Today's Birthdays in Music: January 26 (Furtwängler, Dudamel)

1886 - Wilhelm Furtwängler, Berlin, Germany; conductor, composer

Wikipedia
"Genius forged in the cauldron of war"

Wilhelm Furtwängler conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in the Overture to Wagner's Die Meistersinger (1942)



1981 - Gustavo Dudamel, Barquisimeto, Venezuela; conductor, violinist

Wikipedia
Gustavo Dudamel website

Gustavo Dudamel conducts the Simon Bolivar Orchestra in Arturo Márquez's Danzón No. 2 (Promenade Concerts, London, 2007)

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Spins Magic

Last November there was a slightly-larger-than-a-teapot tempest in the music world when the esteemed Russian conductor, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, left Boston in a huff when he found himself listed as second fiddle to a cellist in the BSO brochure.

The 77-year-old living legend received a back-of-the-hand apology from Symphony management but Boston critic Jeremy Eichler took them to task for their McMarketing approach, a dumbed-down pitch too often found with American arts organizations.

A few days before the January 9 concert by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, a press release announced than conductor Mikko Franck, the young Finn, was ill - a not infrequent event for this fine talent. When their permanent conductor Myung-Whun Chung is not on the podium, the emphasis recently has been on hot emerging conductors and I was not the only one surprised to find Rozhdestvensky was flown in as the replacement.

Hearing this man conduct the orchestra at Salle Pleyel was a spiritual experience. His broad tempos and depth of understanding are combined with a magic - is there another word? - he has over musicians. Keeping the same program, the first half took on Wagner with a symphony created by the overture to Meistersinger, the prelude to Parsifal and the overture to Tannhauser with Cesar Franck's Symphony in D minor to finish off the evening.

Watching the musicians, members of an orchestra which gets little respect, in total awe and playing like they have never done before, was a lesson in the alchemy of great conductors. With a single-minded commitment, finding the right balance between raw passion and precise musicianship (not usually their forte) they were simply inspired. The leader's stretched-to-near-breaking phrasing and unpredictable retards seemed second nature to them, like he was their long-time music director instead of someone who appeared only a day or so before. This is both the blessing and curse of French orchestras. They love the challenge of intemperate music making but dislike the discipline of night-after-night perfection.

On those intemperate nights, however, miracles can happen.

- Frank Cadenhead

Today's Birthday in Music: January 6 (Bruch)

1838 - Max Bruch, Cologne, Germany; composer and conductor

Wikipedia

Gil Shahan plays Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1, 1st mvt. (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Dan Ettinger conducting; Tel Aviv 2002)


Jascha Heifetz plays and conducts Bruch's Scottish Fantasy, 2nd mvt.


"Nachtgesang" from Eight Pieces for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (Brise Soleil Trio, Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts, 2006)

Today's Birthdays in Music: December 21 (Turp, Tilson Thomas)

1925 - André Turp, Montreal, Canada; opera tenor

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

1944 - Michael Tilson Thomas, Los Angeles, U.S.A.; conductor, pianist, composer

Wikipedia

Official website

Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, 1st mvt. (BBC Promenade Concert, London, 2007)

Today's Birthdays in Music: December 19 (Isserlis, Reiner)

1958 - Steven Isserlis, London, England; cellist

Wikipedia
Personal website

Steven Isserlis gives a masterclass on Schumann's "Fantasy Pieces"



1888 - Fritz Reiner, Budapest, Hungary; conductor

Wikipedia
Reminiscences

Fritz Reiner conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in two movements from Respighi's Pines of Rome

Today's Birthdays in Music: December 6 (Górecki, Harnoncourt)

1933 - Henryk Górecki, Tschirne, Germany (now Czernica, Poland); composer

Wikipedia

Symphony No. 3 ("Symphony of Sorrowful Songs") - Lento e Largo (Isabel Bayrakdaraian with the Sinfonietta Cracovia, conducted by John Axelrod; taken from "Holocaust - A Musical Memorial Film from Auschwitz")


Górecki Piano Sonata, 1st mvt. (Roger McVey, piano; Mercer University, Georgia)



1929 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Berlin, Germany; conductor, cellist, violist

Wikipedia
Biography and Pictures
Interview (November 2000)

