Anniversaries

Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Opernhaus (later the Berlin State Opera / Staatsoper Unter den Linden) from 1906 to 1937, and later as the conductor of Berlin's Städtische Oper from 1949 to 1953. Blech was known for his reliable, clear, and elegant performances, especially of works by Wagner, Verdi, and Bizet's Carmen (which he conducted over 600 times), and for his sensitivity as an accompanist.

Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959 ) was born 100 years ago today, and so we honor one full century spent with the remarkable voice and unbelievable musical influence of the incomparable woman Lester Young dubbed “Lady Day.”

Billie’s voice was completely untrained, but her unique way of catching the rhythmic drive and intensity of articulation from the instrumentalists she worked with combined with her own distinctive soul-filled vocal quality made her an almost instant favorite among the most prominent jazz musicians in Harlem. Her uncanny ability to imitate the instruments, to make her voice be and do and sound exactly like the most accomplished instrumentalists of her day seemed to mesmerize crowds. Her musicality and superb ability to express the blues and make everyone in the room feel and know the truth in the texts she was singing also captured the audience’s attention.

Today we mark the 25th anniversary of the death of “the Divine One,” influential jazz singer Sarah Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990.) Her voice was truly magnificent, and her four octave range, impeccably controlled vibrato and uncanny sense of pitch led to Vaughan's New York Times obituary describing her as a "singer who brought an operatic splendor to her performances of popular standards and jazz."

Today, 26th March we offer our congratulations to Pierre Boulez who has reached the venerable age of 90.

Better known as a conductor than a composer Boulez was born in 1925 in Montbrison, Loire, France. Having initially studied mathematics he arrived at the conservatoire in Paris at the age of 19 intent on studying music. At the conservatoire he had the immense good fortune to study with Olivier Messiaen – the only teacher at that time to introduce music by members of the Second Viennese School, Bartók and Varèse that was completely unknown under the Nazi occupation suppression of 'degenerate' music.

Elisabeth Jacquet was born March 17, 1665 into a prominent family of musicians and harpsichord builders and this year would be the 350th anniversary of her birth. She became one of the first publically celebrated women in music during her lifetime. She received her first music instruction from her father, a master instrument maker and organist at the Église Saint-Louis-en-Île in Paris. In 1673 at the precocious age of eight, she made quite an impression on the court of Louis XIV, where she was proclaimed a true prodigy.