MARCH 7

Henry PURCELL

1574 Baptism of English madrigalist John Wilbye, in Diss, Norfolk. He was known for his madrigals, a poetic and musical form that evolved during the fourteenth century.

1608 Death of soprano Caterina Martinelli. Debut 1590 Rome Died 7 Mar 1608 Teacher, Arrigo Gabbino Created Venere / Dafne in Dafne (Da Gagliano).

1659 Possible birth date of English composer Henry PURCELL, no official record. d-Westminster, London, 21 NOV 1695. He was one of the greatest English composers, flourishing in the period that followed the Restoration of the monarchy after the Puritan Commonwealth. Little is known of his birth and life- his parentage remains unclear.

1663 Birth of Italian composer Tomaso Antonio VITALI in Bologna. d-Modena, 9 MAY 1745.

1668 Death of baritone Odoardo Ceccarelli. Born 1600 ? Bevagna Perugia. Pupil, Charlotte Haser

1711 FP of Handel's opera, Rinaldo in London. CD-Handel - Rinaldo / Jacobs.

1730 FP of Handel's opera Partenope in London.

1786 Death of Bohemian-born composer and violinist František Benda, aka Franz, at age 77, in Neuendorf, suburban Potsdam. Employed at the court of King Frederich II of Prussia. b-Stare Benatky, 22 NOV 1709.

1809 Death of Austrian composer and organist Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, at age 73, in Vienna. b-3 FEB 1736. He gave lessons to Beethoven and succeeded Mozart, at the latter's request, as assistant to the Kapellmeister of St Stephen's.

1819 FP of second version Rossini's opera Mosè in Egitto 'Moses in Egypt' in Italian, at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

1820 Birth of German composer Gustav GRABEN-HOFFMANN in suburban Posen. d-Potsdam, 20 MAY 1900.

1845 Birth of tenor Edward Lloyd in London. Died 31 Mar 1927 Debut 1866 Teachers, H C Henson, James Turle.

1866 Birth of bass Robert Polak in Nove, Hrady. Died 8 Jul 1926 Debut as Paloucky in The Kiss (Smetana) 22 Nov 1893 Teacher, Jan Ludevit Lukes Created Lucifer in Devil & Kate (Dvorak) Sang in premiere of Armida (Dvorak).

1867 FP of Johannes Brahms' Scherzo in eb, Op. 4, for piano, in Vienna.

1875 Birth of French composer Maurice RAVEL, in Ciboure. d-Paris, 28 DEC 1937.

1883 FP of Mily Balakirev's symphonic poem Tamara.

1884 FP of Chadwick's Scherzo in F from his Symphony No. 2. Boston Symphony, George Henschel conducting. The complete symphony was premiered by the BSO on 10 DEC 1886, composer conducting.

1887 Birth of Estonian composer Heino Eller, in Tartu. d-16 JUN 1970.

1892 FP of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite, in St. Petersburg.

1895 Birth of Argentinian composer Juan José CASTRO. d-5 SEP 1968.

1896 FP of Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta The Grand Duke at the Savoy Theatre in London.

1897 Johannes Brahms attended his final concerts. He heard his Symphony No. 4 conducted by Hans Richter.

1899 FP of Vincent d'Indy's Chansons et danses for winds, in Paris.

1905 Birth of baritone Walter Hofermayer in Vienna.  Died 5 Dec 1973 Debut as Don Fernando in Fidelio (Beethoven) Teacher, Josef von Manowarda Created Count in Capriccio (Strauss) Edgar in Vampyr (Marschner) Sang in premiere of Hopsa (Burkhard) Drei Walzer (O Straus) Kaiserin Josephine (Kalman).

1918 Death of bass-baritone Vaclav Kliment. Born 12 Aug 1863 in Prague. Created Vitoraz in Sarka (Fibich) Hans in Eva (Foerster) Water-sprite in Rusalka (Dvorak).