Nikolaus Harnoncourt leads the Concentus Musicus Vienna and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir in J.S. Bach's Cantata BWV 147 "Heart and mouth and deed and life" (Advent Concert, Benedictine Monastery of Melk)

Today's Birthdays in Music: December 4 (Harty, Minton)

1879 - Hamilton Harty, Hillsborough, Ireland; composer and conductor

Wikipedia

Scherzo from An Irish Symphony.  The composer conducts the Hallé Orchestra (1929 recording)



1938 - Yvonne Minton, Sydney, Australia; opera and concert mezzo-soprano

Biography and pictures

Yvonne Minton performs "Der Abschied", the final movement of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti conducting)

Today's Birthday in Music: December 3 (Webern)

1883 - Anton Webern, Vienna, Austria; composer and conductor

Wikipedia

Five Orchestral Pieces, Op. 10 (Südwestfunk Baden-Baden, conducted by Jascha Horenstein; 1964 recording)


Piano Variations Op. 27 (Brenno Ambrosini, piano; 1908)

Today's Birthdays in Music: December 2 (Callas, Barbirolli)

1923 - Maria Callas, New York, U.S.A.; opera soprano

Wikipedia

Maria Callas sings "Suicidio" from Ponchielli's La Gioconda



1899 - John Barbirolli, London, England; conductor and cellist

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

John Barbirolli conducts the Hallé Orchestra in Berlioz's Le Corsaire Overture

Today's Birthday in Music: November 28 (Anton Rubinstein, Lully)

1829 - Anton Rubinstein, Vykhvatinets, Ukraine; pianist, composer and conductor

Wikipedia

String Quartet in F, op. 17, no. 3, 1st mvt. (Covington String Quartet, Washington, 2008)



1632 - Jean-Baptiste Lully, Florence, Italy; composer

Wikipedia
Biography

Passacaille from Armide (danced by Philippa Waite)

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 23 (Penderecki, Falla)

1933 - Krzysztof Penderecki, Dębica, Poland; composer and conductor

Wikipedia

Excerpt from Polish Requiem, conducted by the composer


Concerto for Viola, Part 1 (Tabea Zimmerman, viola; conducted by the composer)


1876 - Manuel de Falla, Cádiz, Spain; composer

Wikipedia

Nights in the Gardens of Spain (Céderic Tiberghien, piano; Orchestre National de Lille, conducted by Paul Polivnik)


"Ritual Fire Dance" from film of the ballet (El Amor Brujo

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 22 (Britten, Nagano)

1913 - Benjamin Britten, Lowestoft, England; composer, conductor, violist, pianist

Wikipedia
Biography and more

"To hell with all your mercy": finale of Peter Grimes (Peter Pears as Peter Grimes, Heather Harper as Ellen Orford, London Symphony Orchestra and Ambrosian Chorus, conducted by Benjamin Britten.  1969 TV production)


"Playful Pizzicato" from Simple Symphony (Ensemble Instrumental de Corse)



1951 - Kent Nagano, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.; conductor

Biography (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal)
Homepage
The Nagano Mystique (La Scena Musicale, January 2007)

Kent Nagano conducts the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in Mozart's Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter),1st mvt.


Kent Nagano, Robert Charlebois and l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 21 (Lagacé, DePriest)

1930 - Bernard Lagacé, St-Hyacinthe, Canada; organist, harpsichordist

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)


1936 - James DePriest, Philadelphia, U.S.A.; conductor

Wikipedia

Homepage

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 18 (Weber, Paderewski)

1786 - Carl Maria von Weber, Eutin, Germany; composer, conductor, pianist

Wikipedia (d.o.b. probably incorrect)
Biography (Grove Dictionary)

Overture to Abu Hassan (London Symphony Orchestra)


Clarinet Concerto No. 1, 3rd mvt. (Calogero Palermo, clarinet)



1860 - Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Kuryłówka, Ukraine; pianist, composer, statesman

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Paderewski plays his Menuet in G (1937 recording)

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 17 (Kogan, Mackerras)

1924 - Leonid Kogan, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine; violinist

Wikipedia

Leonid Kogan plays Hungarian Dance No. 17 by Brahms



1925 - Charles Mackerras, Schenectady, NY, U.S.A.; conductor

Wikipedia
The Modest Maestro (The Guardian, UK, Aug. 2005)

