Synopsis

When your instrument is nicknamed “the burping bedpost,” it’s hard to get respect in refined circles. So it’s understandable that the bassoon section of, say, a major London orchestra might indulge in a bit of day-dreaming in which a gang of hot-rodding motorcycling bassoonists blow into town and take over a concert hall. And guess what? That is EXACTLY the scenario of a piece written for Britain’s Philharmonia Orchestra by the American composer Michael Daughtery.

“Hell’s Angels” is a concerto for bassoon quartet that received its premiere in London on today’s date in 1999, with Daughtery commenting: “I find the bassoon to be an instrument with great expressive and timbral possibilities, ranging from low and raucous rumbling to plaintive high intensity.”

Daugherty often takes inspiration from icons of American pop culture, so it’s not surprising that he should choose “Hell’s Angels” for inspiration.

After all, he writes: “the bassoon is similar in size and shape to the drag pipes found on Harley Davidson motorcycles … When the noise-curbing mufflers are illegally removed from the drag pipes, they create a deafening roar. I have removed the traditional mufflers on the bassoon repertoire in order to compose [my] concerto for bassoon quartet and orchestra.

Music Played in Today's Program

Michael Daugherty (b. 1954) — Hell's Angels (Oregon Symphony; James DePreist, cond.) Delos 3291

On This Day

Births

• 1834 - German composer, pianist and organist Julius Ruebke, in Hausneindorf, near Quedlinburg;

• 1878 - Austrian composer Franz Schrecker, in Monaco;

• 1895 - French-born American composer, painter and mystical philosopher Dane Rudhyar, in Paris;

Premieres

• 1731 - Bach: "St. Mark Passion" (S. 247, now lost) performed in Leipzig at Vespers on Good Friday;

• 1748 - Handel: oratorio "Alexander Balus" in London at the Covent Garden Theater; The event possibly included the premiere of Handel's "Concerto a due cori" No. 1 as well (Gregorian date: April 3);

• 1783 - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 13 and final version of Symphony No. 35 ("Haffner"), at the Vienna Burgtheater, with composer as piano soloist and conductor; An earlier version of the symphony was performed in Salzburg at private concerts arranged by the wealthy Haffner family in the summer of 1782;

• 1792 - Haydn: Symphony No. 94 ("Surprise"), conducted by the composer, at the Hanover-Square Concert Rooms in London;

• 1828 - Beethoven: String Quartet in F, Op. 135 (posthumously, and almost one year to the day after the composer's death on March 26, 1827), in Vienna, by the Schuppanzigh Quartet;

• 1886 - Tchaikovsky: "Manfred" Symphony (after Byron), in Moscow (Julian date: Mar. 11);

• 1912 - Gliere: Symphony No. 3 ("Ilya Murometz") in Moscow (Julian date: Mar. 10);

• 1917 - Bloch: "Trois poèmes juifs" (Three Jewish Poems), in Boston, with the composer conducting;

• 1923 - de Falla: opera "El retrablo de maese Pedro" (Master Peter's Puppet Show) (concert version), in Seville at the Teatro San Fernando;

• 1935 - Barber: "Music for a Scene from Shelley," by the New York Philharmonic;

• 1939 - Bartók: Violin Concerto No. 2, by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, Willem Mengelberg conducting and Zoltán Székely as the soloist; A live recording of this premiere performance has been issued on both LP and CD;

• 1944 - Cowell: "Hymn and Fuguing Tune" No. 2 for strings, in New York on a WEAF radio broadcast featuring Henri Nosco and his Concert Orchestra; The first concert hall performance took place at Town Hall in New York on October 8, 1944, with the Daniel Saidenburg Little Symphony;

• 1945 - Copland (and 9 other composers): "Variations on a Theme by Eugene Goosens," by the Cincinnati Symphony;

• 1946 - Marc Blitzstein: "Airbourne Symphony," in New York City;

• 1962 - Irving Fine: "Symphony 1962" by the Boston Symphony, Charles Munch conducting;

• 1969 - Gene Gutchë: "Genghis Khan," by American Symphony Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting;

• 1999 - James MacMillan: "Cumnock Fair" for piano and strings, at Cumnock Academy by members of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra;

Others

• 1703 - Antonio Vivaldi becomes a Roman Catholic priest at age 25;

• 1721 - Handel completes the composition of Act 3 of "Muzio Scevola," as part of a "competition" arranged by the directors of the Royal Academy of Music to settle the rivalry between their three house composers (Filippo Amadei composed Act 1, Giovanni Bononcinni Act 2, and Handel Act 3); Handel was deemed the victor in this "contest" (Gregorian date: April 3);

• 1729 - J.S. Bach visits Coethen to perform funeral music for his former employer, Prince Leopold;

• 1743 - London premiere of what is billed as "A New Sacred Oratorio" by Handel(Gregorian date: April 3); This was his "Messiah" which had its first performance in Dublin the previous year;