So these whole-month on-this-day posts might be a little bit unwieldy, but it’s the way I’ve decided to handle them. I update my comments about some of the composers or whatever little peanut-gallery commentary I might have that I didn’t have last year when we were doing these weekly, but after a full year of monthly posts, I won’t be reposting them again. I’ll just look to update them if there’s anything new in subsequent years. Open the full article and do a search for any keywords if you’re really looking for something. Here we go.
April 1
April 1
Births:
1629 – Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, French organist and composer (d. 1691)
1721 – Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch-English organist, violinist, and composer (d. 1799)
1866 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924) (Wrote the first [and only?] piano concerto to incorporate a chorus)
1871 – F. Melius Christiansen, Norwegian-American violinist and conductor (d. 1955)
1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1943) He has lots of other stuff we need to get around to.
1917 – Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (d. 1950)
1921 – William Bergsma, American composer (d. 1994)
1965 – Robert Steadman, English composer
Deaths:
1528 – Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer (b. 1470)
1917 – Scott Joplin, American pianist and composer (b. 1868) (I know, not really classical… but it’s Scott Joplin)
2013 – David Burge, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1930)
Busoni and Rachmaninoff on the same day. They both have big, heavy piano concerti to their names.
April 2
1800 – Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna. We covered that piece here.
none.
Deaths:
2013 – Robert Ward, American composer (b. 1917)
April 3
1869- Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg’s piano concerto premieres in Copenhagen. We covered that piece here.
Births:
1639 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
1682 – Valentin Rathgeber, German organist and composer (d. 1750)
1889 – Grigoraş Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1949)
1895 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American composer (d. 1968)
Deaths:
1868 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and surgeon (b. 1796)- Composer and surgeon? Accomplished.
1897 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (b. 1833)
1950 – Kurt Weill, German-American composer (b. 1900)
1962 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer (b. 1883)
1972 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
April 4
Births:
1676 – Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, Italian composer (d. 1760)
1752 – Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, Italian composer (d. 1837)
1875 – Pierre Monteux, French conductor (d. 1964)
1905 – Eugène Bozza, French composer and conductor (d. 1991)
Deaths:
None. Good day for music!
April 5
Births:
1784 – Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1859) Pretty prolific yet not terribly well-known composer. Ten symphonies (I think), a clarinet concerto come to mind. I believe he is one of the few composers (along with Berlioz) who probably composed directly to a score without using a piano, or at least it has been suggested before.
1908 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (d. 1989)
Deaths:
1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
1967 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1891)
April 6
1962 – Leonard Bernstein causes controversy with his remarks from the podium during a New York Philharmonic concert featuring Glenn Gould performing Brahms‘ First Piano Concerto – teehee. Although I am not a fan of his humming and such, Mr. Gould does do a fantastic job with some of the pieces he performs as long as he doesn’t intentionally deviate from the score.
Births:
1660 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (d. 1722)
1672 – André Cardinal Destouches, French composer (d. 1749)
1708 – Georg Reutter II, Austrian composer (d. 1772)
1815 – Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)
1929 – André Previn, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor
Deaths:
1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882)
April 7
1724 – Premiere performance of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s St John Passion BWV 245 at St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig.
1805- The premiere of Beethoven’s third symphony is given in Vienna‘s Theater an der Wien on 7 April 1805 with the composer conducting.
Births:
1713 – Nicola Sala, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1801)
1763 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (d. 1846) What a cool last name.
1899 – Robert Casadesus, French pianist and composer (d. 1972)
1970 – Leif Ove Andsnes, Norwegian pianist
Deaths:
1858 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer (b. 1781)
April 8
Births:
1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French composer (d. 1951)
1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
Deaths:
1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
April 9
Births:
1627 – Johann Kaspar Kerll, German organist and composer (d. 1693)
1717 – Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1750)
1794 – Theobald Boehm, German flute player and composer (d. 1881)
1846 – Paolo Tosti, Italian-English composer and educator (d. 1916)
1906 – Antal Doráti, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1988) I have this guy’s recording of some of Stravinsky’s works with the Detroit Symphony, and they’re fantastic
1932 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
Deaths:
1982 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1896)
April 10
Births:
1707 – Michel Corrette, French organist, composer, and author (d. 1795)
1864 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (d. 1932)
Deaths:
1545 – Costanzo Festa, Italian composer (b. 1485)
1640 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer (b. 1578)
April 11
1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach‘s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
Births:
1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer (d. 1738)
1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian composer (d. 1983)
Deaths:
2010 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (b. 1948)
April 12
Births:
1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)
1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)
1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843) Rebranded the waltz
1888 – Heinrich Neuhaus, Ukrainian-Russian pianist (d. 1964) Possibly the most German sounding Ukrainian-Russian name ever
Deaths:
1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French composer (b. 1719)
April 13
1742 – George Frideric Handel‘s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland. (Dublin… of all places…)
Births: Nope
Deaths:
1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch conductor (b. 1901)
1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer (b. 1924)
2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
2013 – Adolph Herseth, American trumpet player (b. 1921)- principal trumpet in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1948 until 2001, and served as principal trumpet emeritus from 2001 until his retirement in 2004
2013 – William Steck, American violinist (b. 1934)
April 14
1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 (sinks morning of April 15th). This isn’t at all musically related, but it did happen today.
Also, nothing else musically happened, so it’s nice to have something. We work with what we’ve got here at FFT
Births:
1913 – Jean Fournet, French conductor (d. 2008)
1951 – Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist
1957 – Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, conductor, and composer (he actually lives in Thailand….)
1975 – Avner Dorman, Israeli-American composer (Went to Juilliard, studied with Corigliano)
Deaths:
1759 – George Frideric Handel, German-English composer (b. 1685)
1843 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer (b. 1801)
April 15
1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.
