On this Day in Music (TWO) (2024)

[FONT=&quot]5 September [/FONT][FONT=&quot]………………………………………………………………….. total views 685,039
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in 1494 - Hans Sachs (German meistersinger) is born.

in 1600 - Loreto Vittori, prominent Italian castrato soprano and composer, is born at Spoleto (baptized). After serving as a chorister at Spoleto Cathedral (1614-17), he went to Rome to pursue his musical training; about 1618 he proceeded to Florence, where he continued his studies and began his operatic career in 1619. Returning to Rome, he was in the service of Cardinal Lodovico Ludovisi (1621-32); also sang in the papal choir (1622-47), where he was camerlengo (1642-44); likewise was in the service of Cardinal Antonio Barberini (1637-42). About 1623 he was created Cavaliere della Milizia di Cesu Cristo by Pope Urban VIII; in 1643 he entered the priesthood. He composed both sacred and secular dramatic works, but the music to most of these is lost; his fine pastoral opera, La Galatea (Rome, 1639), is extant. He was also a poet; published Dialoghi sacri, e morali (Rome, 1652) and La Troia rapita (Macerata, 1662). – Died at Rome, April 23, 1670.

in 1694 - Frantisek Antonin Mica, Czech tenor, conductor, and composer, uncle of Frantisek Adam Mica, is born at Treble. His father, Mikulas Ondfej Mica (1659-1729), was organist to Count Questenberg in Jaromefice. He studied in Vienna (1711). About 1722 he became valet and Kapellmeister of Count Questenberg's orchestra. He also sang in and conducted many operatic productions for the Count. He composed the opera L'origine di Jaromeriz in Moravia (Jaromefice, Dec. 1730) and other stage works, as well as oratorios and cantatas. – Died at Jaromefice nad Rokytnou, Feb. 15, 1744.

in 1734 - Jean-Benjamin de La Borde, French violinist, writer on music, and composer, is born at Paris. He was born into an aristocratic family, and received training in violin from Dauvergne and in composition from Rameau. While still young, he became a member of the Compagnie des FermiersGenereaux. In 1762 he entered the service of Louis XV; becoming his close friend and a premier valet de chambre. Following the king's death in 1774, he fell in and out of favor at the court. With the coming of the Revolution, he settled in Rouen only to be tracked down, sent back to Paris, and executed. He composed many stage works, mostly operas-comiques, and brought out collections of chansons. He also designed a clavecin chromatique with 21 notes to the octave. His interest in early music resulted in his most notable work, the extensive Essai sur la musique ancienne et moderne (4 vols., Paris, 1780). This work remains valuable for its entries on 17th and 18th century musicians. His other writings included Memoires historiques sur Raoul de Couey [with] receuil de ses chansons en vieux langage, avec la traduction et I'ancienne musique (Paris, 1781) and Memoires sur les proportions musicales, Ie genre enarmonique...avec une lettre de l'auteur de I'Essai ii M. I'Abbe Roussier (Paris, 1781). – Died at (guillotined), July 22, 1794.

in 1735 - Johann (John) Christian Bach, (the "London" Bach), eleventh and youngest surviving son of Johann Sebastian, is born at Leipzig. He received early instruction in music from his father, after whose death in 1750 he went to Berlin to study with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel. In 1754 he went to Italy, where he continued his studies with Padre Martini and also found a patron in Count Agostino Litta of Milan. He converted to the Roman Catholic faith in order to be able to obtain work, and became one of the organists at the Cathedral in Milan (1760-62). He also traveled throughout the country and composed several successful operas during his stay in Italy.

In 1762 he went to England, where his highly acclaimed opera Orione was given its premiere in London on Feb. 19, 1763. In 1764 he was appointed music master to the Queen. From 1764 to 1781 he gave, together with C.F. Abel, a series of London concerts. When child Mozart was taken to London in 1764, Bach took great interest in him and improvised with him at the keyboard. Mozart retained a lifelong affection for him, and used three of Bach's piano sonatas as thematic material for his piano concertos. Bach was a highly prolific composer, numbering among his works some 90 syms., several piano concertos, six quintets, a Piano Sextet, violin sonatas, and numerous piano sonatas. In his music he adopted the style galant of the second half of the 18th century, with an emphasis on expressive "affects" and brilliance of instrumental display.

He thus totally departed from the ideals of his father, and became historically a precursor of the Classical era as exemplified by the works of Mozart. Although he was known mainly as an instrumental composer, Bach also wrote successful operas, most of them to Italian librettos; among them were Artaserse (Turin, Dec. 26, 1760), Catone in Utica (Naples, Nov. 4, 1761), Alessandro mil' Indie (Naples, Jan. 20, 1762), Orione, ossia Diana vendicata (London, Feb. 19, 1763), Zanaida (London, May 7, 1763), Adriano in Siria (London, Jan. 26, 1765), Carattaco (London, Feb. 14, 1767), Temistocle (Mannheim, Nov. 4, 1772), Lucio Silla (Mannheim, Nov. 5, 1776), La clemenza di Scipione (London, April 4,1778), and Amadis de Gaule (Paris, Dec. 14, 1779). See E. Warburton, general ed., J.C. B., 1735-1782: The Collected Works (48 vols., N.Y., 1988-95). Died at London, Jan. 1,1782.

