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Music Directors in History

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Events in Music

Milhaud's 2nd Symphony

1946-12-20 Darius Milhaud's 2nd Symphony, premieres with the Boston Symphony conducted by the composer; the work was commissioned as a memorial to the wife of group's music director Serge Koussevitzky

Composer Darius Milhaud

Birthdays in Music

  • 1703-01-11 Columban Praelisauer, German music director and composer, baptized in Kötzting, Electorate of Bavaria (d. 1753)
  • 1708-11-04 Robert Praelisauer, German composer, music director, and priest, baptized in Kötzting, Electorate of Bavaria (now Bad Kötzting, Germany) (d. 1771)
  • 1709-12-23 Jean-Noël Hamal, Walloon composer, and music director (Saint-Lambert Cathedral), born in Liège, Spanish Netherlands (d. 1778)
  • 1740-08-10 Samuel Arnold, English organist, theater composer (The Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern), and music director (Marylebone Gardens), born in London, England (d. 1802)
  • 1763-06-14 Johann "Giovanni" Simon Mayr, German composer and music director (Cathedral of Bergamo, 1802-45), born in Mendorf, Bavaria (now Germany) (d. 1845)
  • 1772-05-11 Henri-Jean Rigel, French composer, music director, and "pianiste de la musique particulière de l’Empereur et Roi" to Napoleon, born in Paris, France (d. 1852)
  • 1813-08-10 William Henry Fry, American composer (Niagara Symphony), music director (Musical Fund Society), journalist, and music critic, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1864)
  • 1824-01-29 Karl von Perfall, German composer and music director (Royal Bavarian Court and Residence Theater, 1868-92), born in Munich, Germany (d. 1907)
  • 1830-02-11 Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf, Prussian pianist, composer and music director (Royal Theatre of Hanover, 1867-87), born in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1913)
  • 1850-03-05 Daniel Brink Towner, American hymn composer ("He's A Friend of Mine"; "Though the Fig Tree Shall Not Blossom"), and music director, born in Rome. Pennsylvania (d. 1919)
  • 1852-03-06 Josef Bayer, Austrian composer, and music director (Austrian Court Ballet, 1883-1913), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1913)
  • 1883-11-06 Hubert Bath, British film composer and music director, born in Barnstaple, Devon, England (d. 1945)
  • 1892-03-16 James Petrillo, American labor leader (American Federation of Musicians president, 1940-58), and radio orchestra music director (WBBM Chicago), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1984)
  • 1897-03-06 Knudåge Riisager, Danish composer, and music director (Royal Danish Academy of Music, 1956-67), born in Kunda, Estonia (d. 1974)
  • 1898-08-01 Morris Stoloff, American violinist, Academy Award-winning composer, music director (Columbia Pictures, 1938-62), and orchestra leader (Moonglow/Theme from Picnic), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1980)
  • 1905-08-23 (Leonard) Constant Lambert, British composer (The Rio Grande; Horoscope; Summer's Last Will and Testament), and music director (Vic-Wells/Royal Ballet, 1931-47), born in Fulham, London (d. 1951)
  • 1908-03-03 Riccardo Nielsen, Italian composer and music director, born in Bologna, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1982)
  • 1909-02-21 George van Renesse, Dutch pianist and music director, born in Zaamslag, Netherlands (d. 1994)
  • 1911-08-23 Carl Dolmetsch, French music director (Haslemere Festival), born in Fontenay-sous-Bois, France (d. 1997)
  • 1914-02-09 Ralph Herman, American Emmy Award-winning composer (From the Scriptures; Circus Time), orchestra leader, and music director (ABC-TV, 1952-71), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1994)
  • 1917-10-02 Francis Jackson, British organist, composer (East Acklam; A Time of Fire), and music director (York Minster, 1946-82), born in Malton, Yorkshire, England (d. 2022)
