Today's Birthdays in Music: September 5 (Beach, Cage, Hamelin)

1867 - Amy Beach, Henniker, U.S.A.; composer and pianist

Wikipedia
Biographies

"Scottish Legend" (played by Philip Sear)



1912 - John Cage, Los Angeles, U.S.A.; composer

Wikipedia

"Aria" by John Cage (Kristin Magret Brækken, soprano and Ståle Storløkken, piano, 2002)



1961 - Marc-André Hamelin, Montreal, Canada; pianist and composer

Wikipedia
Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)
Beyond Virtuosity (La Scena Musicale, Dec. 2001)

Marc André Hamelin plays:

his own Étude No. 7 for Left Hand, Gershwin's "Do Do Do" and "Liza", and his own "Valse Irritation d'après Nokia"


"Negaceano" and "Vaidosa" by Radamés Gnattali

Today's Birthday in Music: September 4 (Milhaud)

1892 - Darius Milhaud, Aix-en-Provence, France; composer

Biographies and picture
Obituary (Musical Times, Aug. 1974)

Barcarole and rondo from Sonatina for 2 violins (John and Kara Lardinois)


Scaramouche for 2 pianos (Duo Vela, Barcelona, 1997)


Excerpt from Le Boeuf sur le Toit, "a surrealistic cabaret", music by Darius Milhaud, created and directed by Adrian Marthaler (Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Matthias Bambert conducting)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 3 (Locatelli)

1695 - Pietro Locatelli, Bergamo, Italy; composer and violinist

Wikipedia

Sonata in D major for cello and harpsichord (Levon Mouradian, cello; Jenny Silvestre, harpsichord.  Portugal, 2008)


Concerto for 4 violins in F major, Op. 4, mvts. 2 and 3 (Musica Antiqua Köln, conductor Reinard Goebel)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 2 (G. Böhm)

1661 - George Böhm, Hohenkirchen, Germany; organist and composer

Wikipedia
Biography

Böhm's Prelude and Fugue in C major, performed on the Riel organ at the Church of St. John, Lüneburg, where Böhm was organist

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 1 (Ozawa, Humperdinck, Schikaneder)

1935 - Seiji Ozawa, Shenyang, China; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Seiji Ozawa conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Dvořák's Carnival Overture



1854 - Engelbert Humperdinck, Siegburg, Germany; composer (Hänsel und Gretel)

Wikipedia

Overture to Hänsel und Gretel (Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer conducting)



1751 - Emanuel Schikaneder, Straubing, Germany; impresario, actor, singer, librettist (Die Zauberflöte)


Wikipedia

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 28 (Tucker, Giordano)

1913 - Richard Tucker, Brooklyn, U.S.A.; opera tenor

Wikipedia
Richard Tucker remembered

Richard Tucker sings two Italian songs: "Non ti scordar di me" and "Torna a Sorrento" (early 1960s?)


Richard Tucker and Renata Tebaldi sing the final duet "Vicino a te" from Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chenier (recorded live in Chicago, 1956)



1867 - Umberto Giordano, Foggia, Italy; composer

Wikipedia
Biography

Jon Vickers sings "Come un bel dì di maggio" from Andrea Chenier


Jose Carreras, with Mirella Freni, sings "Amor ti vieta" from Giordano's Fedora (Barcelona, 1993)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 27 (R. Clarke, E. Coates)

1886 - Rebecca Clarke, Harrow, England; composer and violist

Wikipedia
Rebecca Clarke Society

Rebecca Clarke's Sonata for Viola and Piano (Igal Braslavsky- viola , Luba Barsky-piano; Jerusalem, 2007)



1886 - Eric Coates, Hucknall, England; composer and violist

Wikipedia
Short biography

Eric Coates's Knightsbridge March (Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, Potsdam, under the direction of Scott Lawton)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 25 (Bernstein)

1918 - Leonard Bernstein, Lawrence, U.S.A.; conductor and composer

Official website
Wikipedia

Bernstein conducts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Tokyo, 1987)


"Almighty Father" from Bernstein's MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers (State Choir "Latvija" and Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; Riga, 2007)


June Anderson and Gerry Hadley sing "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide (concert version, Barbican Centre, London, 1990)


Ravel's La Valse (finale): Leonard Bernstein and l'Orchestre Nationale de France (Paris, 1975)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 24 (Dubois, A. Marcello)

1837 - Théodore Dubois, Rosnay, Marne, France; composer and organist

Wikipedia

Prelude in C minor (Paul Wagener, organ)


Rehearsing The Seven Last Words of Christ (Franco Tenelli, tenor; Julie Dufresne, soprano; Catherine Todorovski, organ)



