Composers Datebook

American Public Media

4.7 (179)
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.

7h ago

Shchedrin's Oboe Concerto

Synopsis Violin soloists have it easy: there are thousands of violin concertos they can choose from, starting in the Baroque era of Bach and Vivaldi, and continuing right up to the present day, with new violin concertos available from composers from John Adams to Ellen Taaffe Zwlich. Oboe concertos? Not so much. There are some fine oboe concertos out there, but they just aren’t being written as often as new works for the violin or piano, it seems. But on today’s date in 2010, a welcome new oboe concerto by contemporary Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin received its premiere performance at the Concertgebouw in Amstrerdam. In describing his new work, he wrote: “It was my intention … to give expression to the entire palette of the tonal and technical qualities of this wonderful instrument. In my score there are however two further essential actors: the [English horn] which permanently imitates or answers the solo instrument … and the orchestra itself.” Now, Shchedrin knows a thing or two about writing concertos and has written quite a few: for trumpet, cello, and viola; six concertos for piano — as well as five showpiece Concertos for Orchestra. Music Played in Today's Program Rodion Shchedrin (1932-2025): Oboe Concerto; Alexei Ogrinchuk, oboe; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; Suzanna Malkki, conductor; RCO Live CD 11001

2 min
1d ago

Berio, Brahms and Boccherini

Synopsis The “Three B’s” are traditionally Bach, Beethoven and Brahms, of course — but today we’re offering Boccherini, Brahms and Berio. 20th-century Italian composer Luciano Berio, noted for his avant-garde scores, was asked to orchestrate the F minor Clarinet Sonata by Johannes Brahms — in 1986, for a Los Angeles Philharmonic concert featuring clarinetist Michele Zukofsky. Berio admired Brahms, and created a very respectful arrangement, but Berio couldn’t resist adding something of his own: a totally original 13-bar orchestral introduction that segues into the Brahms score. Eleven years earlier, on today’s date in 1975, Berio’s orchestration of one of the greatest hits of the 18th century Italian composer Luigi Boccherini received its premiere performance in Milan. Originally a quintet for strings, Boccherini’s Night Music in the Streets of Madrid was written around 1780 when he was living in Spain. This chamber work became very popular — even though Boccherini feared no one outside Madrid would understand it. 200 years after it was written, when asked to supply a short piece for the La Scala Orchestra in Milan, Berio arranged the final movement of Boccherini’s quintet, music evoking the procession of Madrid’s night watchmen signaling the midnight curfew. Music Played in Today's Program Johannes Brahms (arr. Luciano Berio) (1833-1897): Clarinet Sonata No. 1 Luigi Boccherini (arr. Luciano Berio): Ritirata Notturna di Madrid; Daniel Ottensamer, clarinet; Basel Symphony; Ivor Bolton, conductor; Sony 19075982072

2 min
2d ago

The diverting Mr. Persichetti

Synopsis If you’re a baby boomer who played in a high school or college band, you’ll probably remember the Divertimento for Band by American composer Vincent Persichetti, which premiered on today’s date in 1950, with the composer conducting the Goldman Band. Persichetti didn’t envision his Divertimento as a band work, per se. At the start, it was just some woodwind figures accentuated by brass and percussion. When he realized that violins and cellos just didn’t seem to fit in the picture, Divertimento began to take shape in his mind as a work for winds, brass and percussion alone. He went on to write a dozen more compositions for concert band. Beyond his works for band, he was a prolific composer of keyboard, chamber and orchestra pieces. He once claimed that since musical ideas often came to him in his car, he liked to tape a piece of music paper to his steering wheel, so he could jot down ideas and keep his eyes on the road at the same time. Luckily for other residents of his hometown of Philadelphia, apparently this practice didn’t result in any head-on collisions! Music Played in Today's Program Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987): Divertimento; North Texas Wind Symphony; Eugene Migliaro Corporon, conductor; Klavier 11124

2 min
3d ago

Grieg's 'Lyric Pieces'

Synopsis Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg was born in Bergen on today’s date in 1843. He is credited with putting Norway on the map, musically speaking, drawing inspiration from the folk music of his native land. What you might not know is that two famous French composers were fans. Grieg was about 19 years older than Claude Debussy and about 32 years older than Maurice Ravel, but both knew and admired his music. Despite criticizing Grieg’s Piano Concerto for being too much like Schumann’s, Debussy included Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 in one of his public recitals, praised Grieg’s Peer Gynt incidental music, and described Grieg’s songs as possessing “the icy coldness of the Nordic lakes [and] the intensive fire of the sudden Nordic spring.” Ravel once played some of Grieg’s Norwegian dances for the composer in Paris, timidly at first, but when Grieg asked for a stronger beat, saying, “You should see our peasants with their fiddles stamping the rhythm with their feet. Start over!” Ravel complied, and the elder composer got up and started dancing. After Grieg’s death Ravel said: “Next to Debussy there’s no other composer to whom I feel more related than Grieg.” Music Played in Today's Program Edvard Grieg (1843-1907): Lyric Pieces Book VI, No. 6; Homeward Emil Gilels, piano; DG 449721

