JUNE 4

 Josephine DeRESZKE

1091 (5 JUL?) Death of Benedictine Abbot Wilhelm von Hirsau, at Hirsau in Wurttemberg. He wrote two music treatises.

1721 Telemann assumes position of cantor at Gymnasium Johanneum in Hamburg.

1759 (JAN?)Birth of Italian composer Maria Rosa COCCIA in Rome. d-Rome, NOV 1833.

1770 Birth of English pianist and music publisher James HEWITT, BIO,  in Dartmoor England. Lived in NYC and Boston. Composed opera Tammany. d-FEB 1827.

1811 FP of Weber's opera Abu Hassan in Munich.

1829 Birth of Dutch composer Joseph ASCHER who died on his birthday in 1869.

1855 Birth of Polish soprano Josephine De RESZKE in Warsaw. d-22 FEB 1891. Debut in Guarany (Gomes) 1875. Teachers were H. Nissen-Salomon, Giovanni Sbriglia. Created Sita in Roi de Lahore (Massenet).

1872 Death of Polish opera composer Stanislaw Moniuszko at age 53, in Warsaw. b-Ubil, Poland 5 MAY 1819.

1882 Birth of Italian baritone Carlo GALEFFI   in Malamocco, Venice. d-Rome, 22 SEP 1961. MET Opera Début 29 NOV 1910 [Germont] La Traviata, 1 season (1910-11) 2, perf., 1 work.  Photo. Debut Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) 1904. Teachers were Antonio Cotogni, Giovanni Sbriglia, E Sbriscia, G Di Cuomo. Created Fanuel in Nerone (Boito). Manfredo in Amore dei Tre Re (Montemezzi). Sang in FP of Parisina (Mascagni). Isabeau (Mascagni). Maruxa (Vives).

1883 (JC, GC=23 MAY) FP of P. I. Tchaikovsky's Festival Coronation March in Moscow. CD-Simply the Best Classical Anthems

1885 Birth of Polish soprano Josephine DeRESZKE in Warsaw. d-Warsaw, 22 FEB 1891.

1887 Birth of Finnish mezzo-soprano Irma TERVANI in Helsinki. d-29 OCT 1936. Debut as Delilah in Samson & Delilah (Saint-Saens) 1908. Teacher was Emmy Stromer-Ackte.

1891 Birth of Erno RAPEE in Budapest. In 1932 music director of Radio City Music Hall, in 1935 conductor of the General Motors Orchestra. d-1945.

1894 Birth of Russian baritone Vladimir SLIVINSKY in Moscow. d-7 AUG 1949.

1899 - Birth of composer Leo Spies, composer

1903 Birth of Swedish baritone Joel BERGLUND in Torsaker, Sweden. d-21 JAN 1985. Debut as Lothario in Mignon (Thomas) 1929. Teachers were John Forsell, Oskar Lejdstrom. Pupils were Bernhard Sonnerstadt, Uno Stjernqvist, Edith Thallaug. Sang in FP of Fredlos (Linberg).

1903 Birth of Russian conductor Evgeny MRAVINSKY in St. Petersburg. d-1988.

1905 Birth of American composer, writer and critic Marcus Wilson ACHESON, III.

1907 (Apr 4?)Death of Norwegian pianist Agathe Backer-Grondahl in Ormöen, nr Oslo. b-Holmestrand, Norway 1 DEC 1847.

1907 Birth of composer Marjan Kozina

1909 Birth of American composer Paul NORDOFF in Philadelphia. d-1977.

1910 Birth of Yugoslav tenor Anton DERMOTA in Kropa, Slovenia. d-22 JUN 1989. Debut as 1st Armed Man in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1934. Teacher was Elisabeth Rado. Pupils were Maldwin Davies, Dalmacio Gonzales, Alexander Oliver, Seppo Juhani Ruohonen, Richard Salter, Peder Severin. Sang in FP of Sturm (Martin).

1912 FP of G. W. Chadwick's tone poem Aphrodite at the Litchfield Festival in Norfolk, CT. CD-Chadwick: Aphrodite; Suite Symphonique; Symphonic Sketches

1913 Birth of Italian composer Bruno BETTINELLI in Milan. Opera, "La Smorfia" (The face, 1959); "Il Pozzo e il Pendolo" (1967); "Count Down" (1970).

1913 FP of Charpentier's "Julien" Paris.

1914 FP of Jean Sibelius' Oceanides with his Pohjola's Daughter and The Swan of Tuonela at the Litchfield County Choral festival, Sibelius conducting in Norfolk, CT. CD-Jean Sibelius: The Tempest, Suites 1 & 2 / The Oceanides / Nightride and Sunrise - Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Leif Segerstam

1915 Birth of American composer Alan SHULMAN. d-2002.

1917 Birth of Met baritone Robert MERRILL (aka Morris Miller) in Brooklyn NY. d-NYC, 23 OCT 2004. Debut as Amonasro in Aida (Verdi) 1943. Teachers were Angelo Canarutto, Samuel Margolis.

1918 Birth of Russian composer Marcelo KOC in Vitebsk. Settled in Argentina.

1919 Birth of Austrian bass Manfred JUNGWIRTH in St Polton, Austria. Debut as Mephistopheles in Faust (Gounod) 1942. Teachers were Emilie Auer-Weissgerber, Alice Goldberg, Albert D'Andree, Rudolf Grossmann, Josef Burgwinkel. Created Priest in Besuch der Alten Dame (Von Einem).

1920 Birth of Italian soprano Fedora BARBIERI in Trieste. La Scala in Milan, New York's Metropolitan Opera and London's Covent Garden. d-age 83, 4 MAR 2003. Andante, Obituary. Debut Fidalma in Matrimonio in Segreto (Cimarosa) 1940. Teachers were Federico Bugamelli, Giulio Tess, Luigi Toffolo Created Dariola in Don Juan de Manera (Alfano). General's Wife in Idiota (Chailly). Celestina in Celestina (Testi).