in 1737 - Johann Friedrich Gottlieb Beckmann, composer is born.

in 1771 - Antonio Peregrino (Pellegrino) Benelli, Italian tenor and composer, is born at Forli, Romagna. In 1790 he was first tenor at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. He held the same position in London in 1798, and in Dresden from 1801 to 1822, when his voice failed. He then taught singing at the Royal Theater School in Berlin until 1829. His most valuable work is a vocal method, Gesangslehre (Dresden, 1819; originaly published in Italian as Regole per il canto figurato, 1814); he also wrote Bemerkungen tiber die Stimme in the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung (Leipzig, 1824). He composed many vocal pieces and some piano works. – Died at Bornichau, Saxony, Aug. 16, 1830.

in 1781 - Anton Diabelli, Austrian composer and publisher, is born at Mattsee, near Salzburg. He was a choirboy in the monastery at Michaelbeurn, and at Salzburg Cathedral. He studied for the priesthood at the Munich Latin School, but continued his musical work, submitting his compositions to Michael Haydn, who encouraged him. On the secularization of the Bavarian monasteries, Diabelli, who had already entered that at Raichenhaslach, embraced the career of a musician, went to Vienna (where Joseph Haydn received him kindly), taught piano and guitar for a living, and in 1818 became a partner of Cappi, the music publisher, assuming control of the firm (Diabelli & Co.) in 1824. He published much of Schubert's music, but underpaid the composer, and complained that he wrote too much. In 1852 he sold his firm to C.A. Spina. A facile composer, Diabelli produced an opera, Adam in der Klemme (Vienna, 1809; 1 perf.), masses, cantatas, chamber music, etc.. which were consigned to oblivion; however, his sonatinas are still used for beginners. His name was immortalized through Beethoven's set of 33 variations (op.120) on a waltz theme by Diabelli. – Died at Vienna, April 8, 1858.

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in 1785 - Thomas Adams, English organist and composer, is born at London. At age 11, he became a student of Thomas Busby. He pursued his career in London, where he became organist at Carlisle Chapel, Lambeth, in 1802, and at St. Paul's, Deptford, in 1814. In 1824 he was made organist at St. George's, Camberwell, and in 1833 at St. Dunstan-inthe- West, Fleet Street, positions he held until his death. Adams acquired a notable reputation as an organ virtuoso. In addition to various fugues, voluntaries, interludes, and other organ pieces, he also wrote some piano and vocal music. – Died at London, Sept. 15,1858.

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in 1791 - Giacomo Meyerbeer, (real name, Jakob Liebmann Beer), famous German composer, is born at Vogelsdorf, near Berlin. He was a scion of a prosperous Jewish family of merchants. He added the name Meyer to his surname, and later changed his first name for professional purposes. He began piano studies with Franz Lauska, and also received some instruction from Clementi. He made his public debut in Berlin when he was 11. He then studied composition with Zelter (1805-07), and subsequently with B.A. Weber. It was as Weber's pupil that he composed his first stage work, the ballet-pantomime Der Fischer und das Milchmadchen, which was produced at the Berlin Royal Theater (March 26, 1810). He then went to Darmstadt to continue his studies with Abbe Vogler until late 1811; one of his fellow pupils was Carl Maria von Weber.

While under Vogler's tutelage, he composed the oratorio Gott und die Natur (Berlin, May 8, 1811) and also the operas Der Admiral (1811; not perf.) and Jephthas Gelubde (Munich, Dec. 23, 1812). His next opera, Wirth und Gast, oder Aus Scherz Ernst (Stuttgart, Jan. 6, 1813), was not a success; revised as Die beyden Kalifen for Vienna, it likewise failed there (Oct. 20,1814). However, he did find success in Vienna as a pianist in private musical settings. In Nov. 1814 he proceeded to Paris, and in Dec. 1815 to London. He went to Italy early in 1816, and there turned his attention fully to dramatic composition. His Italian operas—Romilda e Costanza (Padua, July 19, 1817), Semiramide riconosciuta (Turin, March 1819), Emma di Resburgo (Venice, June 26, 1819), Margherita d'Angiu (Milan, Nov. 14, 1820), L'Esule di Granata (Milan, March 12,1821), and Il Crociato in Egitto (Venice, March 7, 1824)—brought him fame there, placing him on a par with the celebrated Rossini in public esteem. The immense success of Il Crociato in Egitto in particular led to a successful staging at London's King's Theatre (July 23, 1825), followed by a triumphant Paris production (Sept. 25, 1825), which made Meyerbeer famous throughout Europe.

To secure his Paris position, he revamped Margherita d'Angiu for the French stage as Margherita d'Anjou (March 11, 1826). He began a long and distinguished association with the dramatist and librettist Eugene Scribe in 1827 as work commenced on the opera Robert le diable. It was produced at the Paris Opera on Nov. 21, 1831, with extraordinary success. Numerous honors were subsequently bestowed upon Meyerbeer: he was made a Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur and a Prussian Hofkapellmeister in 1832, a member of the senate of the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1833, and a member of the Institut de France in 1834. He began work on what was to become the opera Les Huguenots in 1832; set to a libretto mainly by Scribe, it was accorded a spectacular premiere at the Opera on Feb. 29,1836. Late in 1836 he and Scribe began work on a new opera, Le Prophete.

