Music History on March 16

  • 1857 Stefano Ronchetti-Monteviti's opera "Pergolese" premieres at La Scala in Milan, Kingdom of Lombardy (now Italy)

Thaïs

1894 Jules Massenet's opera "Thaïs" premieres in Paris, includes piece “Méditation” for violin and orchestra

Songs of a Wayfarer

1896 Gustav Mahler conducts premiere of his "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen" (Songs of a Wayfarer), leading the Berlin Philharmonic and Dutch baritone Anton Sistermans as soloist

Life Begins at 8:40

1935 Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin and Yip Harburg's musical "Life Begins at 8:40", starring Ray Bolger and Lulla Gear, closes at the Winter Garden Theatre, NYC, after 237 performances

Operette

1938 Noël Coward's musical "Operette" premieres in London

Shostakovich Honored

1941 Russian composer and pianist Dmitri Shostakovich receives the Stalin Prize

  • 1946 "Would-Be Gentleman" closes at Booth Theater NYC after 77 performances

Billie Holiday Released

1948 Jazz musician Billie Holiday is released early from Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia due to good behavior

  • 1969 Sherman Edwards' historical musical "1776", starring William Daniels and Ken Howard, opens at 46th St Theater (transferring to the St. James, and later the Majestic), NYC; runs for 1217 performances, winning 3 Tony Awards
  • 1971 13th Grammy Awards: "Bridge Over Troubled Water", Carpenters win

Music History

1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono are served with deportation papers by US Immigration Department

Music History

1972 Singer James Brown performs two shows for over 1,000 detainees awaiting trial at the Adolescent Remand Shelter on Rikers Island, NYC

  • 1974 1st performance at new Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland in Nashville
  • 1975 Musical rock opera "The Lieutenant" closes at the Lyceum Theater, NYC, after 9 performances

Music History

1979 CBS-TV airs "Wings Over the World" with Paul McCartney

Plane Crash

1991 Seven members of Reba McEntire's band are killed in a plane crash

  • 2008 Rock Musical "Next to Normal" by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey premieres Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in New York (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2010) [1]

Latin Music Legends

2011 U.S. Postal Service issues a set of five "Latin Music Legends" stamps, including one of Carlos Gardel