NOVEMBER 2 Today in classical music history

1635 Death of Italian composer Aurelio Signoretti, at 68. b-25 APR 1567.

1692 Birth of Dutch composer Unico Wilhelm van WASSENAER in Delden. d-The Hague, 6 NOV 1766. Search Amazon.com for Unico Wilhelm van WASSENAER

1717 Death of German composer Johann Jacob Walther in Mainz. b-Witterda, 1650. Search Amazon.com for Johann Jacob Walther

1723 FP of Bach's Sacred Cantata No. 194 Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest. Dedication of the Störmthal church and organ in Störmthal. Search Amazon.com for Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest

1731 Death of German organist and composer Johann Matthias Leffloth, at 26, in Nuremberg. b-Nuremberg, 1705.

1739 Birth of Austrian violinist and composer Karl Ditters von DITTERSDORF in Vienna. Concertmaster in the Esterhazy Orchestra. d-Neuhof, 24 OCT 1799. Search Amazon.com for Karl Ditters von DITTERSDORF

1752 Birth of Count Andrey Kyrillovich RAZUMOVSKY in St. Petersburg, from 1792 the Russian Ambassador to Vienna. He commissioned Beethoven's three String Quartets Op 59 in 1806, and was dedicatee of the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies. d-Vienna, 23 SEP 1836.

1764 FP of ARNE's w/com. Battishill: "Almena" London.

1782 FP of BERTONI's "Il convito, or The Banquet" London.

1785 Birth of German pianist and composer Frederic KALKBRENNER in Kassel. d-Deuil, 10 JUN 1849. Search Amazon.com for Frederic KALKBRENNER

1785 Birth of German composer Johann Leopold FUCHS. Search Amazon.com for Johann Leopold FUCHS

1793 FP of Boieldieu's "La Fille coupable" Roun.

1795 FP of HAEFFNER's & Com/Kreutzer: "Lodoiska" Stockholm.

1812 Beethoven scores a work for trombones, Equali. Search Amazon.com for Equali by Beethoven

1833 FP of Cherubini's "Ali-Baba, ou Les Quarante Voleurs" Paris.

1837 Birth of French conductor Auguste VIANESI. Led FP of Faust at the MET.

1842 Birth of German pianist, conductor and composer Otto REUBKE in Hausneindorf. Son of Adolf Reubke. Search Amazon.com for Otto REUBKE

1843 Birth of English composer Caryl FLORIO (William James Robjohn) in Tavistock. d-Asheville, NC 1920. Search Amazon.com for Caryl FLORIO

1843 Birth of Hungarian composer Elek ERKEL in Pest. Son of Franz Erkel. d-Budapest, 10 JUN 1899. Search Amazon.com for Elek ERKEL

1845 Death of French composer Chretien d'Urhan, at 55 in Belleville. b-Montjoie, 16 FEB 1790.

1846 Birth of Spanish composer Antonio Pena y GONI in Madrid. d-13 NOV 1903. Search Amazon.com for Antonio Pena y GONI

1858 Birth of German tenor Whilhelm Grüning, in Berlin. d. Dec. 2, 1942.

1861 Birth of German bass-baritone Leopold Demuth, in Brno. d. Czemowitz, Mar. 4, 1910. 

1865 Birth of German nezzo-soprano Marie Götze, in Berlin. d. Feb. 18, 1922. Search Amazon.com for Marie Götze

1873 FP of Brahms' Variations On a Theme by Haydn, in Vienna by The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Felix Dessoff. CD-Brahms: Symphony No. 1; Haydn Variations; Academic Festival Overture

1876 Birth of composer Eugeniusz Morawsky-DABROWA. d-23 OCT 1950.

1877 FP of C. Saint-Saens Fourth Piano Concerto in c, composer was soloist, in Paris. Search Amazon.com for Saint-Saens Fourth Piano Concerto

1880 Birth of English composer John FOULDS in Hulme, Manchester. d-Calcutta, 24 APR 1939. Search Amazon.com for John FOULDS

1882 Death of Mexican composer Cenobio Paniagua y Vasques, at 61.

1882 FP of Dvorák's String Quartet No. 11, in Berlin. CD-Dvorák: The String Quartets

1883 Birth of composer Frico KAFENDA in Robotnícke noviny, Bratislava.

1884 Birth of French tenor René Lapelletrie,  in Libourne. d. Bordeaux, 1956.

1884 Death of composer Auguste Emmanuel Vaucorbeil, at 62. Search Amazon.com for Auguste Emmanuel Vaucorbeil

1886 Birth of French soprano Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi, in Paris. d. July 18, 1974.

1887 Birth of Italian soprano Eugenia Manetti, in Florence. d. New York, Feb. 14, 1974.

1887 Death of Swedish coloratura soprano Jenny Lind 'The Swedish Nightingale', at Malvern Wells, England, at age 67. b-Stockholm, 6 OCT 1820. Search Amazon.com for The Swedish Nightingale

1892 Birth of Hungarian composer Paul ABRAHAM in Apatin. d-Hamburg, 6 MAY 1960. Search Amazon.com for Paul ABRAHAM

1900 Reorganization of the Schola Cantorum of Paris as a music school by Vincent d'Indy. Search Amazon.com for Schola Cantorum of Paris

1904 (3rd?) Birth of Latvian-Canadian conductor and composer Janis KALNINS in Riga. Search Amazon.com for Janis KALNINS

