Today we head over to France, and a composer who was one of the early originators of the operetta form. Though born in Germany, he spent most of his working life there, dying in Paris on the 5th of October, 1880. He is Jacques Offenbach. Continue reading “On This Day… October 5”
Category: Music
On This Day… October 4
Another performer today, and this time one who is most widely known for his two fantastic recordings of the same piece – both at the beginning and the end of his career. However, he was an incredible pianist in all styles of music. Today, we look at Canadian pianist Glenn Gould, who died on this day in 1982. Continue reading “On This Day… October 4”
On This Day… October 3
Today we move away from the composers and look instead at a conductor. The late 18th and early 19th century brought about a move away from composers as conductors and started to see conductors rise as prominent figures in their own right. Today we look at a man considered by many to be Britain’s leading conductor of Choral works, Sir Malcolm Sargent, who died on this day in 1967. Continue reading “On This Day… October 3”
On This Day… 2 October
As if we didn’t have enough composers to celebrate their birthdays of, the tradition has arisen that we also celebrate their dying- or death-day. We get major celebrations at 50 years after their death, which could also be 100 years after their birth. But either way, it’s an excuse for concert programmers to hold a concert. Or a number of concerts. Today we look at the first death-day of this series, that of the Romantic composer Max Bruch. Continue reading “On This Day… 2 October”
On This Day… October 1
The composer we look at today was very specific in his desires, throwing out many compositions which has reduced the amount of works that we can attribute to him. However, those that do survive we can be assured that they are the best quality. Today, we look at French composer, Paul Dukas. Continue reading “On This Day… October 1”
On this day… 30 September
Well, there’s nothing else that I could possibly write about for today. We’re going back to 1791, notable for being the last year of Mozart’s life. However, his death doesn’t come until December (and we will cover it then), but today it is the premiere of his last opera, The Magic Flute. Continue reading “On this day… 30 September”
On This Day… 29 September
One of the problems that I expected going into this is that some days it might be hard to find something or someone to write about. Today I could have looked at Shostakovich’s 14th symphony, which premiered today in 1969, but I wasn’t able to find the entire work available on Youtube. Instead, I decided to take a look at some of the Organ music of Vincent Lübeck. Continue reading “On This Day… 29 September”
On This Day… 28th September
Taking you back to 1918 today. Still in the grips of World War 1, slowly coming towards an end, Igor Stravinsky composes a work to be “read, played and danced” which looks at a common theme of the romantic age of the Faustian story, influenced by the events of the day. L’Historie du soldat or A Soldier’s Tale, premiered on this day in Lausanne on the 28th September, 1918. Continue reading “On This Day… 28th September”
On This Day… September 27
Today we look at a lesser known Brittish composer, who was titled the “Father of modern British Music” and “the English Debussy.” Cyril Scott, born on September 27th, 1879 was a composer, writer and poet. Continue reading “On This Day… September 27”
On this day… September 26
I’ve decided to start up a new feature which will hopefully be informative, and fun. Basically, each day I look at a major classical event that happened on this day – be it a birth, death or premiere. Thanks to the wonderful place that is YouTube, where possible I’ll upload a video of a performance related to the topic. Added with a short biography or description of the event, it should be a fantastic way to get exposed to a large amount of music. Today, the stars seemed to align themselves, as today I can bring together two of the biggest names of American classical music. Continue reading “On this day… September 26”
Ben Clapton 