Today in classical music history August 8

Luigi Marchesi

1491 Death of Dutch choir master and vocal teacher Maitre Jacques Barbireau, in Antwerp. b-c. 1420.

1571 Birth of composer John Ward

1693 Birth of composer Laurent Belissen

1746 Death of soprano Margherita L'Epine. Born 1683. Created Eurilla in Pastor Fido (Handel) Agilea in Teseo (Handel) Flavia in Silla (Handel)

1754 Birth of composer Luigi Marchesi. Search for Luigi Marchesi

1759 Death of German composer Karl Heinrich Graun in Berlin. b-Wahrenbrück, 7 MAY 1704. Brother of composer Johann Gottlieb Graun.

1808 First work by Rossini, age 16, is performed at the Licceo in Bologna. A cantata.

1810 FP of CATEL: "Les Bayadères" Paris (1810).

1826 FP of Mercadante: "Gabreilla di Vergy" Lisbon (1828)

1837 FP of BARNET: "Blanche of Jersey" London (1837).

1840 FP of ERKEL; F. "Báthory Mária" Prague (1840).

1856 Death of popular English contralto Lucia Elizabeth Vestris, in London. b-1797.

1856 FP of DELIBES: "Deux vieilles gardes" Paris (1856).

1857 Birth of French composer Cecile CHAMINADE in Paris. d- Monte Carlo, 13 APR 1944.

1859 Birth of French tenor Léon Escalaïs, in Cuxac d'Aude, France. d. Same, Aug. 30, 1940. Debut in Sardanapale (Duvernoy) 1882 Teacher, Louis-Henri Obin Pupils, Jose Luccioni, Riccardo Martin, Alexander Guys

1871 Birth of composer William Henry Squire

1878 Birth of German tenor Robert Hutt in Karlsruhe.  Died 5 Feb 1942 Debut 1903 Teachers, Wilhelm Guggenbuhler, Julius Kniese

1882 Birth of American pianist Olga SAMAROFF-STOKOWSKI (Hickenlooper), in San Antonio, TX. d-NYC, 17 MAY 1948.

1882 (JC, GC=20 AUG) FP of P. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture in Moscow.

1885 Birth of German soprano contralto Emmi Leisner, Emmi in Flensburg. d. Kampen on Sylt, Jan. 10, 1958: She sang in Hellerau, Bologna and the Berlin Imperial Opera,(1913-21) She sang at Bayreuth in 1925, and her career continued into the 1930s. She withdrew from the operatic stage and concentrated on Lieder and oratorio work. She gave concerts in all major German cities and the adjoining countries as well as in France, England, U.S., Denmark, Sweden and the Middle East. On her 65th birthday she received the specially created Schleswig-Holstein art award. Debut as Amneris in Aida (Verdi) 1913 Teacher, Helene Breest

1886 Birth of Italian tenor César Vezzani, in Bastia. d. Nov. 11, 1951. Debut in Richard Coeur de Lion (Gretry) 17 Dec 1911 Pupil, Pia Tassinari.

1886 Birth of Italian-American organist and composer Pietro Alessandro YON in Settimo Vittone. d-Huntington, L.I. NY, 22 NOV 1943. From 1907 was organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC.

1886 Birth of Dutch composer Daniel RUYNEMAN in Amsterdam. Influenced by music from Indonesia and inventor of "cup bells". d-Amsterdam, 25 JUL 1963.

1887 Birth of French mezzo-soprano Alice Raveau. d. Paris, May 13, 1945.

1891 Birth of Italian soprano Maria Carena, in Turin Aug. 8, 1891

1891 Birth of German violinist Adolf BUSCH in Westphalia. d-Guilford, VT, 9 JUN 1952. Brother of Herman and Fritz. Organized the Busch Quartet and Busch Trio. The Trio included his son-in-law, pianist Rudolf Serkin.

1897 Birth of tenor Dimiti Onofrei, Dimitrii. d. 1966:

1900 Birth of Polish-American composer Victor YOUNG in Chicago. d-Desert Hot Springs, CA 10 NOV 1956.

1904 Birth of composer Istvan Szelenyi

1905 Birth of French composer and conductor Andre JOLIVET in Paris. d-Paris, 20 DEC 1974. Was composition professor at the Paris Conservatoire.

1905 Birth of American music librarian, at NYC Library, Carleton SPRAGUE SMITH in NYC.

1905 Birth of Italian tenor Nino Martini, in Verona. d. Dec. 9, 1976: MET: Début: Dec. 28, 1933 [Duke] Rigoletto, 13 seasons, 110 perf., 9 works.

1908 Birth of baritone Clemens Kaiser-Breme.

1912 Meeting between Sergei Diaghilev and Igor Stravinsky for commission of Le sacre du printemps for Ballets Russes at Karlsbad.

