Synopsis

In the Guiness Book of Music Facts and Feats, the record for "Most Prolific Composer" goes to Georg Philip Telemann, who died on today's date in 1767 at the age of 86. And longevity gave an edge to productivity: Telemann outlived his prolific contemporary, J.S. Bach, by 21 years, and outlived Handel by 12.

But even considering the extra years he lived, Telemann's output is staggering. Of Bach's cantatas, some 200 or so survive, but Telemann's number 1400. He also wrote 125 orchestral suites, 125 concertos, 130 trios, 145 pieces for solo keyboard, and about 50 operas.

Most composers (if they are lucky), publish one autobiography; Telemann published three, and commented in one of them, "How is it possible for me to remember everything I wrote for violin and winds?" Sometimes, in addition to composing original music, Telemann was also asked to perform it: "A few days before I play a violin concerto," he wrote, "I always locked myself away, fiddle in hand, shirt-sleeves rolled up, with something strong to calm the nerves, and practice."

Fortunately, Telemann seemed to find musical inspiration everywhere, including from the pop and folk music of his day. As he put it, "One would scarcely believe what wonderful ideas pipers and fiddlers have when they improvise while dancers pause for breath. An observer could easily gather enough ideas from them in eight days to last a lifetime!"

Music Played in Today's Program

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681 - 1767) Violin Concerto in A (The Frog) Pavlo Beznosiuk, violin; New London Consort; Philip Pickett, conductor. London 455 621

On This Day

Births

• 1860 - French composer Gustave Charpentier, in Dieuze, Lorraine;

• 1935 - Austrian composer Kurt Schwertsik, in Vienna;

Deaths

• 1767 - German composer Georg Philipp Telemann, age 86, in Hamburg;

• 1822 - German composer, critic and popular Romantic author Ernst Theodor Amadeus ("E.T.A.") Hoffmann, age 46, in Berlin;

Premieres

• 1840 - For the 400th anniversary of the Gutenberg Printing Press, Mendelssohn presents his Symphony No. 2, "Lobegesang" (Song of Praise) at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig;

• 1850 - R. Schumann: opera "Genoveva," in Leipzig at the Stadttheater;

• 1910 - Stravinsky: ballet, "The Firebird," at the Paris Opera, with Gabriel Pierné conducting;

• 1923 - de Falla: one-act opera "El retablo de maese Pedro" (Master Peter's Puppet Show), first staged performance in Paris at the home of the Princesse de Polignac; This opera was premiered in a concert performance in Seville on March 23, 1923;

• 1940 - William Grant Still: choral ballad "And They Lynched Him on a Tree," at New York's Lewisohn Stadium by the Schola Cantorum and Wen Talbert Negro Choir with the New York Philharmonic, Arthur Rodzinksi conducting;

• 1954 - Leroy Anderson: "Sandpaper Baller" at a Decca recording session in New York City, with the composer conducting; Three different grades of sandpaper rubbed together were used to make the vaudeville-style "soft shoe" dancing sound effects for this classic recording;

• 1955 - Grofé: "Hudson Valley" Suite, in Washington, D.C., by the National Symphony conducted by André Kostelanetz;

• 1991 - James MacMillan: "Tuireadh" (Lament) for clarinet and string quartet, by James Campbell and the Allegri Quartet at St. Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall (Orkney Islands).