Music History on March 23

Messiah Premieres

1743 George Frideric Handel's oratorio "Messiah" premieres at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London

Haydn's 94th Symphony

1792 Joseph Haydn's 94th Symphony in G at the Hanover Square Rooms in London, England

  • 1881 Gas lamp sets fire to Théâtre Municipal” opera house in Nice, France; 70 die, and building completely destroyed

Manfred

1886 Tchaikovsky's "Manfred" symphony premieres in Moscow, Russia, conducted by Max Erdmannsdörfer

Nellie Melba's Toast

1901 Australian opera star Dame Nellie Melba reveals secret of her now famous toast

  • 1923 Frank Silver and Irving Conn publish their hit song "Yes, We Have No Bananas"
  • 1933 Kroll Opera in Berlin, Germany opens

Bartók's Violin Concerto

1939 1st performance of Béla Bartók's 2nd Violin Concerto at the Concertgebow, Amsterdam with Zoltán Székely on violin and Willem Mengelberg conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra

  • 1950 "Great to Be Alive" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 52 performances
  • 1963 8th Eurovision Song Contest: Grethe and Jorgen Ingmann for Denmark win singing "Dansevise" in London

In His Own Write

1964 "In His Own Write", a book of short stories, poems and drawings by John Lennon is published

Song To A Seagull

1968 Reprise Records releases "Song To A Seagull", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's debut studio album

Hello Darlin'

1970 "Hello Darlin'" single released by Conway Twitty (Billboard Song of the Year, 1970)

Music History

1973 Yoko Ono is granted permanent residence in USA

Music Concert

1977 Elvis Presley begins his final concert tour

  • 1979 Wings release "Goodnight Tonight"

Music History

1985 David Bowie is special surprise guest at Tina Turner concert at NEC arena in Birmingham, England; they perform duets of Bowie's "Tonight" and a medley of Chris Montez' "Let's Dance" and Bowie's song of the same name

  • 1985 Julian Lennon's 1st concert (San Antonio Texas)
  • 1988 Geffen Records releases "Chalk Mark In A Rain Storm", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell's 13th studio album

How to Succeed...

1995 Revival of Frank Loesser's musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" opens at Richard Rodgers Theater, NYC; runs for 548 performances

Theatrical Finale

1997 "Mandy Patinkin in Concert" closes at Lyceum Theater, NYC, after limited run of 16 performances

Livin' la Vida Loca

1999 "Livin' la Vida Loca" sung by Ricky Martin released - goes on to sell over 8 million copies

Confessions

2004 Usher releases his 4th studio album "Confessions" (2004 Billboard Album of the Year, Grammy Award Best Contemporary R&B Album 2005)

Bad Cinderella

2023 Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Zippel's musical "Bad Cinderella" opens at Imperial Theatre, NYC; runs for 85 performances