Igor Buketoff
Encyclopedia
Igor Buketoff was an America
n conductor
, arranger and teacher. He had a special affinity with Russia
n music and with Sergei Rachmaninoff
in particular. He also strongly promoted British
contemporary music, and new music in general.
, the son of a Russian Orthodox
priest. He liked to refer to himself as "the last active conductor with pre-Revolutionary blood in his veins". His father knew Sergei Rachmaninoff
and had been asked by the composer to assemble the choir for the 1927 world premiere of his Three Russian Folk Songs
, Op. 41, using the basso profundo
s among the Orthodox clergy. Igor attended the rehearsals for the premiere and was told by his father that the conductor, Leopold Stokowski
, had his own ideas about the tempo for the final song and refused to obey Rachmaninoff's wishes.
His education was at the University of Kansas
1931-32, the Juilliard School
in New York
1935-41, and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music
. He taught at the Conservatory, and at Juilliard 1935-45. He directed the choral departments at Juilliard and Adelphi College
.
At Juilliard he programmed Rachmaninoff's Three Russian Folk Songs, and remembering what had happened with the 1927 premiere, he consulted the composer about the tempo to be used in the final song. He also recorded the work commercially. In 1940 he contributed a scholarly article on Russian chant to Gustave Reese
's Music in the Middle Ages.
From 1941 to 1947 he was Music Director of the Chautauqua
Opera Association and taught at Columbia University
1941-47. In 1941 he won the first Ditson Conductor's Award
. In the early part of his career he conducted a range of orchestras in the United States, which included the New York Philharmonic
in the Young People's Concerts
1948-53, the Philadelphia Orchestra
, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra
1948-66. He taught at Butler University
1953-63 and was later associated with the Festival of Neglected Romantic Music
held there.
In 1959, Buketoff established the World Music Bank for International Exchange and Promotion of Contemporary Music, for which participating countries were asked to nominate outstanding scores. The organization is now called the International Contemporary Music Exchange and is managed by the International Rostrum of Composers
. He won the Ditson Award again in 1967.
He was conductor of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
1964-66 and also conducted internationally. He was Director of the Contemporary Composers Project for the Institute of International Education
1967-70.
In 1971, Buketoff conducted the world premiere of Lee Hoiby
's opera Summer and Smoke with St Paul Opera, Minnesota
. With that organisation he also led the U.S. premieres of Carl Nielsen
's Maskarade and Werner Egk
's Betrothal in San Domingo.
At Eugene Ormandy
's request, he reconstructed Tchaikovsky
's 1812 Overture
, setting the opening section for a cappella
chorus, in the style of a Russian Orthodox chant, and the finale for chorus and orchestra. He recorded this version with the New Philharmonia Orchestra
.
He taught at the University of Houston
1977-79 and conducted the Texas Chamber Orchestra 1980-81.
At the request of Sophie Satin, Rachmaninoff's sister-in-law, Igor Buketoff orchestrated Act I of Rachmaninoff's unfinished opera Monna Vanna, which was premiered in a concert performance at Saratoga, New York
on 11 August 1984, with the Philadelphia Orchestra
. Rachmaninoff had written this act in piano score, as well as some uncompleted sketches for Act II. The soloists were Sherrill Milnes
and Tatiana Troyanos
. Buketoff also recorded the work with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, again with Sherrill Milnes, but other singers sang the other roles.
He also produced a new version of Modest Mussorgsky
's Boris Godunov
in which he removed most of Rimsky-Korsakov
's additions and reorchestrations, and fleshed out some other parts of Mussorgsky's original orchestration. This version had its first performance at the Metropolitan Opera
, New York, in 1997, under Valery Gergiyev.
He also prepared a version of Delius
's opera A Village Romeo and Juliet
, with reduced orchestration.
The Los Angeles Conservatory awarded him an Honorary Doctorate.
In his later years Igor Buketoff lived in Manhattan
. He died in the Bronx
on 7 September 2001, aged 86, survived by his wife and a daughter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, arranger and teacher. He had a special affinity with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n music and with Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
in particular. He also strongly promoted British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
contemporary music, and new music in general.
Biography
Buketoff was born in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, the son of a Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
priest. He liked to refer to himself as "the last active conductor with pre-Revolutionary blood in his veins". His father knew Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
and had been asked by the composer to assemble the choir for the 1927 world premiere of his Three Russian Folk Songs
Three Russian Songs, Op. 41 (Rachmaninoff)
The Three Russian Songs, Op. 41 for chorus and orchestra were written by Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1926. It is the last of Rachmaninoff's three works for chorus and orchestra, the others being the cantata Spring, Op. 20 , and the choral symphony The Bells, Op. 35...
