MARCH 28

Johann ANDRé

1592 Birth of composer Jan Amos Komensky, [Comenius].

1603 Birth of composer Stephan Otto.

1621 Birth of composer Heinrich Schwemmer.

1643 Birth of composer Jose Solana.

1737 Birth of composer Francesco Zannetti.

1741 Birth of German composer Johann ANDRé in Offenbach, Germany. d-Offenbach, 18 JUN 1799. Composed two operas.

1766 Birth of Austrian composer and conductor Joseph Weigl.

1779 Birth of composer Angelo Maria Benincori.

1801 FP of Beethoven's music for the ballet Promethius at the Burgtheater in Vienna.

1817 Birth of composer Mariano Soriano Fuertes y Piqueras.

1820 Birth of French organist Antoine Edouard BATISTE in Paris.

1842 First official performance of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Musicians from the Imperial Court Orchestra of Austria.

1858 Birth of Welch tenor Ben DAVIES [Benjamin Grey] in Pontardawe nr. Swansea. d-Bath, 6 JAN 1943.

1867 Birth of French tenor Edmond CLEMENT in Paris. d-Nice, 24 FEB 1928. MET Opera Début 16 NOV 1909 [Werther] Werther, 2 seasons (1909-11) 41 perf., 6 roles.

1868 Birth of composer Wojciech Gawronski.

1871 Birth of German conductor Willem MENGELBERG in Utrecht. Appointed in 1895 as conductor of the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam supported careers of Mahler and Richard Strauss. d-1951.

1879 FP of Bedrich Smetana's String Quartet in e From My Life. Ferdinand Lachner, Jan Pelikán, violins. Josef Krehan, viola and Alois Neruda, cello; in Prague.

1880 Birth of Russian pianist and teacher Rosina LHEVINNE, in Kiev. d-California, 9 NOV 1976.

1881 Death of Russian composer Modest Moussorgsky at the age of 42, following drinking binge. b-21 MAR 1839.

1883 Birth of composer William H Harris.

1885 Birth of composer Marc-Jean-Baptiste Delmas.

1886 Birth of composer Jaroslav Novotny.

1887 Birth of composer Rudolf F W Boskaljon.

1890 Birth of American conductor Paul WHITEMAN in Denver. Started career as violist in Denver Symphony, had his own popular band mixing pop and classical music. In last years hosted "The Paul Whiteman Hour" on TV, from studios of WFIL-TV6 in Philadelphia. d-Doylestown. PA 29 DEC 1967.

1896 FP of Giordano's opera Andre Chenier, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

1898 Death of Wagnerian conductor Anton Seidl in NYC. b-1850.

1900 Birth of composer Achille Longo.

1902 Birth of Dutch-Polish violinist Paul Godwin, [Goldfein].

1903 Birth of Austrian pianist Rudolf SERKIN in Bohemia. d- 9 MAY 1991.

1914 Birth of Italian soprano Clara PETRELLA in Milan. d-19 NOV 1987.

1916 FP of KORNGOLD's "Der Ring des Polykrates" in Munich w/Maria Ivogün (s) (1891-1987) Hung. and "Violanta" w/Friedrich Brodersen (b) (1873-1926) Ger.

1918 Birth of bass Anselmo COLZANI.  MET Opera Début, 7 APR 1960. [Simon] Simon Boccanegra, 16 seasons (1959-73, 74-75, 77-78) 272 perf., 18 works.

1918 Birth of ballet dancer Youly Algaroff in Simferopol, Crimea. Died 6 August 1995.

1919 Birth of composer Jacob Avshalomov, in Tsingtao, China.  Jacob David AVSHALOMOV 

1919 Birth of Austrian-American violinist Paul DOKTOR, in Vienna. d-1989.

1926 Birth of composer Francis Burt.

1928 Birth of composer Jose Luis de Delas.

1930 Birth of American composer Robert ASHLEY. Co-director of Mills College Center for Contemporary Music, Ann Arbor, MI.

1934 Birth of composer Siegfried Thiele.

1936 Birth of English mezzo-soprano Elizabeth BAINBRIDGE in London.

1937 Death of Polish composer Karol Szymanowski, age 54, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

1940 Birth of English organist and conductor Martin NEARY.

1940 FP of Britten's Violin Concerto, Op. 15. New York Philharmonic conducted by John Barbirolli, with soloist Antonio Brosa.

1941 Birth of Italian tenor Nicola MARTINUCCI in Taranto. MET Opera Début Feb. 5, 1988 [Calàf] Turandot, 5 seasons (1987-88, 89-91, 92-93, 94-95) 25 perf., 6 works.

1942 Birth of American bass Samuel RAMEY in Colby, KS. MET Opera Début 19 JAN 1984 [Argante] Rinaldo, 15 seasons (1983-84, 86- thru - 2000) 167 perf., 23 roles, 19 works.

1943 Birth of English composer and pianist Richard STILGOE.

1943 Death of Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, in Beverly Hills California. He had just become an American citizen. In poor health he insisted on making a concert tour to raise funds for war relief. In Knoxville TN, 15 FEB, he became weaker and returned to his home in California, and died just a few days before his 70th birthday. He was buried at the Kensico celebrity cemetery, 273 Lakeview Avenue, Valhalla, NY 10595. b-1 APR 1873.

1944 Classical Music formatted WQXR radio in New York City, owned by The New York Times newspaper, banned singing commercials from its airwaves as of this day.

1945 Birth of contemporary Belgian composer of New Consonant Music, a typical exponent of Postmodernism...Boudewijn BUCKINX.

1949 Death of Rumanian composer and violinist Grigoras Dinicu at age 59, in Bucharest. Composed Hora staccato in 1906.

1951 FP of Douglas Moore's opera Giants in the Earth won the Pulitzer Prize for Music, in NYC.

1953 Birth of English soprano Miss Rosemary ASHE.

1958 FP of George Rochberg's Symphony No. 1, in Philadelphia.

1958 Death of American blues composer W. C. (William Christopher) Handy, age 84 in NYC.

1960 FP of Henry Cowell's Symphony No. 12, Leopold Stokowski conducting; in Houston.

1969 FP of Richard Bennett's "All the King's Men" children's opera; Coventry.

1972 FP of Leonard Bernstein's Meditations Nos. 1 and 2 for Cello and Piano, Stephen Katz and Bernstein at the piano, in NYC.

1973 Death of Australian soprano Gertrude Johnson. b-Hawksburn, Victoria 1897.

2003 Death of American double bass player Julius Levine. Also an influential teacher. B.S. Juilliard School of Music, 1947. Frequent guest artist, in concert, and on recordings with the Budapest, Juilliard, Guarneri and Amadeus String Quartets.Andante, Obituary.

2005 Death of English pianist Moura Lympany. b-18 AUG 1916.