OCTOBER 29 Today in classical music history

  • 1733 FP of ARNE's  "Opera of Operas" London.

  • 1734 The Opera of the Nobility company opens with popular castrato Farinelli, aka Carlo Broschi, at King's Theater, London. The company was formed to compete with Handel's Royal Academy.

  • 1739 Handel promotes subscriptions to his new set of Concertos, Op. 6. Published by Walsh on 23 APR 1740. Search Amazon.com for Handel Concertos, Op. 6

  • 1741 Handel finishes his first draft of Samson. CD-Handel - Samson / Tear · J. Baker · Watts · Shirley-Quirk · Luxon · Langridge · A. Oliver · Burrowes · Lott · ECO · Leppard

  • 1787 FP of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni in Prague. CD-Mozart: Don Giovanni

  • 1795 FP of DITTERSDORF's "Die befreyten Gwelfen" Prologue, Oles.

  • 1796 FP of DITTERSDORF's "Der schöne Herbsttag" Dialogue, Oels.

  • 1832 FP of HARTMANN's "The Raven" Copenhagen.

  • 1866 FP of BENDA's "Il buon marito" Gotha [Lost].

  • 1802 Death of French composer Jacques-Philippe Lamoninary, at 95. b-14 September 1707 in Maroilles.

  • 1815 Birth of American composer, minstrel and banjoist Daniel Decatur EMMETT in Mt. Vernon, OH. d-Mt. Vernon, Oh 28 JUN 1904. Search Amazon.com for Daniel Decatur EMMETT

  • 1829 Death of Austrian pianist Maria A [Nannerl] Mozart. Search Amazon.com for Maria A Nannerl Mozart

  • 1835 FP of BALFE's "The Siege of Rochelle" in English, London.

  • 1837 FP of Donizetti's opera Roberto Devereux at Teatro San Carlos, Naples. CD-Donizetti: Roberto Devereux

  • 1853 Death of Paris Conservatory professor of piano Pierre Zimmerman, at 68. Gounod married his daughter.

  • 1855 FP of Offenbach's "Paimpol et Périnette" Paris.

  • 1857 FP of BALFE's "The Rose of Castille" London.

  • 1867 FP of Borodin's opera Bogatyry 'Valiant Knights', in Moscow. w/ E. N. Merten.

  • 1874 Birth of German tenor Heinrich Hensel, in Neustadt. d. Hamburg, Feb. 23, 1935. MET Début: Dec. 22, 1911 [Lohengrin] Lohengrin, 1 season, 9 perf. 4 roles. Search Amazon.com for Heinrich Hensel

  • 1876 Death of Belgian composer Jacques Gregoir, at 59. Search Amazon.com for Jacques Gregoir

  • 1881 FP of MILLÖCKER's "Die Jungfrau von Belleville" operetta, Vienna.

  • 1882 Death of composer Martin Gustav Nottebohm, at 64. Search Amazon.com for Martin Gustav Nottebohm

  • 1882 FP of SMETANA's "Certova stena" (The Devil's Wall) Prague.

  • 1883 Death of composer Friedrich Robert Volkmann, at 68 in Budapest. b-Lommatzsch, Saxony 6 APR 1815. Search Amazon.com for Friedrich Robert Volkmann

  • 1885 Birth of Argentinian composer Juan Battista MASSA.

  • 1887 Birth of Irish tenor John O'Sullivan, in Cork. d. Paris, Apr. 28, 1955 (prostate cancer).

  • 1887 FP of MILLÖCKER's "Der sieben Schwaben" operetta, Vienna.

  • 1888 Birth of English organist and conductor Harold DARKE in London. d-Cambridge, 28 NOV 1976.

  • The Organ Works of Dr. Harold Darke / Organ of St. Michael's Church, Cornhill, London

  • 1889 Birth of American soprano Anna CASE in Clinton NJ. d- NYC, 7 JAN 1984. American trained, was the first American singer without European training. MET Opera, two performances as Micaëla in Carmen, spring of 1917. She concentrated exclusively on concerts and making records through 1927. MET Début: 15 NOV 1909 as Page in Tannhäuser, 8 seasons,

  • 1889 Birth of American pianist, writer and teacher, David SAPERTON in Pittsburgh, PA. Josef Hofmann's assistant at Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Godowsky's son-in-law.

