Composers Datebook

• Puccini speaks!

  SynopsisDuring the 1906-1907 season of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, America’s premiere opera company staged a mini-festival of operas by a living composer ­— Giacomo Puccini.The Met’s star tenor, Enrico Caruso, could be heard in revival productions of Puccini’s La Boheme and Tosca — operas that still qualified as “contemporary music” back then, being just 10 and 7 years old respectively. The Met also scheduled the company premiere of Puccini’s first big operatic success, Manon Lescaut and, on today’s date in 1907, the American premiere of Puccini’s newest opera, Madame Butterfly.They arranged for Puccini to supervise the rehearsals, but his ship was delayed by bad weather. He arrived in New York on the day of the scheduled premiere of Manon Lescaut, and rushed to his box at the opera house just in time for the start of Act II — but not before acknowledging a big ovation from the audience.If America was enthusiastic about Puccini, the feeling was reciprocated. In 1912, Puccini visited the New York studios of Columbia Records to record a greeting to his American fans. This was in Italian but concluded with two words of English — a quote from the libretto for his Madama Butterfly — “America forever!”Music Played in Today's ProgramGiacomo Puccini (1858-1924): Madame Butterfly Suite; Rome Symphony; Domenico Savino, conductor; MCA 9834-A The 1912 recording of the voice of Puccini: Grammofono 2000 #AB-78779

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• Krenek spielt auf?

  SynopsisOn today’s date in 1927, at the Neues Theater in Leipzig, a new opera had its premiere. Jonny Spielt Auf or Johnny Strikes Up the Band was the work of Viennese composer Ernst Krenek. Ostensibly, the opera tells the story of an American jazz band leader named Jonny, who steals a valuable European violin, but in symbolic terms it deals with both the role of music and the conflict between the artistic traditions of the old and new worlds.Krenek’s jazzy score was a tremendous success and was produced at 42 opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera. By 1929 the libretto had been translated into 14 languages. Its overwhelming success made the opera’s “Jonny” a pop icon and household name and provided Krenek a comfortable cushion of financial security.When the Nazis came to power in Europe, however, Krenek’s security evaporated. For the Nazis, his opera was a prime example of what they termed “degenerate art,” and its composer emigrated to America, where he became a citizen in 1945. Krenek taught at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie and Hamline University in St. Paul before eventually settling in California, where he died in 1991 at 91.Music Played in Today's ProgramErnst Krenek (1900-1991): Jonny Spielt Auf; Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Lothar Zagrosek, conductor; London 436 631

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• Ron Nelson's 'Rocky Point Holiday'

  SynopsisRhode Island natives of a certain age wax nostalgic about Rocky Point, a popular family vacation spot on the Narragansett Bay side of Warwick, which operated from the late 1840s until its close in 1995. There was an amusement park with rides like “The Russian Toboggan,” “The Wildcat” and “Cyclone,” for the kids, while mom and pop might opt for a table at the Rocky Point Chowder House.In 1966, the American composer Ron Nelson spent a summer holiday there. “It’s such a small state, there aren’t that many places to go,” he later recalled. Still, his Rocky Point Holiday provided the inspiration — and the title — for a work commissioned by Dr. Frank Bencriscutto for his University of Minnesota Concert Band.Rocky Point Holiday was first performed under Bencriscutto’s direction on today’s date in 1967, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during the annual convention of the College Band Director’s National Association. But the piece really took off — a little like “The Russian Toboggan” perhaps? — when Bencriscutto’s band toured the Soviet Union in 1969.“Frank wanted an American piece to open the program,” Nelson recalled, and Rocky Point Holiday fit the bill perfectly, and the jaunty score became a classic in the wind band repertory.Music Played in Today's ProgramRon Nelson (1929-2023): Rocky Point Holiday; Dallas Wind Symphony; Jerry Junkin, conductor; Reference Recording RR-76

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• The sensational Mademoiselle Holmes

  SynopsisThese days, it’s still considered news when the Metropolitan Opera stages an opera by a female composer, so one might assume that in the 19th century, the performance of any opera written by a woman would have been even more sensational.Well, that wasn’t the case on today’s date in 1895, when the Paris Opera staged La Montagne Noire, or The Black Mountain, by Augusta Holmes, or “Augusta Holmès” as she was known in France. Her opera was performed 13 times. The jaded French audiences were already quite familiar with the sensational Mademoiselle Holmès, it seems.Born in Paris in 1847 of Irish parents, Augusta was a prodigy as a child, a stunning beauty as a young woman, and a diligent composition student of César Franck’s. And, rare for her time, she was a financially independent artist due to a fortune inherited from her father. Rarer still: Holmes’ scores were championed and premiered by Parisian orchestras, and she received major commissions for elaborate national celebrations.By the time of her death in 1903, however, Holmes was regarded as a curious but minor figure in the history of French music. In our time, her works are being reappraised and occasionally performed.Music Played in Today's ProgramAugusta Holmès (1847-1903): Irlande (Ireland) Symphonic Poem; Rheinland-Pfalz Philharmonic; Samuel Friedmann, conductor; Marco Polo 8.223449

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• Zwilich times Three

  SynopsisOn today’s date in 1996, a trio of soloists joined forces with the Minnesota Orchestra for the premiere performance of a new concerto by the American composer Ellen Taafe Zwilich. This Triple Concerto was commissioned by those soloists — pianist Joseph Kalichstein, violinist Jaime Laredo and cellist Sharon Robinson — and no less than five orchestras in addition to Minnesota’s.Now, the most famous concerto for piano, violin, cello and orchestra is by Beethoven, as Zwilich well knows. “My Triple Concerto is scored for exactly the same instrumentation as Beethoven’s,” she wrote, “although Beethoven would certainly be startled by some of the American jazz techniques and the extraordinary facility the modern timpanist can be expected to have at his fingertips … My piece has other vague and hidden references to Beethoven, as a kind of homage to a composer who has deeply affected my life.”“As contemporary artists always have, today’s composers exist at a juncture between past and present,” continued Zwilich. “And all of us, whether we write, perform or listen to music, face a similar challenge: how to relate meaningfully to the past without becoming imbedded in it; how to press toward the future without abandoning the richness of our heritage.”Music Played in Today's ProgramEllen Taafe Zwilich (b. 1939): Triple Concerto; Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio; Florida State University; Michael Stern, conductor; Koch 7537

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