Another week of history lessons and lists of people who I do not know that I probably should. 

March 17

Nothing happened. Births:

1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichordist and composer

1876 – Frederick Ayres, American composer

1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor

Deaths:

1875 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer

1999 – Ernest Gold, Austrian composer 

March 18

No events again. When did everything happen?! Births:

1657 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer 

1844 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer (this guy is important, and recently featured here)

1882 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator

1939 – Yannis Markopoulos, Greek composer

1950 – James Conlon, American conductor

Deaths:

1823 – Jean-Baptiste Bréval, French cellist and composer

March 19

Nada. Births:

1661 – Francesco Gasparini, Italian composer and educator

1873 – Max Reger, German pianist, composer, and conductor

1948 – Peep Lassmann, Estonian pianist

Deaths:

1697 – Nicolaus Bruhns, German organist and composer

1900 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (I’m using this guy’s piano exercises)

Turning out to be a bit of a boring week so far. Let’s see what the latter half has in store for us. 

March 20

1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia. (I find this randomly interesting, mostly from a linguistic standpoint)

1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC. (This is pretty awesome, although I hear Toscanini was not a nice fellow.)

Births:

1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Soviet pianist (This guy will probably make an appearance eventually, because I quite like a lot of the pieces in his repertoire)

1927 – John Joubert, South African-English composer

Deaths:

2011 – Johnny Pearson, English pianist, conductor, and composer 

March 21

Nothing! Births:

1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer

1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator

1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian composer

1895 – Zlatko Baloković, Croatian-American violinist

1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (If I remember correctly without looking it up, this guy taught Jacqueline du Pre [at least briefly] and invented the bent cello pin, making it easier for cellists to…. do things …? It helps the instrument lay slightly more horizontally. I’ve watched some of this guy’s master classes. He’s a genius.) 

1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor

Deaths:

1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer 

1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor 

1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor

1939 – Evald Aav, Estonian composer 

March 22

Yet again… nothin’. Births:

1842 – Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian pianist, composer, and conductor

1937 – Angelo Badalamenti, American composer

Deaths:

1687 – Jean-Baptiste Lully, Italian-French composer

2011 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (studied under Alfred Cortot)

March 23

Eventless. Births:

1878 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor

1944 – Michael Nyman, English pianist and composer (composed music for the film The Piano)

Deaths:

1675 – Anthoni van Noordt, Dutch organist and composer

1748 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German organist and composer 

Well, I must say, that was a boring week. The only highlights I can say may have a big enough impact to show up this week are maybe Mussorgsky or Glazunov. But probably none of them. I’ve already got something else in the works that is kind of the beginning of another train of thought, hopefully of at least two or three pieces. We’ll see. I’m quite unfamiliar with Mussorgsky’s works, although I love some of the bits of Pictures at an Exhibition, and my favorite is probably The Old Castle. I find it magnificent and Gothic and regal and haunting. But that will have to be for another time.