October 21 Today in classical music history

Malcolm Arnold
b-1921 d-2006

1570 Birth of German composer Wolfgang SCHONSLEDER. d-17 DEC 1651.

1574 Birth of Italian composer Nicolo RUBINI.

1651 Death of German composer Jacob Praetorius in Hamburg. b-Hamburg, 8 FEB 1586. Search Amazon.com for Jacob Praetorius

1662 Death of English composer Henry Lawes, at 66, in London. b-Wiltshire, 5 JAN 1596. He received his musical education from John Cooper, better known under his Italian pseudonym Giovanni Coperario. In 1626, Lawes was received as one of the gentlemen of the chapel royal, and held the position until the Commonwealth put a stop to church music. Search Amazon.com for Henry Lawes

1680 Birth of Uraguayan composer Francisco Jose COUTINHO.

1706 COLASSE's "Polyxène et Pyrrhus" Paris.

1721 FP of Louis Clerambault's Le Loleil Vainqueur in Paris.

1727 FP of ARIOSTI's "Teuzzone" London.

1751 Birth of German composer, violinist, clarinetist and horn player, David Moritz MICHAEL in Keinhausen. d-Nuewied, 26 FEB 1827.

1767 Birth of Italian composer Francesco RUGGI in Naples. d-Naples, 23 JAN 1845.

1772 FP of SALIERI: "La secchia rapita" Vienna (1772).

1775 Birth of Italian composer Abbate Giuseppe BAINI in Rome. d-Rome, 21 MAY 1844

1784 FP of Gretry's opera Richard the Lionhearted in Paris. "Richard Cœur-de-lion". CD-Grétry: Richard, Coeur de Lion; Rousseau: Le Devin du village

1793 Death of Danish composer Johann Ernst Hartmann, at 66 in Copenhagen. b-Silesia, 24 DEC 1726. Search Amazon.com for Johann Ernst Hartmann

1795 Artaria Publishers of Vienna, one of the best-known music publishers of the 18th century, issue three Beethoven Trios, Op 1. Publication of the first printed Beethoven work.

1798 Death of composer Johann Christoph Schmugel II, at 71. b-1726.

1801 Birth of Rhenish-German priest, music teacher, writer and composer Joseph MAINZER in Trier. d-Salford, Lancashire, 10 NOV 1851. Abbey chorister at the Trier Cathedral. Search Amazon.com for Joseph MAINZER

1805 Death of German composer Johann Baptist Lasser, at 54. Search Amazon.com for Johann Baptist Lasser

1807 Birth of French composer Henri REBER in Mulhouse. d- Paris, 24 NOV 1880.

1807 Birth of Spanish composer Miguel Hilarion ESLAVA y ELIZONDO.

1810 Death of organist, cellist, bass-singer and composer Franz Teyber, at 52, in Vienna. b-Vienna, 15 NOV 1756. He studied composition with his father and Georg Christoph Wagenseil, and was considered the best organist in Vienna.

1818 Birth of English tenor John Sims REEVES. d-1900.

1823 Birth of composer Pasqual Juan Emilio ARRIETA y CORERA. d-1924

1847 Birth of Puccini libretist and Italian songwriter Giuseppe GIACOSA. d-1906. Search Amazon.com for Giuseppe GIACOSA

1858 FP of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld in Paris. CD-Offenbach: Gaîté Parisienne - Orpheus in the Underworld - Voyage ot the Moon

1861 FP of GLOVER's W. H. "Ruy Blas" London, Covent Garden.

1879 Birth of French composer Joseph CANTELOUBE in Annonay. d-Gridny, 4 NOV 1957. Search Amazon.com for Joseph CANTELOUBE

1884 Birth of German soprano Claire Waldoff, in Gelsenkirchen. d. Jan. 22, 1957.

1885 Birth of Austrian composer Egon WELLESZ in Vienna. Lived in London. d-1974. Publisher's site. Search Amazon.com for Egon WELLESZ

1885 Birth of Italian baritone-tenor Marcella Govoni, in Bologna. d. Rome, Oct. 10, 1944. He had an incredible career. He started vocal studies as a bass. He made his debut around 1909 as a baritone. In that period he alternated roles between light baritone and basso buffo roles. In 1918 he started to sing as a tenor making his debut at the Comunale in Bologna as [Werther]. Search Amazon.com for Marcella Govoni

1889 FP of Sidney Jones operetta San Toy, opened in London.

1895 Birth of Japanese composer Shukichi MITSUKURI in Tokyo. d-10 MAY 1971. Search Amazon.com for Shukichi MITSUKURI

1896 FP of AUDRAN's "La poupée" Paris.

1897 Death of German composer Paul Kuczynski, at 50 in Berlin. b-Berlin, 10 NOV 1846. Search Amazon.com for Paul Kuczynski

1901 (29th?)Birth of film score composer Daniele AMFITHEATROF in St. Petersburg, Russia. d-1983. Search Amazon.com for Daniele AMFITHEATROF.

1902 Birth of Filipino composer Hilarion RUBIO. He acted as the consultant for the La Concordia College, Rondalla in 1942.