  • 1918-10-10 George Rhodes, American pianist, composer, arranger, and music director (Sammy Davis, Jr. Show), born in Indiana (d. 1985)
  • 1919-12-25 Naushad Ali, Indian composer, and Hindi film music director, born in Lucknow, British India (d. 2006)
  • 1922-07-07 Artie Malvin, American vocalist (Glenn Miller; Jimmy Dorsey), arranger and music director (Julie LaRosa; Pat Boone; Carol Burnett), born in New York City (d. 2006)
  • 1923-07-30 Siegfried Köhler, German conductor, music director, and composer, born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany (d. 2017)
  • 1928-08-30 Johnny Mann, American music director (Johnny Mann Singers; Stand Up And Cheer), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 2014)
  • 1931-02-18 Dieter Schönbach, German composer, and music director (Bochum Theater, 1959–73), born in Stolp, Pomerania, Germany (d. 2012)
  • 1931-09-18 Anthony Bowles, British music director (Jesus Christ Superstar; Evita), born in England (d. 1993)
  • 1933-04-08 Jaroslav Smolka, Czech composer (Metamorfosi), music director, dramaturge, pedagogue, and musicologist, born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2011)
  • 1935-01-07 Noam Sheriff, Israeli composer, conductor, and music director, born in Ramat Gan, Mandatory Palestine (d. 2018)
  • 1935-07-05 Dave Shriver, American rock bassist (Eddie Cochran, Trini Lopez), and music director, born in Elkhart, Indiana (d. 2012)
  • 1935-12-30 Bruno Canino, Italian pianist, harpsichordist, composer, and music director, born in Naples, Kingdom of Italy
  • 1941-04-26 John Mitchell, American classical composer, organist, church music director, and opera coach, born in Hollywood, California
  • 1943-07-14 Harold Wheeler, American pianist, music director, composer, and orchestrator, born in St. Louis, Missouri
  • 1946-10-18 Howard Shore, Canadian television and film composer (Lord of the Rings trilogy; 1st music director of Saturday Night Live), born in Toronto, Canada
  • 1948-05-06 Jacques Israelievitch, French Canadian classical violinist, concertmaster (St. Louis Symphony, 1978-88; Toronto Symphony, 1988-2008), and music director (Koffler Chamber Orchestra, 2005-14), born in Cannes, France (d. 2015)
  • 1948-12-31 Stephen Cleobury, British organist and music director (King's College - Cambridge, 1982-2019), born in Bromley, England (d. 2019)
  • 1950-12-06 Joe Hisaishi, Japanese composer and music director, born in Nakano, Nagano, Japan
  • 1955-01-10 Jimmy Vivino, American guitarist (Reckless Sleepers; Max Weinberg 7; Fab Faux), and music director (Conan O'Brien's Basic Cable Band), born in Paterson, New Jersey
  • 1956-11-09 Eve de Castro-Robinson, New Zealand classical composer (Other Echoes; A Chaos Of Delight), music director (Karlheinz Company), and educator (University of Auckland), born in London, England
  • 1957-12-20 Arturs Maskats, Latvian classical composer and music director (Dailes Theatre; Latvian National Opera, 1996-2013), born in Valmiera, Latvia
  • 1959-10-20 Vasti Jackson, American electric blues guitarist, music director, and record producer, born in McComb, Mississippi
  • 1960-08-13 Koji Kondo, Japanese composer and music director for Nintendo, born in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
  • 1963-03-20 Paul Mirkovich, American session and touring keyboardist and vocalist (Nelson; Janet Jackson, Cher), and music director (The Voice), born in Los Angeles, California
  • 1966-12-23 Stephen Layton, English conductor and music director (Trinity College Cambridge, 2006-23; City of London Sinfonia, 2010-16), born in Derby, England
  • 1968-05-16 Andrew Nethsingha, British organist, choral conductor, and music director (St John's College, Cambridge, 2007-), born in Exeter, England
  • 1968-09-19 Paweł Łukaszewski, Polish classical and choral music composer, and music director (Musica Sacra - Warsaw), born in Częstochowa, Poland
  • 1995-07-28 Anna Lapwood, British classical organist, music director (Pembroke College, Cambridge), and radio presenter (BBC), born in England

