FEBRUARY 2

1594 Death of Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi PALESTRINA in Rome at age 68. b-Palestrina, Italy c1525.

1633 FP of Rossi's Erminia sul Giordano, based on the romantic epic by Tasso at Palazzo Barberini in Rome.

1669 Birth of French composer and organist Louis MARCHAND, in Lyons. d-Paris, 17 FEB 1732.

1673 Death of German composer Kaspar Forster, at age 56 in Oliva. b-Danzig, 1617.

1687 FP of Pallavicino's La Gierusalemme Liberata at the Hoftheater in Dresden.

1714 Birth of German organist and composer composer Gottfried August HOMILIUS in Rosenthal. d-Dresden, 5 JUN 1785.

1731 FP of Handel's opera Porus, King of India which ran for sixteen performances.

1748 Birth of German composer Christian Gottfried THOMAS.

1750 Death of German composer Johann Graf, at age 65.

1762 Birth of castrato Girolamo Crescentini in Urbino. Died 24 Apr 1846 Debut as Didone Abbandonata (Sarti) 1776 Teacher, Lorenzo Gibelli Pupils, Violante Camporese, Angelica Catalani, Isabella Colbran Giuseppina Grassini, Alexis de Garaude, Louise Albert-Himm Giuseppe Curci, Giuditta Pasta, Raffaele Mirate, Adelaide Tosi Created Curiatius in Orazi e I Curiazi (Cimarosa) Romeo in Giuletta e Romeo (Zingarelli) Artaserse in Artaserse (Cherubini) Sang in premiere of Zamori (Mayr) Alonso e Cora (Mayr).

1770 Birth of bass Giuseppe Naldi in Bologna. Died 14 Dec 1820 Debut 1785 Created Michele in Caccia di Enrico IV (Pucitta).

1773 Birth of composer Vincenc Tomas Vaclav TUCEK.

1779 Death of German composer Georg Philipp Kress, at age 59.

1780 Birth of American composer Ananias DAVISSON in Rockingham County, VA. d-1857.

1785 Birth of mezzo-soprano Isabella Colbran in Madrid. Died 7 Oct 1845 Debut 1806 Teachers, Girolamo Crescentini, Gaetano Marinelli, F Pareja Created Semiramide in Semiramide (Rossini) Elizabeth 1 in Elisabetta Regina D'Inghilterra (Rossini) Elena in Donna del Lago (Rossini) Anna in Maometto II (Rossini) Zelmira in Zelmira (Rossini) Armida in Armida (Rossini) Ermione in Ermione (Rossini) Zoraide in Ricciardo e Zoraide (Rossini) Gabriella in Gabriella di Vergy (Carafa) Ifigenia in Ifigenia in Tauris (Carafa) Iole in Apoteosi D'Ercole (Mercadante) Elcia in Mose in Egitto (Rossini) Cora in Cora (Mayr) Zetulbe in Califfo di Bagdad (Garcia M del P) Zaide in Volmiro e Zaide (Sampieri) Sang in premiere of Coriolano (Niccolini) Medea in Corinto (Mayr).

1789 Death of French composer and organist Armand-Louis Couperin, at 63.

1790 Birth of tenor Domenico Donzelli in Bergamo. 31 Mar 1873 Debut in Elisa (Mayr) 1808 Teachers,Eliodoro Bianchi, Gaetano Crivelli, Viganoni Created Pollione in Norma (Bellini) Don Ruiz in Maria Padilla (Donizetti) Almuzir in Zoraide di Granato (Donizetti) Ugo in Ugo Conte di Parigi (Donizetti) Torvaldo in Torvaldo e Dorliska (Rossini) Bravo in Bravo (Mercadente) Belfiore in Viaggio a Reims (Rossini) Willis in Vascello d'Occidente (M E Carafa) Cajo Giulio Cesare in Cesare in Egitto (Pacini) Carlo di Borgogna in Carlo di Borgogna (Pacini) Camillo in Furio Camillo (Pacini) Claudio in Elisa e Claudio (Mercadante) Udolfo in Amici di Siracusa (Mercadante) Erode in Erode (Mercadante) Don Alfonso in Caritea Regina di Spagna (Mercadante) Ruggiero in Emma D'Antiochia (Mercadante) Leandro in Sciocca per Astuzia (Mosca) Maometto in Maometto (P von Winter) Jemalden in Califfo di Bagdad (Manuel Garcia Snr) Sang in premiere of Giuramento (Mercadante) La Vendetta (Pugni) Donna Aurora (Morlacchi) Clari (Halevy) Fausto (Bertin)

1795 FP of Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 102 in B. CD-Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 101 (The Clock); Symphony No. 102; Overture to "Windsor Castle".

