by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
7:30 pm – Cooper International Violin Competition Concerto Finals. Three violinists — Elizabeth Poppy Song, Mingzhe Ye, and Minji Choi — perform complete concertos with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and conductor David Danzmayr. Warner Concert Hall, 77 W. College St., Oberlin. Free.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On this date in August, Michael Haydn (brother of Joseph) died in Salzburg in 1806, Russian composer Alexander Glazunov was born in St. Petersburg in 1865, French organist Marie-Claire Alain (sister of composer Jehan) was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in 1926, and American-Mexican composer Conlon Nancarrow (known for his player piano works) died in Mexico City in 1997.
But also on August 10 of 1895, the first Henry Wood Promenade Concert was held in London’s Queen’s Hall, an event that blossomed into the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall. Renowned for its often unruly “promenaders” — purchasers of cheap standing-room spots on the main floor of the hall — the series has also given rise to the “Last Night at the Proms,” a traditional blowout that culminates in an effusion of British patriotism. Click here to watch the audience sing Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry’s Jerusalem (words by William Blake) and God save the Queen at Last Night in 2011.