2 min
4d ago

Harbison goes Baroque

Synopsis A now-obscure Englishman named Charles Caleb Colton is credited with the famous adage that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” On today’s date in 1985, Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and Strings, a new work by American composer John Harbison premiered in Sarasota, Florida, that imitated the form and gestures of the Baroque Concerto Grossos written by Bach or Handel. Harbison described it as follows: “The oboe, clarinet and strings are equal partners. The first movement is declamatory, the second contemplative, and the last frenetic. Each movement sustains one affect [or mood], in the Baroque manner … The steady insistent rhythms are indeed baroque, the harmonies less so. One astute writer referred to the piece as ‘scenes from a marriage.’ This metaphorical marriage between solo winds and strings contains quarrels, precarious balances, comic relief, misunderstandings and eventual unanimity.” And, speaking of marriage, Harbison composed the work at Token Creek, in Wisconsin, an unincorporated community near Madison where his wife’s family had farmed since the 1920s and where for some 25 years each summer John and Rose Mary Harbison have organized their own mini-Festival of chamber music. Music Played in Today's Program John Harbison (b. 1938): Concerto for Oboe, Clarinet and Strings; Peggy Pearson, oboe; Jo-Ann Sternberg, clarinet; Metamorphosen Chamber Players; Scott Yoo, conductor; Archetype Records 60106

2 min
5d ago

Ran's Violin Concerto

Synopsis It was on today’s date in 2003 that a new violin concerto by composer Shulamit Ran premiered at Carnegie Hall — but it would be just as appropriate for us to run this episode of Composer’s Datebook on Mother’s Day — as Ran explained: “Thoughts of my mother, Berta Ran, whose strength of spirit has been a profoundly significant guiding light throughout my life, have embedded themselves in various parts of this work. At the closing of the concerto, echoes of a familiar melody, one my mother sang to me in childhood with words of her own creation, appear, gently fading away.” Ran was born in Tel Aviv in 1949 and moved to New York City at 14 on a scholarship to Mannes College of Music. From 1973 to 2015, she taught at the University of Chicago, and served as composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony. In 1991 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Commenting on winning the prestigious award, she admitted to being a little surprised: “I feel I’ve always been out of step,” she said. “At times … I was not considered avant-garde enough. Now, considering the current trend of accessibility, some think I’m too forbidding.” Music Played in Today's Program Shulamit Ran (b. 1949): Violin Concerto; Ittai Shapira, violin; BBC Concert Orchestra; Charles Hazlewood, conductor; Albany TROY-970

2 min
6d ago

Brahms and Liszt

Synopsis In Cockney rhyming slang, being “Brahms and Liszt” means being tipsy. But in the latter 19th century, “Brahms and Liszt” signified opposite schools of contemporary music. Oddly enough, it was the younger Brahms, who represented the more conservative, traditionally structured side of the spectrum, while the older Liszt, represented a freer, less structured style, dubbed “the music of the future.” Brahms and Liszt first met on today’s date in 1853, when Liszt was 41 and Brahms 20. American composer and pianist William Mason was present at the meeting, which took place at Liszt’s home in Weimar, and recalled the encounter in his memoirs. Liszt read at sight one of Brahms’ early piano pieces and praised the young composer’s work. When pressed for some of his own music, Liszt began playing his recently completed Sonata in B Minor. Midway through the piece it became embarrassingly apparent that Brahms had fallen asleep in his chair. Maybe it was the summer heat, perhaps sleep deprivation — or maybe, as some must have thought at the time, Brahms was just bored. In any case, Liszt was understandably miffed, and after finishing his Sonata, rose from the piano and left the room without a word. Music Played in Today's Program Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Ballade No. 3; Lars Vogt, piano; EMI 57125 Franz Liszt (1811-1886): Piano Sonata in B minor; Jeno Jando, piano; Naxos 8.550510

2 min
Jun 11

Carlisle Floyd

Synopsis On today’s date in 1926, American opera composer Carlisle Floyd was born in Latta, South Carolina. Floyd’s ancestors were among the first to settle in the Carolinas, and many of operas are based on colonial, southern, or rural themes. For decades he taught piano and composition at Florida State University in Tallahassee, and it was there that his most famous opera, Susannah, was initially staged in 1955. Susannah was a retelling of the Biblical tale of Susannah and the elders, set in rural America. It was a tremendous success and since its premiere, has received over 300 productions and more than 800 performances in the United States and Europe. Opera America magazine included it among the top ten “most performed” American operas of all time. When pressed what it is about his music that strikes many listeners as quintessentially American, Floyd once answered, “I’m probably the worst person to ask! I’ve never really set out consciously to write ‘American’ music. I can tell you, however, that when I’ve seen my operas in Europe they have always struck me as more ‘American’ than when I hear them here.” Music Played in Today's Program Carlisle Floyd (1926-2021): Susannah; Soloists and Lyon Opera Orchestra; Kent Nagano, conductor; Virgin 45039

2 min

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John Birge

Host

4.7

out of 5

179 Ratings

History is Interesting

03/05/2025

Pudelmom

The historical tidbits add interesting background.
Commercials ruined it

May 4

justaguitarguy

This is a great, entertaining, educational podcast. Sadly, the new long commercial message at the beginning of each episode has ruined it. I will listen when it plays on my local classical station that we financially support.
Gut

12/04/2024

Fill makes Games

Gut, sehr gut.
Make it a longer show?

09/29/2024

HarrierLG

My only complaint of Composer's Datebook is that it is too short! Perhaps a five minute snippet instead of two? Include score illustrations on the web site?

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.