Composers Datebook
Composers Datebook™ is a daily two-minute program designed to inform, engage, and entertain listeners with timely information about composers of the past and present. Each program notes significant or intriguing musical events involving composers of the past and present, with appropriate and accessible music related to each.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 2 minutes
- Episodes
- 100
- Years Active
- 2025
Pleyel in the Old World (and the New)
Synopsis
Drop the name “Pleyel” among classical music aficionados and one might say, “Oh, yeah, Pleyel. He was a French piano maker. I think Chopin liked Pleyel pianos.” Another might add, “He was a c…
Bach and Mattheson
Synopsis
Back in 1714, today’s date fell on a Sunday, and, if you had happened to be attending a church service at the German Court of the Duke of Weimar, you might have heard some new music by the Du…
Charles Ives and Henry Brant
Synopsis
American composer Henry Brant is famous for his avant-garde “spatial” music — works that require groups of musicians stationed at various points around a performance space. But hard-core film…
Byrne and Eno in Minneapolis
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1980, a week-long festival, New Music America, came to a close in Minneapolis with a concert at that city’s Guthrie Theater. The program included the premiere of High Life …
Godfrey's Quartet No. 3
Synopsis
It’s summertime, the livin’ is easy, and all across the country music festivals large and small are getting underway. In addition to the big symphonic festivals at Ravinia and Tanglewood, the…
Milhaud's 'French Suite'
Synopsis
In 1944, French composer Darius Milhaud was in California, teaching at Mills College in California, and received a commission to write a piece suitable for school bands. With a world at war, …
Jennifer Higdon
Synopsis
On today’s date in 2002, a high-profile musical event occurred at Philadelphia’s new Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The city was hosting the 57th National Conference of the American S…
Riegger in Paris
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1931, Russian-born American composer Nicolas Slonimsky was in Paris, conducting the second of two concerts of modern music from the Americas bankrolled by retired insurance…
Some Brits in New York
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1939, the King and Queen of England were in New York City. Despite the perilous situation back home in Europe, their royal majesties George and Elizabeth Windsor crossed th…
Belated Haydn Premieres
Synopsis
Contemporary composers may bemoan that their newly-composed opera or concerto might languish unperformed for years. “Haydn was lucky,” they whine, “His stuff got played right away!”
Well, it’s…
Tomaso Albinoni
Synopsis
For some composers, what made them popular in their own day is not always what makes them popular today. Take, for example, Italian Baroque composer Tomaso Albinoni, who was born in Venice on…
Claudette Sorel and Tania León
Synopsis
Claudette Sorel was a pianist, educator and passionate advocate for equal rights for women in music, especially composers and performers. In 1996, she founded the Sorel Organization to expand…
Cowell in Paris
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1931, Russian-born American conductor and composer Nicolas Slonimsky was in Paris conducting the first of two concerts of ultra-modern music from the New World. These were …
Corigliano Dances
Synopsis
Merriam-Webster’s defines a gazebo as “a freestanding roofed structure usually open on the sides.”
To most Americans, however, “gazebo” conjures up warm, summer days spent out-of-doors: If you…
Brahms rediscovered
Synopsis
In the summer of 1853 Johannes Brahms had just turned twenty and was touring as the piano accompanist of the Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi. On today’s date, they arrived in Gottingen, where…
Dvorak's 'The Water Goblin'
Synopsis
In the late 19th Century, there were two rival musical camps: one favored “absolute music” like the symphonies, concertos, and chamber music of Brahms; the other the “music of the future,” na…
Walton and the Royals
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1953, thousands crowded the route to and from London’s Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and, at the Queen’s own request, the event was televised l…
Handel's Testament
Synopsis
When most people hit 65, they’re anticipating their first social security check, but on today’s date in 1750, when George Frederick Handel turned 65, he was making out his will.
To John Christ…
Peter Sellars and John Adams
Synopsis
For fans of British comedy, the name Peter Sellars conjures up an actor famous for his iconic role as the bumbling Chief Inspector Clouseau in Pink Panther movies. But for opera fans, the nam…
Britten's 'War Requiem'
Synopsis
On today’s date in 1962, Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem for soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus, and orchestra, had its premiere performance at Coventry Cathedral in England. The Cathedral had b…