Composers Datebook

Composers Datebook™ is a daily two-minute program designed to inform, engage, and entertain listeners with timely information about composers of the past and present. Each program notes significant or intriguing musical events involving composers of the past and present, with appropriate and accessible music related to each.

Eine durchschnittliche Folge dieses Podcasts dauert 2m. Bisher sind 2794 Folge(n) erschienen. Dies ist ein täglich erscheinender Podcast.

Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 3 days 20 hours 50 minutes

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Berlioz uses his imagination


Synopsis

Some things are best left to the imagination — at least that’s what French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz came to think regarding opera. Berlioz didn’t have the best of luck getting his operas staged during his lifetime, and, on the few occasions he did, the resulting performance fell far short of his ideal...


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 February 18, 2024  2m
 
 

Betty Jackson King


Synopsis

Today marks the birthday of American composer, choral conductor and educator Betty Jackson King. She was born in Chicago in 1928, where she earned her master’s degree in composition at Roosevelt University. Her master’s thesis was an opera, Saul of Tarsus, whose libretto was written by her father, the Rev. Frederick D. Jackson...


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 February 17, 2024  2m
 
 

Copland's 'Vitebsk'


Synopsis

On today’s date in 1929, a chamber trio by Aaron Copland, Vitebsk, premiered at Town Hall in New York City. Copland said it was based on a Jewish folk tune from a Russian village called Vitebsk that he had once heard used in a play.


Two string players from the famous Belgian Pro Arte Quartet and the great German pianist Walter Gieseking were booked for the premiere...


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 February 16, 2024  2m
 
 

Michael Praetorius


Synopsis

Today’s date in 1621 marks the passing of a famous German composer of the Renaissance period, born Michael Schultze, or Schultheiss, but who Latinized his name to Praetorius, and under that name became one of the most popular composers of his time.

Praetorius died 64 years before the birth of J. S. Bach, the great German composer of the Baroque age...


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 February 15, 2024  2m
 
 

Faure's Piano Quartet


Synopsis

On today’s date in 1880, a quartet for piano and strings was premiered in Paris, with its composer, 24-year-old Gabriel Fauré, at the keyboard...


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 February 14, 2024  2m
 
 

T.J. Anderson


Synopsis

T.J. Anderson was the first Black composer to hold the title of composer-in-residence with an American symphony orchestra. That was in Atlanta, when Robert Shaw was the music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. For Atlanta, Anderson orchestrated Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha, resulting in the first full staging of that 1911 work, about 60 years after it was written, a performance that was broadcast on NPR in 1972...


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 February 13, 2024  2m
 
 

Haydn's imperial anthem


Synopsis

Just to show that political spin and manipulation are nothing new, consider this tune by Franz Joseph Haydn, first heard on today’s date in 1797, which happened to be the birthday of Franz II, the Hapsburg Emperor.


And so an Austrian poet was commissioned to write some verses that would inspire patriotic support for the emperor, since Austria was at war with Napoleon Bonaparte at the time. Haydn was asked to set the verses into music...


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 February 12, 2024  2m
 
 

Donizetti's 'Daughter' in 1840 and 1940


Synopsis

On today’s date in 1840, a new opera by Gaetano Donizetti debuted at the Opéra Comique in Paris. This was La Fille du Régiment, or The Daughter of the Regiment. Other operas by the popular Italian composer were already playing in Paris, and others were scheduled. Despite being tailor-made to Parisian tastes, The Daughter of the Regiment was not well received.


Apparently, French composers, Berlioz among them, felt threatened by the Donizetti blitz...


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 February 11, 2024  2m
 
 

Maslanka's Symphony No. 4


Synopsis

What do you see when you hear music? That’s an odd question, perhaps, but sometimes composers confess that particular places, persons and scenes play a role in how music is created.


On today’s date in 1994, in San Antonio, Texas, for example, a new symphony for wind ensemble by the American composer David Maslanka received its premiere performance during a convention of the Texas Music Educators Association...


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 February 10, 2024  2m
 
 

Clyne's music of voyages


Synopsis

Composers have always been fascinated by the sea. If you’re curious, Spotify offers a playlist of 50 sea-inspired classical works from composers ranging from Mendelssohn to Debussy to Takemitsu.


On today’s date in 2012, conductor Riccardo Muti and the Chicago Symphony premiered a new sea-inspired work by London-born composer Anna Clyne, who was then the orchestra’s composer-in-residence...


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 February 9, 2024  2m