1916 Birth of Swedish composer Stig RYBRANT in Norrkoping. d-Stockholm, 9 AUG 1985.

1920 Birth of Italian tenor Renato Ercolani in Perugia. Debut 1950 Sang in premiere of Tartarino di Tarascona (Guarino)

1921 Birth of American composer Roger NIXON in Tulare, CA.

1924 Birth of American composer Thomas BEVERSDORF. d-1981.

1929 Birth of Czech violinist Josef SUK in Prague. Grandson of Josef Suk. Great-grandson of Antonin Dvorak.

1931 Birth of American composer Jonathan ELKUS.

1934 Death of mezzo-soprano Anna Davidova Meitschik. Born 1875 Minsk. Teacher, Leone Giraldoni Pupil, Aida Favia-Artsay

1938 Birth of Canadian composer Jacques HETU in Quebec.

1939 Birth of American composer and educator William HIBBARD in Newton, MA. d-1989.

1940 Birth of Hungarian bass József Gregor, in Rákosliget. MET: Début: Oct. 19, 1994 [Bartolo] Le Nozze di Figaro, 1 season (1994-95) 18 perf., 3 works. Debut as Sarastro in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1964 Teachers, Endre Rosler, Gyorgy Kerenyi

1942 FP of Francis Poulenc's ballet Les Animaux modèles 'The Model Animals' at the Paris Opéra.

1943 Birth of Swedish composer Daniel BORTZ in Hässleholm.

1943 FP of W. Piston's Prelude and Allegro for organ and strings, on CBS radio network by organist E. Power Biggs, Arthur Fiedler conducting.

1944 Death of Finish soprano Aino Ackte. Born 23 Apr 1876 in Helsingfors Finland. Debut as Marguerite in Faust (Gounod) 1897 Teachers,  Emmy Achte, Edmond Duvernoy, Paul Vidal, Alfred Auguste Giraudet

1946 Birth of Spanish bass Juan Pons, in Ciutadella Minora. MET: Début Jan. 4, 1983 [Di Luna] Il Trovatore, thru 2000, 15 seasons (1982-83, 84-85, 86-87, 88-2000) 238 perf., 13 roles.

1946 Death of Spanish soprano Maria Barrientos. Born 10 Mar 1884 Barcelona. Debut as Amina in Sonnambula (Bellini) 24 July 1898 Teacher, Francesco Bonet Pupils, Piero Pauli, Helena Arizmendi

1948 Death of tenor Andrei Labinsky. Born 26 July 1871 in Kharkhiv. Debut 1897 Teachers, Stanislaus Gabel, V M Samus Created Vsevolod in Invisible City of Kitesh (Rimsky-Korsakov)

1950 Death of Russian composer Nikolai Miaskovsky at age 69, in Moscow. b-Warsaw, 20 APR 1881. Works List.

1966 Birth of American composer James WIZNEROWICZ.

1966 FP of Ulysses Kay's Symphonic Poem Markings in Rochester, MI.

1967 Death of Czech composer Jaromir Weinberger, of sedative overdose, in St. Petersburg, FL. b-Prague, 8 JAN 1896.

1969 Death of Brazilian composer Hekel Tavares in Rio de Janeiro. b-Rio de Janeiro, 16 SEP 1896.

1973 Birth of Greek composer Ioannis KOURTIS in Thessaloniki.

1976 FP of David Del Tredici's An Alice Symphony based on Lewis Carroll's work, in San Francisco, CA.

1984 FP of Luciano Berio's opera Un re in ascolto 'A King Listens' at the Salzburg Festival in Austria.

1989 Death of English pianist John Ogdon. b-Manchester, 27 JAN 1937. Photos. John Ogdon Foundation.

1996 Death of Swedish pianist and organist Ake Hermanson. b-Mollosund, 16 JUN 1923.

1990 Death of Italian tenor Franco Lo Giudice. Born 14 Mar 1893 Paterno. Debut in Fanciulla del West (Puccini) 1915 Teachers, Matteo Aderno, Beniamino Carelli, Di Cagno, Luigi Lucenti Antonio Savastano Created Gosta Berling in Cavalieri di Ekuba (Zandonai) Sing in premiere Giuliano (Zandonai) Dafni (Mule)

2013 Death of American (mezzo) soprano Regina RESNICK. Debut as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (Verdi) Dec 1942 Teachers, Fritz Busch, Giuseppe Danise, Rosalie Miller Created Old Baroness in Vanessa (Barber) Delilah in Warrior (Rogers) OBIT. Born: August 30, 1922, The Bronx, New York City, New York, United States.

2014 Death of Australian composer Peter SCULTHORPE born in Launceston, Tasmania, 29 APR 1929.