, Op. 41, using the basso profundo
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
s among the Orthodox clergy. Igor attended the rehearsals for the premiere and was told by his father that the conductor, Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, had his own ideas about the tempo for the final song and refused to obey Rachmaninoff's wishes.
His education was at the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
1931-32, the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1935-41, and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
. He taught at the Conservatory, and at Juilliard 1935-45. He directed the choral departments at Juilliard and Adelphi College
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
.
At Juilliard he programmed Rachmaninoff's Three Russian Folk Songs, and remembering what had happened with the 1927 premiere, he consulted the composer about the tempo to be used in the final song. He also recorded the work commercially. In 1940 he contributed a scholarly article on Russian chant to Gustave Reese
Gustave Reese
Gustave Reese was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications Music in the Middle Ages and Music in the Renaissance ; these two books remain the standard reference works for these two eras,...
's Music in the Middle Ages.
From 1941 to 1947 he was Music Director of the Chautauqua
Chautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
Opera Association and taught at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
1941-47. In 1941 he won the first Ditson Conductor's Award
Ditson Conductor's Award
The Ditson Conductor's Award, established in 1945, is the oldest award honoring conductors for their commitment to the performance of American music. The US$5,000 purse endowed by the Alice M. Ditson Fund at Columbia University was increased in 1999 from US$1,000.Upon the death of Alice M. Ditson,...
. In the early part of his career he conducted a range of orchestras in the United States, which included the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
in the Young People's Concerts
Young People's Concerts
The Young People's Concerts at the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts of classical music in the world.-Genesis:...
1948-53, the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra
Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra
The Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra is a professional orchestra based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The current Music Director is Andrew Constantine, whose contract began July 1, 2009. The orchestra's Artistic Advisor from 2008 to 2009 was Jaime Laredo, a native of Bolivia...
1948-66. He taught at Butler University
Butler University
Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
1953-63 and was later associated with the Festival of Neglected Romantic Music
Festival of Neglected Romantic Music
The Festival of Neglected Romantic Music was founded by musicologist Frank Cooper at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1968.Cooper directed the Festival for the next eleven years, during which time many seminal works of the Romantic era that had not been heard since the 19th century...
held there.
In 1959, Buketoff established the World Music Bank for International Exchange and Promotion of Contemporary Music, for which participating countries were asked to nominate outstanding scores. The organization is now called the International Contemporary Music Exchange and is managed by the International Rostrum of Composers
International Rostrum of Composers
The International Rostrum of Composers is an annual forum organized by the International Music Council that offers broadcasting representatives the opportunity to exchange and publicize pieces of contemporary classical music...
. He won the Ditson Award again in 1967.
He was conductor of the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands is an orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The ISO is an autonomous public institution under the auspices of the Icelandic Ministry of Education...
1964-66 and also conducted internationally. He was Director of the Contemporary Composers Project for the Institute of International Education
Institute of International Education
Institute of International Education - is a non-profit organization promoting international exchange of education and training. It was established in 1919 and is based in the USA....
1967-70.
In 1971, Buketoff conducted the world premiere of Lee Hoiby
Lee Hoiby
Lee Henry Hoiby was an American composer and classical pianist. Best known as a composer of operas and songs, he was a disciple of composer Gian Carlo Menotti. Like Menotti, his works championed lyricism during a time when such compositions were deemed old fashioned and irrelevant to modern society...
's opera Summer and Smoke with St Paul Opera, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. With that organisation he also led the U.S. premieres of Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...
's Maskarade and Werner Egk
Werner Egk
Werner Egk , born Werner Joseph Mayer, was a German composer.-Early career:He was born in the Swabian town of Auchsesheim, today part of Donauwörth, Germany. His family, of Catholic peasant stock, moved to Augsburg when Egk was six. He studied at a Benedictine Gymnasium and entered the municipal...
's Betrothal in San Domingo.
At Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...
's request, he reconstructed Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's 1812 Overture
1812 Overture
The Year 1812, Festival Overture in E flat major, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture or the Overture of 1812 is an overture written by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armée at the Battle of...
