Music History Monday: A Riotous Rite
May
29th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2159" align="alignright" width="300"] Igor Stravinsky (left) and Serge Diaghilev (right) at the Croydon Airport in London in 1926, 13 years after the premiere of The Rite of Spring.[/caption] May 29 was an incredibly rich day in music history. So much to write about, so little space! Check it out. On May 29, 1801 –…
Music History Monday: The Wagner Conundrum
May
22nd,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2148" align="alignright" width="216"] Richard Wagner in 1871 at 58 years of age.[/caption]May 22 is a day so rich in music history that choosing a particular event to write about might seem to be a challenge. For example, May 22, 1790 saw the first performance of Mozart's String Quartets in D, K. 575 and B-flat,…
Music History Monday: All the Music That’s Fit to Print
May
15th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2140" align="alignright" width="300"] One of the 96 works contained in Petrucci’s Harmonice musices odhecaton A: a four-part instrumental arrangement of a polyphonic song entitled Por quoy non by the Franco-Flemish composer and singer Pierre de la Rue (ca. 1452-1518). Each of the four parts is written out separately. Starting on the upper left is…
Music History Monday: We All Make Mistakes
May
8th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2133" align="alignright" width="148"] Gottschalk photographed by Matthew Brady sometime between 1860 and 1865.[/caption] Today we celebrate the 188th birthday of Louis Moreau Gottschalk. During his all-too-brief, 40-year lifetime, Gottschalk was considered to be the greatest pianist and composer ever born in the Western hemisphere, the “Chopin of the New World.” An American patriot, he…
Music History Monday: The Enduring Miracle
May
1st,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2118" align="alignright" width="283"] A portrait of Lorenzo da Ponte painted in his old age by Samuel Morse in New York, circa 1830[/caption]On Monday, May 1, 1786 – 231 years ago today - a miracle occurred in the great city of Vienna: Wolfgang Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro received its premiere at the Burgtheater…
Music History Monday: Tchaikovsky: A Composer and Conductor in America!
April
24th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2112" align="alignright" width="210"] Tchaikovsky photographed at the time of his trip to America[/caption]Both the dates April 24 and 25 are bereft of significant musical events. As a result, this week’s “Music History Monday” is, in fact, “Music History Wednesday”, as we turn to April 26 for the event that powers todays post. The event:…
Music History Monday: An Earth-Shaking Performance!
April
17th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2107" align="alignright" width="300"] The post-earthquake-and-fire remains of the Grand Opera House at No. 2 Mission Street.[/caption] I have a particular affection for the date April 18. (Yes: I know this post is about a musical event that took place on April 17; bear with me.) Back, momentarily, to April 18th and a few of…
Music History Monday: One Talented Kid
April
10th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2092" align="alignright" width="244"] Mozart in Italy at age 14, painted by Saverio dalla Rosa[/caption]As is sometimes the case, the lack of notable musical events on our “appointed” date (in today’s case, April 10) requires that we shimmy forward (or back) a day for relevant material; thus: On April 11, 1770 – 247 years ago…
Music History Monday: The “Other” Bernstein
April
3rd,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2073" align="alignright" width="284"] Mr. Bernstein receiving his Oscar in 1968[/caption]Since virtually nothing of note in the concert music world took place on April 3rd (aside from the appearance – today – of this post), we turn to April 4th for the subject of today’s post, which marks the birth (in 1922) of one of…
Music History Monday: Papa’s Last Days
March
27th,
2017
[caption id="attachment_2070" align="alignright" width="210"] Haydn’s death mask, photographed in 2007 by Walter A. Aue[/caption] On this day in 1808, Joseph Haydn made his last public appearance at a performance of his oratorio The Creation given in honor of his upcoming 76th birthday. The performance - which took place at Vienna’s University Hall – was what…