The joint principal flautist of the Philharmonia Orchestra interviews Charles Mackerras

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 16 (Hindemith, Tibbett)

1895 - Paul Hindemith, Hanau, Germany; composer, conductor

Wikipedia
Hindemith Foundation website

Paul Hindemith conducts his Concerto for Orchestra


Glenn Gould plays the Fugue from Hindemith's Piano Sonata No. 3



1896 - Lawrence Tibbett, Bakersfield, CA, U.S.A.; opera baritone

Wikipedia
Biography and photos

Lawrence Tibbett sings "Oh du mein holder Abenstern" from Wagner's Tannhäuser

Today's Birthday in Music: November 15 (Barenboim)

1942 - Daniel Barenboim, Buenos Aires, Argentina; pianist, conductor

Wikipedia
Official website

Daniel Barenboim plays the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mvt. (Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle; Athens, 2004)


Daniel Barenboim conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in "Nimrod" from Elgar's Enigma Variations (Carnegie Hall, 1997)



Jacqueline du Pré and Daniel Barenboim play Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 3, 2nd mvt. (1960s)

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 11 (J. Simons, Ansermet)

1925 - Jan Simons, Düsseldorf, Germany; baritone, teacher, administrator

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)
Winner of 2005 prix Hommage (La Scena Musicale, Feb. 2005)
Remembering Jan Simons (La Scena Musicale, May 2006)

1883 - Ernest Ansermet, Vevey, Switzerland; conductor

Biography and pictures

Ernest Ansermet conducts L'Orchestra de la Suisse Romande in Haydn's Symphony No. 90, 4th mvt. (1965 recording)

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 6 (Sax, Sousa)

1814 - Adolphe Sax, Dinant, Belgium; musical-instrument designer (inventor of the saxophone)

Wikipedia
Extensive biography
Pictures of Sax saxophones

The Aurelia Saxophone Quartet (Uden, Netherlands) plays Jean Baptiste Singelée's Premier Quatuor Op. 53 on original Adolphe Sax saxophones



1854 - John Philip Sousa, Washington, U.S.A.; composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Library of Congress website

Tufts University's Saxophone Ensemble plays Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever


Theme song for the Monty Python's Flying Circus TV show (aka Sousa's Liberty Bell March) (played by the City of Prague Symphony Orchestra)

Today's Birthdays in Music: November 2 (Dittersdorf, Sinopoli)

1739 - Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Vienna, Austria; composer and violinist

Wikipedia
Biography and picture

Concerto for Double Bass in E major, 1st mvt. (Soloist Gábor Fánczi; Szent István Filharmonics Orchestra, conductor Kálmán Záborszky.  Budapest)



1946 Giuseppe Sinopoli, Venice, Italy; conductor and composer

Wikipedia
Interview (1986)

Giuseppe Sinopoli conducts the Triumphal March scene from Verdi's Aida (Dresden, 2001)

Today's Birthdays in Music: October 30 (Warlock, Mintz)

1894 - Peter Warlock, London, England; composer and music critic

Wikipedia
Peter Warlock Society website

Capriol Suite for String Orchestra, parts 1-3 (Chamber Ensemble Muenster, 1994)



1957 - Shlomo Mintz, Moscow, Russia; violinist and conductor

Wikipedia
Shlomo Mintz webpage

Shlomo Mintz plays Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1, 1st mvt., on "Il Cannone", Paganini's own 1742 Guarneri violin (Limburg Symphony Orchestra, Yoel Levi conducting, Maastricht, Netherlands 1997)

Today's Birthdays in Music: October 25 (Bizet, J. Strauss II)

1838 - Georges Bizet, Paris, France; composer and pianist

Wikipedia
Grove's Dictionary biography

Julia Migenes Johnson sings the Habanera from Carmen (1985 film)


Minuet from L'Arlésienne Suite No. 2 (Bulent Evcil, flute, with the Instanbul State Symphony Orchestra)



1825 - Johann Strauss II, Vienna, Austria; violinist, conductor, composer

Wikipedia

Herbert von Karajan conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in "Unter Donner und Blitz" (New Year's Eve concert, Vienna 1987)


Kiri Te Kanawa sings "Klange der Heimat" (Czsárdás) from Die Fledermaus (Covent Garden 1984, Placido Domingo conducting)