He also commenced work on the opera L'Africaine in Aug. 1837, again utilizing a libretto by Scribe; it was initially written for the famous soprano Marie-Cornelie Falcon; however, after the loss of her voice, Meyerbeer set the score aside; it was destined to occupy him on and off for the rest of his life. In 1839 Wagner sought out Meyerbeer in Boulogne. Impressed with Wagner, Meyerbeer extended him financial assistance and gave him professional recommendations. However, Wagner soon became disenchanted with his prospects and berated Meyerbeer in private, so much so that Meyerbeer was compelled to disassociate himself from Wagner. The ungrateful Wagner retaliated by giving vent to his anti-Semitic rhetoric. Meyerbeer began work on Le Prophete in earnest in 1838, completing it by 1840. However, its premiere was indefinitely delayed as the composer attempted to find capable singers. On May 20, 1842, Les Huguenots was performed in Berlin.

On June 11, 1842, Meyerbeer was formally installed as Prussian Generalmusikdirektor. From the onset of his tenure, disagreement with the Intendant of the Royal Opera, Karl Theodor von Kiistner, made his position difficult. Finally, on Nov. 26,1848, Meyerbeer was dismissed from his post, although he retained his position as director of music for the royal court; in this capacity he composed a number of works for state occasions, including the opera Ein Feldlager in Schlesien, which reopened the opera house on Dec. 7, 1844, following its destruction by fire. The leading role was sung by Jenny Lind, one of Meyerbeer's discoveries. It had a modicum of success after its first performance in Vienna under the title Vielka in 1847, although it never equaled the success of his Paris operas. In 1849 he again took up the score of Le Prophete.

As he could find no tenor to meet its demands, he completely revised the score for the celebrated soprano Pauline Viardot-Garcia. With Viardot-Garcia as Fides and the tenor Gustave Roger as John of Leyden, it received a brilliant premiere at the Opera on April 16, 1849, a success that led to Meyerbeer's being made the first German Commandeur of the Legion d'honneur. His next opera was L'Etoile du nord, which utilized music from Ein Feldlager in Schlesien; its first performance at the Opera-Comique on Feb. 16, 1854, proved an outstanding success. Equally successful was his opera Le Pardon de Ploermel (Opera-Comique, April 4, 1859). In 1862 he composed a special work for the London World Exhibition, the Fest-Ouverture im Marschstyl, and made a visit to England during the festivities.

In the meantime, work on L'Africaine had occupied him fitfully for years; given Scribe's death in 1861 and Meyerbeer's own failing health, he was compelled to finally complete it. In April 1864 he put the finishing touches on the score and rehearsals began under his supervision. However, he died on the night of May 2,1864, before the work was premiered. His body was taken to Berlin, where it was laid to rest in official ceremonies attended by the Prussian court, prominent figures in the arts, and the public at large. Fetis was subsequently charged with making the final preparations for the premiere of L'Africaine, which was given at the Paris Opera to notable acclaim on April 28, 1865. Meyerbeer established himself as the leading composer of French grand opera in 1831 with Robert le diable, a position he retained with distinction throughout his career.

Indeed, he became one of the most celebrated musicians of his era. Although the grandiose conceptions and stagings of his operas proved immediately appealing to audiences, his dramatic works were more than mere theatrical spectacles. His vocal writing was truly effective, for he often composed and tailored his operas with specific singers in mind. Likewise, his gift for original orchestration and his penchant for instrumental experimentation placed his works on a high level. Nevertheless, his stature as a composer was eclipsed after his death by Wagner. As a consequence, his operas disappeared from the active repertoire, although revivals and several recordings saved them from total oblivion in the modern era. – Died at Paris, May 2, 1864.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]in 1792 - Alexis-Charles-Maximilien Thibault, composer is born.[/FONT]

