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Andrzej Panufnik

In 1914 Andrzej Panufnik was born in Warsaw, Poland. He was one of the leading Polish composers, and as a conductor he was instrumental in the re-establishment of the Warsaw Philharmonic orchestra after World War II. After his increasing frustration with the extra-musical demands made on him by the country’s regime, he defected to the United Kingdom in 1954, and took up British citizenship. He briefly became chief conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, a post he relinquished after two years to devote all his time to composition. 1

In 1919 Vaclav Nelhybel was born in Polanska, Czechoslovakia. 

John Rutter

Happy 70th birthday John Rutter! Born on this day in London, England, he is the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutter grew up living over the Globe pub on London’s Marylebone Road. He was educated at Highgate School, where his fellow pupils included John Tavener, Howard Shelley, Brian Chapple and Nicholas Snowman; he then read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the choir. He served as director of music at Clare College from 1975 to 1979 and led the choir to international prominence. In 1981, Rutter founded his own choir, the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts and with which he has made many recordings of sacred choral repertoire (including his own works), particularly under his own label Collegium Records. He resides at Duxford in Cambridgeshire and frequently conducts many choirs and orchestras around the world. In 1980, he was made an honorary Fellow of Westminster Choir College, Princeton, and in 1988 a Fellow of the Guild of Church Musicians. In 1996, the Archbishop of Canterbury conferred a Lambeth Doctorate of Music upon him in recognition of his contribution to church music. In 2008, he was made an honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple while playing a significant role in the 2008 Temple Festival. From 1985 to 1992, Rutter suffered severely from myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME, or chronic fatigue syndrome), which restricted his output; after 1985 he stopped writing music on commission, as he was unable to guarantee meeting deadlines. Rutter also works as an arranger and editor. As a young man he collaborated with Sir David Willcocks on four volumes of the extraordinarily successful Carols for Choirs anthology series. He was inducted as a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity in 1985. Rutter is also a Vice President of the Joyful Company of Singers. 2

1813 André Grétry died at age 72 in Montmorency, France. 

In 1892 Patrick Gilmore died at age 62 in St. Louis, Missouri. 

In 1909 Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Golden Cockerel” was premiered, posthumously, in Moscow (Gregorian date: Oct. 7). 

In 1962 Samuel Barber’s Piano Concerto was premiered by soloist John Browning and the Boston Symphony conducted by Erich Leinsdorf. This performance was the second concert scheduled at the newly-opened “Philharmonic Hall” (now Avery Fisher Hall) at Lincoln Center in New York City. 

In 1965 George Rochberg’s “Black Sounds” for winds and percussion was premiered on a “Lincoln Center” television broadcast (as a ballet by Anna Sokolov under the title “The Act”). 

In 1992 Tobias Picker’s “Bang!” was premiered by the New York Philharmonic with Kurt Masur conducting (A New York Philharmonic 150th Anniversary commission). 

In 1994 Ellen Taaffe Zwilich’s “American” Concerto for trumpet and orchestra was premiered at the inaugural concert of the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, by the San Diego Symphony with JoAnn Faletta conducting and soloist Doc Severinson.

 

  1. Wikipedia contributors, “Andrzej Panufnik,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrzej_Panufnik&oldid=681316263 (accessed September 24, 2015).
  2. Wikipedia contributors, “John Rutter,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Rutter&oldid=682474934 (accessed September 24, 2015).

My thanks to John Zech and his Composers Datebook. Composers Datebook is produced by American Public Media in association with the American Composers Forum, with initial support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The creator of the series and its principal writer is John Michel of American Composers Forum. The Composers Datebook Web site is maintained by American Public Media with content provided by ACF.