Historical Events of March 28
28 March
** 1784 - birth of Charles Neate (England)
cellist, but better known as a pianist & composer
** 1801 - premiere of Beethoven - Ballet ‘The Creatures of Prometheus’ or ‘Prometheus’ (German: Die Geschöpfe des Prometheus), Op. 43 (the ballet features an important orchestral principal cello solo line in the fifth number}
(Burgtheater, Vienna). It immediately proved to be very popular, being performed a total of 29 times just in the 1801/02 season!
** 1842 - Until the first Philharmonic concert on 28th March, 1842, the City of Vienna did not have a professional concert orchestra, despite the presence of composers such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Concerts of symphonic works were played by ensembles specially assembled for the occasion. Orchestras composed entirely of professional musicians were found only in the theatres. Notable for cellists is that on this day, François Servais performed his own transcription of ‘La Romanesca’ at this debut concert of the Vienna Philharmonic, some two months after having given the first performance of it as cello soloist.
** 1865 - birth of Leo Schulz (Posen, ex-Germany) d.1944
cellist, principal cello, composer & professor
** 1869 - birth of Christian Sibelius (Hämeenlinna, Finland) d.1922 {brother of Jean Sibelius}
Finnish doctor and professor of psychiatry - but also a gifted chamber musician as a cellist. He often played with his brother Jean in his more youthful days.
** 1889 - cellist Alwin Schröder performed as soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in Saint-Saens - Cello Concerto in A minor, Op.33. Concert in Amsterdam, conducted by Willem Kes
** 1892 - a notable concert took place at the London ‘Popular concerts’ at St. James’s Hall, with the famed clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld introducing (proably for the first time ever in Britain) the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. The string players were no less famous: Joseph Joachim, Louis Ries, Ludwig Strauss and Alfredo Piatti!
** 1895 - English cellist Mabel Chaplin made her London debut on March 28th, 1895 in Queen's Hall with works by Luigi Boccherini and David Popper, with the reviewer of the “Musical Times” highlighting the extraordinary choice of the cello as “an instrument which appears to be growing in popularity with lady executants”
** 1897 - in the series of the then famous Sunday Afternoon Orchestral Concerts given at the Queen's Hall, Langham Place, London, ‘Monsieur Hollman’was the featured cello soloist.
** 1908 - at the Beethoven Hall, Berlin, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performed with Jacques van Lier as cello soloist.
** 1922 – birth of Alexander Cameron (Dundee, Scotland)
orchestral principal cello (London Philharmonic Orchestra), London Royal Opera House principal cello,
** 1927 - Paul Grümmer (cello) and Alexander Tcherepnin (piano) gave a recital in Berlin.
** 1927 – in a Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra concert given as a “Beethoven Centenary Concert”, in the Salzburg Festival, Pablo Casals performed Monn – Cello Concerto in G minor. Conductor: Robert Heger / Place: Musikverein, Golden Hall, Vienna
** 1939 - At the Royal Albert Hall in London Pau Casals performed at a charity concert for refugee children.
** 1949 – on a Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra programme (three concerts; 26th, 27th and 28th March), Emanuel Brabec performed as cello soloist in Strauss – Don Quixote, Op.35. Conductor: Hans Knappertsbusch / Musikverein, Golden Hall, Vienna
** 1955 - on this day cellist Antonio Janigro made a live recording, in Cologne, of Dvorak - Cello Concerto in B minor, with the Orchester des Kölner Rundfunks conducted by Erich Kleiber
** 1972 - first performance of Bernstein - Three Meditations from Mass for cello and piano
Stephen Kates/cello with composer at piano
** 1982 - in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., a recital was given by cellist Robert Battey, with Edward Newman /piano
** 1984 - cellist Lynn Harrell performed as soloist with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, in Bloch - Schelomo. Two concerts, in Amsterdam (28th and 29th March), conducted by Bernard Haitink
** 1987 – on the 26th, 27th, 28th and 31st of this month, cellist Lorne Munroe performed as invited soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Skrowakzewski), in the Avery Fisher Hall (New York)