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in 1803 - François Devienne, French composer and professor for flute at the Paris Conservatory, dies at 44.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Devienne was born in Joinville, as the youngest of fourteen children of a saddlemaker. After receiving his first musical training as a choirboy in his hometown, he played in various Parisian ensembles as soloist and orchestra player. He studied the flute with Félix Rault; in 1780 he joined the household of Cardinal de Rohan. He was active in Paris as a flautist, bassoonist and composer, and played bassoon at the Paris Opera. He wrote successful operas in the 1790s, including Les visitandines (1792) which brought him much success.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He was also a member of the Military Band of the French Guard where he was given the rank of sergeant with the duty of teaching the children of his colleagues in the military band in its Free School of Music. After the Revolutionary period, when the Free School became the National Institute of Music, later chartered as the Paris Conservatory in 1795, Devienne was appointed an administrator and flute professor; among his students was François René Gebauer. He wrote Méthode de Flûte Théorique et Pratique (1793), which was reprinted several times and did much to improve the level of French wind music in the late 18th century. Like many other musicians, he joined the Freemasons and Concert de la Loge Olympique orchestra.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Devienne died in Charenton-Saint-Maurice near Paris.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]His output comprises c. 300 instrumental works that are mostly written for wind instruments. There are a dozen flute concertos, sinfonias for woodwinds, quartets and trios for different ensembles, 12 operas, 5 bassoon concertos, 6 bassoon sonatas and 6 oboe sonatas (Opp. 70 and 71).[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Devienne's compositions for flute, revived by Jean-Pierre Rampal in the 1960s, are now better known to flautists, but still not to the public at large. As well as extensive educational work, including the Méthode, his collected work also includes eight books of sonatas for flute or bassoon, a variety of chamber music and no less than seventeen concertos. He became known in his day as the "Mozart of the Flute".[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Devienne's complete oboe sonatas (opp. 70 and 71) as well as three of his bassoon sonatas (op. 24) were recorded by the Ensemble Villa Musica (Ingo Goritzki, oboe, Sergio Azzolini, bassoon, Ilze Grudule, cello, Ai Ikeda, bassoon, Diego Cantalupi, lute, Kristian Nyquist, fortepiano) and published on the MDG label (MDG 304 1749-2) in 2012.[/FONT]

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in 1815 - Carl Wilhelm, composer is born.

in 1820 - Louis Kohler, German pianist, pedagogue, and composer, is born at Braunschweig. He studied piano in Braunschweig with Sonnemann, then took courses in composition in Vienna (1839-43) with Sechter and Seyfried; also studied piano there with Bocklet. He settled in Konigsberg (1847), where he established a successful piano school. In 1880 he was granted the title Royal Professor. He wrote 3 operas, a ballet, a Symphony, overtures, cantatas, and other works, but is best remembered for his albums of piano studies, which were adopted in music schools all over the world; next to Czerny's, they were the most popular didactic piano works of their time. It must be observed that while his studies are of great instructive value, they are also worthwhile from a purely musical standpoint. His major work, in which he laid the foundation of methodical piano pedagogy, is Systematische Lehrmethode fUr Klavierspiel und Musik: I, Die Mechanik als Grundlage der Technik (1856; 3rd ed., rev. by Riemann, 1888), and II, Tonschriftwesen, Harmonik, Metrik (1858). – Died at Konigsberg, Feb. 16, 1886.

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in 1836 - Myron (William) Whitney, esteemed American bass, is born at Ashby, Mass. He was a pupil of E. H. Frost in Boston, and made his debut there at the Tremont Temple as a soloist in Handel's Messiah (Dec. 25, 1858). He sang throughout New England during the next 10 years and then pursued training with Vannucini in Florence and Randegger in London. He sang regularly in opera as well as oratorio in the U.S. from 1873. He toured with the Theodore Thomas Orchestra (1878-82) and appeared frequently with the Boston Ideal Opera Co. (1879-1900); he also was a member of the American Opera Co. (1885-86). He was generally considered the leading American oratorio artist of his day. His son, Myron Whitney Jr. (1872-1954), a baritone, traveled as joint artist with Melba and Nordica. He also taught singing at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. – Died at Sandwich, Mass., Sept. 19, 1910.

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in 1848 - Manuel Giro, Spanish composer is born at Lerida, Catalonia. He studied organ and composition at the cathedral school in Lerida and later in Barcelona and Paris. In 1884 he settled in Barcelona, where in 1885 he brought out his opera Il rinegato Alonso Garcia, which proved a popular success. Another opera, El sombrero de tres picos (Madrid, 1893), was also well received. He further wrote ballets, choral music, chamber music, and piano pieces. – Died at Barcelona, Dec. 20, 1916.

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in 1867 - Amy Marcy Cheney Beach, important American composer, is born at Henniker, N.H. She was descended of early New England colonists, and was a scion of a cultural family. She was educated at a private school in Boston. She studied piano with Ernest Perabo and Carl Baermann, and received instruction in harmony and counterpoint from Junius W. Hill. She made her debut as a pianist in Boston on Oct. 24,1883, playing Chopin's Rondo in E-flat major and Moscheles's G minor concerto under Neuendorff.

On March 28, 1885, she made her first appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Chopin's F minor concerto under Gericke. On Dec. 3, 1885, at the age of 18, she married Dr. H.H.A. Beach, a Boston surgeon, a quarter of a century older than she. The marriage was a happy one, and as a token of her loyalty to her husband, she used as her professional name Mrs. H.H.A. Beach. She began to compose modestly, mostly for piano, but soon embarked on an ambitious Mass, which was performed by the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston on Feb. 18, 1892, becoming the first woman to have a composition performed by that organization.

On Oct. 30,1896, her Gaelic Symphony, based on Irish folk tunes, was performed by the Boston Sym. Orch. with exceptional success. On April 6, 1900, she appeared as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in the first performance of her Piano Concerto. She also wrote a great many songs in an endearing Romantic manner. When her husband died in 1910, she went to Europe. She played her works in Berlin, Leipzig, and Hamburg, attracting considerable attention as the first of her gender and national origin to be able to compose music of a European quality of excellence. She returned to the U.S. in 1914 and lived in N.Y. Her music, unpretentious in its idiom and epigonic in its historical aspect, retained its importance as the work of a pioneer woman composer in America. – Died at N.Y., Dec. 27, 1944.

