A CHRONOLOGICAL VIEW OF WESTERN MUSIC HISTORY IN THE CONTEXT OF WORLD EVENTS

Roberto Gerhard

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July 31, 1916: Roberto Gerhard writes to Tomàs Carreras i Artau, accepting his offer to oversee the folksong collection activities of the Archive of Catalan Ethnography and Folklore.
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November 4, 1923: Arnold Schoenberg (49) writes from Mödling to Roberto Gerhard (27) accepting his request to teach him and inviting him to Vienna.
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April 29, 1925: Roberto Gerhard (28) conducts the Spanish premiere of Pierrot Lunaire and other works by Arnold Schoenberg (50) in the Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona. Gerhard organized the entire concert and wrote the program notes.
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March 22, 1926: Roberto Gerhard (29) attends his first class with Arnold Schoenberg (51) at Schoenberg’s house in Vienna.
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December 22, 1929: Roberto Gerhard (33) premieres several works in the Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona: Concertino for string orchestra, 7 Haiku, Wind Quintet, eight songs from Cançons populars catalanes for solo voice and piano, and Two Sardanas for cobla and other instruments. The critical response is almost universal disdain.
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February 20, 1930: In his column in El Mirador, Roberto Gerhard (33) begins a series of responses to the critic Lluís Millet about Gerhard’s concert of last 22 December. It begins a famous newspaper debate about the future of Catalan music.
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April 27, 1930: Roberto Gerhard (33) marries Leopoldina Feichtegger in Barcelona. She was his student during the years he lived in Vienna.
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May 24, 1930: A Duo for soprano, contralto, and piano by Roberto Gerhard (33) to words of Carner is performed for the first time, in Barcelona.
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August 3, 1933: Edgard Varèse (49) departs Paris heading for Catalonia where he will meet Joan Miró and Roberto Gerhard (36).
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April 19, 1936: Three works are performed for the first time, in Barcelona: Violin Concerto by Alban Berg (†0), composed to the memory of Manon Gropius, Fragmente aus dem Bühnenwerk Karl V for soprano and orchestra by Ernst Krenek (35), and Ariel, a ballet by Roberto Gerhard (39) to a story by Foix and the composer, in a concert setting. In the audience is Benjamin Britten (22).
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October 27, 1937: Albada, Interludi i Dansa for orchestra by Roberto Gerhard (41) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC originating in London.
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December 2, 1939: As part of his minor fellowship at Cambridge, Roberto Gerhard (43) gives his first concert at the University Musical Club.
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July 16, 1943: Alegrias, a ballet by Roberto Gerhard (46) to his own story, is performed for the first time, in Theatre Royal, Birmingham.
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January 24, 1944: Pandora, a ballet by Roberto Gerhard (47) to a scenario by Jooss, is performed for the first time, in Cambridge, England in a version for two pianos and percussion.
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February 23, 1949: The Duenna, an opera by Roberto Gerhard (52) to words of Hassall and the composer after Sheridan, is performed for the first time, in a concert setting in London. See 21 January 1992.
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February 20, 1950: Don Quixote, a ballet by Roberto Gerhard (53) to his own scenario after Cervantes, is performed for the first time, in Covent Garden.
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January 1, 1952: The Secret People, a film with music by Roberto Gerhard (55), is released in the United States.
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August 4, 1952: Incidental music to the radio production of Archibald MacLeish’s Conquistador by Roberto Gerhard (55) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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March 18, 1954: Incidental music to the radio production of Fernando de Rojas’ Celestina by Roberto Gerhard (57) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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July 18, 1954: Roberto Gerhard’s (57) incidental music to Albert Camus’ L’étranger is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC Third Programme, conducted by the composer.
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November 13, 1954: The first of five episodes of War in the Air with music by Roberto Gerhard (58) is shown on British television.
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June 21, 1955: Symphony no.1 by Roberto Gerhard (58) is performed for the first time, in Baden-Baden.