1903 Birth of French tenor Jean Planel. Search Amazon.com for Jean Planel

1904 Birth of Algerian bass Henri Medus, in Guelma, Algiers. d. Nov. 11, 1985.

1905 Death of composer Jose Teodor Vilar, at 69.

1907 FP of Franz Lehar's The Merry Widow, opened in New York. Starring Ethel Jackson and Donald Brian. The operetta had been introduced in Europe two years before. CD-Lehár - The Merry Widow / Schwarzkopf, Wächter, Steffek, Gedda, Knapp, von Matacic

1908 Birth of Russian-American violinist Alexander SCHNEIDER in Vilna, Russia. For many years was a member of the Budapest String Quartet. d-1993. Search Amazon.com for Alexander SCHNEIDER

1908 Birth of Irish composer Howard FERGUSON in Belfast. Search Amazon.com for Howard FERGUSON

1911 (JC,GC 3 NOV?, Ed. Baker's Biographical Dictionary) Birth of Manchurian-American composer Vladimir USSACHEVSKY. Works list. d-1990.

1912 Birth of Conductor, pianist Sir Georg SOLTI in Budapest Hungary. d- 4 SEP 1997 in Antibes, Southern France after brief illness. MET Tannhäuser, Dec. 17, 1960, 3 seasons (1960-61, 62-64) 37 perf., 7 works. Search Amazon.com for Sir Georg SOLTI. 

1913 FP of MUSSORGSKY's "Sorochinskaya yarmarka" Moscow and completed by Cui.

1916 (1906?)Birth of Japanese composer Tomohiro IKENOUCHI, in Tokyo. Educated in Paris.

1919 Death of composer Sven August Korling, at 77. Search Amazon.com for Sven August Korling

1919 FP of DELIUS's "Fennimore and Gerda" Frankfurt.

1921 Birth of Czech composer and conductor composer Jarmil BURGHAUSER in Pisek. d. Feb. 19, 1997. Search Amazon.com for Jarmil BURGHAUSER

1921 Birth of English composer (Sir) Malcolm ARNOLD in Northampton. Search Amazon.com for Malcolm ARNOLD. d-23 Sep 2006. BIO.

1921 FP of the last version of Sibelius' Symphony No. 5, composer conducting in Helsinki. Sibelius conducted the erlier performances in Helsinki on 8 DEC 1915 and 14 DEC 1916. CD-Sibelius: The Complete Symphonies 1

1923 Birth of American tenor John ALEXANDER in Meridian, MS. d- Meridian, 8 DEC 1990. MET Dec. 19, 1961 [Ferrando] Così Fan Tutte, 27-seasons (1961-88) 373-perf. in 37-roles.

1924 Death of Belgian violinist and composer Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick, at 76 in Paris. b-Liege, 9 MAR 1848.

1925 (1928?) Birth of Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani, in Solovastru. MET Nov. 12, 1966 [Violetta] La Traviata, 1 season (1966-67) 3 perf., 2 works. Search Amazon.com for Virginia Zeani.

1926 Birth of American composer Marga RICHTER in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Studied composition with William Bergsma and Vincent Persichetti and piano with Rosalyn Tureck at Juilliard. Search Amazon.com for Marga RICHTER. 

1926 FP of Carl Nielsen's Flute Concerto conducted by Emil Telmányi, the composer's son-in-law, with Holger Gilbert-Jespersen, soloist in Paris. Nielsen revised the score- FP of the last version 9 NOV 1926, with Gilbert-Jespersen, soloist in Oslo. CD-Neilsen: Concertos, etc.

1927 Birth of South African-British ballerina Nadine JUDD, aka Nadia Moore-Nerina.

1928 Birth of Austrian composer and teacher Lucia ALCALAY in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.

1935 Birth of English baritone Kenneth Collins, in Birmingham.

1937 FP of Dmitri Shostakovitch's 5th Symphony. CD-Shostakovitch: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6 / Barshai

1941 FP of A. Copland's Piano Sonata. Copland, pianist in Buenos Aires. CD-Aaron Copland: The Young Pioneers, the Complete Music for Solo Piano

1946 Birth of Greek composer Dimitri NICOLAU in Keratea. 

1949 Birth of Israeli composer Shulamit RAN in Tel Aviv. The first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Search Amazon.com for Shulamit RAN

1949 Birth of American composer Daniel GAWTHROPE in Ft. Wayne, IN.

1953 Birth of American conductor Hugh WOLF in Paris. Frankfurt radio symphony.

1954 Birth of Italian bass Georgio Surjan, in Rijeka. MET Début Oct. 22, 1997 [Basilio] Il Barbiere di Siviglia, 1-season (97-98) 4-perf. of 1-role. Search Amazon.com for Georgio Surjan

1956 FP of Gian Carlo Menotti's madrigal-fable The Unicorn, the Gordon and the Manticore at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. CD-Menotti: The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore

1960 FP of Lukas Foss' Time Cycle in NYC.

1963 FP of MENOTTI's "Le Dernier Sauvage" Paris.

1969 FP of KOSMA's "Les hussards" Lyons.

1973 Birth of American composer and pianist Lera AUERBACH.

1975 The Scott Joplin ragtime opera Treemonisha opens at Uris Theater in NYC for 64 performances. CD-Treemonisha

1977 Death of Turkish composer Ferit Tuzun, at 48. Turkish music.

1984 Death of composer Dalibor Cyril Vackar, at 78. b-1906. Search Amazon.com for Dalibor Cyril Vackar

1984 FP of Ellen Taaffe Zwilich's Double Quartet for strings. Emerson String Quartet at a concert of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, in NYC. CD-Zwilich: Symbolon; Concerto Grosso

2004 FP of Richard Danielpour's Songs of Solitude with texts by W. B. Yeats. Baritone, Thomas Hampson with Philadelphia Orchestra/Robertson in Phildelphia, PA.