1669 - Alessandro Marcello, Venice, Italy; composer and violinist

Wikipedia

Concerto for oboe and orchestra in D minor (Paolo Grazzi, oboe; Il Giardino Armonico, dir. Giovanni Antonini)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 23 (Krenek, Primrose)

1900 - Ernst Krenek, Vienna, Austria; composer

Wikipedia
Biography

Späte Zeit, op.114 for Cello, Piano and Tenor



1904 - William Primrose, Glasgow, Scotland; violist

Wikipedia
Biography

William Primrose plays Walton's Viola Concerto, 1st mvt. (William Walton conducting)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 22 (Debussy, Stockhausen)

1862 - Claude Debussy, St-Germain-en-Laye, France; composer

Wikipedia

"L'Isle joyeuse" played by Desislava Bobrina (Sofia, Bulgaria, 2006)


Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 (Maria Bessmeltseva & Paris Paraschoudis, violins; Jesse Griggs, viola; Heather Scott, cello)



1928 - Karlheinz Stockhausen, Mödrath, Germany; composer

Wikipedia
Obituary (The Times, UK, Dec. 8, 2007)

Klavierstück XI, played by Aloys Kontarsky


Gruppen, for three orchestras (City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra: Simon Rattle, John Carewe, Daniel Harding, conductors; 1998 performance)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 21 (L. Boulanger, Janet Baker)

1893 - Lili Boulanger, Paris, France; composer

Wikipedia
Women of Note

Lili Boulanger's Psalm 24 for chorus, organ and orchestra (Monteverdi Choir and London Symphony Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner conductor)



1933 - Janet Baker, Hatfield, England; opera and concert mezzo-soprano

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures


Janet Baker sings:

"Che farò senza Euridice?" from Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice (studio performance, 1982)


Schubert's "Who is Sylvia?", accompanied by Murray Perahia (at Covent Garden)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 19 (Enescu, G. Schwarz, A. Monk)

1881 - George Enescu, Liveni, Romania; composer, conductor, violinist, pianist, teacher

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

TRAFFIC String Quintet plays Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody (live concert, Bucharest, 2008)



1947 - Gerard Schwarz, Weekawken, U.S.A.; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Gerard Schwarz rehearses the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in Louis Gruenberg's Violin Concerto (Koh Gabriel Kameda, violin; Tokyo, 2002)



1942 - Allan Monk, Mission, Canada; opera and concert baritone

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

Allan Monk and Marilyn Horne sing "Ai capricci delle sorte" from Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri (Metropolian Opera, 1986)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 18 (MacMillan, Salieri)

1893 - Ernest MacMillan, Mimico, Canada; conductor, composer, organist, pianist

Wikipedia
Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)


1750 - Antonio Salieri, Legnano, Italy; composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Truth or Fiction?

Diana Damrau sings "Sento l'amica speme" from Salieri's Semiramide

Today's Birthday in Music: August 17 (Tomasi)

1901 - Henri Tomasi, Marseille, France; composer and conductor

Wikipedia

Concertino in E major (Tatiana Pimenova - flute, Yana Tratsevskaya - piano; Zurich 2008)


"Tryptique", 3rd mvt. (recital at McGill University, Montreal, 2006)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 16 (J. Guerrero)

1895 - Jacinto Guerrero, Toledo, Spain; composer (zarzuela)

Biography

"Marcha de la Amistad" from Guerrero's Los Gavilanes (Lima, Peru, 2007)


Alfredo Kraus sings "Mujer de los ojos negros" from El huésped del Sevillano

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 15 (Coleridge-Taylor, Ciccolini, Hunter)

1875 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, London, England; composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and more

Julian Joseph plays "Deep River" from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's 24 Negro Melodies



1925 - Aldo Ciccolini, Naples, Italy; pianist

Biography and pictures

Aldo Ciccolini plays Four Mazurkas Op. 30 by Chopin



1933 - Rita Hunter, Wallasey, England; opera soprano

Wikipedia
Official website

Rita Hunter as Brünnhilde

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 12 (Tourangeau, Biber)

1940 - Huguette Tourangeau, Montreal, Canada; opera mezzo-soprano

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

Huguette Tourangeau (with Allan Monk) sings "Batti batti, o bel Masetto" from Mozart's Don Giovanni (The Met., 1978)


Huguette Tourangeau and Joan Sutherland sing "Viens, Mallika" (Flower Duet) from Delibes' Lakmé



1644 - Heinrich von Biber, Wartenberg, Bohemia; composer and violinist

Wikipedia

Agnus Dei from Mass in B flat major (Gabrieli Consort and Players, director Paul McCreesh)