  • David Saperton Plays Chopin and Godowsky

  • 1898 Birth of French composer Emmanuel BONDEVILLE in Rouen. d-Paris, 26 NOV 1987. Search Amazon.com for Emmanuel BONDEVILLE

  • 1901 Birth of Russian composer Dimitry AMFITEATROV in St. Petersburg. Was assistant conductor of Minneapolis Symphony, 1937-38. Later in Hollywood. d- 7 JUN 1983.

  • 1904 Birth of English composer Vivian ELLIS in Hempstead. d London, 19 JUN 1996. Search Amazon.com for Vivian ELLIS

  • 1911 Birth of Mexican-American composer Narciso MARTINEZ in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico. d-5 JUN 1992. Search Amazon.com for Narciso MARTINEZ

  • 1911 Birth of German bass-baritone Herbert Fliether, in Velbent. MET Début: Feb. 15, 1963, Beethoven: [Pizaro] Fidelio, 1 season (1962-63) 3 perf., 1 work. Search Amazon.com for Herbert Fliether

  • 1918 Death of Estonian composer Rudolf Tobias in Berlin. b-Käina, 29 MAY 1873. Search Amazon.com for Rudolf Tobias

  • 1920 Birth of Czech conductor Vaclav NEUMANN. d-1995. Search Amazon.com for Vaclav NEUMANN

  • 1920 Death of composer Johann Ernst Perabo, at 74. b-14 NOV 1845.

  • 1920 FP of Edward Burlingame Hill's symphonic poem The Fall of the House of Usher from Poe poem. Boston Symphony, Pierre Monteux conducting.

  • 1922 Death of composer George August Lumbye, at 79. b-26 AUG 1846.

  • 1923 Birth of German composer Dietrich MANICKE. Search Amazon.com for Dietrich MANICKE

  • 1924 FP of DESHEVOV's "The Red Hurricane" Leningrad.

  • 1925 Birth of Italian soprano Giuseppina Gerbino, in Turin.

  • 1925 FP of symphonic suite from A. Casella's ballet La Giara. Willem Mengelberg conducts The New York Philharmonic.

  • CASELLA: Paganiniana / Serenata / La Giara SuiteCD-Casella: Chamber Music

  • 1926 Birth of Canadian tenor Jon Vickers, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan Ca. MET Début: Jan. 17, 1960 [Canio] Pagliacci, 22-seasons (1959-63, 64-69, 70-75, 77-81, 83-87) 280-perf. , 17 roles. d-29 JUL 2015, Ontario Canada. OBIT

  • 1931 Birth of American baritone William Walker, in Waco, TX. MET Début: Oct. 16, 1962 [Commissioner] Madama Butterfly, 16 seasons (1962-78) 362 perf., 40 roles, 34 works. Search Amazon.com for baritone William Walker

  • 1931 Death of composer Luciano Gallet, at 38. Search Amazon.com for Luciano Gallet

  • 1931 FP of REZNICEK's "Der Gondoliere des Dogen" Stuttgart.

  • 1934 Birth of  Italian tenor Franco Tagliavini,  (no relation to Ferruccio) in Reggio Emilia. Has sung with Chicago and the MET: Début: Mar. 27, 1970 [Pollione] Norma, 6 seasons (1965-75) 38 perf., 7 roles. Search Amazon.com for Franco Tagliavini

  • 1934 Birth of electronic music composer Ramon SENDER BARAYON. Search Amazon.com for Ramon SENDER BARAYON

  • 1934 Death of composer Gustavo Emilio Campa, at 71. b-8 SEP 1863.