1804 Birth of Leopold Eugen MECHURA.

1817 Birth of composer Jose Maria de la Purificacion VENTURA.

1822 Death of French composer and violinist Jean-Baptiste Davaux, at age 79 in Paris. b-La Cote St.Andre, 1742.

1827 Death of composer Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, at age 62.

1823 FP of Rossini's Semiramide, Venice. DVD-Rossini - Semiramide / Conlon, Anderson, Horne, Metropolitan Opera.

1835 Birth of Italian ballet choreographer Luigi MANZOTTI, in Milan. d-1905. Composed ballets including Excelsior, 1881.

1837 Birth of German-Bavarian conductor and composer Max ZENGER in Munich. d-Munich, 18 NOV 1911.

1840 Birth of French composer Louis BOURGAULT-DUCOUDRAY. d-Vernouillet, 1910.

1844 Birth of Dutch composer and Haarlem music school director, Leander SCHLEGEL, in Oegstgeest. d-Overveen, 1913.

1847 Birth of pianist and composer Jules Francois BLASINI, in Curacaos.

1850(?)Birth of composer Makar Grigori EKMALYAN.

1869 Birth of baritone Jean Perier in Paris. Died 3 Nov 1954 Debut as Monastatos in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1892 Teachers:- Bussine, Taskin Pupil, Povla Frijsch Created Pelleas in Pelleas & Melisande (Debussy) Ramiro in L'Heure Espagnole (Ravel) Marouf in Marouf (Rabaud) Ninon de L'Enclos in Cinq Mars (Gounod) Francois in Chemineau (Leroux) Don Procopio in Don Procopio (Bizet) Landry in Fortunio (Messager) Duparquet in Ciboulette (Hahn) Florestan de Valaincourt in Veronique (Messager) Sang in premiere of Phryne (Saint-Saens) Fille de Tabarin (Pierne) La Reine Fiammette (Leroux) La Fille de Roland (Brunne) La Sorciere (Erlanger).

1873 Birth of Austrian operetta composer Leopold FALL in Olmütz.

1875 Birth of Austrian-American violinist Fritz KREISLER in Vienna. d-NYC, 29 JAN 1962. CD-Fritz Kreisler Plays Kreisler | BOOK-Fritz Kreisler: Love's Sorrow, Love's Joy.

1875 Death of bass Luigi Agnesi. Born 17 July 1833 in Erpent Namur. Teacher, Louis-Gilbert Duprez.

1877 Birth of tenor Frantisek Krampera in Prague.  Died 31 Jan 1955 Debut 1899 Teacher, Konrad Wallerstein.

1882 Birth of soprano Evgeniya Bronskaya in St Petersburg.  Died 12 Oct 1953 Debut 1902 Teacher, Teresa Arkel.

1882 Death of Italian composer Fabio Campana, at age 63. b-1814.

1883 Birth of Russian composer Mikhail Fabianovich GNESIN in Rostov on Don. d-Moscow, 1957.

1883 Birth of Mexican composer Candelario Huízar in Jerez, Zacatecas, Mexico. d-Mexico City, 3 MAY 1970.

1887 Death of tenor Georg Unger. Born 6 Mar 1837 Leipzig. Debut 1867 Teacher, Julius Hey Created Siegfried in Siegfried (Wagner) Siegfried in Gotterdammerung (Wagner).

1888 Birth of English pianist Irene SCHARRER in London. d-London, 11 JAN 1971. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and with Tobias Matthay. 

1890 FP of Antonin Dvorák's Symphony No. 8, Op. 88, in Prague. Composer conducting. CD-Dvorák: Symphonies 8 & 9 / Kubelik, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

1893 Birth of soprano Jeanne Dusseau in Glasgow. Debut as Marguerite in Faust (Gounod) 11 Jun 1918 Teachers, Giuseppe Carboni, Atherton Furlony, M M Stevenson Created Ninetta in Love of 3 Oranges (Prokofiev).

1900 FP of Gustave Charpentiers opera Louise at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. CD-G. Charpentier - Louise / Cotrubas · Domingo · Bacquier · Berbié · NPO · Prêtre.

1901 Birth of Russian-American violinist Jascha HEIFETZ in Vilnius. d-LA, 10 DEC 1987. CD-Jascha Heifetz: The Supreme | BOOK-Jascha Heifetz Through My Eyes by his student Sherry Kloss.

