OCTOBER 28 Today in classical music history

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

1544 Appointment of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina as organist and choirmaster at St. Agapito Cathedral in Palestrina, Italy. Search Amazon.com for Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

1612 English lutenist John Dowland, named by James I, 'Musican For the Lutes'. Search Amazon.com for John Dowland

1689 Birth of French composer Michel MATHIEU. d-1778. Search Amazon.com for Michel MATHIEU

1702 FP of CAMPRA's "Les Muses" opera-ballet, Paris.

1713 Death of Italian composer Paolo Lorenzani  in Rome. b-Rome, 5 JAN 1640.

1733 Birth of German composer Ignaz Franz von BEECKE in Wimpfen am Neckar.

1746 (or Sep 28)Birth of Bohemian horn player and composer John Vclav STICH, aka Giovanni Punto.Giovanni Punto (born Jan Václav Stich) (September 28, 1746, Žehušice, Bohemia – February 16, 1803, Prague, Bohemia) was a Czech horn player (more correctly, he played the cor basse) and a pioneer of the hand-stopping technique which allows natural horns to play a greater number of notes. He was an international celebrity in the 18th and early 19th centuries, known in London, Paris, and throughout Germany; A Hungarian critic wrote in 1800 after a performance in Pest by Punto and Beethoven of Beethoven's Op. 17 Sonata for Horn and Piano. -wikipedia

1755 Death of composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier in Roissy-en-Brieat at age 65. b-Perpignan, 23 DEC 1689. Search Amazon.com for Joseph Bodin de Boismortier

1768 Death of French court flutist and composer Michel Blavet, at 68, in Paris. b-Besançon, 13 March 1700. Search Amazon.com for Michel Blavet

1775 FP of ARNE's T. "May Day, or The Little Gipsy" London.

1779 Death of composer Raphael Weiss, at 66.

1789 Birth of German teacher, organist and composer Johann SCHNEIDER nera Zittau. d- Dresden, 13 APR 1864.

1795 FP of BOIELDIEU's "Rosalie et Myrza" Roun.

1797 Birth of Italian soprano Guiditta PASTA (Maria Costanza Negri) near Milan. d- Lake Como, 1 APR 1865.

1798 Birth of French-Italian composer Henri Jerome BERTINI in London. Moved to Paris with his family at six months of age. Taught by his father. d-Meylau, 1 OCT 1876. Search Amazon.com for Henri Jerome BERTINI

1801 Birth of Austrian composer Karl Georg LICKL in Vienna. d-Vienna, 3 AUG 1877. Son of conductor-composer Johann G. Lickl.

1803 Birth of Hungarian soprano Caroline UNGAR. Prominant Bellini and Donizetti roles. Soloist in FP of Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Ninth Symphony.

1805 Birth of Scottish composer John THOMSON in Roxburg. d- Edinburgh, 6 MAY 1841. Search Amazon.com for John THOMSON

1813 Young Franz Schubert completes First Symphony in D. CD-Schubert: The Complete Symphonies

1837 FP of DONIZETTI's "Roberto Devereux" Venice.

1853 Schumann publishes his New Paths letter praising young Brahms.

1853 FP of OFFENBACH's "Pépito" Paris.

1854 Death of composer James P Carrell, at 67. Amazing Grace, In Holland, Herod Atticus (Trad. - Arrgt J. Johns / Words by Jon Newton, 1779 / Music by James P. Carrell, David S. Clayton, 1831)

1856 Birth of German-American composer Franz Xavier ARENS in Neef, Rhenish Prussia. d- Los Angeles, CA 28 JAN 1932.

1864 Birth of Czech composer Wilhelm WACEK in Sobeslau. d-17 DEC 1944.

1867 Birth of French tenor Albert Saléza, in Bruges, Pyrenées. d. 1916. MET Début: Nov. 8, 1898 [Roméo] Roméo et Juliette, 4 seasons (1898-1901, 1904-05) 104 perf., 12 works.

1875 Death of English conductor and composer William Howard Glover, in NYC, at 56. b- London, 6 JUN 1819. Palomita, or the Veiled Songstress. An operetta in one act

1877 Death of Austrian conductor and composer Johann Herbeck, in Vienna, at 45. b- Vienna, 25 DEC 1831. Search Amazon.com for Johann Herbeck

1879 Birth of Spanish composer Conrado del CAMPO y ZABELETA, in Madrid. Search Amazon.com for Conrado del CAMPO

1881 Birth of Italian soprano Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi, in Bari. d. Apr. 30, 1961: Début Mascagni) [Iris] Iris. Search Amazon.com for Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi

1884 Birth of Serbian conductor, musicologist and composer Miloje MILOJEVIC in Belgrade. d- Belgrade, 16 JUN 1946.

1889 Birth of Italian baritone Vincenzo Guicciardi, in Modena. d. Ferrara, Jan. 2, 1965

1890 Birth of Spanish composer Andres ISASI.

1893 FP of Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Sixth Symphony. The composer conducting a month before his death. CD-Tchaikovsky: Symphonies no 4, 5, & 6 / Karajan, Berlin PO

