On This Day

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On This Day
30 September: George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess Was Premiered
On 30 September 1935, the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, hosted the world premiere performance of Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. It was the try-out run for the first Broadway showing at Alvin Theatre in New York City on
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On This Day
29 September: Lisette Oropesa Was Born
The lyric coloratura soprano Lisette Oropesa has achieved worldwide acclaim for her seamless vocal technique, expressive musicality, linguistic affinity, and stylistic integrity. According to critics, “she has a technique without weakness, and everything she touches turns into gold.” She sang
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On This Day
27 September: Georg Philipp Telemann’s Pimpinone Was Premiered
On the occasion of the recent wedding of Louis XV and Maria Leszczyńska, daughter of the deposed king of Poland, the Hamburg Opera am Gänsemarkt saw the premiere of Georg Philipp Telemann’s intermezzos Pimpinone on 27 September 1725. The Telemann
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On This Day
26 September: Béla Bartók Died
Béla Bartók was diagnosed with Leukaemia in April 1944, and as his body gradually failed, he found creative energy and produced a final set of masterpieces inspired by Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Reiner, and Serge Koussevitzky. Bartók died at age 64,
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On This Day
23 September: Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Armide Was Premiered
In 1575, Torquato Tasso wrote his epic poem Gerusalemme liberate (Jerusalem Delivered). Set during the first crusade, the sorceress Armida ensnares the Christian knight Rinaldo and holds him captive on an island. When she raises her dagger to kill him,
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On This Day
22 September: Henryk Szeryng Was Born
For some listeners and critics, Henryk Szeryng’s “steely tenacity and intellectual firepower lurked just behind the gracious surfaces.” However, as pianist Arthur Rubinstein famously stated, “Szeryng’s playing reduce me to tears… Real music lovers want emotion, great moments, which Szeryng’s
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Happy 150th Birthday Gustav Holst (1874-1934)
2024 marks the 150th anniversary of Gustav Holst, born in Cheltenham on 21 September 1874. He devoted his life to teaching and composition, crafting nearly 300 works in a variety of genres including orchestral music, chamber music, brass and military
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On This Day
18 September: Jonathan Biss Was Born
American pianist, writer, and teacher Jonathan Biss experienced an extreme panic attack in the middle of playing a recital. He had wrestled with anxiety around performing music for many years, and he felt ashamed of it. As he explained in
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