1901 Birth of German baritone Gerhard HUSCH in Hanover. d-21 Nov 1984 Debut as Eberbach in Wildschutz (Lortzing) 22 Dec 1924 Teacher, Hans Emge Pupils, Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Sigrid Bjornsson, Ben Blackwater Derek Hammond-Stroud, Gordon Honey, Alison Pearce Eric Vietheer, Erik Sundquist, Nigel Rogers Sang in premiere of Andrius Wolfius (Walter F).

1902 Death of composer Emanuil Mandlov, at age 42.

1904 Birth of composer Jose Enrique PEDREIRA.

1908 Birth of Slovenian composer Pavel SIVIC in Slovenia. d-Radovljica, 1995.

1908 Birth of Italian composer Renzo ROSSELLINI.

1911 Birth of French organist and composer Jean-Jacques GRUNENWALD. d-1982.

1911 Traditional birthdate of Swedish tenor, Jussi BJORLING. He was born on 5 February. However 2 February is the date he thought of as his birthday and celebrated all his life. It is the date on his tombstone. d-1960, age 49. CD-Jussi Björling Rediscovered | BOOK-Jussi (Opera Biography Series, No 7) | DVD-Three Legendary Tenors (Caruso, Gigli, Bjorling).

1914 Birth of tenor Donat Antonovich Donatov in Pietrovich.  Died 1995 Teachers, Vladimir Chetokhine-Alvarez, Aureliano Pertile.

1919 Birth of Swiss soprano Lisa DELLA CASA in Berne. Debut as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly (Puccini) 1941 Teacher, Margarete Haeser Created Frauliein Burstner/ Leni/ Girl in Prozess (Von Einem) Sang in premiere of Die Schwarze Spinne (Burkhard W) Tic Tac (Burkhard P).  CD-Strauss: Four last Songs, Arabella / Della Casa.

d-10 Dec 2012. OBIT.

1919 Death of composer Xavier Henry Napoleon Leroux, at age 55. b-11 OCT 1863.

1920 FP of Igor Stravinsky's ballet, The Song of the Nightingale at the Paris Opéra with choreography by Massine. CD-Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade for orchestra Op35; Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale.

1921 FP of Luis Bretan's opera Luceafarul 'The Evening Star', in Cluj, Romania. CD-Nicolae Bretan: Luceafarul (The Evening Star).

1923 Death of baritone Robert Leonhardt. Born 1877 in Linz. Debut 1898 Sang in premiere of Madame Sans-Gene (Giordano) Kuhreigen (Kienzl) Flato Solo (D'Albert).

1926 FP of Henry Cowell's String Quartet No. 1 Quartett Pedantic at Aeolian Hall by the Ralph Henkle String Quartet in NYC.

1921 Death of composer Luigi Mancinelli, at 72.

1925 Birth of composer Michel Paul PHILIPPOT.

1927 Birth of composer Richard Vance MAXFIELD in Seattle, WA. d-Los Angeles, suicide, 1969.

1928 Death of English composer Frederick Iliffe in Oxford. b-Smeet-on-Westerby, 21 FEB 1847.

1929 Birth of composer Reiner BREDEMEYER.

1929 Birth of tenor Waldemar Kmentt in Vienna. Teacher, Adolf Vogel, Elisabeth Rado, Hans Duhan Pupil :- Dominic Natoli Created Florian in Werbekleid (Salmhofer) Gabriel in La Mystere de la Nativite (Martin) Sang in premiere of Irische Legend (Egk) Baal (Cerha).

1930 Birth of bass Reiner Suss in Chemnitz. Debut 1956 Teachers, E Linden, Hans Lissmann Created King Peter in Leonce und Leon (Dessau) Puntila in Herr Puntil & Sein Knecht (Dessau) Sang in premiere of Der Arme Konrad (Forest K) Lanzelot (Dessau) Joe Hill (Bush) Meister Rockle (Werzlau).

1930 Birth of American composer Herbert BIELAWA.

1934 Birth of mezzo-soprano Maura Moreira in Brazil. Debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) 1959 Teacher, Maximilian Hellmann Sang in premiere of Die Soldaten (Zimmermann).

1934 Death of Brazilian pianist and composer Ernesto Nazareth, at age 70 in Rio de Janeiro. b-Rio de Janeiro, 20 MAR 1863.

1936 (1937?) Birth of American soprano Martina ARROYO in NYC. Debut in Assassinio Nella Cattedrale (Pizzetti) 1958 Teachers, Marinka Gurewich, Rose Landver, Martin Rich, Josef Turneau.

