OCTOBER 31 Today in classical music history

  • 1566 Death of English playwright, poet, composer, actor, courtier, theater director and teacher; Richard EDWARDS. b. 1524.
  • 1724 FP of G. F. Handel's opera Tamerlano at the King's Theater in the Haymarket. London debut of Italian tenor Francesco Borosini in a Handel composition. CD-Handel: Tamerlano
  • 1744 Death of Italian composer Leonardo Leo in Napoli. b-San Vito Degli Schiavi, 5 AUG 1694. 
  • 1768 Death of Italian composer Francesco Maria Veracini in Firenze. b-Firenze, 1 FEB 1690. Search Amazon.com for Francesco Maria Veracini
  • 1788 FP of CHERUBINI's "La Molinarella" Paris.
  • 1789 FP of DALAYRAC's "Raoul, Sire de Créqui" Paris.
  • 1831 FP of AUBER, w/com. Batton, "La Marquise de Brinvilliers" Paris. Featuring selections by Hérold, Auber, Batton, Berton, Blangini, Boieldieu, Cafa, Cherubini and Paër.
  • 1833 (? 12 NOV 1833) Birth of Alexander Porfir'yevich BORODIN  in St Petersburg. d. St. Petersburg, Feb. 17, 1887. Search Amazon.com for Alexander Porfir'yevich BORODIN
  • 1839 FP of ADAM's "Le Brasseyr de Preston" Paris.
  • 1865 FP of Johannes Brahms' Theme and Variations in d from slow movement of Brahms' String Sextet No. 1 in Frankfurt am Main. Search Amazon.com for Brahms' Theme and Variations
  • 1866 FP of Jacques Offenbach's operetta La Vie Parisienne at the Palais-Royal in Paris. CD-Vie Parisienne
  • 1866 Opening of the Steinway Hall in NYC at 14th east of Fourth Avenue. The major concert hall prior to the opening of Carnegie Hall.
  • 1870 Death of Hungarian composer Mihály Mosonyi aka, Michael Brand at age 55, in Pest. b-1815. Portrait. 
  • Mihály Mosonyi: Mass in F major, Graduale, Offertorium etc.
  • 1872 Birth of Austrian composer Carl LaFITE in Vienna.
  • 1874 FP of Offenbach's "Madame l'archiduc" Paris.
  • 1875 FP of Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 4 in c, Op. 44, conducted by Edouard Colonne, composer was soloist, in Paris. CD-Saint-Saens: Piano Concertos 1-5.
  • 1876 Birth of French-American flautist-conductor Georges BARRERE in Bordeaux. Search Amazon.com for Georges BARRERE. 
  • 1877 Birth of American baritone Oscar Seagle, in Chattanooga, TN. d. Dallas, Dec. 19, 1945.Search Amazon.com for Oscar Seagle
  • 1877 Death of English composer George Alexander Macferren in London.
  • 1879 FP of MILLÖCKER's "Gräfin Dubarry" operetta, Vienna.
  • 1884 FP of MILLÖCKER's "Der Feldprediger" operetta, Vienna.
  • 1887 FP of Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, aka Spanish Caprice in St. Petersburg. Richard Strauss conducting. CD-Khachaturian: Masquerade Suite; Kabalevsky: The Comedians; Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol / Kondrashin
  • 1890 Birth of American composer Carl Hugo GRIMM in Zanesville, OH. d-Cincinnati, Oh 1978. Search Amazon.com for Carl Hugo GRIMM
  • 1891 FP of Mascagni's opera L'amico Fritz, at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. w/Fernando de Lucia (t) [Fritz]; Emma Calvé (s) (1858-1942) Fr. CD-Mascagni - L'amico Fritz / Freni, Pavarotti, Sardinero, Gavazzeni
  • 1894 Birth of American composer Aaron AVSHALOMOV. d-26 APR 1965. Search Amazon.com for Aaron AVSHALOMOV
  • 1902 Birth of English composer Freda SWAIN. d-1985. Search Amazon.com for Freda SWAIN
  • 1906 FP of Massenet's opera Ariane, in Paris. Search Amazon.com for Massenet's opera Ariane
  • 1906 Birth of American composer Louise TALMA, in Arcachon, France. d-Saratoga Springs, NY 13 AUG 1996. Louise TALMA Society. Search Amazon.com for Louise TALMA
  • Music of Louise Talma
  • 1909 Birth of Swedish baritone Erik Sjoberg in Nexoe. d. Nov. 8, 1967.
  • 1914 FP of MOORE's "Memories" Seattle.
  • 1917 FP of Kálmán's "Die Faschingsfee" operetta, Vienna.
  • 1923 FP of E. D'Albert's three-act opera Mareika von Nymwegen, in Hamburg.
  • 1923 FP of BRUNEAU's "Le jardin du paradis" Paris.
  • 1923 FP of D'ALBERT's "Mareike von Nymwegen" Hamburg.
  • 1924 FP of Paul Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 2, Op. 36, no. 1. Clemens Kraus conducting with pianist Emma Lübbecke-Job, in Frankfurt. CD-Hindemith: Kammermusik No. 2, 3, 6, & 7
  • 1925 FP of ATANASOV's "Tzveta" Sofia.
  • 1932 FP of Prokofiev's Fifth Piano Concerto in G. Composer performed as soloist, in Berlin. CD-Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No. 5 / Sviatoslav Richter
  • 1933 Birth of English harpsichordist Colin TILNEY. Search Amazon.com for Colin TILNEY
  • 1945 Birth of American composer Janice G. AUGUSTUS in Cleveland, OH.
  • 1947 Birth of English composer Howard SKEMPTON in Chester. Search Amazon.com for Howard SKEMPTON
  • 1947 FP of Carlos Chávez Toccata for percussion, in Mexico City. CD-Carlos Chavez: Chamber Works
  • 1949 Birth of Cuban-American composer and conductor Odaline de la MARTINEZ in Matanzas. Search Amazon.com for Odaline de la MARTINEZ
  • 1949 FP of Mark Blitzstein's opera Regina in NYC. Based on 'The Little Foxes' by Lillian Hellman. CD-Regina
  • 1950 Death of Brazilian composer Octavio Pinto in Sao Paulo. Search Amazon.com for Octavio Pinto
  • 1952 Birth of Dutch composer and oboist Maud SAUER.
  • 1955 FP of Alan Hovhaness's Symphony No. 2 Mysterious Mountain. Houston Symphony, Leopold Stokowski conducting. CD-Hovhaness: Mysterious Mountain
  • 1961 Birth of American composer Mike EDGERTON in Racine, WI.
  • 1966 FP of Igor Stravinsky's The Owl and the Pussycat his last work which was dedicated to his wife Vera Stravinsky, in Los Angeles. CD-Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky
  • 1967 FP of Richard BENNETT's  "Penny for a Song" comic opera; London.
  • 1968 FP of Lucas Foss' Paradigm in NYC. CD-Foss: 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird & Chamber Selections
  • 1970 FP of Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children, in Washington, D.C. CD-Crumb: Ancient Voices Of Children
  • 1985 FP of Ned Rorem's String Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Shaw conducting. Search Amazon.com for Rorem's String Symphony
  • 1989 Death of Swiss composer Conrad Beck in Switzerland.
  • 1995 Death of English composer Alan Bush in Herts. b-London, 22 DEC 1900. 
  • Alan Bush: Violin Concerto, Six Short Pieces, Dialectic, For String Quartet