Another week and another update to Ravinia Festival: This Week in Classical Music, our celebration of milestone premiers of classical works. Click the Spotify logo or the link above to add our playlist to your library.This playlist will be updated on Mondays (pending no computer issues!) with new work every week so there's no need to resubscribe! Below is a day-by-day listing of the track selections for this weeks edition of the playlist. We hope you enjoy!
November 28
- 1723: Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 61 ("Nun komm der Heiden Heiland" I) performed on the 1st Sunday in Advent as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24)
- 1909: Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3, in Carnegie Hall, composer at piano, Walter Damrosch conducting New York Symphony Society Orchestra
- 1930: Kodály: "Marosszék Dances," in Dresden
November 29
- 1862: Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 2 in A, Op. 26, at the old Gesellschaft for Musikfreunde Vereinsaal in Vienna, by the Hellmesberger Quartet, with the composer at the piano
- 1989: Lukas Foss: “American Landscapes,” for guitar and orchestra, with guitarist Sharon Isbin and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the composer conducting
November 30
- 1877: Tchaikovsky: “Variations on a Rococo Theme” for Cello and Orchestra, in Moscow, with Nicolai Rubinstein conducting, and Wilhelm Fitzenhagen as the soloist
- 1945: Martinu: Symphony No. 4, in Philadelphia
- 1989: John Harbison: "November 19, 1928" for piano quartet, in Atlanta, Ga., by the Atlanta Chamber Players
December 1
- 1832: Mendelssohn: Overture, "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage," in Berlin
- 1924: Gershwin: musical "Lady, Be Good," at the Liberty Theater in New York City; This show featured Fred and Adele Astaire and included the classic Gershwin songs "Fascinating Rhythm," "Oh, Lady Be Good," and "The Half of It, Dearie, Blues"
- 1944: Bartók: "Concerto for Orchestra," by the Boston Symphony, Serge Koussevitzky conducting; Bartók composed a revised and more dramatic ending for this work this work soon after the Boston premiere, as the original ending heard at the premiere was judged too perfunctory and abrupt
December 2
- 1883: Brahms: Symphony No. 3, with Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Hans Richter; The composer and pianist Ignaz Brüll had performed a two-piano arrangement of this symphony the previous month at two private events for friends
- 1900: Rachmaninoff: second and third movements only of Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18
- 1999: James MacMillan: Symphony No. 2, at Ayr Town Hall in Scotland, by the Scottish Chamber Symphony, with the composer conducting;
December 3
- 1913: Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 2
- 1943: Hanson: Symphony No. 4 ("Requiem"), with the Boston Symphony conducted by the composer; This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1944
- 1958: Colin McPhee: "Nocturne" for orchestra, by Lepold Stokowski and "his orchestra"'
December 4
- 1845: R. Schumann: Piano Concerto in a, Op. 54, in Dresden, Ferdinand Hiller conducting, with Clara Schumann the soloist
- 1885: American premiere of Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 in d, at the Old Metropolitan Opera House in New York, during an afternoon public rehearsal by the New York Symphony Society, with the 23-year old Walter Damrosch; The “official” concert occurred the following evening; This was the first time any Bruckner Symphony was performed in America; In his Preface to a 1942 book by Werner Wolff entitled “Anton Bruckner: Rustic Genius,” Damrosch incorrectly states it was Bruckner’s Fourth Symphony (in E-flat Major, subtitled “Romantic”) that he performed on Dec. 5, 1885
- 1898: Dvorák: symphonic poem "Hero's Song," Op. 111, in Vienna