You’ll notice that February isn’t included in this week, even though it should go till Sunday. You’ll see what’s up with that on Sunday.
January 26
Births:
1595 – Antonio Maria Abbatini, Italian composer (d. 1679)
1708 – William Hayes, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1777)
1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer (d. 2002)
1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
1981 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan violinist, composer, and conductor
Deaths:
1795 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German composer (b. 1732)
1998 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (b. 1898)
January 27
Births:
1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
1823 – Édouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
1885 – Eduard Künneke, German composer (d. 1953)
1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
1937 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1948 – Valeri Brainin, Russian-German composer and poet
1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer
1970 – Emmanuel Pahud, Swiss flute player
Deaths:
1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655) Rather a famous invention….
2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
January 28
Births:
1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer (d. 1944)
1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist (d. 1982)
1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
Deaths:
1903 – Augusta Holmès, French composer (b. 1847)
1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1875)
1999 – Valery Gavrilin, Russian composer (b. 1939)
2012 – Keriman Halis Ece, Turkish pianist and model, Miss Universe 1932 (b. 1913) Double Threat
2014 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
January 29
Births:
1703 – Carlmann Kolb, German priest and composer (d. 1765)
1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777)
1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
1801 – Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1857)
1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
1876 – Havergal Brian, English composer (d. 1972) Someday I’ll get around to the Gothic
1884 – Juhan Aavik, Estonian composer (d. 1982)
1924 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990)
1936 – Malcolm Binns, English pianist
Deaths:
1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist and composer (b. 1530)
1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (b. 1875)
2011 – Milton Babbitt, American composer, educator, and theorist (b. 1916) This guy, of all the composers I’ve read about and whose works I’ve listened to, is one of the people I’d most like to meet, to know, and to be around. While I have only recently begun really to enjoy his work, even when I couldn’t stand to listen to it, I found this man fascinating….
January 30
1697 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flute player and composer (d. 1773)
1861 – Charles Martin Loeffler, French-American violinist and composer (d. 1935)
1862 – Walter Damrosch, German-American conductor and composer (d. 1950)
1883 – Peeter Süda, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1920)
Deaths:
1963 – Francis Poulenc, French composer (b. 1899)
1966 – Jaan Hargel, Estonian flute player, conductor, and educator (b. 1912)
January 31
Births:
1759 – François Devienne, French flute player and composer (d. 1803)
1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (d. 1828)
1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
Deaths:
2014 – Alexander Ivashkin, Russian-English cellist and conductor (b. 1948)
2014 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1928)
Fugue for Thought 