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

Carl Heinrich Graun

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March 27, 1753: Silla, an opera by Karl Heinrich Graun (49) to words of King Friedrich II, translated by Tagliazucchi, is performed for the first time, in the Berlin Opera House.
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October 1, 1753: Oden mit Melodien is published in Berlin. It is a very influential collection of songs by some of the foremost composers in Germany, including Georg Philipp Telemann (72), Johann Gottlieb Graun (50), Carl Heinrich Graun (49), and CPE Bach (39).
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March 27, 1754: Semiramide, an opera by Karl Heinrich Graun (50) to words of Tagliazucchi after Voltaire, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera.
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January 6, 1755: Montezuma, an opera by Karl Heinrich Graun (51) to words of King Friedrich II, translated by Tagliazucchi, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera.
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March 26, 1755: Der Tod Jesu, a passion cantata by Karl Heinrich Graun (51) to words of Ramler after Princess Amalia, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Cathedral. The continuo part is played by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (41). His brother, Johann Christian Bach (19), is in the audience.
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April 1, 1755: Karl Heinrich Graun’s (51) opera Ezio to words of Metastasio is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera.
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January 9, 1756: I fratelli nemici, an opera by Karl Heinrich Graun (52) to words of Tagliazucchi after Racine, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera.
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March 27, 1756: Merope, an opera by Karl Heinrich Graun (52) to words of Tagliazucchi after Voltaire, is performed for the first time, at the Berlin Opera. Due to the impending war, this is the last opera produced in the Berlin Opera House until 17 December 1764.
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May 15, 1757: A Te Deum by Karl Heinrich Graun (53) is performed for the first time, in St. Petri, Berlin, to commemorate King Friedrich’s successful siege of Prague.
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August 8, 1759: Karl Heinrich Graun dies in Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, aged approximately 55 years.
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July 24, 1776: Il Genio della Russia e il Genio della Prussia by Johann Friedrich Reichardt (23) to words by Landi, is performed for the first time, as a prologue to a performance of Carl Heinrich Graun’s (†16) Angelica e Medoro, in the Royal Opera House, Berlin.
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January 21, 1786: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (71) writes to Johann Joachim Eschenburg about Charles Burney’s Handel (†26) Commemoration, which Eschenburg sent to him. He disagrees with many assertions by Burney and finds Handel wanting in comparison to Johann Adolf Hasse (†2), Carl Heinrich Graun (†26), Reihard Keiser (†46) and his father, Johann Sebastian Bach (†36). He also reports to Eschenburg that “I recently burned a ream and more of old works of mine and am glad that they are no more.” (Wolff, CPE Bach, 214)