Historical Events of May 1
1 May
** 1686 - Fred. Leopold Pückl enters the Imperial Chapel, Vienna, as violoncellist
** 1695 - birth of Pierre Saint-Sevin (Bordeaux, France) d.1768
cellist and composer
** 1764 - on this day a cellist named Gordon (his first name not known) performed in a concert given by Signora Frasi, being noted for his full and sweet tone
** 1772 - birth of Jacques-Michel Hurel de Lamare (Paris) d.1823
cellist, orchestral, professor and occasional composer
In 1794, Lamare became cellist at the Théâtre Feydeau in Paris, where he developed a reputation as a soloist. He soon thereafter became a professor at the newly founded Conservatoire de Paris. From 1801 through 1809 he toured Germany and Russia, living mainly in Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. Lamare returned to France in 1809, travelling through Poland and Austria. His return concert at the Odéon in April 1809, however, was not very well received, and thereafter he restricted himself to playing for private audiences.
** 1831 - František Hegenbarth enters the Prague Conservatoire as a student on this day; in May 1865 he was to become a professor there himself, serving for more than twenty years!
** 1837 - cellist Max Bohrer played a duet for two violoncellos with fellow cellist Moritz Ganz at a Philharmonic Society concert in London
** 1902 - Hugo Becker (cello) was soloist in Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor with the Queen’s Hall Concert Orchestra, conducted by Herr Weingartner. Clara Butt was also soloist in a vocal aria.
** 1918 - in the Steinway Hall (London) a Recital of English Songs was given by Mrs Harry Bedford, assisted by Beatrice Harrison (cello), and accompanied by Mr F. Kiddle
** 1921 - Gregor Piatigorsky was known to embroider the story of his escape from Russia for comic effect, but these were serious and dangerous times for the great artist. Organized by smugglers, he travelled with his friend Mischa Mischakoff, but the smugglers then demanded all of their money, and following on they were arrested by Polish border guards. At their hearing, they were asked for immigration papers and documentation, but they had nothing but their identification cards as members of the Bolshoi Theatre.
The chief of police ordered them returned to Ukraine in a horse and cart. While travelling, Piatigorsky saw a train station. As they performed for the crowd at the station, they heard a train approach. They managed to jump aboard just before the train left the station. The guards did not try to stop them, but onboard they had to hide from the ticket collector since they had no money. They got off the train in Lwow, Poland, soon finding work playing in a cafe. Piatigorsky did not return to Russia until 1962.
** 1936 – at a Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra ‘Extraordinary Charity Concert’, Richard Krotschak performed as cello soloist in Strauss – Don Quixote. Music of Ravel and Dvorak was also heard. Conductor: Victor de Sabata / Musikverein, Golden Hall, Vienna
** 1937 - on this day German cellist Ludwig Hoelscher became a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party - is generally recognized as having been an ardent Nazi, hence his enthusiastic cooperation
** 1943 - first performance of Bohuslav Martinu - Variations on a Theme of Rossini for cello and piano
cellist Gregor Piatigorsky(?) (New York)
** 1957 - in a Hallé Orchestra special Elgar concert, the invited soloist was André Navarra, performing the Elgar - Cello Concerto. The concert also include the ‘Introduction and Allegro’ and the composer’s Second Symphony, all conducted by John Barbirolli.
** 1962 – Gregor Piatigorsky and the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow - invited to be a judge at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow during the height of the Cold War, Piatigorsky was therefore able to make, on this day, his first visit to Russia in 41 years on this day!
** 1970 - Lorne Munroe gave a soloist performance of Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, Op.104 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, in Toronto, Canada
** 1970 – such was Gregor Piatigorsky’s standing in the international music world, that Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir attended Piatigorsky's concert with the Israel Philharmonic and greeted him backstage!
** 1978 - researcher/investigator/writer Walter Schenkman first published on this day his now famous essay “Cassado’s Frescobaldi - A Case of Mistaken Identity or Outright Hoax” - with the irrefutable proof that the ‘Toccata’ was not a work of Frescobaldi, but in fact a work written by Gaspar Cassadó himself in 1925!
** 1992 – on the 30th April, and 1st and 5th May, cellist Lorne Munroe performed as invited soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Masur), in the Avery Fisher Hall (New York)
