Music History Monday: Greatness
April
9th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3467" align="alignright" width="300"] Marion Anderson singing at the Lincoln Memorial, April 9, 1939[/caption]On April 9, 1939 – 79 years ago today - the American contralto Marian Anderson performed before an audience of over 75,000 people on the National Mall in Washington D.C. It was one of the most important and inspirational concerts ever to…
Music History Monday: First Firsts
April
2nd,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3440" align="alignright" width="265"] A rather flattering portrait of Beethoven dating from 1801 painted by Carl Traugott Riedel[/caption] On April 2, 1800 – 218 years ago today – Ludwig van Beethoven staged his first public concert, a so-called “Akademie” or “benefit concert”, in which the financial beneficiary was to be one Ludwig van Beethoven. Among…
Music History Monday: We Would Raise a Toast to Beethoven, But, Well, That Would Be Inappropriate
March
26th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3384" align="alignright" width="300"] The Schwarzspanierhaus where Beethoven died. The room in which he died was behind the third or fourth window from the left on the third floor from ground level. [/caption]On March 26, 1827 - 191 years ago today – Ludwig van Beethoven died at the age of 56 years, 3 months, and…
Music History Monday: The Creation
March
19th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3082" align="alignright" width="237"] A portrait of Haydn by Thomas Hardy, painted in London in 1791[/caption] It was 219 years ago today – on March 19, 1799 – that Joseph Haydn’s epic, one hour and forty-five minute long oratorio The Creation (Die Schöpfung) received its public premiere in Vienna. Completed in 1798 when Haydn was…
A Most Successful Campaign of Misinformation, or Listen to the Birdie!
March
12th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3327" align="alignright" width="221"] Pope Gregory I, Deacon Peter and the Bird/Holy Spirit, ca. 983[/caption] Roughly two years ago, in preparation for creating these “Music History Monday” posts, I spent several days putting together a calendar of musical events from which I could draw my topics. The internet made this job a gazillion times easier…
Music History Monday: An American Success Story
March
5th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3282" align="alignright" width="167"] Henry E. Steinway, photographed by Matthew Brady in New York City in 1864[/caption] On March 5, 1853 – 165 years ago today – Steinway & Sons was founded in New York City by a German immigrant named Henry Steinway. Born Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, Henry Steinway’s life and accomplishments are a textbook…
Music History Monday: An Auspicious Debut
February
26th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3135" align="alignright" width="300"] Chopin in 1835, at the age of 25, some three years after his Paris debut.[/caption]186 years ago today – on February 26, 1832 – the not quite 22 year-old Frédéric Chopin made his highly anticipated Paris debut at the Salons de Pleyel – the tony concert hall of the Pleyel Piano…
Music History Monday: A Model Citizen
February
19th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3115" align="alignright" width="248"] Handel, painted by Balthasar Denner circa 1727, at just the time he became a naturalized British subject.[/caption] On this day in 1727, the nearly 42 year-old Georg Friedrich Händel was transformed into George Frederick Handel when he was became a naturalized British subject by order of the crown. Handel’s English citizenship was reflection…
Music History Monday: An Anthem to Remember
February
12th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3082" align="alignright" width="237"] A portrait of Haydn by Thomas Hardy, painted in London in 1791[/caption] On this day 221 years ago – February 12, 1797 – Joseph Haydn’s String Quartet in C Major, Op. 76, No. 3 received its premiere. The quartet’s nickname – “Emperor” – stems from the theme of its second movement,…
Music History Monday: The Opera that Almost Wasn’t
February
5th,
2018
[caption id="attachment_3022" align="alignright" width="300"] Arrigo Boito, left and Giuseppe Verdi, right[/caption] On this day 131 years ago – February 5, 1887 – Giuseppe Verdi’s 25th and penultimate opera, Otello, received its premiere at the Teatro alla Scala (“La Scala”) in Milan. The premiere was the single greatest triumph in Verdi’s sensational career. But it was…