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In 1845 Richard Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser” (Dresden version) was premiered in Dresden at the Hoftheater. 

In 1894 George Whitefield Chadwick’s Symphony No. 3 was premiered by the Boston Symphony with Emil Paur conducting. 

In 1901 Edward Elgar “Pomp and Circumstance” March No. 1 in D was premiered by the Liverpool Orchestral Society. 

Vittorio Giannini

In 1903 Vittorio Giannini was born in Philadelphia, Pa. He began playing violin under the tutelage of his mother and would go on to study violin and composition at the Milan Conservatory on scholarship, and then to take his graduate degree at the Juilliard School. He would return to Juilliard to teach, moving on to the Manhattan School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music. His students included Herbie Hancock, Nicolas Flagello, David Amram, Mark Bucci, Alfred Reed, Anthony Iannaccone, M. William Karlins, Irwin Swack, John Corigliano, Adolphus Hailstork, Thomas Pasatieri, Avraham Sternklar, and Nancy Bloomer Deussen. He was the founder and first president of the North Carolina School of the Arts in 1965, which he envisioned as a type of Juilliard of the South, bringing artists such as cellist Irving Klein and violinist Ruggiero Ricci to teach there. He remained there until his untimely death in 1966. 1

Karl-Birgir Blomdahl

In 1916 Karl-Birgir Blomdahl was born in Växjö, Sweden. He was educated in biochemistry, but was primarily active in music and by his experimental compositions he became one of the big names in Swedish modernism. His teachers included Hilding Rosenberg. He died in Kungsängen, Stockholm. His third symphony, Facettes – a work in one subdivided movement (described as a twelve-tone variation-form piece) – from 1950 is a major contribution to the repertoire. In 1959 he composed the opera Aniara based on the poem by Harry Martinson. His output of compositions also includes concertos for violin and viola, a chamber concerto for piano, winds and percussion, at least one other opera (Herr von Hancken), and much chamber music, including a trio for clarinet, cello and piano. 2

Robin Holloway

Happy 72nd birthday Robin Holloway! Born on this day in Leamington Spa, England. From 1953 to 1957, he was a chorister at St Paul’s Cathedral and was educated at King’s College School. He attended King’s College, Cambridge and studied composition withAlexander Goehr.  In 1974, he became an Assistant Lecturer in Music at the University of Cambridge, and in 1980 attained a full Lecturer position. In 1999, he became a reader in Musical Composition at Cambridge and, between 2001 and his retirement in 2011, Professor of Musical Composition. He is also a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. His doctoral thesis Debussy and Wagner (later published as a book by Eulenburg), discussed a close relationship between music and language as well as romanticism and tonality. This can be heard in his own works, such as Scenes from Schumann (1969–70), the opera Clarissa (1976) premiered in 1990 at English National Opera under the baton of Oliver Knussen, and Seascape and Harvest (1983-4) composed for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle. He has been described as a “neo-romantic” composer, reflecting his own affinity for music of the last part of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries. While some of his works do conform to this description, others evince a more complex, nuanced, and at times ironic relationship to music of the past, verging on the post-modern. According to fellow composer David Matthews, his “individual style has been formed by a productive conflict between Romanticism and Modernism.” 3

In 1905 Jean Sibelius’s Violin Concerto (revised version) was premiered in Berlin, conducted by Richard Strauss and with Karl Halir the soloist. The first version of this concerto premiered under the composer’s direction in Helsinki, with Victor Novácek as soloist, on February 8, 1904, but the composer withdrew this version and revised the concerto. 

In 1922 Modest Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition” (orchestra version by Maurice Ravel) premiered in Paris with Serge Koussevitzky conducting. 

In 1928 Arthur Honegger’s symphonic movement “Rugby” premiered in Paris. 

In 1933 Otto Klemperer led his first concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The program includes Leo Weiner’s transcription of J.S. Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue” in d, Stravinsky’s “Petrouchka” Ballet Suite, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5.

In 1953 Morton Gould’s “Inventions for Four Pianos and Orchestra” was premiered by the New York Philharmonic conducted by Dimitri Mitropoulos. 

In 1964 Virgil Thomson’s “Autumn” (Concertino for harp, strings, and percussion) was premiered at the American-Spanish Festival of Music in Madrid, with Nicanor Zabeleta the harp soloist and Enrique Jordá conducting 

In 1967 the public premiere of George Gershwin’s”Lullaby” for string quartet (composed c. 1919-20) was at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., by the Julliard String Quartet. During his lifetime, Gershwin would occasionally arrange impromptu performances of this piece at parties if sufficient string players were in attendance. 

In 1990 Shulamit Ran’s “Symphony” was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Gary Bertini conducting. This work won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1991. 

In 1996 John Adams’ Clarinet Concerto “Gnarly Buttons” was premiered by soloist Michael Collins and the London Sinfonietta conducted by Adams. 

  1. Wikipedia contributors, “Vittorio Giannini,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vittorio_Giannini&oldid=685976703 (accessed October 19, 2015).
  2. Wikipedia contributors, “Karl-Birger Blomdahl,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Karl-Birger_Blomdahl&oldid=666144039 (accessed October 19, 2015).
  3. Wikipedia contributors, “Robin Holloway,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robin_Holloway&oldid=679358517 (accessed October 19, 2015).

Thank you to John Zech and his Composer’s Datebook for the information not cited in this blog.

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.