This Week in Classical Music: December 2, 2024. Barbirolli and more. We’ll start with a notable anniversary: the British conductor, SirJohn Barbirolli was born on December 2nd of 1899, 125 years ago. Born in London, Barbirolli was of Italian-French descent. He started as a cellist, playing in small orchestras. During the Great War, he served for two years. Barbirolli started conducting, mostly in opera, in 1927. He also conducted several provincial orchestras, including the Hallé, later his favorite, which he built into a world-class ensemble. In 1936 he was invited to guest-conduct the New York Philharmonic; after one successful season, he was appointed the permanent conductor, in succession to Toscanini. His contract was renewed till 1942. That year, in the middle of WWII, he crossed the Atlantic several times to conduct several London orchestras as a gesture of support for Britain; these were dangerous undertakings considering the number of ships sunk by the German U-boats. In 1943 he returned to England to take charge of the Hallé orchestra in Manchester and stayed at the helm till 1967.
Barbirolli was fond of English music, especially Elgar, Delius and Vaughan Williams (one of his most famous recordings is that of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pré). Later he started conducting Mahler and Bruckner and was quite successful. Here’s the first movement of Bruckner’s Symphony no. 9. Sir John Barbirolli conducts the combined forces of the Hallé Orchestra and the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra in a live recording from December 14, 1961. And for more enjoyment, here are the second and third movements.
December 2nd is also Maria Callas’s anniversary: she was born on that day in New York in 1923. Last year we celebrated La Divina’s 100th birthday, here.
Several composers have their anniversaries this week. Probably the most famous of them is Jean Sibelius, born on January 8th of 1865. Finland’s national hero, Sibelius was a highly original composer working within traditional musical idiom. He wrote seven symphonies, some more interesting than others, a violin concerto, one of the best ever, and many other pieces. We admit that Sibelius is not one of our favorites, which is probably the reason we never dedicated a full entry to him. Maybe next year.
Several more well-known names: Padre Antonio Soler, a Spanish (Catalan) composer, born on December 3rd of 1729, known for his short, one-movement clavier sonatas; Francesco Geminiani, an Italian composer and violinist, famous in his time and much less so in ours, born in Lucca on December 5th of 1687; Pietro Mascagni, another Italian, who wrote one masterpiece, the opera Cavalleria rusticana but not much else of real value, he was born in Livorno on December 7th of 1863; and Henryk Gorecki whose “sacred minimalist” pieces remain very popular with audiences worldwide. He was born on December 6th of 1933.
Finally, we’d like to mention Ernst Toch, one of the many Jewish composers from Germany and Austria, whose lives and careers were shattered by the Nazis. Toch was born in Leopoldstadt, a Jewish district of Vienna, on December 7th of 1887. You can read about him here and here.
Sir John Barbirolli and more, 2024
This Week in Classical Music: December 2, 2024. Barbirolli and more. We’ll start with a notable anniversary: the British conductor, Sir John Barbirolli was born on December 2nd of
1899, 125 years ago. Born in London, Barbirolli was of Italian-French descent. He started as a cellist, playing in small orchestras. During the Great War, he served for two years. Barbirolli started conducting, mostly in opera, in 1927. He also conducted several provincial orchestras, including the Hallé, later his favorite, which he built into a world-class ensemble. In 1936 he was invited to guest-conduct the New York Philharmonic; after one successful season, he was appointed the permanent conductor, in succession to Toscanini. His contract was renewed till 1942. That year, in the middle of WWII, he crossed the Atlantic several times to conduct several London orchestras as a gesture of support for Britain; these were dangerous undertakings considering the number of ships sunk by the German U-boats. In 1943 he returned to England to take charge of the Hallé orchestra in Manchester and stayed at the helm till 1967.
Barbirolli was fond of English music, especially Elgar, Delius and Vaughan Williams (one of his most famous recordings is that of Elgar’s Cello Concerto with Jacqueline du Pré). Later he started conducting Mahler and Bruckner and was quite successful. Here’s the first movement of Bruckner’s Symphony no. 9. Sir John Barbirolli conducts the combined forces of the Hallé Orchestra and the BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra in a live recording from December 14, 1961. And for more enjoyment, here are the second and third movements.
December 2nd is also Maria Callas’s anniversary: she was born on that day in New York in 1923. Last year we celebrated La Divina’s 100th birthday, here.
Several composers have their anniversaries this week. Probably the most famous of them is Jean Sibelius, born on January 8th of 1865. Finland’s national hero, Sibelius was a highly original composer working within traditional musical idiom. He wrote seven symphonies, some more interesting than others, a violin concerto, one of the best ever, and many other pieces. We admit that Sibelius is not one of our favorites, which is probably the reason we never dedicated a full entry to him. Maybe next year.
Several more well-known names: Padre Antonio Soler, a Spanish (Catalan) composer, born on December 3rd of 1729, known for his short, one-movement clavier sonatas; Francesco Geminiani, an Italian composer and violinist, famous in his time and much less so in ours, born in Lucca on December 5th of 1687; Pietro Mascagni, another Italian, who wrote one masterpiece, the opera Cavalleria rusticana but not much else of real value, he was born in Livorno on December 7th of 1863; and Henryk Gorecki whose “sacred minimalist” pieces remain very popular with audiences worldwide. He was born on December 6th of 1933.
Finally, we’d like to mention Ernst Toch, one of the many Jewish composers from Germany and Austria, whose lives and careers were shattered by the Nazis. Toch was born in Leopoldstadt, a Jewish district of Vienna, on December 7th of 1887. You can read about him here and here.