1906 Birth of Italian stage producer Luchino VISCONTI in Milan. d-1976.

1907 Birth of Italian tenor Luigi Fort, in Turin. d. Milan, Feb. 6, 1976. Search Amazon.com for Luigi Fort

1907 Birth of Swedish baritone Sigurd Björling, in Stockholm. Search Amazon.com for Sigurd Björling

1907 FP of FALL's "Die Dollarprinzessin" Vienna.

1909 Birth of Italian bass Luciano Neroni, in Ripatransone. d. Oct. 23, 1951. Search Amazon.com for Luciano Neroni

1912 Birth of composer Jouko Paavo Kalervo TOLONEN.

1915 Birth of New Zealand composer Douglas LILBURN in Wanganui. d-NZ, 6 JUN 2001. Search Amazon.com for Douglas LILBURN

1920 Birth of Columbia composer Fabio Gonzalez-ZULETA. Search Amazon.com for Fabio Gonzalez-ZULETA

1920 FP of FRANCKENSTEIN's "Des Kaisers Dichter" Hamburg.

1921 Birth of Portugese composer Fernando Correia de OLIVEIRA.

1928 FP of Dmitri Shostakovitch's 1st Symphony in USAmerica. Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. CD-Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 7

1929 Birth of conductor and composer Harold FARBERMAN, in NYC. Search Amazon.com for Harold FARBERMAN

1929 Birth of Yugoslav composer Milan STIBILJ. Search Amazon.com for Milan STIBILJ

1935 FP of GOTOVAC's "Ero s onoga suijeta" Zagreb.

1937 Death of composer and pianist Maude Valerie White, at 82, in London. b-Dieppe, Normandy, 23 JUN 1855. Search Amazon.com for Maude Valerie White

1939 FP of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Piano Concerto No. 2. New York Philharmonic, John Barbirolli conducting, composer was soloist. Search Amazon.com for Castelnuovo-Tedesco's Piano Concerto No. 2

1943 Birth of American soprano Faye ROBINSON in Houston TX. Search Amazon.com for Faye ROBINSON

1944 Birth of French stage producer Patrice CHEREAU in Lézigne, Maine-et-Loire. Search Amazon.com for Patrice CHEREAU

1945 FP of Gian Carlo Menotti's Piano Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, Richard Burgin conducting, Rudolf Firkusny was the soloist. Search Amazon.com for Menotti Piano Concerto

1946 Birth of American soprano Ruth Falcon, in Residence, LA. MET Début: Nov. 13, 1989 [Empress] Die Frau ohne Schatten, 4 seasons (1989-90, 91-92, 95-97) 11 perf., 4 works.

1946 Birth of Italian conductor and composer Giuseppe SINOPOLI in Venice, Italy. d-Berlin 20 APR 2001. MET Opera 11 MAR 1985, Tosca, 1984-85. Search Amazon.com for Giuseppe SINOPOLI

1947 Birth of Australian composer David Anthony Ahern in Sydney.

1949 Death of Spanish soprano Maria Galvany in Rio de Janeiro. b-Granada, 1878. Studied at the Madrid Conservatory. Début as Lucia in Cartagena 1897. Specialized in coloratura roles, she sang with great success in Spain and Italy, gaining her greatest popularity in South America. Search Amazon.com for Maria Galvany

1954 Birth of Scottish soprano Marie McLAUGHLIN. Search Amazon.com for Marie McLAUGHLIN

1956 Death of Ukranian composer Jacob Weinberg, at 77. b-Odessa. Search Amazon.com for Jacob Weinberg

1957 Birth of American composer Paul MORAVEC. Search Amazon.com for Paul MORAVEC

1958 Death of English composer Adam von Ahn Carse, at 80. b-Newcastle upon Tyne, 19 MAY 1878. Search Amazon.com for Adam von Ahn Carse

1959 FP of Henry Cowell's Variations for Orchestra. Houston Symphony, Leopold Stokowski conducting.

1960 Death of Greek born American conductor Dimitri Metropoulos of a heart attack rehearsing the Mahler third Sym with La Scala Orch in Milan. Search Amazon.com for Dimitri Metropoulos

1960 FP of Dmitri Shostakovitch's 8th String quartet, in Leningrad. CD-Shostakovitch: The Complete String Quartets (Box Set)

1962 Death of Italian composer Felice Lattuada, at 80. b-5 FEB 1882. Search Amazon.com for Felice Lattuada

1964 Death of Dutch oboist Haakon Stotun, at 49.

1968 Death of composer Ernst Hess, at 56. b-1912. Search Amazon.com for Ernst Hess

1978 FP of Druckman's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, with soloist Sol Greiyzer, James Levine conducting. CD-Jacob Druckman: Brangle; Counterpoise; Viola Concerto

1979 FP of Peter Shaffer's musical Amadeus, premieres in London. CD-Peter Shaffer's Amadeus

1990 FP of Lou Harrison's Symphony No. 4, Damon Evans, tenor and Dennis Russell Davies conducting the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in NYC. Search Amazon.com for Harrison's Symphony No. 4

1997 Death of Argentinian composer Pompeyo CAMPS in Buenos Aires. b-Paraná, Province of Entre Rios 27 OCT 1924.

2003 FP of John Harbison's Two Motets based on Romans and John testiments. Emmanuel Music series, Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.