Today's Birthdays in Music: October 21 (Canteloube, Solti)

1879 - Joseph Canteloube, Annonay, France; composer

Wikipedia

Kiri Te Kanawa sings "Bailero" from Chants d'Auvergne (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Carl Davis conducting, London 1989)



1912 - Georg Solti, Budapest, Hungary; conductor

Wikipedia
Official website

Solti conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra in Beethoven's Egmont overture (Cagliari, Italy, 1996)

Today's Birthdays in Music: October 16 (Alsop, Hvorostovsky)

1956 - Marin Alsop, New York, U.S.A.; conductor

Wikipedia
Official website

"The Maestra Begins" (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra webumentary)



1962 - Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Krasnoyarsk, Siberia; opera and concert baritone

Official website

Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings "In the silence of the night" by Rachmaninov

Today's Birthday in Music: October 15 (K. Richter)

1926 - Karl Richter, Plausen, Germany; conductor, organist, harpsichordist

Biography and pictures

Karl Richter plays:

J.S. Bach's Toccata in G minor, BWV 915


Excerpt from Handel's Organ Concerto, Op. 4, No. 1 (with the Munich Bach Orchestra, 1971)


Karl Richter directs the Munich Bach Choir and Orchestra in "Kommt, ihr Töchter" from J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion

Today's Birthday in Music: October 14 (Zemlinsky)

1871 - Alexander von Zemlinsky, Vienna, Austria; composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Alexander Zemlinsky Foundation website

Sonata for Cello and Piano in A minor, 2nd mvt. (Norman Fischer, cello and Jeanne Kierman, piano at Rice University)


Extract from Zemlinsky's opera Es War Einmal


Frühlingsbegräbnis, cantata for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and orchestra (Junge Philharmonie Zentralschweiz, Akademiechor Luzern, conductor Thüring Bräm, Zug, Switzerland, 2006)

Today's Birthday in Music: October 9 (Saint-Saëns)

1835 - Camille Saint-Saëns, Paris, France; composer, organist, conductor and pianist

Wikipedia

Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony), 3rd mvt. (Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Rik Ghesquière; Luc Ponet organ.  Antwerp 2007)


Mstislav Rostropovich plays the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto, 1st mvt. (London Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Maria Giulini conducting, 1977)


"Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix" from Samson et Dalila; Shirley Verrett and Jon Vickers (Covent Garden, 1981)

Today's Birthdays in Music: October 7 (Dutoit, Ma)

1936 - Charles Dutoit, Lausanne, Switzerland; conductor

Wikipedia
In Conversation
A Glance Back (La Scena Musicale, April 2002)

Charles Dutoit talks about the music of Debussy and Ravel


Charles Dutoit conducts the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal as Ewa Podleś sings "La Mort de Cléopâtre" by Berlioz (2003)



1955 - Yo-Yo Ma, Paris, France; cellist

Wikipedia
Official website

Yo-Yo Ma plays the first movement of Elgar's Cello Concerto (Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted hy Daniel Barenboim, 1997)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 30 (D. Oistrakh)

1908 - David Oistrakh, Odessa, Ukraine; violinist and conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and more

David Oistrakh plays Sibelius's Violin Concerto, 2nd mvt. (Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, 1966)


David and Igor Oistrakh play Prokofiev's Sonata for Two Violins, 2nd mvt.

Today's Birthday in Music: September 29 (Bonynge)

1930 - Richard Bonynge, Sydney, Australia; conductor and pianist

Wikipedia

"Lovely together" - Richard Bonynge and Joan Sutherland at home

Today's Birthday in Music: September 16 (N. Boulanger)

1887 - Nadia Boulanger, Paris, France; composition teacher, composer, conductor

Wikipedia
Biography
That Woman Down the Hall (La Scena Musicale, Nov. 2000)

No. 3 of Three Pieces for Cello and Piano (Bao Peng, cello; Low Shao Yong, piano; Singapore, 2007)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 15 (Norman, Walter)

1945 - Jessye Norman, Augusta, U.S.A.; opera and recital soprano

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Jessye Norman sings:

"Ein Schönes war" from Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos (Metropolitan Opera, 1988, James Levine conducting)


"I dreamt that I dwelt in marble halls" from Balfe's The Bohemian Girl (London, 1986)