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in 1879 - Rhene-Baton (real name, Rene Baton), French conductor and composer, is born at Courseulles-sur- Mer, Calvados. He studied piano at the Paris Conservatpru and theory privately with Gedalge. He began his conducting career as a chorus master at the Opera-Comique in Paris; then conducted various concert groups in Angers and Bordeaux. From 1916 to 1932 he was principal conductor of the Concerts Pasdeloup in Paris. He composed orchestra pieces, chamber music, and a number of songs. – Died at Le Mans, Sept. 23,1940.

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in 1883- Otto Erich Deutsch, eminent Austrian musicologist, is born at Vienna. He studied literature and art history at the university of Vienna and Graz; was art critic of Vienna's Die Zeit (1908-09); then served as an assistant at the Kunsthistorisches Institut of the University of Vienna (1909-12); later was a bookseller, and then music librarian of the important collection of Anthony van Hoboken in Vienna (1926-35). In 1939 he emigrated to England and settled in Cambridge; in 1947 he became a naturalized British subject, but returned to Vienna in 1951. A scholar of impeccable credentials, Deutsch was an acknowledged authority on Handel, Mozart, and Schubert; his documentary biographies of these composers constitute primary sources; he was also responsible for initiating the critical edition of Mozart's letters, which he edited with W. Bauer and J. Eibl as Mozart: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen (7 vols., Kassel, 1962-75). – Died at Vienna, Nov. 23, 1967.

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in 1885- Desire Defauw, Belgian conductor, is born at Ghent. He was a violin pupil of Johan Smit. From 1914 to 1918 he led his own quartet, the Allied Quartet of London. He was professor of conducting at the Brussels Conservatory and conductor of its concerts (from 1926); he also conducted his own concert series in Brussels and was founder-conductor of the Orchestre National de Belgique there in 1937. In 1940 he went to Canada, where he was music director of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (1941-53). He was also music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1943-47) and then of the Gary (Ind.) Symphony Orchestra 1950-58). – Died at Gary, Ind., July 25, 1960.

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in 1890 - Ludwig Deppe, German composer , conductor , pianist and teacher, dies at 61.
He studied violin , piano and composition first in Detmold and then in Hamburg with Eduard Marxsen and Leipzig with Johann Christian Lobe. Since 1857 he taught music in Hamburg and devoted himself to the direction of orchestra - contributing in particular with his numerous performances to make the Händel speakers speak to the public - composition and teaching. Among his compositions, Ouvertüre has to be remembered for Theodor Körner Zriny and Don Carlos dramas , a Major Faith Symphony and some choral works.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Deppe and the piano technique[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]In his didactic activity Deppe contributed decisively to the transformation of piano technique from digital technique to weight technique , so that Mugellini defined the "genius initiator of pianist reform". He did not write a general work on the technique, merely to briefly illustrate in an article in 1885, Armleiden des Klavierspielers , the negative consequences and the pathologies resulting from the tightening of the hand and arm of the traditional digital technique of clavicembalistic origin (of which the famous "method" by Lebert and Stark is a significant document). In contrast to the latter, he first taught a weight-based technique, relaxation and flexibility . According to his student Emil Söchting , "the free fall of the hand and finger on the keys" without intentional muscular effort "would be the fundamental principle of his doctrine . The notion of "free fall" was subsequently clarified and developed, as well as by Deppe's direct students, by physiologists and theorists such as Steinhausen and by pianists and doctors such as Breithaupt .[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Deppe's students - the German Tony Bandmann , Elizabeth Caland , Hermann Klose and the aforementioned Emil Söchting , the Americans Amy Fay and Horace F. Clark-Steiniger - were describing and interpreting the principles of his "method", contributing to spread across Europe and the United States. Alverdissen's teachers followed the question of priority in the "method" (Clark-Steiniger and Caland) and the much more relevant question of the interpretation of the method itself. In fact, apart from the important but generic indications (weight, relaxation, flexibility, freefall) that have already been mentioned, and in any case show a significant distance away from traditional "digital" technique, it is very problematic if not impossible, to reconstruct with sufficient precision the characteristics of the technique taught by Deppe. This is demonstrated by the considerably diverging interpretations of the so-called Deppe method, on the one hand, by Elizabeth Caland and, on the other hand, by Tony Bandmann with the support of physiologist Steinhausen.[/FONT]

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in 1892 - Joseph Szigeti, eminent Hungarian-born American violinist and teacher, is born at Budapest. He began his studies at a local music school; while still a child, he was placed in the advanced class of Hubay at the Budapest Academy of Music; then made his debut in Berlin at age 13. He made his first appearance in London when he was 15; subsequently toured England in concerts with Busoni; then settled in Switzerland in 1913; was a professor at the Geneva Conservatory (1917-25). He made an auspicious U.S. debut playing the Beethoven Concerto with Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. at N.Y.'s Carnegie Hall (Dec. 15, 1925); thereafter he toured the US. regularly while continuing to appear in Europe. With the outbreak of World War II, he went to the U.S. (1940), becoming a naturalized American citizen in 1951. After the end of the war, he resumed his international career; settled again in Switzerland in 1960, and gave master classes. Szigeti was an artist of rare intellect and integrity; he eschewed the role of the virtuoso, placing himself totally at the service of the music. In addition to the standard repertoire, he championed the music of many 20th -century composers, including Stravinsky, Bartok, Ravel, Prokofiev, Honegger, Bloch, and Martin. He wrote the books With Strings Attached (N.Y., 1947), A Violinist's Notebook (London, 1965), and Szigeti on the Violin: Improvisations on a Violinist's Themes (N.Y., 1969). – Died at Lucerne, Feb. 19, 1973.