  • 1937 Birth of German pianist Michael PONTI in Freiburg Germany. Search Amazon.com for Michael PONTI

  • 1941 Death of French soprano Edmée Favart. b. Paris, 1885. Search Amazon.com for Edmée Favart

  • 1943 Death of American composer Percy Goetschius in Manchester NH. b-Paterson, NJ 30 AUG 1853. Search Amazon.com for Percy Goetschius

  • 1944 Birth of Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Cristina Anguelakova , in Iperich.

  • 1947 FP of Stravinsky's Mass conducted by Ernest Ansermet, in Milan. CD-Stravinsky: Les Noces; Mass; Cantata

  • 1947 FP of Kabalevsky's Violin Concerto, in Moscow and Leningrad. CD-Meeting in Moscow - Glazunov/Kabalevsky: Violin Concertos

  • 1947 Death of composer Theodore Samuel Holland, at 69. Search Amazon.com for Theodore Samuel Holland

  • 1950 Birth of Scottish composer James DILLON in Glasgow. Search Amazon.com for James DILLON

  • 1950 Birth of Welsh soprano Patricia O'Neill, in S. Wales. Début [Dalinda] Ariodante (1074).

  • Pan Ddaw'R Nos

  • 1950 FP of A. Copland's Quartet for Piano and Strings. New York Quartet at a Coolidge Festival concert at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Coolidge Foundation. Search Amazon.com for Copland's Quartet for Piano and Strings

  • 1952 Birth of Turkish born Amenian-American violinist Ida KAVAFIAN in Istanbul. Sister of Ani. Search Amazon.com for Ida KAVAFIAN

  • 1955 FP of Dimitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 1. David Oistrakh with the Leningrad Philharmonic, Yevgeny Svetlanov conducting. CD-Prokofiev, Shostakovich: Violin Concertos no 1 / Rostropovich, Vengerov

  • 1956 FP of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. A trial run at the Colonial Theater in Boston. Officially opening in NYC at the Martin Beck Theater on 1 DEC 1956. CD-Candide

  • 1956 Birth of American composer James PRIMOSCH. Search Amazon.com for James PRIMOSCH

  • 1956 Debut of soprano Maria Callas at Metropolitan Opera, in Bellini's Norma with Fausto Cleva conducting. Search Amazon.com for Maria Callas

  • 1962 Death of composer Naphtali Siegfried Salomon, at 77. b-3 AUG 1885.

  • 1966 FP of Darius Milhaud's Music for Indiana. Indianapolis Symphony. CD-Milhaud: Symphony No. 10; L'Homme et son Desir; Musique pour l'Indiana / Satie: Jack in the Box

  • 1967 FP of Vincent Persichetti's Symphony No. 8. Baldwin Wallace Conservatory Orchestra, George Poinar conducting in Berea, OH. CD-Persichetti: Symphony No8; Schickele: Pentangle No1-05

  • 1968 Death of Norwegian composer Marius Moaritz Ulfrstad, at 78. b-11 SEP 1890.

  • 1973 Death of English composer Heathcote Dicken Statham, at 83.b-7 DEC 1889. Son of Henrey. Search Amazon.com for Heathcote Dicken Statham

  • 1982 FP of AHLSTROM's "Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights" San Francisco.

  • 1983 Death of composer Sten Broman, at 81. b-1902. Search Amazon.com for Sten Broman

  • 1992 Death of British choreographer Kenneth MacMillan. (Manon, Judas Tree). b-Dunfermline, Scotland 1929. Search Amazon.com for Kenneth MacMillan

  • 1994 Death of dancer Evelyn Anderson, at 87. b-1907.

  • 1994 Death of dancer Pearl Primus, at 44. Search Amazon.com for Pearl Primus

  • 2003 Death of Italian tenor Franco Corelli. His career took him from La Scala to New York's Metropolitan Opera and other great venues. He had been hospitalized following a stroke died at age 82. Andante Obituary Search Amazon.com for Franco Corelli

  • The Very Best of Franco Corelli

  • 2004 FP of Daniel Catan's Salispuedes, A Tale of Love, War and Anchovies with texts by Eliseo Alberto and Francisco Hinojosa. Houston Grand Opera/Guida, in Houston, TX. Search Amazon.com for Daniel Catan