1941 Birth of French-American composer Serge TCHEREPNIN near Paris.

1944 Birth of English conductor Andrew Frank DAVIS in Ashbridge.

1944 Birth of American pianist Ursula OPPENS in NYC.

1951 Birth of American composer Andrew GELT in Albuquerque, NM.

1952 Death of German composer Gustav Strube, at age 85.

1954 Birth of composer Yung Wha Son.

1954 Death of composer Theodor Rogalski, at age 52.

1956 Death of mezzo-soprano Marie Klanova-Panznerova. Born 1865 Prague. Sang in premiere in Debora (Foerster).

1960 Birth of American composer Harold Colin COWHERD in Hempstead, Long Island, NY.

1960 Death of composer Jeno Huszka, at age 84.

1961 Death of composer Adolf Vogl, at age 87.ADOLF VOGL.

1965 Death of composer Richard Wurz, at age 79.

1968 Birth of English composer Simon WICKHAM-SMITH in Rustington.

1969 Death of MET Opera tenor Giovanni Martinelli at age 83. Italian tenor Giovanni Martinelli / Repertory. b-22 OCT 1885. 

1970 Death of composer Jaroslav Vogel, at age 76.

1971 Death of soprano and coach Franziska Martiensson-Lohmann. Born 6 Oct 1887 in Dusseldorf. Teacher, Johannes Meschaert Pupils, Judith Beckmann, Ingrid Bjoner, Hermin Esser, Paul Gummer Leonore Kirchstein, Jakob Stampfli, Jutta Vulpius, Kurt Wolinski Kurt Widmer, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Elisabeth Grummer Hans Ludwig, Wilfriede Luttgen, Johanna Rutishauser, Ursula Zehnder, Jakob Keller, Josef Olbertz, Jean Van Ree August Messthaler, Dieter Slembeck, Hans Sojer, Rudo Timper Morris Morgan.

1974 Death of Belgian composer and teacher Jean Absil in Brussels at age 80. b-Bon-Secours, 23 OCT 1893.

1976 Death of composer Maurice Jacobson, at age 80.

1977 FP of Ned Rorem's A Quaker Reader for organ, in NYC.

1979 Birth of composer Marcus HOFFMAN.

1981 Death of soprano Xenia Belmas. Born 23 Jan 1890 in Chernigov. Debut as Lisa in Pique Dame (Tchaikovsky) 1910 Teachers, Moene, Pats, Carl Schuriet Pupils, Rose Alpar, Gregorio Fiasconaro.

1984 Death of soprano Margherita Perras. Born 15 Jan 1908 in Bitola, Macedonia. Debut as Norina in Don Pasquale (Donizetti) 1926 Teacher, Oscar Daniel Sang in premiere Christophe Colombe (Milhaud).

1985 Death of bass Marco Stefanoni. Born 1917 in Venice. Debut in Madame Sans-Gene (Giordano) 1943 Sang in premiere of Assassinio nella Cattedrale (Pizzetti) Cagliostro (Pizzetti) Calzare D'Argento (Pizzetti) Il Giudize Universale (Tosatti).

1986 Death of coach Margaret Krauss. Born 1895 in Prague. Pupils, Margreta Elkins, Kiri Te Kanawa, John Serge, Martti Talvela. 

Death of coach Lucie Manen. Born 21 Dec 1925. Pupils, James Bowman, David Galliver, Thomas Hemsley, Anne Pashley Peter Pears, Laura Sarti.

1987 Death of English composer and conductor Spike Partick Hughes in London. b-London, 19 OCT 1908.

1988 Death of British pianist Solomon Cutner who used only his last name, Solomon. b-1902.

1993 Death of baritone Gino Bechi. Born 16 Oct 1913 in Florence. Debut as Germont in Traviata (Verdi) 1936 Teachers, Di Giorgi, Raoul Frazzi Pupils, Manrico Biscotti, John Cheek, Zdislava Donat, Sona Ghazarian Olga Lackovic, John Carter, Louis Berkman, Roberto Lovera Nidia Palacios Sang in premiere of Don Juan de Manara (Alfano) Monte Ivnor (Rocca).

2000 Death of tenor Marcel Vercammen. Born 20 July 1910 in Merksem. Debut 1941 Teachers, Mina Bolotine, Clemens Glettenberg, Max Lorenz.

2002 Death of baritone Vincenzo Sardinero. Born 12 Jan 1937 in Barcelona. Debut as Escamillo in Carmen (Bizet) 1964 Teacher, Vladimiro Badiali.

2003 Death of American composer Lou Harrison at age 85 in Lafayette, Indiana. b-Portland, Oregon 14 MAY 1917. Search  Lou Harrison.