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in 1894 - Frederic Patton Hart, American composer, is born at Aberdeen, Wash. He studied at the American Conservatory in Chicago and at the Art Institute there, and later took courses with Rubin Goldmark, with Ernest Hutcheson, and at the Diller-Quaile School in N.Y. He taught at Sarah Lawrence College (1929-47) and at the Juilliard School of Music (1947-60), and then settled in Los Angeles. His works include the operas The Wheel of Fortune (1943) and The Farewell Supper (posthumous; N.Y., Feb. 3, 1984), the opera- ballet, The Romance of Robot (1937), chamber music, piano pieces, and songs.

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in 1895 - Meta Seinemeyer, admired German soprano, is born at Berlin. She studied with Nikolaus Rothmuhl and Ernst Grenzebach in Berlin. She made her operatic debut there in Orphee aux enfers at the Deutsches Opernhaus (1918), where she continued to sing until 1925; also toured the U.S. with the German Opera Co. (1923-24); then was a member of the Dresden State Opera (from 1925); also appeared in South America (1926), at the Vienna State Opera (1927), and at London's Covent Garden (1929). She married the conductor Frieder Weissmann on her deathbed. Her voice possessed a silken quality and a natural expressiveness; she was particularly esteemed for her roles in operas by Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, and Strauss. – Died at Dresden, Aug. 19, 1929.

in 1898 - Ebbe Hamerik, composer is born.

in 1901 - Mieczyslaw Kolinski, Polish-born Canadian ethnomusicologist, music theorist, and composer, is born at Warsaw. He began his musical training in Hamburg, and then studied piano and composition at the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik; took courses in musicology, psychology, and anthropology at the University of Berlin (Ph.D., 1930, with the dissertation Die Musik der Primitivstiimme auf Malaka und ihre Beziehungen zur samoanischen Musik; published in Anthropos, XXV, 1930). He assisted Hornbostel at the Berlin Staatliches Phonogramm-Archiv (1926-33); then moved to Prague, where he remained until 1938, when he went to Belgium to avoid the Nazis; during much of the German occupation, he was in hiding. He settled in N.Y. in 1951; was co- founder (1955) and president (1958-59) of the Society for Ethnomusicology; taught at the University of Toronto (1966-76); became a naturalized Canadian citizen in 1974. He transcribed more than 2,000 works from all over the world; published Konsonanz als Grundlage einer neuen Akkordlehre (Prague, 1936). - Died at Toronto, May 7,1981.

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in 1906 - Peter Mieg, Swiss composer and painter, is born at Lenzburg. He studied composition, piano, and theory with C.A. Richter in Lenzburg, and then continued his musical training with H. Munch in Basel, E. Frey in Zurich, and Landowska in Basel. He also was drawn to painting, taking his Ph.D. in 1933 at the Universotu of Zurich with a dissertation on modern Swiss art. While he devoted much of his time to composition, he also was active as a painter. In 1961 he held his first major exhibition of paintings in Zurich, Paris, Vienna, and other cities. As a composer, his output took on a pronounced individual style after 1950. His autobiography was published as Laterna magica (Lenzburg, 1986). – Died at Lenzburg, Dec. 7, 1990.

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in 1907 - Sunnyland Slim, (ALBERT LUANDREW) blues pianist is born. Mississippi-born Delta-styled, Chicago pianist bluesman extraordinaire, Sunnyland Slim was noted for bringing Muddy Waters into the studio. He earned his nickname in 1928 from his self-composed hit, 'Sunnyland Train', the song chronicling a train that had twice crashed. A self-taught player, Sunnyland Slim began his career as an itinerant musician in Memphis when in 1923 he hit the stage alongside Little Brother Montgomery. Later teaming with Tampa Red, and then Roosevelt Sykes, he also joined a revue led by Ma Rainey. Moving to Chicago in 1942, he initially joined Jump Jackson's band before collaborating with the likes of Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and an undiscovered Muddy Waters. Recording heavily for a series of labels including Chess, Vee-Jay, and Cobra, in 1947 he invited friend Muddy Waters to a session at Aristocrat Records. After backing Sunnyland Slim on 'Johnson Machine Gun', Waters sang lead on a pair of tracks including 'Little Anna Mae'. Aristocrat soon became Chess, and Waters emerged as the label's workhorse. Possessing a powerful voice that was legendary for shattering microphones, Sunnyland Slim enjoyed hits with 'Going Back To Memphis', 'Devil Is A Busy Man', and 'When I Was Young'. Still performing in the Eighties, he led The Big Four Band and operated his own label, Airway Records. His health deteriorating in the last years of his life, he died from kidney inflammation at the Thorek Hospital in Chicago. - Died March 17, 1995.

