Sort of a special week…
September 8
1672 – Nicolas de Grigny, French organist and composer (d. 1703)
1698 – François Francoeur, French violinist and composer (d. 1787)
1824 – Jaime Nunó, Spanish-American composer, conductor, and director (d. 1908)
1841 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (d. 1904)
1917 – Jan Sedivka, Czech-Australian violinist and educator (d. 2009)
1934 – Peter Maxwell Davies, English composer and conductor
1971 – Dustin O’Halloran, American pianist and composer
Deaths:
1916 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1836)
1944 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (b. 1881)
1949 – Richard Strauss, German composer (b. 1864)
September 9
Births:
1656 – Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer, German composer (d. 1746)
1920 – Neil Chotem, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2008)
1960 – Urmas Sisask, Estonian composer
Deaths:
1955 – Carl Friedberg, German pianist and educator (b. 1872)
1985 – Antonino Votto, Italian conductor (b. 1896)
September 10
Births:
1919 – Lex van Delden, Dutch composer (d. 1988)
1925 – Boris Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (d. 1996) NOT related to the other Tchaikovsky
1934 – Larry Sitsky, Australian pianist, composer, and educator
Deaths:
1607 – Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1545)
1867 – Simon Sechter, Austrian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1788)
September 11
1847 – Stephen Foster‘s song “Oh! Susanna” is first performed at a saloon in Pittsburgh. I include this only because I’ve been playing around with the pentatonic scale lately.
1711 – William Boyce, English composer (d. 1779)
1907 – Lev Oborin, Russian pianist (d. 1974) winner of the first International Chopin Piano Competition in 1927
1925 – Harry Somers, Canadian composer (d. 1999)
Deaths:
1733 – François Couperin, French organist and composer (b. 1668)
1949 – Henri Rabaud, French composer and conductor (b. 1873)
1985 – William Alwyn, English composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1905)
1993 – Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor (b. 1912)
1994 – Luciano Sgrizzi, Italian harpsichord player, pianist, and composer (b. 1910)
September 12
1910 – Premiere performance of Gustav Mahler‘s Symphony No. 8 in Munich (with a chorus of 852 singers and an orchestra of 171 players. Mahler‘s rehearsal assistant conductor was Bruno Walter)
1818 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1882)
1856 – Johann Heinrich Beck, American composer and conductor (d. 1924)
1898 – Alma Moodie, Australian violinist (d. 1943)
1939 – Phillip Ramey, American pianist and composer
1942 – Tomás Marco, Spanish composer
1944 – Vladimir Spivakov, Russian violinist and conductor
1945 – John Mauceri, American conductor and producer
1957 – Hans Zimmer, German composer and producer
1986 – Me
Deaths:
1764 – Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer and theorist (b. 1683)
1982 – Federico Moreno Tórroba, Spanish composer (b. 1891)
September 13
Births:
1583 – Girolamo Frescobaldi, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1643)
1594 – Francesco Manelli, Italian composer (d. 1667)
1819 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (d. 1896) Wife of the other Schumann
1874 – Arnold Schoenberg, Austrian composer and painter (d. 1951)
1898 – Roger Désormière, French conductor (d. 1963)
1958 – Paweł Przytocki, Polish conductor
Deaths:
1894 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (b. 1841)
1977 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (b. 1882)
1991 – Robert Irving, English conductor (b. 1913)
September 14
1741 – George Frideric Handel completes his oratorio Messiah
Births:
1737 – Michael Haydn, Austrian composer (d. 1806)
1885 – Vittorio Gui, Italian conductor, composer, and critic (d. 1975)
1887 – Paul Kochanski, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1934)
1910 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer (d. 1999)
1917 – Rudolf Baumgartner, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2002)
1926 – Richard Ellsasser, American organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1972)
1930 – Romola Costantino, Australian pianist and critic (d. 1988)
Deaths:
1936 – Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Russian-American pianist and conductor (b. 1878)
1975 – Walter Herbert, German-American conductor (b. 1902)
Fugue for Thought 