, setting the opening section for a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
chorus, in the style of a Russian Orthodox chant, and the finale for chorus and orchestra. He recorded this version with the New Philharmonia Orchestra
Philharmonia Orchestra
The Philharmonia Orchestra is one of the leading orchestras in Great Britain, based in London. Since 1995, it has been based in the Royal Festival Hall. In Britain it is also the resident orchestra at De Montfort Hall, Leicester and the Corn Exchange, Bedford, as well as The Anvil, Basingstoke...
.
He taught at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
1977-79 and conducted the Texas Chamber Orchestra 1980-81.
At the request of Sophie Satin, Rachmaninoff's sister-in-law, Igor Buketoff orchestrated Act I of Rachmaninoff's unfinished opera Monna Vanna, which was premiered in a concert performance at Saratoga, New York
Saratoga, New York
Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major village in the town of Saratoga is Schuylerville which is...
on 11 August 1984, with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
. Rachmaninoff had written this act in piano score, as well as some uncompleted sketches for Act II. The soloists were Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes
Sherrill Milnes is an American operatic baritone most famous for his Verdi roles. From 1965 until 1997 he was associated with the Metropolitan Opera....
and Tatiana Troyanos
Tatiana Troyanos
Tatiana Troyanos was an American mezzo-soprano of Greek and German descent.-Early life:...
. Buketoff also recorded the work with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, again with Sherrill Milnes, but other singers sang the other roles.
He also produced a new version of Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Mussorgsky
Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was a Russian composer, one of the group known as 'The Five'. He was an innovator of Russian music in the romantic period...
's Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
in which he removed most of Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's additions and reorchestrations, and fleshed out some other parts of Mussorgsky's original orchestration. This version had its first performance at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
, New York, in 1997, under Valery Gergiyev.
He also prepared a version of Delius
Frederick Delius
Frederick Theodore Albert Delius, CH was an English composer. Born in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family of German extraction, he resisted attempts to recruit him to commerce...
's opera A Village Romeo and Juliet
A Village Romeo and Juliet
A Village Romeo and Juliet is an opera by Frederick Delius, the fourth of his six operas. The composer himself, with his wife Jelka, wrote the English-language libretto based on the short story Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe by the Swiss author Gottfried Keller. The first performance was at the...
, with reduced orchestration.
The Los Angeles Conservatory awarded him an Honorary Doctorate.
In his later years Igor Buketoff lived in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. He died in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
on 7 September 2001, aged 86, survived by his wife and a daughter.
Recordings
Buketoff was known for the unusual repertoire he chose to record. These included:- Jacob AvshalomovJacob AvshalomovJacob Avshalomov is a Jewish American composer and conductor.-Early life and education:Jacob Avshalomov was born on March 28, 1919 in Tsingtao, China. His father was Aaron Avshalomov, the Siberian-born composer known for "oriental musical materials cast in western forms and media"; his mother was...
's The Taking of T'ung Kuan, with the Oslo Philharmonic - Sir Arnold BaxArnold BaxSir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
's Overture to a Picaresque ComedyOverture to a Picaresque ComedyThe Overture to a Picaresque Comedy is a concert overture composed by Arnold Bax in 1931; the piece was introduced in Manchester in November, 1931, under the direction of Sir Hamilton Harty. The work is based around two main themes, one light and mocking and one stately.Of the overture, Bax...
(first recording) - Sir Richard Rodney BennettRichard Rodney BennettSir Richard Rodney Bennett, CBE is an English composer renowned for his film scores and his jazz performance as much as for his challenging concert works...
's Symphony No. 1 with the Royal Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It tours widely, and is sometimes referred to as "Britain's national orchestra"...
(RPO) - Sir Lennox BerkeleyLennox BerkeleySir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley was an English composer.- Biography :He was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School, Gresham's School and Merton College, Oxford...
's Divertimento in B flat (RPO) - Luboš FišerLuboš FišerLuboš Fišer was a Czech composer, born in Prague. He was known both for his soundtracks and chamber music. From 1952 to 1956 he studied the composition at the Prague Conservatory as a pupil of Emil Hlobil. From 1956 he studied at the AMU in Prague...
's Fifteen Prints After Dürer's "Apocalypse", with the London Symphony OrchestraLondon Symphony OrchestraThe London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
(LSO) - Alexandre GuilmantAlexandre GuilmantFélix-Alexandre Guilmant was a French organist and composer.- Short biography :Guilmant was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer...
's Symphony No. 1 for Organ and Orchestra in D minor, with the Butler UniversityButler UniversityButler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...