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in 1908 - Joaquin Maria Nin-Culmell, Cuban-American composer, pianist, and teacher, son of Joaquin Nin (y Castellanos), is born at Berlin. He went to Paris and studied piano at the Schola Cantorum and composition with Dukas at the Conservatory. From 1930 to 1935 he pursued training in composition with Falla in Granada. He also continued piano studies with Cortot and Vines. In 1938 he emigrated to the U.S., where he taught at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass. (1940-50) and the Universotu of Calif, at Berkeley (1950-74). He edited and annotated the Spanish Choral Tradition (1975 et seq.), a series devoted to secular music of the Renaissance. His own music exhibits Spanish influence in its basic lyricism and vital rhythmic energy, but it combines these elements with 20th century harmonies in transparent textures

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in 1909 - (Axel) Sixten (Lennart) Eckerberg, Swedish conductor, pianist, and composer, is born at Hjaltevad. After training at the Stockholm Conservatory (1927-32), he studied conducting with Weingartner in Basel (1932-34) and piano with Sauer in Vienna and Philipp in Paris. From 1937 to 1969 he was chief conductor of the Coteborg Radio Orchestra. His autobiography was published as Musiken och mitt lif (Stockholm, 1970). In his compositions, his contrapuntal writing tended toward the austere with occasional impressionist elements. – Died at Goteborg, April 9, 1991.

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in 1910 - Franz Xaver Haberl, German priest/musicologist, friend of Liszt, Perosi, and Singenberger, cleric, and student of Proske, dies at 70.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He made his classical and theological studies at Passau, Bavaria, where he was ordained priest, 12 August, 1862. Showing decided aptitude for music, he was given every opportunity for study of the art, and was entrusted with the direction of music in the seminary. From 1867 to 1870 Haberl resided in Rome, where he was active as choirmaster at the German national church, Santa Maria dell'Anima, and also made historical and archæological researches. From 1871 to 1882 he directed the choir at the Ratisbon cathedral, his incumbency forming one of the most brilliant periods in the history of this famous institute.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Working for church music reform, in 1874 Haberl founded a famous school for church musicians at Regensburg (Ratisbon). This school began with three professors—Dr. Haberl, Dr. Jacob, and Canon Haller—and only three pupils, and attracted reform-minded church music programs. Haberl not only secured permanency for the school in the shape of endowment, but he built next to it a church, dedicated to St. Cecilia, where pupils are given opportunities for practising the knowledge they have acquired in theory.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He fought for the Editio Medicea against the editions of Solesmes and others. In 1868 Haberl re-edited the Medicæa version of the Gregorian chant, and the Holy See declared his edition authentic and official for the Catholic Church. This form of the chant has since been superseded by the "Editio Vaticana."[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]With Proske, he was a prime mover in the "Caecilia Movement," and helped to edit the fourth volume of Musica Divina.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For thirty years he gathered data and material for a critical edition of the works of Palestrina, completed in 1908 in thirty-three volumes, the first ten of which were prepared by the joint labour of Th. de Witt, J.N. Rauch, Fr. Espagne, and Fr. Commer. A similar edition of the works of Orlando Lasso, undertaken by him in company with Dr. Sanberger, he left unfinished.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As president of the Cecilian Society, which position he held from 1899 until his death, as editor of Musica Sacra and Fliegende Blätter für Kirchenmusik, the official organ of the society, as the author of Magister Choralis, now in the twelfth edition, and of innumerable articles on historical, theoretical, and scientific subjects, but especially as director of the school which he founded, Haberl championed the spirit and authority of the Church in musical matters against modernising influences.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]One of Haberl's most famous students was Lorenzo Perosi.[/FONT]

