Tags
Boston Symphony Orchestra, classical, classical music, composers, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Mozart, Mozart, opera, orchestra, philharmonic, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Wagner, Wolgang Amadeus
Sunday, April 10, 2016
You can listen to the Classical Music Almanac Podcast Daily here.
Birthdays
Happy birthday Lesley Garrett! She has had an extensive music career. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, she won the Decca Prize of the Kathleen Ferrier Award in 1979, thereby launching her career. Her professional debut, in 1979, was as Amor in Orontea at the music festival in Batignano. She subsequently sang, in 1980, Alice in Le comte Ory at the London Coliseum and Dorinda in Orlando at the Wexford Festival, in 1981, also at Wexford, the title role in Zaide, in 1982 Sophie in Werther with Opera North and in 1984 Damigella in L’incoronazione di Poppea at Glyndebourne.[6] From 1984, as principal soprano at English National Opera, she became well known for her performances in productions of the operas Serse, Le Nozze di Figaro, Così fan tutte and Die Fledermaus. Garrett has performed across the world, in countries throughout Europe, and also the United States, Australia, Russia, Brazil, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea. She has also sung opera and pop classics with Bryan Ferry, Eurythmics and Mick Hucknall to celebrate the arrival of the new century on Millennium Eve in the grounds at the Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum. She played the lead role of Hanna Glawari in the Welsh National Opera’s production of The Merry Widow, which toured the United Kingdom in 2005. In 2006 she sang the role of Mother Abbess in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s revival of The Sound of Music. In 2008, she joined the cast of Carousel as Nettie Fowler. The production toured the UK and then transferred to the West End’s Savoy Theatre. In 2013 she returned to opera with the monodrama La Voix humaine for Opera North. Garrett is a member of the board of the English National Opera. In 2002 Garrett was appointed a CBE for her services to music. 1
Happy birthday Yefim Bronfman! He was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and emigrated to Israel at the age of 15. He became an American citizen in 1989. He made his international debut in 1975 with Zubin Mehta and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1989 and gave a series of recitals with Isaac Stern in 1991. He won a Grammy award in 1997 for his recording of the three Bartók piano concertos withEsa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Another recording with Salonen, of the concertos of Sergei Rachmaninoff, was pirated by the record label Concert Artist and re-issued with the piano part falsely attributed to Joyce Hatto. Bronfman is also devoted to chamber music and has performed with many chamber ensembles and instrumentalists. He made a set of Sergei Prokofiev’s complete sonatas and concertos (with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra) for Sony Records. In 1999, he appeared in Disney’s Fantasia 2000, in a short clip introducing the “Steadfast Tin Soldier” segment. His rendition of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major (1st movement) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is the music used for the segment. In March, 2006, Bronfman performed Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich. Bronfman has also made appearances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto. His recent appearances have included performances with the Orchestre de Paris and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra; Bronfman has also appeared as a Pennington Great Performers series artist with the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra in 2005 and again in 2007. In January 2007, he also premiered Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Piano Concerto, of which he is the dedicatee, with the New York Philharmonic conducted by the composer. This was later followed by a European premiere at The Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In May 2008, Bronfman performed Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, during a three-week Brahms Festival. On September 3, 2008, Bronfman performed Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor by Rachmaninoff under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas at the Opening Gala of the San Francisco Symphony, and on September 28 and 29 with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of David Robertson. On March 25 and 26, 2009, he performed it yet again, this time under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. Bronfman performed Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto with the Houston Symphony Orchestra March 12–15, 2009, under the baton of Maestro Hans Graf, resident Music Director. 2
Happy birthday Hayley Westenra! She is a New Zealand singer, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide. Pure is the fastest-selling international début classical album to date, having made Westenra an international star at age 16. In August 2006, she joined the Irish group Celtic Woman, was featured on their Celtic Woman: A New Journey CD and DVD, toured with them on their 2007 Spring Tour, and was also featured on their DVD, The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection, released in 2008. Wesentra has produced five New Zealand number one studio albums, holding the title for the most number one records for any New Zealand act, a record shared with alternative rock band Shihad since the release of their 2014 album, FVEY. Across classical music to easy listening, folk and pop style songs, Westenra has performed songs in English, Irish, Spanish, Italian, German, French, Portuguese, Latin, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Catalan. Westenra has performed for dignitaries all over the world. She is the second youngest UNICEF Ambassador to date and has contributed to charities around the globe. 3
Premieres
In 1820 Louis Spohr’s Symphony No. 2 was premiered at a Philharmonic Society concert in London. Spohr was noted as conducting with his violin bow, something not seen previously.
In 1853 Charles Gounod’s Ave Maria was first performed in Paris. He based it on Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude in C Major.
In 1868 a portion of Johannes Brahms’ A German Requiem was premiered in the Bremen Cathedral.
In 1935 Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No. 4 was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Adrian Boult. 2 years later, RVW would conduct the same orchestra in the recording of this symphony – and it would be the only time he actually conducted a commercial recording of any of his symphonies.
In 1936 Carlos Chavez conducted the Boston Symphony in the premiered of his Sinfonia India.
In 1963 Francis Poulenc’s Clarinet Sonata was premiered by clarinetist Benny Goodman and pianist Leonard Bernstein.
On This Day in Classical Music
In 1602 Claudio Monteverdi was granted citizenship in Mantua.
In 1764 Leopold, Wolfgang, and Maria Anna Mozart departed Paris to travel to London as their European tour continued.
In 1859 Franz Liszt was inducted into the Order of the Iron Crown by Emperor Franz Joseph II, which would entitle him to a knighthood should he request it.
In 1861 Arthur Sullivan graduated from the Leipzig Conservatoire.
In 1865 Hans von Bülow conducted the opening rehearsal of Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde, despite the fact that only hours before his wife had given birth to Wagner’s child.
In 1904 Erik Satie was arrested after fighting with a critic during a Beethoven concert in Paris.
Recommended Listening
Charles Gounod’s Ave Maria performed by Elena House.
Louis Spohr’s Symphony No. 2 performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Choo Hoey.
- Wikipedia contributors, “Lesley Garrett,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lesley_Garrett&oldid=703129954 (accessed April 8, 2016).
- Wikipedia contributors, “Yefim Bronfman,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yefim_Bronfman&oldid=703893217 (accessed April 8, 2016).
- Wikipedia contributors, “Hayley Westenra,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hayley_Westenra&oldid=711051985 (accessed April 8, 2016).