1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive. (in keeping with the previous day’s addition)
Births:
1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758)
1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (His recordings of the Mozart symphonies with the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields are the ones I will use for Mozart Mondays, if that ever gets going again).
1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian conductor
Deaths:
1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711) That sounds like one of the least Austrian names ever.
1912 – Victims of the RMS Titanic disaster (music related only)
Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878)
2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928)
April 16
Births:
1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German organist and composer (d. 1778)
1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)
1885 – Leo Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)
1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1977) (classical? No. Classic? For sure)
Deaths:
1645 – Tobias Hume, Scottish soldier, viol player, and composer (b. 1569) (Super old school.. the viol)
1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (b. 1763)
1950 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, music teacher and critic (b. 1905)
1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor (b. 1929)
1988 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (b. 1954)
April 17
Births:
1683 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (d. 1729)
1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer (d. 1900)
1882 – Artur Schnabel, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1951)
1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist (d. 1976)
1903 – Nicolas Nabokov, Russian-American composer (d. 1978) Yes, he is related to the novelist Vladimir Nabokov. They are first cousins.
1977 – Frederik Magle, Danish pianist and composer
Deaths:
1669 – Antonio Bertali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1605)
1764 – Johann Mattheson, German lexicographer and composer (b. 1681)
April 18
Nope. Births:
1605 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian composer (d. 1674)
1666 – Jean-Féry Rebel, French violinist and composer (d. 1747)
1759 – Jacques Widerkehr, French cellist and composer (d. 1823)
1819 – Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1895)
1882 – Leopold Stokowski, Polish-English conductor (d. 1977)
1907 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (d. 1995)
Deaths:
1936 – Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1879)
April 19
Births:
1660 – Sebastián Durón, Spanish composer (d. 1716)
1715 – James Nares, English organist and composer (d. 1783)
1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (d. 1858)
1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer (d. 1983)
1947 – Murray Perahia, American pianist and conductor
Deaths:
1941 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
April 20
1986 – Pianist Vladimir Horowitz performs in his native Russia for the first time in 61 years.
Births:
1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831). Careful, you’re likely thinking of the other Telemann, his grandfather, Georg Phillipp Telemann, but you’re close.
(skip ahead 195 years)
1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor
Deaths:
2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
April 21:
Births:
1730 – Antonín Kammel, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1788)
1874 – Vincent Scotto, French composer (d. 1952)
1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
1933 – Easley Blackwood, Jr., American pianist, composer, and educator
Deaths:
1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
2013 – Jean-Michel Damase, French pianist and composer (b. 1928)
April 22:
Births:
1658 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1709)
1757 – Alessandro Rolla, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1841)
1916 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 1999)
1936 – Pierre Hétu, Canadian pianist and conductor (d. 1998)
1953 – Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer – so he studied with Rautavaara
Deaths:
1892 – Édouard Lalo, French composer (b. 1823)
1925 – André Caplet, French composer and conductor (b. 1878)
April 23:
Births:
1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer (d. 1797)
1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919) I am obviously super unfamiliar with like sixteenth and seventeenth century composers whose name isn’t Bach or something, but this guy lived into the twentieth century. Except he composed opera, which I know little to nothing about.
1858 – Ethel Smyth, English composer (d. 1944)
1882 – Albert Coates, English conductor and composer (d. 1953)
Deaths:
—-
April 24:
1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian pianist (d. 1780)
Deaths:
1962 – Milt Franklyn, American composer (b. 1897) The Looney Tunes guy.
April 25:
Births:
1666 – Johann Heinrich Buttstett, German organist and composer (d. 1727) There’s a joke there somewhere about that name.
1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer (d. 1797)
1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer (d. 1927)
Deaths:
1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer (b. 1839)
April 26:
1899- Sibelius’ first symphony premieres with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by the composer (then 33 years of age). We did this piece here.
Births:
1941 – John Mitchell, American composer
April 27:
1749 – First performance of George Frideric Handel‘s Music for the Royal Fireworks in Green Park, London.
Births:
1880 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian composer, organist and choir conductor (d. 1958)
1894 – Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian pianist, composer, conductor, and author (d. 1995)
1917 – Roman Matsov, Estonian conductor (d. 2001)
1971 – Olari Elts, Estonian conductor
Deaths:
1915 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1872).
1992 – Olivier Messiaen, French organist and composer (b. 1908)
2007 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (b. 1927)
April 28
1948 – Igor Stravinsky conducted the premier of his American ballet, Orpheus, in New York City at New York City Center.
Births:
1715 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer (d. 1767)
1848 – Ludvig Schytte, Danish composer, pianist, and teacher (d. 1909)
1906 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor (d. 1999)
1943 – Yoav Talmi, Israeli conductor and composer
1943 – Jeffrey Tate, English musical director and conductor
No deaths of note.
April 29
Births:
1842 – Carl Millöcker, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1899)
1879 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d. 1961)
1895 – Malcolm Sargent, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1967)
1920 – Harold Shapero, American composer (d. 2013)
1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer
1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor- His Mahler is fantastic.
Deaths:
1905 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (b. 1847)
2012 – Joel Goldsmith, American composer (b. 1957)
2013 – John La Montaine, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
April 30
Births:
1870 – Franz Lehár, Slovak-Austrian composer (d. 1948)
1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947)
1910 – Levi Celerio, Filipino composer and songwriter (d. 2002)
1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999) Worked with my hometown ensemble, the Atlanta Symphony
Deaths:
1758 – François d’Agincourt, French organist and composer (b. 1684)
Fugue for Thought 