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Thursday, December 10, 2015

Birthdays

César Franck

In 1822 César Franck was born in Liège, in what is now Belgium (though at the time of his birth it was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands). In that city he gave his first concerts in 1834. He studied privately in Paris from 1835, where his teachers included Anton Reicha. After a brief return to Belgium, and a disastrous reception to an early oratorio Ruth, he moved to Paris, where he married and embarked on a career as teacher and organist. He gained a reputation as a formidable improviser, and travelled widely in France to demonstrate new instruments built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. In 1858 he became organist at Sainte-Clotilde, a position he retained for the rest of his life. He became professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1872; he took French nationality, a requirement of the appointment. His pupils included Vincent d’Indy, Ernest Chausson, Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Guillaume Lekeu and Henri Duparc. After acquiring the professorship Franck wrote several pieces that have entered the standard classical repertoire, including symphonic, chamber, and keyboard works. 1

 

Olivier Messiaen

In 1908 Olivier Messiaen was born in Avignon. He was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically and melodically it often uses modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations. Messiaen also drew on his Roman Catholic faith for his pieces. He travelled widely and wrote works inspired by diverse influences such as Japanese music, the landscape of Bryce Canyon in Utah and the life of St. Francis of Assisi. He said he perceived colours when he heard certain musical chords (a phenomenon known as synaesthesia in its literal manifestation); combinations of these colours, he said, were important in his compositional process. For a short period Messiaen experimented with the parametrisation associated with “total serialism”, in which field he is often cited as an innovator. His style absorbed many exotic musical influences such as Indonesian gamelan (tuned percussion often features prominently in his orchestral works). Messiaen entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of 11 and was taught by Paul Dukas, Maurice Emmanuel, Charles-Marie Widor and Marcel Dupré, among others. He was appointed organist at the Église de la Sainte-Trinité in Paris in 1931, a post held until his death. He taught at the Schola Cantorum de Paris during the 1930s. On the fall of France in 1940, Messiaen was made a prisoner of war, during which time he composed his Quatuor pour la fin du temps (“Quartet for the end of time”) for the four available instruments—piano, violin, cello and clarinet. The piece was first performed by Messiaen and fellow prisoners for an audience of inmates and prison guards. He was appointed professor of harmony soon after his release in 1941, and professor of composition in 1966 at the Paris Conservatoire, positions he held until his retirement in 1978. His many distinguished pupils included Quincy Jones, Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Yvonne Loriod, who became his second wife. He found birdsong fascinating, notating bird songs worldwide and incorporating birdsong transcriptions into his music. His innovative use of colour, his conception of the relationship between time and music, and his use of birdsong are among the features that make Messiaen’s music distinctive. 2

Yuri Temirkanov

Happy 77th birthday Yuri Temirkanov! Born on this day in Nalchik nn 1938. Temirkanov began his musical studies at the age of nine. When he was thirteen, he attended the Leningrad School for Talented Children where he continued his studies in violin and viola. Upon graduation from the Leningrad School, he attended the Leningrad Conservatory where he completed his studies in viola. He returned to the Conservatory to study conducting with Ilya Musin and graduated in 1965. After winning the prestigious All-Soviet National Conducting Competition in 1966, Mr. Temirkanov was invited by Kirill Kondrashin to tour Europe and the United States with legendary violinist David Oistrakh and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Yuri Temirkanov made his debut with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra in early 1967 and was then invited to join the Orchestra as Assistant Conductor to Yevgeny Mravinsky. In 1968, he was appointed Principal Conductor of the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra where he remained until his appointment as Music Director of the Kirov Opera and Ballet in 1976. Maestro Temirkanov is a frequent guest conductor of the leading orchestras of Europe, Asia and the United States. He holds the distinction of being the first Soviet artist permitted to perform in the United States after cultural relations were resumed with the Soviet Union at the end of the war in Afghanistan in 1988. In addition to leading the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Maestro Temirkanov served as the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s 11th Music Director from 2000 until 2006 and is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.[4] In 2015 he was assigned by Teatro La Fenice the price ‘A life for music’, unofficially known as the ‘Nobel Prize’ for musicians. 3

Kathryn Stott

Happy 57th birthday Kathryn Stott! Born on this day in Nelson, England. A British classical pianist who performs as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, her specialities include the English and French classical repertoire, contemporary classical music and the tango. She teaches at the Royal Academy of Music and Chetham’s School of Music, and has organised several music festivals and concert series. Grove Music Online describes Stott’s playing as “marked by a vivid sense of immediacy and personal communication.” A recent review of her fiftieth birthday gala concert in The Times describes her as “one of the most versatile pianists on the circuit”. 4

Sarah Chang

Happy 35th birthday Sarah Chang! Born on this day in 1980 in Philadelphia. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled at Juilliard School to study music, graduated in 1999, and continued university studies. Especially during the 1990s and 2000s, Chang had major roles as a soloist with many of the world’s major orchestras. 5

Premiers

In 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem – though unfinished at the time of his death – was premiered at one of his memorials service at St. Michael’s Church in Vienna.

In 1818 Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quintet in C minor, Op. 104 was premiered in Vienna.

In 1854 Hector Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ was premiered in Paris.

In 1886 George Whitefield Chadwick conducted the Boston Symphony in the premiere of his Symphony No. 2.

In 1896 Modest Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov was premiered at the St. Petersburg Conservatoir. This was the Rimsky-Korsakov version.

In 1937 William Grant Still’s Symphony in g was premiered by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Leopold Stokowski conducting.

On This Day in Classical Music

In 1832 Hector Berlioz meets the actress Harriet Smithson in Paris. He had been obsessed with her for five years before finally meeting her in person. She would become his first wife and was the inspiration for his Symphonie fantastique.

In 1895 in is reported that Giacomo Puccini completed his work on the score for his opera La bohème.

In 1918 Sergei Prokofiev makes his American debut with a performance of his Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Russian Symphony Orchestra in New York City.

  1. Wikipedia contributors, “César Franck,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C%C3%A9sar_Franck&oldid=683036386 (accessed December 10, 2015).
  2. Wikipedia contributors, “Olivier Messiaen,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Olivier_Messiaen&oldid=688081157 (accessed December 10, 2015).
  3. Wikipedia contributors, “Yuri Temirkanov,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yuri_Temirkanov&oldid=691640617 (accessed December 10, 2015).
  4. Wikipedia contributors, “Kathryn Stott,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kathryn_Stott&oldid=662854894 (accessed December 10, 2015).
  5. Wikipedia contributors, “Sarah Chang,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sarah_Chang&oldid=690661318 (accessed December 10, 2015).