Category Archives: Anniversary

On this day in 1897 – the first performance of Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony

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by Ben Hogwood Photo of Rachmaninoff, c1900, courtesy of Wikipedia

March 28 was a significant date in the life of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Sadly it was on this day that he died, in 1943 – but the event I have chosen to highlight is the infamous premiere performance of the Symphony no.1 in 1897.

The concert was an unmitigated disaster, due to under-rehearsal and the supposedly intoxicated state of its conductor, Alexander Glazunov. The negative reaction afforded the work caused Rachmaninoff great psychological harm, severely denting his confidence and casting a shadow over many future compositions. This was a great shame, for it is a powerful piece, with original development of its melodic material and an instinctive and fluid compositional style. The finale is lean, its raw power making a strong impact both in concert and on record.

The symphony was not revived until 1945, when a second performance took place under Alexander Gauk, since when the work has steadily gained in popularity. It has been helped by a number of excellent recordings, of which one is chosen here – the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Rachmaninoff specialist Vladimir Ashkenazy:

Published post no.2,840 – Saturday 28 March 2026

On this day in 1876 – the first performance of Dvořák’s Op.77 String Quintet

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by Ben Hogwood Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

On this day in 1876, 150 years ago, the premiere took place of Dvořák’s String Quartet in G major.

As with many of the Czech composer’s works, it has a complicated history. Dvořák marked it as Op.18, but when it was revised in 1888 his publisher Simrock decided to label it as Op.77. Although the original work was scored in five movements, Dvořák later withdrew the Intermezzo second movement, which was reworked and became the Nocturne for strings in B major, a popular work published as Op.40

This enormously likeable work was made more unique by the scoring, with Dvořák writing for a conventional string quartet bolstered by a double bass. This gives a wonderful depth to the sound, and the ample bass writing supports a plethora of typically wonderful melodic material. You can watch the four-movement revised version below, with a starry ensemble of Baiba Skride and Andrés Gabetta (violins), Veronika Hagen (viola), Sol Gabetta (cello) and double bassist Roberto Di Ronza:

Meanwhile here too is the Intermezzo included from an early recording made by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players:

Published post no.2,830 – Wednesday 18 March 2026

Playlist: Michael Finnissy @ 80

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by Ben Hogwood

Today marks the 80th birthday of the composer Michael Finnissy.

I spoke with Michael earlier this month, in an interview to be published on the Presto Music site shortly, but have put together a varied selection from his output as a kind of ‘starter pack’.

Do give it a try – there is a great deal going on in his music, but I can promise you that your efforts will be rewarded, with a style of ‘Englishness’ that is complementary to Vaughan Williams, Holst and Britten but is also completely different. Listen and see what you think!

You can listen to Arcana’s Finnissy playlist on Tidal

Published post no.2,829 – Tuesday 17 March 2026

In appreciation – David Gilmour @ 80

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by Ben Hogwood

On Friday, the Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour turned 80. I was fortunate to see him live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2006, so wanted to pay appreciation in the form of a favourite memory, a performance of Comfortably Numb with ex-bandmate Rick Wright:

Published post no.2,823 – Sunday 8 March 2026

In appreciation – György Kurtág at 100

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by Ben Hogwood Picture of György Kurtág (c) Filarmonia Hungaria

This week there have been celebrations in Budapest as the remarkable Hungarian composer György Kurtág celebrated reaching the great age of 100.

Putting together a playlist of Kurtág’s music is a difficult task, for it is so condensed that usually one is best listening to his listen to his music in short bursts.

Click on the Tidal link below, though, and you will enter a new musical world, where works for orchestra, string quartet, voice and violin, voice and piano and clarinet trio await. They are just some of the extraordinarily wide range of forces Kurtág has written for in his life, and the sequence ends with a major piece, Messages de feu Demoiselle R.V. Troussova (Messages of the Late Miss RV Troussova), completed in 1980 when Kurtág was a mere 54 years old.

If you listen I am sure you will agree he continues to be one of the most unique musical voices around today.

Listen to Kurtág on Tidal here

Published post no.2,805 – Saturday 21 February 2026