Sonata "La Battaglia" in D major (Il Giardino Armonico, director Giovanni Antonini)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 10 (Glazunov)

1865 - Alexander Glazunov, St. Petersburg, Russia; composer

Wikipedia

Sviatoslav Richter plays Glazunov's Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st mvt., Kiril Kondrashin conducting (1952 recording)


Maya Plisetskaya performs excerpts from Glazunov's ballet Raymonda

Today's Birthday in Music: August 9 (Hahn)

1875 - Reynaldo Hahn, Caracas, Venezuela; composer, conductor, music critic

Wikipedia

Reynaldo Hahn's "Feuillage" (1893), played by Phillip Sear


Elly Ameling, accompanied by Dalton Baldwin (1980), sings Hahn's "La valse dernière"

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 8 (Hétu, Chaminade)

1938 - Jacques Hétu, Trois-Rivières, Canada; composer 

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)
The Joy of Composing (La Scena Musicale, July 2008)

Jacques Ducharme plays Hétu's "Ballade" from Suite Opus 41, No. 3 (live TV performance, 2007)



1857 - Cécile Chaminarde, Paris, France; composer, pianist

Wikipedia

Cécile Chaminade: Sérénade, Op. 29 for piano, played by Phillip Sear

Today's Birthday in Music: August 7 (Husa)

1921 - Karel Husa, Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic); composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Composers Bureau

Husa's Élégie et Rondeau for alto saxophone and orchestra (University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, soloist Ben Robinette, 2006)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 6 (Strozzi, M.C. Moore)

1619 - Barbara Strozzi, Venice, Italy; composer (baptized Aug. 6)

Wikipedia

Tadashi Miroku & Silvia Rambaldi perform Barbara Strozzi's "Che si può fare" (LakeComo Festival 2007)



1873 - Mary Carr Moore, Memphis, U.S.A.; composer, conductor


Wikipedia

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 5 (A. Thomas, E. Kleiber)

1811 - Ambroise Thomas, Metz, France; composer, teacher, administrator

Wikipedia

Mady Mesplé sings "Je suis Titiana" from Thomas's Mignon (L'orchestre nationale de Paris, 1969)



1890 - Erich Kleiber, Vienna, Austria; conductor

Wikipedia
Short biography and pictures

Erich Kleiber rehearses the Finale (Ode to Joy) of Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, 1949)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 3 (Lauro)

1917 - Antonio Lauro, Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela; composer and guitarist

Wikipedia
Biography

Historical recording of Antonio Lauro playing "Maria Cristina," a cradle song dedicated to his granddaughter


Waltz "El Marabino", played by José Gregorio Guánchez

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 2 (Bliss, Janowitz)

1891 - Arthur Bliss, London, England; composer

Wikipedia
Short biography and pictures

Allegro Furioso movement of Bliss's Piano Quartet in A (Chamber Domaine at Gresham College, London, 2007)



1937 - Gundula Janowitz, Berlin, Germany; opera and concert soprano

Wikipedia
Short biography and pictures

Gundula Janowitz sings "Ach ich fuhl's" from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (Aix-en-Provence, 1963)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 1 (Gagnon)

1942 - André Gagnon, Saint-Pacôme-de-Kamouraska, Canada; pianist, composer, conductor, arranger

Wikipedia
Official website

André Gagnon plays:

 "Après La Pluie"


"Nelligan"

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 30 (Louie, G. Moore)

1949 - Alexina Louie, Vancouver, Canada; composer

Wikipedia
Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

"Bringing the Tiger Down the Mountain II", played by Stéphane Tétrault (cello) and Sasha Guydukov (piano) (semi-finals of the Montreal Symphony Music Competition, 2007)



1899 - Gerald Moore, Penn (Watford), England; piano accompanist

Wikipedia

Accompanied by Gerald Moore, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf sings Mozart's "Die kleine spinnerin"


"Not too loud but not too soft!" - Gerald Moore reminisces (clip from 1951 radio programme)

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 29 (Schreier, Theodorakis)

1935 - Peter Schreier, Meissen, Germany; opera and concert tenor, conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Peter Schreier sings "Svegliatevi nel core" from Handel's Giulio Cesare (Munich Bach Orchestra, conducted by Karl Richter, 1969)



1925 - Mikis Theodorakis, Chios, Greece; composer

Wikipedia
Homepage

Excerpt from Zorbas, ballet-opera by Theodorakis (Arena di Verona, 1990)

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 27 (del Monaco, Granados)

1915 - Mario del Monaco, Florence, Italy; opera tenor

Wikipedia
Homepage

Mario del Monaco sings "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini's Tosca (1972)