by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
Two organ programs to highlight today,
At 12 Noon, Charlotte Beers Plank plays 17th and 18th century music on the Newberry organ at the Church of the Covenant.
And tonight at 7:30, organist David von Behren, who earned his undergraduate degree at CIM while serving as organ scholar at Plymouth Church in Shaker Heights, and now serves as assistant organist and choirmaster at Harvard University’s Memorial Church, plays a recital on the Schantz organ in Fairmount Presbyterian Church in partnership with the Cleveland Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. His program includes solo works and his own transcriptions for violin and organ (he plays both at the same time).
Visit our Concert Listings for details of upcoming performances.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
On this date in 1965, French composer Paul Dukas was born in Paris. It’s a good time to search out one of the versions of Disney’s Fantasia to reconnect with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Who can listen to Dukas’ orchestral fantasy without conjuring visions of Mickey Mouse? Game to try that? Kurt Masur conducts the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra here.
The celebrated Russian American pianist Vladimir Horowitz was born on this date either in 1903 or 1904. Among his personal quirks: he ate only Dover Sole, and only played recitals (if he didn’t cancel) on Sundays at 4:00 pm. Watch a documentary of his life in the film The Last Romantic, and a video of his famous return to Moscow concert in 1986. There’s also a live recording of his recital in Cleveland in 1974.
Austrian American composer Ernst Toch died in Santa Monica, California on October 1, 1964. Although he wrote film music in Hollywood after escaping the Third Reich, perhaps he’s best known for his experimental works, including Gesprochene Musik (Spoken Music) suite, and its catchy “Geographical Fugue.” The suite was meant to be recorded on a 78 rpm record and played at a higher speed in concert. As Toch wrote in a program note, “increasing the tempo, and the resulting pitch level … created a type of instrumental music, which leads the listener to forget that it originated from speaking.” The Fugue is performed live here by Vokalinio meno tinklas at the National Philharmonic of Lithuania.
And on this date in 1979, American composer Roy Harris died — also in Santa Monica. Born in rural Oklahoma, with the help of Aaron Copland he studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, and went on to write numerous works on American themes. His big breakthrough was his Third Symphony, captured here in a live performance by Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra in 2010.
