Composer Leon Kirchner turns 90

Leon Kirchner turned 90 on Saturday, and he spent the evening at the Miller Theater, hearing a handful of his chamber works in a Composer Portraits concert. It would be an exaggeration to say that Mr. Kirchner has been overlooked: his works get high-profile performances, but they are less frequent than their beauty and expressivity warrant.

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George Perle, Composer and Theorist, Dies at 93

For many years Mr. Perle was most widely known as a theorist and author. He published his first articles on 12-tone music in 1941 and became the most eloquent spokesman for the style. His 1962 book, “Serial Composition and Atonality: An Introduction to the Music of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern,” became a classic text that was published in many translations. He set forth his own method in “Twelve-Tone Tonality” in 1977. But his most revolutionary writing was on Berg. Considered an authority on the composer by the early ’60s, Mr. Perle was granted access to Berg’s unpublished manuscript for the opera “Lulu” in 1963. When he ascertained that the third act, long thought to be an unfinished sketch, was actually about three-fifths complete and cast an entirely new light on the opera, he protested publicly that Berg’s publisher was repressing an important part of the work. His efforts led to the completion of the third act and the presentation of the complete opera in 1979.

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21 JANUARY 1909 Birth of Yugoslavian composer Todor SKALOVSKI in Tetovo.

Todor Skalovski (Macedonian: Тодор Скаловски) (21 January 1909, Tetovo, today's Republic of Macedonia, then part of the Ottoman Empire – 1 July 2004, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia) was a famous Macedonian composer, chorus and orchestra conductor. Among his famous works is the Republic of Macedonia's national anthem Денес над Македонија ("Today Over Macedonia").

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Hans Hotter birth centennial

19 JANUARY 1909 Birth of Hans Hotter Bass-Baritone
Born 19 Jan 1909 Offenbach am Main Debut as Speaker in Zauberflote (Mozart) 1929 Teachers:- Rudolf Bockelmann, Matthaus Roemer Pupils :- Marco Bakker, Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Noelle Barker, Alan Oke Cynthia Buchan, Thomas Carey, Victoria Godfrey, Brian Hansford Phillip Joll, Margaret Marshall, James Morris, Patricia Payne Cheryl Studer, David Ward, Kimball Wheeler, Robert Christesen Christine Taylor, Graeme Matheson-Bruce, Helen Walker Catherine Dubosc, Raymond Michalski, Laszlo Polgar Created Commandant in Friedenstag (Strauss R) Jupiter in Liebe der Danae (Strauss R) Olivier in Capriccio (Strauss R) Sang in premiere of Besuch der Alten dame (Von Einem)

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Russian conductor Dudarova dies at 92

Russian conductor Veronika Dudarova who led Moscow orchestras for 60 years has died at the age of 92. Dudarova became a conductor at the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra in 1947 and in 1960 was named chief conductor and artistic director. She left the orchestra in 1989. From 1991 until the end of her life she headed the Symphony Orchestra of Russia, which she had founded.

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Marilyn Horne at 75

Marilyn Horne (b. January 16, 1934, Bradford, Pennsylvania) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer who is particularly associated with the music of Rossini and Handel. She began her career as a light lyric soprano however as the years progressed, the voice settled and matured into a mezzo-soprano instrument with a full and rich timbre equipped with extreme flexibility and great size. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages.

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Birth centennial of American composer Elie SIEGMEISTER

15 JANUARY 1909 Birth of American composer Elie SIEGMEISTER in NYC. d-Manhasset, NY 10 MAR 1991. His varied musical output showed his concern with the development of an authentic American musical vocabulary. Jazz, blues and folk melodies and rhythms are frequent themes in his many song cycles, his nine operas, his eight symphonies, and his many choral, chamber, and solo works. His 37 orchestral works have been performed by leading orchestras throughout the world.

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11 JANUARY 1909 Birth of composer Gunnar Johnsen BERG.

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Birth Centenial of composer Rudolph Kubin

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JANUARY 9th One Hundred years ago:
1909 Birth of American soprano Herva NELLI in Florence, Italy. d-31 MAY 1994. Debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) 1937
1909 Birth of German bass-baritone Hans HOTTER in Offenbach am Main. d-8 DEC 2003. See obituary in The Guardian Unlimited. Hotter enjoyed an operatic career spanning more than 50 years. Links, died at age 94.
BOOK-Hans Hotter: Man and Artist
1909 FP of Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit Ricardo Vines plays in Paris.
CD-The Complete Piano Music of Maurice Ravel

Arts announcer producer Gene Parrish dies at 82

Gene Parrish, a longtime host of classical music programs on KUSC Los Angeles, CA, public radio who also wrote and produced syndicated programs on worldwide jazz and American choral music, passed away at age 82. Parrish, of Hermosa Beach, CA, died Friday, 2 JANUARY 2009, of lung cancer at a Kaiser Permanente hospice-care facility in Harbor City, CA...MORE

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4 JANUARY 1909 Birth of Anna Kaskas Mezzo-Soprano Born 4 Jan 1909 Bridgeport Died 19 Mar 1998 Debut as Ulrica in Ballo in Maschera (Verdi) 1930 Teachers:- Ferdin, Ferrara, Enrico Rosati Pupil :- Sylvia Anderson