culprit may travel on it for a day without advancing a step. It simply goes ‘round and ‘round in the most obvious style, and is generally dull — like a superannuated church warden… The symphony for violin and viola by Mozart is a work generally avoided in Europe. The wearisome scale passages on the little fiddle repeated ad nauseam on the bigger one are simply maddening. On the whole, one would prefer death to a repetition of this production,” he wrote. Thus spake The Times in April of 1865. We should note in its defense that Americans had other matters on their minds that week. The day the review appeared the paper’s headline read: “Union Victory! Peace! Lee Surrenders His Whole Army!” Music Played in Today's Program J.S. Bach (1685-1750) (arr. Respighi): Passacaglia in c; BBC Philharmonic; Leonard Slatkin, conductor; Chandos 9835 Wolfgang Mozart (1756-1791): Sinfonia Concertante; Midori, violin; Nobuko Imai, viola; NDR Symphony; Christoph Eschenbach, conductor; Sony 89488

2 min
3D AGO

A Corigliano father and son act?

Synopsis From 1951 to the time of his death in 1976, Texas-born conductor Victor Alesandro led the San Antonio Symphony. Alessandro was a fine conductor and had a very clever system for attracting talented players to San Antonio. He kept his eyes open for key players about to retire from all the top American orchestras and sent them tempting brochures describing San Antonio’s palm trees, old Spanish houses, and mild winters. Many accepted his invitations, settled in San Antonio, and served as mentors for the Symphony’s younger players. In 1966, for example, John Corigliano, Sr., facing mandatory retirement as the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, took up the same position with the San Antonio Symphony. And so it came about that on today’s date in 1968, John Corigliano, Sr., then 67, served as the concertmaster for the world premiere performance of a new piano concerto written by his son, composer John Corigliano, Jr., then 30. The premiere performers, pianist Hilde Somer and the San Antonio Symphony under Alessandro, even recorded the new work for Mercury Records. Although well received at the time, Corigliano’s concerto was rather neglected for many years thereafter, but more recently has been receiving new performances and recordings. Music Played in Today's Program John Corigliano (b. 1938): Piano Concerto; James Tocco, piano; Louisville Orchestra; Lawrence Leighton Smith, conductor; First Edition FECD-0002

2 min
4D AGO

Salzedo and the Harp

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

2 min
5D AGO

Strauss goes batty?

Synopsis The “waltz king” Johann Strauss Jr. was 45 before he tried his hand at writing an operetta, urged on by the management of Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, who wanted to replace the extremely popular French operettas of Jacques Offenbach with some by Vienna’s own famous purveyor of light music. Even so, for the libretto of Strauss’ third operetta, the cagey theater managers hedged their bets by acquiring the rights to a spicy French farce which just happened to be written by the librettists of Offenbach’s biggest hits. The original French farce was considered a little too racy as it stood, so some substantial changes were made before Strauss set to work. The end result, re-titled Die Fledermaus (or The Bat) opened in Vienna on today’s date in 1874. Now, there is an oft-repeated myth that Fledermaus was initially a flop and that it closed after only sixteen performances. But blame that on famous American soprano, Adelina Patti, who had booked the Theater an der Wien for a run of Italian opera performances right after Die Fledermaus was opened. When Patti left Vienna, Die Fledermaus returned for more performances, and has rarely been absent from Viennese stages from that day to this. Music Played in Today's Program Johann Strauss II (1825-1899): Die Fledermaus Overture; Vienna Symphony; Robert Stolz, conductor; BMG 72916