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in 1910 - Julian Edwards, Anglo-American composer of light operatic music who composed many successful Broadway shows in the Progressive Era, dies at 54.
He attempted to introduce new levels of musical sophistication to the genre. Some of his songs achieved popularity at the time. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Edwards was born in Manchester, England and studied in Edinburgh and London. He became conductor of the Carl Rosa Opera Company. He also conducted at the Royal English Opera House, where he met his wife, prima donna Philippine Siedle. He composed a grand opera entitled Victorian in 1884, which was performed at Covent Garden Opera House. The libretto, by J F Reynolds-Anderson, was based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's play The Spanish Student.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He soon turned his attention to lighter music, moving to New York at the invitation of Broadway producer James C. Duff, and creating a number of Broadway shows, beginning with Jupiter (1892), to a libretto by Harry B. Smith. He followed it with 17 more musicals.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]His first big success was Madeleine, or the Magic Kiss (1893). This was his first collaboration with playwright and lyricist Stanislaus Stange, with whom he worked on several other projects. They later had an even greater success with Brian Boru (1896), a "Romantic Irish Opera" based on the life of the medieval Irish king.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Among his many other works, he also wrote Jolly Musketeer (1898), Princess Chic (1900), Dolly Varden (1902), When Johnny Comes Marching Home (1902), Love's Lottery (1904), The ... Musician (1908, with book and lyrics by Chas. J. Campbell and Edward Siedle, his brother-in-law), The Motor .... (1909) and The .... and the Wizard (1909). Love's Lottery was intended as a vehicle for the German opera singer Ernestine Schumann-Heink, who withdrew after fifty performances.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Some of Edwards' songs with lyricist Stanislaus Stange were published as independent pieces. Their patriotic song My Own United States from When Johnny Comes Marching Home, achieved particular popularity. Among the stars of the era who performed his work were Lillian Russell, Jefferson De Angelis, Della Fox, Christie MacDonald, and Lulu Glaser.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]While writing his Broadway shows, Edwards continued to work on more serious pieces. He made his name in America with an operatic adaptation of the play King René's Daughter (1893), presented as a one-act lyrical drama. Edwards wrote the libretto himself, from an existing English translation. The opera was criticised on the grounds that his music "wallows in Wagner". Edwards had intended to submit it for the Sonzogno prize for one-act operas, but it was completed too late. The work had only limited success.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He also composed The Patriot (1907), another one-act grand opera, to a libretto by Stange, set in the American War of Independence. He completed two more grand operas, Elfinella and Corinne, but these were unproduced. He was particularly proud of his sacred cantatas, including The Redeemer and Lazarus. His oratorio Mary Magdalene was not fully completed before his death. In 1907 he set a translation of P. D. A. Atterbom's poem The Mermaid.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He wrote incidental music for productions of many plays, including Quo Vadis, In the Palace of the King, Gringoire, The Wooing of Priscilla, King Robert of Sicily, The Cipher Code, In a Balcony, The Land of Heart's Desire and others.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]He also published collections of songs, including "Sunlight and Shadow".[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When interviewed in 1908 Edwards was asked about the proper relationship between a composer and a lyricist. He took the view that there is no single model, but stated that "to my mind the ideal collaboration between the musician and the librettist is that of Gilbert & Sullivan. They stand alone." He especially praised Gilbert's libretti, and described Sullivan's music as "clever". He dismissed his own work in light music, emphasising his serious works, particularly his operas and cantatas. Initially an opponent of Wagnerism, Edwards had become a strong supporter of the movement. He believed that Richard Strauss's Salome (1905) was the most important work of recent modern music.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Edwards died of heart failure in 1910. He is described as a "serious, but poorly endowed" composer by theatre historian Gerald Bordman. Little of his work survived his lifetime in popularity.[/FONT]

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in 1911 - Jimmy Springs is born. The drummer and high-tenor vocalist of the pioneering, Forties/Fifties Los-Angeles-based doo-... vocal outfit The Red Caps, Illinois-born Jimmy Springs worked as a musician since the Thirties. Joining a Mills Brothers copy-outfit called The Dixie Cups, Springs imitated a trumpet; after touring with a Vaudeville revue, the group landed a spot on Gene Autry's nationally broadcast barn dance. Relocating to California, the group experienced several name changes including The Jones Boys and The Four Toppers before emerging as The Red Caps. Signing with Beacon Records, the group landed on the pop charts with 'I've Learned A Lesson I'll Never Forget' (1943) and 'No One Else Will Do'. Moving to Mercury Records in 1946, the renamed Steve Gibson & The Red Caps landed a hit with 'Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine' (1948). Moving to RCA, the group scored their final hit in a duet with Damita Jo, 'I Went To Your Wedding' (1952). The group also appeared in several musical films including Mystery In Swing. Springs left the group in 1955, before joining a new Steve Gibson-led line-up in 1959. – Died at Philadelphia, October 4, 1987.

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[FONT=&quot]in 1912 - Experimental composer John Cage is born in Los Angeles, California. Known for his composition "4'33," in which musicians were present but did not play their instruments. Instead, environmental sounds provided the music for the piece.[/FONT]
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in 1913 - Conny Stuart/Cornelia van Meijgaard (Dutch singer, actress) is born.

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in 1914 - Gail Kubik, American composer, is born at South Coffeyville. He was a student of Samuel Belov (violin), Rogers (composition), and McHose (theory) at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. (B.M., 1934), Scott Willits (violin) and Sowerby (composition) at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago (M.M., 1936), and Piston (composition) at Harvard Universotu (1937-38); he also worked with Boulanger. After teaching at Monmouth (Ill.) ColI. (1934), Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.Dak. (1936-37), and at Teachers College at Columbia University (1938-40), he was a staff composer and adviser for NBC in N.Y. (1940-42). In 1942-43 he was director of music for the film bureau of the Office of War Information, and then was a composer-conductor for the U.S. Army Air Force Motion Picture Unit (1943-46). He later was composer-in-residence at Kans. State University (1969), Gettysburg College (1970), and Scripps College in Claremont, Calif. (1970-80). In 1944 and 1965 he held Guggenheim fellowships. He held the American Prix de Rome in 1950-51. In 1952 he received the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his Symphonie concertante. He composed much music for films, radio, and television which exerted a liberating force on his serious scores. The latter were notable for their neo-Classical bent in which rhythmic patterns were apt to be stimulatingly asymmetric. – Died at Covina, Calif., July 20, 1984.[/FONT]
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