Deaths in Music

  • 1753-10-23 Columban Praelisauer, German music director and composer, dies at 50
  • 1771-10-18 Robert Praelisauer, German composer, music director, and priest, dies at 62
  • 1778-11-26 Jean-Noël Hamal, Walloon composer, and music director (Saint-Lambert Cathedral), dies at 68
  • 1802-10-22 Samuel Arnold, English organist, theater composer (The Baron Kinkvervankotsdorsprakingatchdern), and music director (Marylebone Gardens). at 62
  • 1845-12-02 Johann "Giovanni" Simon Mayr, German composer and music director (Cathedral of Bergamo, 1802-45), dies at 82
  • 1852-12-16 Henri-Jean Rigel, French composer, music director, and "pianiste de la musique particulière de l’Empereur et Roi" to Napoleon, dies at 80
  • 1853-04-11 Louis-Emmanuel Jadin, French pianist, music director, and composer, dies at 84
  • 1864-12-21 William Henry Fry, American composer (Niagara Symphony), music director (Musical Fund Society), journalist, and music critic, dies of tuberculosis at 51
  • 1889-06-30 Eugenio Terziani, Italian composer and music director (Teatro Apollo; La Scala), dies at 64
  • 1913-03-12 Josef Bayer, composer, Austrian composer, and music director (Austrian Court Ballet, 1883-1913), dies at 61
  • 1913-11-03 Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf, Prussian pianist, composer and music director (Royal Theatre of Hanover, 1867-87), dies at 83
  • 1919-10-03 Daniel Brink Towner, American hymn composer ("He's A Friend of Mine"; "Though the Fig Tree Shall Not Blossom"), and music director, dies at 69
  • 1945-04-24 Hubert Bath, British film composer and music director, dies at 61
  • 1951-08-21 (Leonard) Constant Lambert, British composer (The Rio Grande; Horoscope; Summer's Last Will and Testament), and music director (Vic-Wells/Royal Ballet, 1931-47), dies of pneumonia and complications of diabetes and alcoholism at 45
  • 1975-07-14 Madan Mohan, India Hindi Film Melodious Music director, dies at 51
  • 1980-04-16 Morris Stoloff, American violinist, Academy Award-winning composer, music director (Columbia Pictures, 1938-62), and orchestra leader (Moonglow/Theme from Picnic), dies at 81
  • 1984-10-23 James Petrillo, American labor leader (American Federation of Musicians president, 1940-58), and radio orchestra music director (WBBM Chicago), dies at 92
  • 1985-12-25 George Rhodes, American pianist, composer, arranger, and music director (Sammy Davis, Jr. Show), dies of a heart attack at 66
  • 1993-03-15 Anthony Bowles, British music director (Jesus Christ Superstar; Evita), dies of AIDS complications at 61
  • 1994-07-28 Ralph Herman, American Emmy Award-winning composer (From the Scriptures; Circus Time), orchestra leader, and music director (ABC-TV, 1952-71), dies after a stroke at 80
  • 1994-12-10 George van Renesse, Dutch concert pianist and music director, dies at 85
  • 2006-05-05 Naushad Ali, Indian composer, and Hindi film music director, dies at 86
  • 2006-07-16 Artie Malvin, American vocalist (Glenn Miller; Jimmy Dorsey), arranger and music director (Julie LaRosa; Pat Boone; Carol Burnett), dies at 83
  • 2008-11-23 Richard Hickox, British organist, musical director, and conductor (City of London Sinfonia, 1971-2008; London Symphony Chorus from 1976-91), dies of a heart attack at 60
  • 2011-04-19 Jaroslav Smolka, Czech composer (Metamorfosi), music director, dramaturge, pedagogue, and musicologist, dies at 78
  • 2011-11-05 Bhupen Hazarika, Indian singer, composer, lyricist, music director, and filmmaker, dies at 85
  • 2011-12-31 Omus Hirshbein, classical music impresario and music director, dies at 77
  • 2012-04-09 Dave Shriver, American rock bassist (Eddie Cochran, Trini Lopez), and music director, dies of cardiac arrest following a stroke at 76
  • 2012-05-28 Dieter Schönbach, German composer, and music director (Bochum Theater, 1959–73), dies at 81
  • 2014-06-18 Johnny Mann, American music director (Johnny Mann Stand Up & Cheer), dies at 85
  • 2015-09-05 Jacques Israelievitch, French Canadian classical violinist, concertmaster (St. Louis Symphony, 1978-88; Toronto Symphony, 1988-2008), and music director (Koffler Chamber Orchestra, 2005-14), dies of lung cancer at 67
  • 2017-09-12 Siegfried Köhler, German conductor, music director, and composer, dies at 94
  • 2018-08-25 Noam Sheriff, Israeli composer, conductor, and music director, dies at 83
  • 2019-11-22 Stephen Cleobury, British organist and music director (King's College - Cambridge, 1982-2019), dies of cancer at 70
  • 2022-01-10 Francis Jackson, British organist, composer (East Acklam; A Time of Fire), and music director (York Minster, 1946-82), dies at 104

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