1894 Birth of German tenor Fritz Wolff. d. Jan. 18, 1957. Début [Loge] Bayreuth (1925). Search Amazon.com for Fritz Wolff

1896 Birth of American conductor, composer and Eastman School of Music director, Howard HANSON in Wahoo, Nebraska. d-16 FEB 1981. Search Amazon.com for Howard HANSON

1897 FP of LECOCQ's "La jolie persane" Paris.

1898 FP of d'Albert's Die Abreise 'The Deaprture', in Frankfurt. CD-d'Albert: Die Abreise

1899 Birth of Italian tenor Alfredo Lattaro, in Rome. d. Aug. 30, 1987. Debut as Radames in Aida (Verdi) 1929.

1903 FP of Alexandr Gretchaninov's (1864-1956) "Dobrinya Nikititch" in Moscow.

1904 Birth of Belgian composer Louis de MEESTER. d-Ghent, 12 DEC 1987. Search Amazon.com for Louis de MEESTER

1909 Birth of Russian born American violinist Josef GINGOLD. Search Amazon.com for Josef GINGOLD

1909 Birth of Latvian composer Adolfs SKULTE. Search Amazon.com for Adolfs SKULTE

1912 Death of Flemish composer Pierre Joseph Edgar Tinel, Le chant Gregorien, at 58 in Brussels. b-East Flanders, Belgium 27 March 1854. Search Amazon.com for Pierre Joseph Edgar Tinel

1914 Death of Austrian choral conductor and composer Richard Heuberger, at 64, in Vienna. b-Graz, 18 JUN 1850. Search Amazon.com for Richard Heuberger

1915 FP of Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony, the composer conducting in Berlin. CD-R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony, etc.

1918 FP of FRIML's "Sometime" New York.

1918 FP of FRIML's "Glorianna" New York.

1920 Birth of American mezzo-soprano Claramae Turner. She studied at San Francisco, making her debut there [voice of a boy] L'amore dei tre re (1942) In 1946, after further study in New York, she created Baba [Madame Flora] in The Medium at Columbia University. At NYCO, she sang Baba (1952) and took part in the premiere of Copland's The Tender Land (1954). Her roles at Chicago (1955-57) included the Matron from Milwaukee (Banfield's Lord Byron's Love Letter, [Fricka], [Azucena] and [Ulrica]. She sang [Madame de Croissy] Dialogues des Carmelites, San Francisco (1957); and [Baroness Grunwiesel] Der junge Lord, San Diego (1967); both American premieres, and created [Diana Orsini] Bomarzo, Washington, DC (1967). She was Shirley Jones' aunt (Cousin Nettie) in the 1956 film version of `Carousel.' Another interesting tidbit, the popular singer Tony Bennett said his most popular song, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", was actually written for Claramae Turner. She confirms that the song was a sure-fire encore she used for years, but never recorded. MET: Début: Nov. 16, 1946 [Marthe] Faust, 4 seasons (1946-50) 105 perf. 14 roles. Search Amazon.com for Claramae Turner

1924 Birth of composer Alfonso Montalvo MONTECINO.

1925 Opening of the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation series at the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. with FP of Loeffler's Canticle of the Sun. Search Amazon.com for Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge

1926 Charter granted to Julliard School of Music in NYC. Search Amazon.com for Julliard School of Music

1927 Death of English conductor and composer Eaton Faning, at 77 in Brighton. b-Cornwall, 20 MAY 1850. Search Amazon.com for Eaton Faning

1930 Birth of American teacher and composer Harry Gilbert TRYTHALL in Knoxville, TN. Search Amazon.com for Harry Gilbert TRYTHALL

1930 Birth of composer John Henry MAYER. Mayer was one of the first composers to write for Indian soloists accompanied by a conventional symphony orchestra. d-accident, 9 MAR 2004.

1931 Birth of German baritone Gerd Feldhoff, in Radevormwald, Cologne. Search Amazon.com for Gerd Feldhoff

1931 FP of William Grant Still's Symphony No. 1 Afro-American Rochester Philharmonic, Howard Hanson conducting. CD-Still: Symphony No1; Ellington: River

1932 FP of Igor Stravinsky's Duo Concertante for Violin and Piano. Samuel Dushkin with Stravinsky at the piano at the Funkhaus in Berlin. CD-Stravinsky: Duo Concertante; Pastorale

1935 Birth of Swedish trombonist and composer Folke RABE, aka Alvar Harald Reinhold, in Stockholm. Search Amazon.com for Folke RABE

1935 FP of Nikolai Miaskovsky's Symphony No. 15, in Moscow. CD-Symphony 15

1936 Birth of American composer and conductor Carl DAVIS. Search Amazon.com for Carl DAVIS

1938 Birth of English composer Howard BLAKE. Search Amazon.com for Howard BLAKE

1940 Death of Italian composer Andrea d'Angeli, near Verona, at 71. b- Padua, 9 NOV 1868.

1942 Birth of American soprano Loretta Di FRANCO in Brooklyn, N Y. MET Début [Page] Tannhäuser Jan. 16, 1961, 34 seasons, 929 perf. of 56 roles.

