music history – By Word of Beth

This Day in the Arts — February 27 in Music History

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I had to do some sleuthing to track down the details of the event I’m celebrating today. Although it was mentioned in a couple of sources, other sources seemed to contradict the information. However, we can justifiably celebrate this anniversary today without fear of error. On February 27, 1919, Sir Adrian Boult conducted the first public performance of Gustav Holst’s symphonic suite The Planets although in that concert the work was not heard in its entirety. An earlier two-piano version of the work had been performed some time before that, and Boult also conducted a private unveiling of the orchestral version in 1918. The first public performance of the full work was in 1920. See why I had to check my facts?

This Day in the Arts — February 13 in Music History

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On February 13, 1867, in Vienna, Austria, a conductor named Johann Herbeck raised his baton to conduct a “choral waltz” which he had commissioned by none other than the Waltz King himself, Johann Strauss, Jr. By all accounts, in its choral form it was not a success and might have fallen into obscurity if Strauss had not later had it performed instrumentally in Paris, where it was an immediate hit. The waltz? On the Beautiful Blue Danube, usually known simply as “The Blue Danube Waltz.”

This Day in the Arts — January 23 in Music History

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It seems more than simple “chance” that the events I discovered when researching this date in the history of the arts follow on so perfectly from my post about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Monday. Today in music history was a significant day for two prominent African American musicians. On January 23, 1976, singer, actor, and activist Paul Robeson died. On January 23, 1943, pianist Duke Ellington played his first Carnegie Hall concert. Both men have left an indelible mark on the world of music, and indeed, on the world at large.