Synopsis Today’s date in 1913 marks the birthday of the American composer and musicologist George Perle, who won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1986. In a 1985 interview, Perle vividly recalled his first musical experience, an encounter with Chopin’s etude in F minor, played by an aunt. “It...

Synopsis “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” Well, the usual reply is, “by practicing!” But back in 1891, Peter Tchaikovsky would have probably answered, “by ship” — since he had, in fact, sailed from Europe to conduct several of his pieces at the hall’s gala opening concerts. The first concert...

Synopsis At Queen’s Hall in London, on today’s date in 1920, conductor Albert Coates led the premiere of the revised version of A London Symphony of Ralph Vaughan Williams. A longer version of this symphony had premiered six years earlier, and Vaughan Williams would continue to tinker with this...