1942 FP of Richard Strauss' opera Capriccio conducted by Clemens Kraus in Munich. CD-R. Strauss - Capriccio / Kiri Te Kanawa, Hagegard, Heilmann, Bär, von Halem, Fassbaender, Hollweg, Hotter, Wiener Phil., Ulf Schrimer

1943 FP of Bohuslav Martinu's Memorial to Lidice in NYC. CD-Martinu: Symphony No6; Frescoes of Piero Della Francesca H352

1943 Birth of Irish conductor Kenneth MONTGOMERY. Search Amazon.com for Bournemouth Kenneth MONTGOMERY

1945 Birth of American baritone Allen Titus, in Wilkowski, NY. MET Début Mar. 20, 1976 [Harlekin] Ariadne auf Naxos, 1 season (1975-76) 7 perf. 1 work.

1948 FP of Rudolf Karel's opera Three Hairs of the Old Wise man, in Prague. Performed after the composer's death 6 MAR 1945 in Terezin. CD-Karel: Death Godmother; Three Hairs of the Wise Old Man

1949 Birth of American composer Howard SANDROFF in Chicago.

1949 Death of French violinist Ginette Neveu in an Azores airplane crash age 30. b- 11 AUG 1919. Gravesite Search Amazon.com for Ginette Neveu

1951 Birth of American composer Frank LaROCCA. O Magnum Mysterium SHEET MUSIC acappella

1951 Birth of American tenor Warren Aldrich Ellsworth III. d. Houston, Feb. 25, 1993.

1951 FP of MILHAUD's "Le Jeu de Robin et Marion" mystery play after Adam de la Halle, Wiesbaden.

1952 FP of Elliott Carter's Eight Etudes and a Fantasy for flute,oboe, clarinet, and bassoon. New York Woodwind Quintet in NYC. CD-Quintetto Arnold: Works by Elliott Carter (Woodwind Quintet / Eight Etudes and a Fantasy) / Franco Donatoni (Blow) / György Kurtág (Quintet for Winds Op. 2) / György Ligeti (Ten Pieces for Wind Quintet)

1954 Birth of American composer Robert KRAMER in Chicago.

1954 Birth of Belgian composer Vladimir DJAMBAZOV in Sevlievo.

1955 FP of Leonard Bernstein's incidental music for The Lark based on a play by Jean Anoilh adapted by Lillian Hellman. A trial run at the Plymouth Theater in Boston. Opened at the Longacre Theater on 17 NOV 1955 in NYC. Search Amazon.com for The Lark Bernstein

1957 Birth of American composer Carolyn BREMER. Search Amazon.com for Carolyn BREMER

1959 Birth of South African composer David HöNIGSBERG in Johannesburg. Search Amazon.com for David HöNIGSBERG

1959 Debut of soprano Teresa Stratas, aka Anastasia Strataki, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Search Amazon.com for Teresa Stratas

1959 Death of Austrian pianist and composer Egon Kornauth, at 68 in Vienna. b- Olmutz, 14 MAY 1891. Search Amazon.com for Egon Kornauth

1962 Death of Belgian organist, teacher and composer Pierre Froidebise, at 48 in Liege. b-Ohey, 15 MAY 1914. Search Amazon.com for Pierre Froidebise

1963 Death of Estonian composer Mart Saar, at 81 in Tallinn. b- Livonia, 16 SEP 1882. Search Amazon.com for Mart Saar

1965 FP of Ned Rorem's Lions for orchestra and jazz combo. Detroit Symphony, Sixten Ehrling conducting. Search Amazon.com for Rorem's Lions

1970 Death of Spanish composer Eduardo Lopez-Chavarri y Marco, at 99. b-29 JAN 1871. Search Amazon.com for Eduardo Lopez-Chavarri y Marco

1971 Death of French composer Yves de La Casiniere, at 74. b-1898.

1972 FP of Morton Feldman's Pianos and Voices in Buffalo, NY. CD-Morton Feldman: Works for Voice and Instruments

1986 FP of Nyman: "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat" London, 1986. Search Amazon.com for Nyman: "The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat

2000 Death of Argentinian composer Carlos Guastavino. b-Santa Fe, Arg. 5 APR 1912. Search Amazon.com for Carlos Guastavino

2001 Death of Dutch composer Gerard Hengeveld in Bergen. b-Kampen 7 DEC 1910. Search Amazon.com for Gerard Hengeveld

2001 FP of Kamran Ince's Flight Box. Present Music ensemble at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Flight Box