"Ride on, King Jesus" (Carnegie Hall, James Levine conducting)



1876 - Bruno Walter, Berlin, Germany; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Bruno Walter conducts Beethoven's Leonore No. 3 overture (Metropolitan Opera House, 1941)


Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings, and Bruno Walter conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in Mahler's 4th Symphony (1960)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 10 (Hogwood, T. Allen)

1941 - Christopher Hogwood, Nottingham, England; conductor and harpsichordist

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

C.P.E. Bach's Cello Concerto in A minor - Christopher Hogwood conducts the Bach Collegium München, with David Adorján, cello (Munich 1999)



1944 - Thomas Allen, Seaham, England; opera and concert baritone

Wikipedia
Profile (The Guardian, UK, 2003)

Thomas Allen sings "Largo al Factotum" from Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Andrew Davis conducting.  Promenade concert at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, 2002)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 9 (Rosenboom, Cererols)

1947 - David Rosenboom, Fairfield, U.S.A.; composer, conductor, performer

Biography

Music for Unstable Circuits (Daniel Rosenboom, trumpet, David Rosenboom, interactive electronics; Chosen Vale International Trumpet Seminar, 2006)



1618 - Joan Cererols, Marteroll, Spain; composer

Wikipedia
Brief biography

 Christmas carol "Serafín que con dulce armonía" (La Lyra Hispana, Cartagena)

Today's Birthday in Music: September 6 (W. Kraft)

1923 - William Kraft, Chicago, U.S.A.; composer, conductor, percussionist

Wikipedia
Biography

Timpani Concerto, 3rd mvt. finale (Randy Max, timpanist)


Allemande and Gigue from French Suite (Anthony Spinnato, percussion; Lebanon Valley College, PA)

Today's Birthdays in Music: September 1 (Ozawa, Humperdinck, Schikaneder)

1935 - Seiji Ozawa, Shenyang, China; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Seiji Ozawa conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Dvořák's Carnival Overture



1854 - Engelbert Humperdinck, Siegburg, Germany; composer (Hänsel und Gretel)

Wikipedia

Overture to Hänsel und Gretel (Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer conducting)



1751 - Emanuel Schikaneder, Straubing, Germany; impresario, actor, singer, librettist (Die Zauberflöte)


Wikipedia

Today's Birthday in Music: August 31 (Perlman)

1945 - Itzhak Perlman, Tel Aviv, Israel; violinist, conductor and pedagogue

Wikipedia
Making the Grade (Strings magazine, Aug./Sept. 2004)

Perlman plays:

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in Russia, Zubin Mehta conducting)


March from Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges (arr. Heifetz)


Perlman conducts a Master Class in Russia

Today's Birthday in Music: August 26 (Sawallisch)

1923 - Wolfgang Sawallisch, Munich, Germany; conductor and pianist

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Sawallish rehearses and conducts the Bavarian State Orchestra in Strauss's Till Eulenspiegels lustige spiel (early 1970s)


J.S. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, transcribed by Stokowski; Wolfgang Sawallisch conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra (Yokohama, Japan, 1999)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 25 (Bernstein)

1918 - Leonard Bernstein, Lawrence, U.S.A.; conductor and composer

Official website
Wikipedia

Bernstein conducts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (Tokyo, 1987)


"Almighty Father" from Bernstein's MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers (State Choir "Latvija" and Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; Riga, 2007)


June Anderson and Gerry Hadley sing "Make Our Garden Grow" from Candide (concert version, Barbican Centre, London, 1990)


Ravel's La Valse (finale): Leonard Bernstein and l'Orchestre Nationale de France (Paris, 1975)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 20 (Bernardi, Vengerov)

1930 - Mario Bernardi, Kirkland Lake, Canada; conductor



Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)


1974 - Maxim Vengerov, Novosibirsk, Russia; violinist

Wikipedia
Official website
Cordes sensibles (La Scena Musicale, Nov. 2002)

Maxim Vengerov plays "Ballade" by Ysaÿe

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 19 (Enescu, G. Schwarz, A. Monk)

1881 - George Enescu, Liveni, Romania; composer, conductor, violinist, pianist, teacher

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

TRAFFIC String Quintet plays Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody (live concert, Bucharest, 2008)



1947 - Gerard Schwarz, Weekawken, U.S.A.; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Gerard Schwarz rehearses the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in Louis Gruenberg's Violin Concerto (Koh Gabriel Kameda, violin; Tokyo, 2002)



1942 - Allan Monk, Mission, Canada; opera and concert baritone

Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)

Allan Monk and Marilyn Horne sing "Ai capricci delle sorte" from Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri (Metropolian Opera, 1986)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 18 (MacMillan, Salieri)

1893 - Ernest MacMillan, Mimico, Canada; conductor, composer, organist, pianist

Wikipedia
Biography (Encyclopedia of Music in Canada)


1750 - Antonio Salieri, Legnano, Italy; composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Truth or Fiction?