1922 Birth of American composer Irwin Allen BAZELON in Evanston, IL. d-1995.

1926 Birth of tenor Ivo ZIDEK. b-Troppau, 4 JUN 1926. Debut as Werther in Werther (Massenet) 1944. Teacher was Rudolf Vasek. Created Musa Dzhalil in Musa Dzhalil (Zhiganov). d-Prague, 19 MAY 2003.

1926 Death of Italian soprano Carolina Ferni. b-Como, 20 AUG 1839. Debut as Leonora in Favorita (Donizetti) 1862. Teacher was Giuditta Pasta. Pupils were Eugenio Burzio, Enrico Caruso, Eugenio Giraldoni. Sang in FP of Violino del Diavolo (Mercuri).

1928 Birth of Hungarian tenor Valentin TEODORIAN in Bucharest. Debut as Beppe in Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) 1949. Teacher was Constantin Teodorian.

1930 - Birth of composer Pentti Raitio, composer 1931 - Birth of composer Cesar Bolanos, composer 1940 - Birth of composer Dorothy Rudd Moore, composer

1935 Birth of Canadian soprano Colette BOKY in Montreal. Debut as Queen of the Night in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1967. MET Opera Début 28 OCT 1967 [Queen] Die Zauberflöte, 11 seasons (1967-77, 78-79) 195 perf., 29 roles, 23 works.

1935 FP of Dimitri Shostakovich's ballet The Limpid Stream at the Maliiy Opera Theater in Leningrad. CD-Shostakovich: The Limpid Stream

1935 FP of Richard Strauss' opera Die schweigsame Frau 'The Silent Woman' at the Staatsoper in Dresden. CD-Die Schweigsame Frau

1940 Birth of English mezzo-soprano Katherine PRING in Brighton. Debut as Flora in Traviata (Verdi) 1966. Teachers were Maria Carpi, Clemens Kaiser-Breme, Ruth Packer, Luigi Ricci. Created Betsy in Anna Karenina (Hamilton).

1940 Birth of American composer Dorothy Rudd MOORE.

1943 Birth of Indian composer Maestro Ilaiyaraaja.

1945 Birth of American composer Anthony BRAXTON.

1951 Birth of English tenor Justin LAVENDER in Bedford. Debut as 1st Armed Man in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1976. Teacher was William McAlpine. Created Brother in Clarissa (Holloway). Sang in FP of Ritorno di Casanova (Arrigo).

1951 Death of Russian-American double bassist and conductor Serge Koussevitzky at age 76, in Boston, where he conducted the BSO for 25 years. b-Vishny Volochek, 26 JUL 1874.

1956 Birth of American tenor Neil WILSON in Lubbock TX. d-NYC, 21 AUG 2000. MET Opera Début 11 FEB 1988 [Macduff] Macbeth, 3 seasons (1987-90) 6 perf., of 4 roles.

1957 Birth of English baritone Robert POULTON in Brighton. Debut Ferryman in Curlew River (Britten) 1986. Teachers were Thomas Allen, Rudolf Pierney. Created Dollarama in Second Mrs Kong (Birtwistle). Gentleman 3, Guest 2, Manager, Clerk in From Morning to Midnight (Sawer). Sang in FP of Vanishing Bridegroom (Weir).

1966 Birth of Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia BARTOLI in Rome. Debut 1987.

1975 Death of Italian soprano Pierisa Giri. b-Turin, 1908.

1975 Death of German soprano Frida Leider. b-Berlin, 18 APR 1888. Debut as Venus in Tannhauser (Wagner) 1915. Teachers were Otto Schwarz, Louis Bachner. Pupils were Elizabeth Steiner, Ingeborg Exner, Sylvia Fisher.

1978 Death of Salvadoran composer Maria de Baratta in San Salvador. b-San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America 27 FEB 1890.

1981 Death of Italian soprano Augusta Oltrabella. b-Savona, 1897. Debut as Leonora in Trovatore (Verdi) 1917. Teachers Gaetano Bavagliano, Alberto Caffo. Pupil was Juan Oncina. Created Leah in Dibuk (Rocca). Margherita in Margherita da Cortona (Refice). Agave in Baccanti (Ghedini). Sang in FP of Morte di Frine (Rocca).

1994 FP of Philip Glass' opera La Belle et la Bête 'Beauty and the Beast'. Philip Glass Ensemble with Michael Riesman conducting at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville. CD-Philip Glass: La Belle et la Bête

1997 FP of Richard Danielpour's ballet Urban Dances. New York Ballet, choreographed by Miriam Mahdaviani at New York State Theater. CD-Richard Danielpour: Celestial Night

1999 FP of Tan Dun's Concerto for Water Percussion and Orchestra, composed in Memory of composer Toru Takemitsu, with percussionist Christopher Lamb and the New York Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur at Lincoln Center, NYC.

1999 FP of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Five Images after Sappho for voice and orchestra, with soprano Dawn Upshaw and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, conducted by the composer at the Ojai Festival, CA. CD-Salonen - LA Variations · Five Images After Sappho · Mania · Gambit · Giro / Upshaw · Karttunen · L.A. Phil. · London Sinfonietta · Salonen

2006 Death of conductor Richard Kapp, who founded and led the Philharmonia Virtuosi, a chamber orchestra, and released a series of classical "greatest hits" records. He died at his home in Danbury, CT at the age of 69 from effects of cancer. Kapp was a founding member of MUSIClassical group. Richard Paul Kapp was born in Chicago on Oct. 9, 1936. NY Times Obit.