2 min
6D AGO

The Gong Show

Synopsis Today we offer a special “Gong Show” edition of the Composer’s Datebook. On today’s date in 1791, at the height of the French Revolution, the Panthéon in Paris was converted into a mausoleum for national heroes, and the first to be interred there, with great pomp and ceremony, was Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, a tremendously popular personage of the day. For dramatic effect during the Count’s funeral procession through the streets of Paris, French composer François Joseph Gossec added an unusual percussion instrument to his funereal wind band: an exotic instrument someone had brought to Paris from the Far East, and known as—you guessed it—the gong. It was reported that whenever the gong was struck during Mirabeau’s funeral procession, cries of terror and fright were heard from the crowd that lined the Parisian streets as the cortège passed. Now terror and fright are bread and butter in the world of grand opera, and so the gong soon was adopted by 19th century composers like Spontini, Meyerbeer, and Wagner, and, in the 20th century, composers like Puccini, Stravinsky, Stockhausen, and George Crumb have also used gongs to—pardon the pun—striking effect! Music Played in Today's Program François-Joseph Gossec (1734 – 1829) Marche lugubre The Wallace Collection; John Wallace, cond. Nimbus 5175

2 min
APR 3

Offenbach, Wagner and Satsuma in New York

Synopsis In the 19th century, much like today, New Yorkers looking for musical entertainment had a lot to choose from. For example, on today’s date in 1871, the options included these three offerings: First: at Lina Edwin’s Theater, a musical burlesque, Pluto, which The New York Times billed as an “Anglicized and condensed” version of Jacques Offenbach’s racy operetta, Orpheus in the Underworld, with interpolated comic sketches and monologues by the show’s star, the Jerry Seinfeld of the day, the ever-popular comedian Mr. Lingard. Second: for the more serious sort, the American staged premiere of Richard Wagner’s opera, Lohengrin, at the Stadt Theater. The Times noted that Wagner’s opera was “brought out in Germany some 20 years earlier but was unknown here in its entirety until now.” A large audience showed up for the “entirety” of “Lohengrin,” which lasted over four hours and ended around midnight. Finally: at Broadway’s Minstrel Hall, directly from Japan, Satsuma’s Circus offered the amazing Mr. Yadunochi, who first smoked a pipe, then ate it, then while playing on a flute expelled the pipe’s smoke through his instrument; for his finale, Mr. Yadunochi reproduced, as the Times put it “the original pipe whole and unsullied.” Now, that’s entertainment! Music Played in Today's Program Jacques Offenbach (1819-1890) (arr. Rosenthal): Cancan from Gaite Parisienne; Montréal Symphony; Charles Dutoit, conductor; London 430 718 Richard Wagner (1813-1883): Act 3 Prelude from Lohengrin; Berlin Philharmonic; Daniel Barenboim, conductor; Teldec 81791 Kozaburo Hirai (1910-2002): Sonata; Kazue Frances Asawa, flute; Kazue Kudo, koto; Crystal 316

2 min
APR 2

Wallingford Riegger

Synopsis On today’s date in 1961, American composer Wallingford Riegger died in New York City, a month shy of what would have been his 76th birthday. Riegger was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1885. Like many American musicians back then, he studied in Germany. In the years before America entered World War I, Riegger worked in both the US and Europe: for three years he was the principal cellist with the St. Paul Symphony in Minnesota; he then served as an assistant voice coach and conductor at German opera houses in Würzburg and Königsberg. Returning home in 1918, Riegger spent ten years teaching, eventually settling in New York in 1928. There he got to know Henry Cowell, Charles Ives, and other “ultra-modern” composers. Riegger’s early music had been in the traditional mode, but he quickly established himself as one of the leading figures in the more experimental American music scene. In the 1930s, Riegger, like Copland, worked with the pioneers of modern American dance, including Martha Graham, and composed ballet scores. From 1938 on, however, he concentrated on non-theatrical scores, including symphonies and chamber works. Riegger’s mature works blend atonality with traditional musical forms and dance rhythms, even on occasion some jazzy American syncopation. Music Played in Today's Program Wallingford Riegger (1885-1961): Wind Quintet; New York Woodwind Quintet; Bridge 9068

2 min

See All (30)

John Birge

Host

4.5

out of 5

6 Ratings

Fun and informative

2021-01-31

Castle of Hills

Nice little snapshot of an historical moment in music, covering a wide range of repertoire, well researched and presented. You will always learn something new!

Composers Datebook™ is a daily two-minute program designed to inform, engage, and entertain listeners with timely information about composers of the past and present. Each program notes significant or intriguing musical events involving composers of the past and present, with appropriate and accessible music related to each.