Diana Damrau sings "Sento l'amica speme" from Salieri's Semiramide

Today's Birthday in Music: August 17 (Tomasi)

1901 - Henri Tomasi, Marseille, France; composer and conductor

Wikipedia

Concertino in E major (Tatiana Pimenova - flute, Yana Tratsevskaya - piano; Zurich 2008)


"Tryptique", 3rd mvt. (recital at McGill University, Montreal, 2006)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 15 (Coleridge-Taylor, Ciccolini, Hunter)

1875 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, London, England; composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and more

Julian Joseph plays "Deep River" from Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's 24 Negro Melodies



1925 - Aldo Ciccolini, Naples, Italy; pianist

Biography and pictures

Aldo Ciccolini plays Four Mazurkas Op. 30 by Chopin



1933 - Rita Hunter, Wallasey, England; opera soprano

Wikipedia
Official website

Rita Hunter as Brünnhilde

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 14 (Prêtre, Tagliavini)

1924 - Georges Prêtre, Waziers, France; conductor

Wikipedia
Biography

Georges Prêtre conducts the Radio Symphonieorchester Stuttgart in Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 1



1913 - Ferruccio Tagliavini, Reggio Emilia, Italy; opera tenor

Wikipedia
Obituary (The Independent, London, Feb. 1995)

Ferruccio Tagliavini sings "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore

Today's Birthday in Music: August 11 (Leppard)

1927 - Raymond Leppard, London, England; conductor

Biography

The Legacy of Leppard

Today's Birthday in Music: August 9 (Hahn)

1875 - Reynaldo Hahn, Caracas, Venezuela; composer, conductor, music critic

Wikipedia

Reynaldo Hahn's "Feuillage" (1893), played by Phillip Sear


Elly Ameling, accompanied by Dalton Baldwin (1980), sings Hahn's "La valse dernière"

Today's Birthday in Music: August 7 (Husa)

1921 - Karel Husa, Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic); composer and conductor

Wikipedia
Composers Bureau

Husa's Élégie et Rondeau for alto saxophone and orchestra (University of Tennessee Symphony Orchestra, soloist Ben Robinette, 2006)

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 6 (Strozzi, M.C. Moore)

1619 - Barbara Strozzi, Venice, Italy; composer (baptized Aug. 6)

Wikipedia

Tadashi Miroku & Silvia Rambaldi perform Barbara Strozzi's "Che si può fare" (LakeComo Festival 2007)



1873 - Mary Carr Moore, Memphis, U.S.A.; composer, conductor


Wikipedia

Today's Birthdays in Music: August 5 (A. Thomas, E. Kleiber)

1811 - Ambroise Thomas, Metz, France; composer, teacher, administrator

Wikipedia

Mady Mesplé sings "Je suis Titiana" from Thomas's Mignon (L'orchestre nationale de Paris, 1969)



1890 - Erich Kleiber, Vienna, Austria; conductor

Wikipedia
Short biography and pictures

Erich Kleiber rehearses the Finale (Ode to Joy) of Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, 1949)

Today's Birthday in Music: August 1 (Gagnon)

1942 - André Gagnon, Saint-Pacôme-de-Kamouraska, Canada; pianist, composer, conductor, arranger

Wikipedia
Official website

André Gagnon plays:

 "Après La Pluie"


"Nelligan"

Today's Birthday in Music: July 31 (del Mar)

1919 - Norman del Mar, London, England; conductor and biographer

Wikipedia
Obituary (N.Y. Times, Feb. 8, 1994)

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 29 (Schreier, Theodorakis)