Symphony Orchestra (1977, live recording; a revival of a work that had not been played since the 1930s) - works by Louis Moreau GottschalkLouis Moreau GottschalkLouis Moreau Gottschalk was an American composer and pianist, best known as a virtuoso performer of his own romantic piano works...
, with the Vienna State Opera OrchestraVienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
(all world premiere recordings except the Grande Tarantelle)- Escenas Campestres (Cuban Country Scenes), one-act opera
- Symphony No. 1 La Nuit des tropiques (original orchestration)
- Symphony No. 2 A Montevideo (original version)
- Samuel AdlerSamuel Adler (composer)Samuel Hans Adler is an American composer and conductor.-Biography:Adler was born to a Jewish family in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Hugo Chaim Adler, a cantor and composer, and Selma Adler. The family fled to the United States in 1939, where Hugo became the cantor of Temple Emanuel in...
's arrangement for piano and orchestra of The Union, Op. 48, with Eugene ListEugene ListEugene List was an American concert pianist and teacher.-Early life:Eugene List was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He spent his formative years in Los Angeles, California where his father Louis List was a language teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District and his mother, Rose, a... - Variations on the Portuguese National Hymn, original version (with List)
- Grande Tarantelle for piano and orchestra (with List)
- Jan KlusákJan KlusákJan Klusák is a contemporary Czech composer, author of film, television and incidental music.- Life :...
's First Invention (LSO) - Benjamin LeesBenjamin LeesBenjamin Lees was a contemporary U.S. composer of Art music, born in Harbin, China, raised in San Francisco and lived in Palm Springs, California.-Early life:...
's Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra - Anatoly Lyadov's From the Apocalypse (Butler U.)
- Peter MenninPeter MenninPeter Mennin was an American composer and teacher. He directed the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, then for many years ran the Juilliard School, succeeding William Schuman in this role...
's Piano Concerto, with John OgdonJohn OgdonJohn Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
and the RPO - Sergei RachmaninoffSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Concerto No. 4Piano Concerto No. 4 (Rachmaninoff)Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 is a music piece by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, completed in 1926. The work currently exists in three versions. Following its unsuccessful premiere he made cuts and other amendments before publishing it in 1928. With continued lack of success, he...
(first recording of the second (1927) version, with William BlackWilliam Black (pianist)William David Black was an American pianist and teacher.-Biography:He was born in Dallas, Texas. He had a sister, Beverley, and a brother, the pianist, conductor and composer Robert Black...
and the Icelandic Symphony OrchestraIcelandic Symphony OrchestraSinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands is an orchestra based in Reykjavík, Iceland. The ISO is an autonomous public institution under the auspices of the Icelandic Ministry of Education...
) - Ferdinand RiesFerdinand RiesFerdinand Ries was a German composer.- Life :Born into a musical family of Bonn, Ries was a friend and pupil of Beethoven who published in 1838 a collection of reminiscences of his teacher, co-written with Franz Wegeler...
's Violin Concerto No. 1 in E minor (Aaron RosandAaron RosandAaron Rosand is an American violinist.Born in Hammond, Indiana, he studied with Leon Sametini at the Chicago Musical College and with Efrem Zimbalist at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he has taught since 1981...
and Butler U.) - Roger SessionsRoger SessionsRoger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
' Symphony No. 3 - Christian SindingChristian SindingChristian August Sinding was a Norwegian composer.-Personal life:He was born in Kongsberg as a son of mine superindendent Matthias Wilhelm Sinding and Cecilie Marie Mejdell . He was a brother of the painter Otto Sinding and the sculptor Stephan Sinding...
's Rondo Infinito (Butler U.) - Vladimír SommerVladimir SommerVladimír Sommer was a Czech composer from Dolní Jiřetín near Most.Sommer began his studies at the Prague Conservatory, where he studied violin with Bedřich Voldan and composition with Karel Janeček. He then continued his education at the Academy of Arts and Music with Pavel Bořkovec...
's Vocal Symphony (LSO) - Robert Ward's Symphonies Nos. 3 and 6
- Richard YardumianRichard YardumianRichard Yardumian was an Armenian-American classical music composer.-Life:Yardumian was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the youngest of ten children to Armenian immigrant parents, and began studying the piano at a very early age. His mother, Lucia, was a teacher and organist, and his father,...
's Passacaglia, Recitative and Fugue for piano and orchestra (with John OgdonJohn OgdonJohn Andrew Howard Ogdon was an English pianist and composer.-Biography:Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Royal Northern College of Music between 1953 and 1957, where his fellow students under Richard Hall...
and the RPO).