Historical Events of May 31
31 May
** 1844 - British concert debut of Alfredo Piatti (Her Majesty’s Theatre, London)
Piatti’s first private performance in London took place at the house of one Dr Billing (then the medical adviser at the Opera, alongside the Italian singers soprano Giulia Grisi and tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini). The general London public first enjoyed his playing on 31st May at the Annual Grand Morning Concert given by Mrs Lucy Anderson, pianist to Queen Victoria, the Morning Post reporting:
‘Signor Piatti, a violoncello performer from Milan, made a most successful debut. He played a fantasia on themes from Lucia ... His style resembles that of Servais; and a clear and liquid tone, with great equality all over the board, struck amateurs as being particularly fine … his certainty and precision were unerring.’
** 1892 - birth of Louis (Félix André) Fourestier (Montpellier, France) d.1976)
conductor, composer and cello pedagogue, co-founder of the Orchestre Symphonique de Paris
** 1913 – birth of Albert Delvaux (Louvain, Belgium) d.2007
Composer and cellist. He obtained the higher diploma for chamber music and the virtuosity prize for cello in Royal Music Conservatory in Liège, before he went to Salzburg to study conducting. From 1942 he held music and academic posts in conservatoires in Belgian. As a composer he has won numerous awards, including two prizes in the international composition competition Queen Elisabeth, respectively. in 1957 the 3rd prize and in 1961 the 1st prize. He wrote a concerto for cello and chamber orchestra (1957) and a cello concerto with symphony orchestra in 1984, four string quartets, and string and wind trios, amongst many other works.
** 1948 - birth of Mike Edwards (West London) d.2010
cellist (rock) & professor
** 1950 - on this day Guilhermina Suggia gave her last ever concert - in Averio, near Porto - and then went to London in order to undergo surgery. During her stay in England a flock of admirers took the opportunity to pay her a last visit. Even Queen Mary sent flowers and a note. Debilitated but not yet defeated, Suggia told Ivor Newton, who was supposed to play with her in the following months: “Please do not consider our concerts cancelled, they are only being postponed.” But there was no recovery...she passed away exactly two months later…
** 1955 - first performance of Ernst Krenek – Capriccio, Op.145, for cello and orchestra. The music was published the same year.
(Darmstadt, Germany)
** 1972 - on this day cellist Henri Honegger finished recording all 6 Suites of J.S. Bach, in Geneva (probably the recording days were 26th to 31st May)
** 1981 - Alvaro Campos/cello and Juan Moguel Moreno/piano made a live recording for Spanish National Radio of Gaspar Cassadó - Requiebros for Cello and Piano (pub.1931)
Auditorio La Consolación, Obiz, Baleares, Spain
** 1990 - first performance of Stephen Albert - Cello Concerto
soloist - Yo-Yo Ma with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Zinman (Baltimore, USA)
** 1996 – on the 30th, 31st of this month, plus 1st June, cellist Lynn Harrell performed as invited soloist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Massur), in the Avery Fisher Hall (New York)
