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Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Birthdays

Dmitri Kabalevsky

In 1904 Dmitri Kabalevsky was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He helped to set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures. He was a prolific composer of piano music and chamber music; many of his piano works have been performed by Vladimir Horowitz. He is probably best known in the West for the “Comedians’ Galop” from The Comedians Suite, Op. 26 and his third piano concerto. 1

David Willcocks

In 1919 David Willcocks was born in Newquay, England. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, which he directed from 1957 to 1974, making frequent broadcasts and recordings. Several of the descants and carol arrangements he wrote for the annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols were published in the series of books Carols for Choirs which he edited along with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter. He was also director of the Royal College of Music in London. During the Second World War he served as an officer in the British Army, and was decorated with the Military Cross for his actions during the Battle of Normandy. 2

Antonio Pappano

Happy 56th birthday, Antonio Pappano, born on this day in 1959 in Epping, England. Pappano’s family had relocated to England from Castelfranco in Miscano near Benevento, Italy in 1958, and at the time of his birth his parents worked in the restaurant business. His father, Pasquale Pappano, was by vocation a singing teacher. When Pappano was 13 years old, he moved with his family to Connecticut, United States. After musical training in piano, composition, and conducting, he became a rehearsal accompanist at the New York City Opera by the age of 21. A pianist as well as a conductor, he attracted the attention of fellow pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, and became his assistant at the Bayreuth Festival. He worked in Barcelona and Frankfurt, and served as an assistant to Michael Gielen. His first conducting appearance at Den Norske Opera was in 1987, and he became music director there in 1990. In 1992, Pappano became music director of La Monnaie, the Belgian Royal Opera House, a post he held until 2002. In 2002, he was named the music director of the Royal Opera House (ROH), Covent Garden. At Covent Garden, Pappano and Kasper Holten, the ROH Director of Opera, shared responsibility for production. His current ROH contract runs through to 2017. Pappano was the youngest conductor to lead the orchestra of the ROH, accompanying both the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet. Pappano has also been principal guest conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2005 he became music director of the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Pappano was knighted in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to music, he was also made a Knight Grand Cross of Italy’s Order of Merit. On 17 January 2013 he received the Incorporated Society of Musicians’ Distinguished Musician Award. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in 2015. 3

Paavo Järvi

Happy 53rd birthday Paavo Järvi, born on this day in 1962 in Talinn, Estonia. He is the son of conductor Neeme Järvi and Liilia Järvi. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Max Rudolf and Otto-Werner Mueller, and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein. From 1994 to 1997, Järvi was principal conductor of the Malmö Symphony Orchestra. From 1995 to 1998, he shared the title of principal conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Sir Andrew Davis. Järvi was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2011. The orchestra made a number of recordings for the Telarc label during Järvi’s tenure. In May 2011, he was named the orchestra’s Music Director Laureate. Since 2004, he has been the artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Bremen and an Artistic Advisor to the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. In 2006, Järvi became the principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served in the post until 2014. In 2010, he became music director of the Orchestre de Paris. He is scheduled to conclude his tenure with the Orchestre de Paris at the conclusion of his current contract, at the end of the summer of 2016. In June 2012, the NHK Symphony Orchestra named Järvi its next chief conductor, beginning in the 2015–2016 season, with an initial contract of three years. Järvi has recorded for the RCA label as well as Deutsche Grammophon, Pentatone, Telarc, ECM, BIS and Virgin Records. His Virgin Classics recording of Sibelius Cantatas with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Male Choir and Ellerhein Girls Choir won a Grammy Award for “Best Choral Performance”. 4

Premiers

In 1852 Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 (revised) is premiered in Düsseldorf, Germany.

In 1877 Johannes Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 is premiered in Vienna.

In 1879 Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance was premiered in Paignton, Devon, England. This rather obscure location was to ensure that Gilbert & Sullivan retained the British copyright of the operetta as it was going to receive its official premiere in New York City.

In 1905 Franz Lehar’s operetta The Merry Widow was premiered in Vienna.

In 1921 Sergei Prokofiev’s opera The Love of Three Oranges premiered in Chicago. Commissioned by Chicago Opera Association, Prokofiev himself conducted the premier at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

In 1938 Prokofiev’s ballet Romeo and Juliet was premiered in Brno.

In 1961 Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 4 was premiered in Moscow. He had composed the symphony 25 years previously but had a falling out with the Communist Party in Russia which delayed the premiere.

Today in Classical Music

In 1771 it is reported that Mozart finishes his Symphony No. 14 in Salzburg, Austria.

In 1839 Mikhail Glinka is granted his release as Imperial Kapellmeister in St. Petersburg, Russia. He needed time to get over his recent failed marriage.

In 1899 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Jessie Walmisley are married.

In 1937 Maurice Ravel is interred in Lavallois cemetery. In attendance are Igor Stravinsky and Francis Poulenc.

In 2013 Simon Rattle is awarded the Order of Merit in the New Year Honours. At the same ceremony, Peter Maxwell Davies received the Companion of Honour.

  1. Wikipedia contributors, “Dmitry Kabalevsky,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dmitry_Kabalevsky&oldid=694390076(accessed December 29, 2015).
  2. Wikipedia contributors, “David Willcocks,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Willcocks&oldid=694327154(accessed December 29, 2015).
  3. Wikipedia contributors, “Antonio Pappano,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antonio_Pappano&oldid=692310032(accessed December 29, 2015).
  4. Wikipedia contributors, “Paavo Järvi,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paavo_J%C3%A4rvi&oldid=697293958(accessed December 29, 2015).