1935 - Peter Schreier, Meissen, Germany; opera and concert tenor, conductor

Wikipedia
Biography and pictures

Peter Schreier sings "Svegliatevi nel core" from Handel's Giulio Cesare (Munich Bach Orchestra, conducted by Karl Richter, 1969)



1925 - Mikis Theodorakis, Chios, Greece; composer

Wikipedia
Homepage

Excerpt from Zorbas, ballet-opera by Theodorakis (Arena di Verona, 1990)

Today's Birthday in Music: July 28 (Muti)

1941 - Riccardo Muti, Naples, Italy; conductor

Wikipedia

Riccardo Muti conducts the overture to Mozart's Don Giovanni (La Scala, 1987)

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 26 (Hewitt, Koussevitzky)

1958 - Angela Hewitt, Ottawa, Canada; pianist

Biography (Encylopedia of Music in Canada)

Angela Hewitt plays Prelude and Fugue in f# minor, BWV883 from J.S. Bach's Well Tempered Clavier, Book 2.



1874 - Serge Koussevitzky, Vyshny Volochyok, Russia; conductor, double-bassist

Wikipedia

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 19 (Neel, Braun, Glennie)

1905 - Boyd Neel, Blackheath, England; conductor, administrator, educator


Biography


1965 - Russell Braun, Frankfurt, Germany; opera and concert baritone

Biography

David Pomeroy and Russel Braun sing "Au fond du temple saint" from Bizet's Les Pêcheurs de perles (Ottawa Under the Stars, 2007)



1965 - Evelyn Glennie, Aberdeen, Scotland; percussionist

Wikipedia
Homepage

Segment from Evelyn Glennie documentary

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 18 (Schafer, Viardot, Masur)

1933 - R. Murray Schafer, Sarnia, Canada; composer

Biography


1821 - Pauline Viardot, Paris, France; concert and opera mezzo-soprano; composer

Wikipedia

Cecilia Bartoli sings Pauline Viardot's "Havanaise"

1927 - Kurt Masur, Brieg, Germany; conductor

Official website

Kurt Masur conducting the NY Philharmonic in Schumann's Rhenish Symphony, 4th mvt. (1995)

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 16 (Zukerman, Ysaÿe)

1948 - Pinchas Zukerman, Tel Aviv, Israel; violinist, violist, conductor

Wikipedia
A Gift for Music (La Scene Musicale, March 2002)

Schubert's "Trout Quintet", 4th mvt., played by Itzhak Perlman (violin), Daniel Barenboim (piano), Jacqueline Du Pré (cello), Zubin Mehta (bass) and Pinchas Zukerman  (viola) (1969)



1858 - Eugène Ysaÿe, Liège, Belgium; violinist, composer, conductor

Wikipedia

Ysaÿe plays "Mazurka" by Wieniawski (1912 recording)

Valeriy Sokolov plays Ysaÿe's Sonata No. 3 for solo violin (filmed by Bruno Monsaingeon at the Yehudi Menuhin School, 2003)

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 7 (Mahler, Menotti)

1860 - Gustav Mahler, Kaliště, Bohemia (Czech Republic); composer, conductor

Wik entry
Gustav Mahler Society
Biography and more

Thomas Hampson sings "Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz", No. 4 from Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer) (Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by Leonard Bernstein)


Symphony No. 5, 1st mvt. "Trauermarsch" (Cologne Philharmonic, conducted by James Conlon)



1911 - Gian Carlo Menotti, Cadegliano, Italy; composer, librettist

Wiki entry

Gian Carlo Menotti - A Composer's Life in Two Worlds

Today's Birthdays in Music: July 6 (Ashkenazy, H. Eisler)

1937 - Vladimir Ashkenazy, Gorky, Russia; pianist, conductor

Wiki entry
Biography and more

Ashkenazy plays  Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1, 3rd mvt. (Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carlo Maria Giulini conducting)


Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 12, 3rd mvt.; Vladimiar Ashkenazy, pianist, conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from the keyboard



1898 - Hanns Eisler, Leipzig, Germany; composer

Wiki entry
Homepage

"An den kleinen Radioapparat", music by Hanns Eisler, lyrics by Berthold Brecht.  Sung by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; Aribert Reimann, piano (Berlin, 1987)


Hanns Eisler, Nonett No.1, Variationen (1939), played by Quadrivium Ensemble, Dan Rapoport conducting (Venice, 2005)