1922 Death of baritone Mario Laurenti. Born 1890 in Verona. Debut as Innkeeper in Manon Lescaut (Puccini) 6 Jan 1916 Created Luc Angelo in Reine Fiammette (Leroux) Bread in Oiseau Bleu (Wolff) Old Indian in Shanewis (Cadman).

1927 Birth of tenor Robert Gard in Padstow, Cornwall. Debut as Duke in Rigoletto (Verdi) 1958 Teacher,  Dino Borgioli, Walter Hyde, Fritz Philipsborn, Florence Wiese-Norberg Pupil, Joanna Cole Created Le Mesurier in Voss (Meale) Lodger in Metamorphosis (Howard) Premier in Eighth Wonder (John).

1928 Birth of tenor William Blankenship, Gatesville, Texas. Debut 1956 Teachers, Mack Harrell, Mary McCormick, Sergei Radamsky Karl Heinz Tittner Pupils :- Patrick Donnelly, Glenn Winslade.

1929 Birth of baritone-tenor Claudio Nicolai in Kiel. Debut 1954 Teachers, Clemens Kaiser-Breme, Sergei Radamsky Created Stolzius in Soldaten (Zimmermann).

1931 Birth of soprano Mady Mesple   in Toulouse. Debut as Lakme in Lakme (Delibes) 1953 Teachers, Isaar-Lasson, Georges Jouatte, Janine Micheau Created as Kitty in Last Savage (Menotti) Pauline in Princesse Pauline (Tomasi).

1931 Death of baritone Frantisek Sir. Born 22 Nov 1863 in Prague. Debut 1891 Teacher, Jan Ludevit Lukes Created Huntsman in Rusalka (Dvorak) Sang in premiere of Armida (Dvorak).

1934 Birth of baritone Eugene Holmes in Brownsville, Tennessee. Debut in Crucible (Ward) 1963 Teachers, Boris Goldovsky, Frank St Leger, Wirt D Walton Dorothy Ziegler Created Toime Ukamba in Most Important Man (Menotti).

1935 Birth of counter-tenor Michael Chance. Debut as Apollo in Giasone (Cavalli) 1983 Teacher, Rupert Bruce-Lockhart Created Military Governer in Night at the Chinese Oera (Weir) Orpheus in Second Mrs King (Birtwistle).

1953 FP of Vincent Persichetti 's Pageant for band, in Miami, FL.

1956 Birth of American composer Daniel DORFF.

1958 FP of Walter Piston's Viola Concerto, by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting.

1963 Death of Russian conductor Igor Markevitch. b-27 JUL 1912. Son of pianist Boris Markevitch.

1965 Death of Dutch composer and conductor Anthon van der Horst. b-20 JUN 1899.

1965 FP of Easley Blackwood's Symphony No. 3, in Chicago.

1971 FP of Gian Carlo Menotti's opera The Most Important Man at the New York City Opera.

1979 Death of Norwegian composer Klaus Egge, at age 72, in Oslo.

1980 FP of Daniel Pinkham's Serenades for trumpet and winds, at Harvard University's Sanders Theater with trumpeter Rolf Smedvig and the Harvard Wind Ensemble conducted by Thomas Everett in Cambridge, MA.

1983 Death of Canadian composer Claude Vivier in Paris. b-Montreal, 14 APR 1948.

1998 Death of soprano Leonie Rysanek. Born 11 Dec 1926 in Vienna.  Died 7 Mar 1998 Debut as Agathe in Freischutz (Weber) 1949 Teachers, Rudolf Grossman, Alfred Jerger. Search Amazon.com for Leonie Rysanek.

2001 FP of Harbison's Partita (Concerto for Orchestra). Minnesota Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier conducting in Minneapolis.

2002 FP of Colgrass' Crossworlds Concerto for Flute, Piano and Orchestra. Commissioned by the Boston Symphony for flutist Marina Piccinini and pianist Andreas Haefliger, with Hans Graf conducting in Boston, MA.

2004 FP of Samuel Adler´s RECALLING THE YESTERDAYS. Voices of Change, SMU, Dallas, TX