Johan Franco birth centennial

12 JULY 1908 Birth of Dutch composer and pianist Johan Henri Gustave FRANCO in Zaandam, Netherlands. The son of architect, S. Franco, and artist, Margaretha Gosschalk, who was also a singer and pianist, Johan began improvising on the piano at age four. He composed his first piece, Fantasy about Princess Erea, when he was ten and a half. He attended the Amsterdam Conservatory from 1929-1934 and studied with Dutch composer Willem Pijper for five years. During this same time period he studied law at the University of Amsterdam and then architecture and furniture design at the Kunstniverheid Institute. His First Symphony premiered in Rotterdam in 1934.
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Henryk Wieniawski

10 JULY 1835 - Birth of Henryk Wieniawski, Polish composer.
Henryk Wieniawski (July 10, 1835 Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire - March 31, 1880 Moscow) was born into a Polish-Jewish family, whose father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early on, and in 1843 he entered the Paris Conservatoire. After graduation, Wieniawski toured extensively, giving many recitals on which he was often accompanied by his brother Józef on piano. In 1847 Henryk Wieniawski published his first opus, a Grand Caprice Fantastique, the start of a modest but important catalog of 24 opus numbers.
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Jeffrey Kahane

Jeffrey Kahane, who recently completed his third season as music director of the Colorado Symphony, announced today that he is stepping down at the end of the 2009-10 season, following a two-year extension of his contract. MORE | ON THE WEB | IMAGES | SHOP Jeffrey Kahane

PODCAST

SCHUMANN: Symphony No 4 in d op 21; Bamberg Symphony Orch.; Christoph Eschenbach, cond. Wiki Notes | Available Recordings

[Image]WIENIAWSKI: Fantasia On Gounod's Faust; Andre Korsakov, violin/cond.; Russian Symphony Orch. Wiki Notes | Available Recordings

PUCINNI: O Mio Babino Caro; Philip McCann, cornet; Black Dyke Mills Band Wiki Notes | Available Recordings

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Gabriella Gatti

5 JULY 1908 Birth of Italian soprano Gabriella GATTI in Rome. Debut as Anna in Nabucco (Verdi) 1933. Teacher was Bice Soldini. Sang in FP of Descrito Tentanto (Casella). was an Italian operatic soprano, primarily based in Italy and associated with the Italian repertory. (From Wikipedia): Born Gabriella Pesci in Rome, where she studied voice and piano. She made her stage debut in 1934, at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in Monteverdi 's Orfeo. Thereafter she quickly appeared in all the major opera houses throughout Italy, most often in Rome and Florence, but also sang at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, from 1938 to 1947. Her voice was lyrical in character, graceful in timbre and expression, and she stood as an example of the refined, classical style at a time when the opposite manner prevailed among Italian sopranos. She was admired in roles such as; Countess Almaviva, Semiramide, Mathilde, Desdemona, etc. She sang Marie at the Italian premiere of Wozzeck in Rome, in 1942.
She can be heard in a few recordings , notably in Le nozze di Figaro, opposite Sesto Bruscantini, Alda Noni, Italo Tajo, and as Fenena in Nabucco. Died, October 22, 2003.
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Walter Gieseking, pianist

RAVEL: Quartet in F, Imm; Tokyo String Quartet NOTES | Available Recordings

BORODIN: String Quartet #2 in D; The Emerson String Quartet NOTES | Available Recordings

DEBUSSY: Piano Pieces; [image] Walter Gieseking NOTES, piano DEBUSSY Available Recordings | GIESEKING Available Recordings

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BOOKS

One of the best classical bio books is THE LIVES OF THE GREAT COMPOSERS by the late New York Times music critic Harold C. Schonberg. The New York Times writes:
A smooth, closely woven sequence of brief biographies . . . set in a surrounding continuum of depth and breadth which reflects the author's solid musical culture, his erudition, his command of socio-historic background, and his long experience in every kind and degree of performance is exceptional.

Available here:
Harold Schonberg's Lives of the Great Composers