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July 18, 1955: Incidental music to the radio production of Friedrich Schiller’s Don Carlos by Roberto Gerhard (58) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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September 1, 1955: Incidental music to the radio production of Ivor Armstrong Richards’ A Leak in the Universe by Roberto Gerhard (58) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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September 16, 1956: Incidental music to the radio production of Friedrich Schiller’s Maria Stuart by Roberto Gerhard (59) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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May 10, 1957: Incidental music to the radio production of Jean Rhys’ Good Morning Midnight by Roberto Gerhard (60) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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June 7, 1957: Incidental music to the radio production of Olwen Wymark’s The Unexpected Country by Roberto Gerhard (60) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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June 23, 1957: Incidental music to the radio production of Wyndham Lewis’ The Revenge for Love by Roberto Gerhard (60) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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January 28, 1958: Nonet by Roberto Gerhard (61) is performed for the first time, in London.
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October 30, 1959: Symphony no.2 by Roberto Gerhard (63) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
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November 10, 1959: Incidental music to the radio production of Christine Lavant’s Asylum Diary by Roberto Gerhard (63) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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May 22, 1960: Incidental music to the radio production of Federico García Lorca’s Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter by Roberto Gerhard (63) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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February 8, 1961: Symphony no.3 “Collages” for orchestra and tape by Roberto Gerhard (64) is performed for the first time, in London.
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April 7, 1961: Incidental music to the radio production of Nicolai Gogol’s The Overcoat by Roberto Gerhard (64) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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April 21, 1961: Incidental music to the radio production of Georg Büchner’s Woyzeck by Roberto Gerhard (64) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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June 30, 1961: Incidental music to a radio adaptation of Camus’ Caligula (tr. Gilbert) by Roberto Gerhard (64) is performed for the first time, over the airwaves of the BBC Third Programme.
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February 14, 1962: Incidental music to the radio production of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s The Tower by Roberto Gerhard (65) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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May 17, 1962: Concert for Eight for flute, clarinet, mandolin, guitar, accordion, percussion, piano, and double bass by Roberto Gerhard (65) is performed for the first time, in London.
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December 17, 1962: Incidental music to the radio production of Calderón de la Barca’s The World’s Great Stage by Roberto Gerhard (66) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Home Service.
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April 20, 1963: Incidental music to the radio production of Zbigniew Herbert’s The Philosopher’s Den by Roberto Gerhard (67) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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May 23, 1963: Hymnody for flute/piccolo, oboe, clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, two pianos, and percussion by Roberto Gerhard (66) is performed for the first time, in London.
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April 1, 1964: The Plague for speaker, chorus, and orchestra by Roberto Gerhard (67) is performed for the first time, in Royal Festival Hall, London.
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May 17, 1964: Incidental music to the radio production of Robert Graves’ (after Homer) The Anger of Achilles by Roberto Gerhard (67) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Home Service. The is the first of a series of three episodes.
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December 10, 1964: Incidental music to the radio production of Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro by Roberto Gerhard (68) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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April 25, 1965: Concerto for orchestra by Roberto Gerhard (68) is performed for the first time, in Boston.
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November 26, 1965: Incidental music to the radio production of Shakespeare’s Pericles by Roberto Gerhard (69) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Third Programme.
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December 14, 1967: Symphony no.4 “New York” by Roberto Gerhard (71) is performed for the first time, in New York to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New York Philharmonic.
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January 5, 1970: Roberto Gerhard dies in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, of acute pulmonary edema and emphysema, aged 73 years, three months, and eleven days. His earthly remains will be laid to rest in Ascension Parish Burial Ground, Cambridge.
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January 19, 1975: Incidental music to the radio production of Dorothy L. Sayers’ The Man Born to be King by Roberto Gerhard (†5) is broadcast for the first time, over the airwaves of BBC Radio 4. This is the first episode in a series of twelve.
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January 21, 1992: The Duenna, an opera by Roberto Gerhard (†22) to words of Hassall and the composer after Sheridan, is staged for the first time, in a concert setting in Teatro Lirico Nacional, Madrid 45 years after it was composed. See 23 February 1949.