Picture: used courtesy of Wikipedia
by Ben Hogwood
Earlier in the week we marked 300 years since the birth of Alessandro Scarlatti..and now we switch attention to his son Domenico, born 340 years ago today.
Domenico was a prodigious composer of keyboard sonatas, a form he helped revolutionise. Here are some in excellent versions from Anne Quéffelec:
ublished post no.2,695 – Thursday 22 October 2025
Picture: used courtesy of Wikipedia
by Ben Hogwood
A confession: I know very little of the music of Alessandro Scarlatti, but I did not want this significant anniversary to get passed over, for it is 300 years to the day since his death in Napoli.
Alessandro was renowned primarily as a vocal composer, but also made a number of innovations in instrumental music – picked up by his son Domenico, a prolific composer in this area.
Opera and church music were Alessandro’s main forms of musical currency, but we begin with an invaluable guide to his music from Brilliant Classics, presenting a sequence of concertos, sinfonias and sonatas:
Following this is one of Alessandro’s principal compositions for the church, his Dixit Dominus in a fine performance with Trevor Pinnock conducting the English Concert and a starry team of soloists:
Finally, here is a link to what some regard as Alessandro’s best opera – the three-act drama Telemarco:
Published post no.2,695 – Thursday 22 October 2025
photo courtesy of CBS Television
by Ben Hogwood
Two days ago we noted the first performance of Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo in 1942. Now we look at the first performance of his Symphony no.3, which took place on this day in 1946. The Third is Copland’s flagship symphony, an impressive and powerful work that reaches its apex with music that you will no doubt recognise as the Fanfare for the Common Man, written in 1942. Here is a fine performance of the whole work from the New York Philharmonic and Leonard Bernstein, recorded for DG in 1986:
As with Rodeo, Emerson, Lake & Palmer were not far away, and their adaptation of the Fanfare for the Common Man became their biggest hit in 1977:
Published post no.2,691 – Saturday 18 October 2025
photo courtesy of CBS Television
by Ben Hogwood
On this day in 1942, at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, the premiere of Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo took place. It was a wildly successful event, with no less than 22 curtain calls for a work that was to become one of Copland’s best-loved.
Often the Four Dance Episodes are performed as an extract for orchestra, and these contain two famous scenes in Buckaroo Holiday and the popular Hoe-Down, which you can enjoy below in a brilliant recording from the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas:
Thirty years after Rodeo’s premiere, progressive rock trio Emerson, Lake & Palmer put their own inimitable stamp on the Hoe-Down, with a virtuosic tour de force that stays faithful to the original but showcases the trio’s daredevil virtuosity, especially in this concert from Milan:
Published post no.2,689 – Thursday 16 October 2025
photo courtesy of Wikipedia – by Reijo Koskinen / Lehtikuva
by Ben Hogwood
On this day in 1970, the first performance took place of a remarkable new work from Witold Lutosławski. The Cello Concerto was written for the great Mstislav Rostropovich, who gave the premiere with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Sir Edward Downes at the Royal Festival Hall.
Here is a more recent account from the fine cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dima Slobodeniouk:
Published post no.2,687 – Tuesday 14 October 2025
Arcana.fm 