Four Centuries of Great Music September 28, 2025 Celebration of the Birthdays of Some Composers Born in September

Today on Four Centuries of Great Music we are celebrating the anniversary of the births of some of the composers born in the month of September.  We open with the music of French composer Jean-Philippe RAMEAU.

Jean-Philippe Rameau was born on September 25, 1683 in in Dijon, France was a regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century.  He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer of his time for the harpsichord, alongside François Couperin.  And it is with his music composed for the harpsichord  that we are opening today’s program, specifically his Gavotte and six doubles.  Here however we have a performance  on the piano by Bruce Liu from his album WAVES- Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan Deutsche Grammophon


Yo have been listening to Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Gavotte and six doubles performed  on the piano by Bruce Liu from his album WAVES- Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan

Jean-Philippe RAMEAU: Gavotte and six doubles 
Bruce Liu, piano
WAVES- Music by Rameau, Ravel, Alkan
Deutsche Grammophon


Next on this episode of Four Centuries of Great Music celebrating the anniversary of the births of some of the composers born in the month of September, we stay in France but jump ahead two centuries to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of twentieth century composer Darius MILHAUD.  

Darius MILHAUD was born on September 4, 1892 in Marseille, France but grew up in Aix-en-Provence, which he always considered to be his hometown.  With the invasion of France by the Nazis in 1940, MILHAUD fled France for the United States.  He spent the rest of his life traveling between France and the United States to teach at both the Paris Conservatoire and Mills College in alternative years.  His students included William Bolcom, Steve Reich, and two composers you might not expect Dave Brubeck (who named his son Darius) and Burt Bacharach.  

Here is one of his most famous works La Création Du Monde Op. 81a as performed by Leonard Bernstein conducting the Orchestre national de France from the album Milhaud: la Création Du Monde, Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit & Saudades Do Brasil   Columbia/Sony

The emigration of Darius MILHAUD to America has brought us to two American composers born in September Charles Tomlinson
GRIFFES and George GERSHWIN.

Charles Tomlinson GRIFFES was born on September 17, 1884 in Elmira, New York.  He is known today for his piano, chamber and vocal music.  He died in 1920 at the age of 35 during an outbreak of the Spanish flu.  Today we will explore his chamber and piano music

First his Three Tone-Pictures, Op. 5 written for piano from 1910-1915 orchestrated in 1919 which is the version we will hear here.

Charles Tomlinson GRIFFES:  Three Tone-Pictures, Op. 5 - The Lake at Evening
Charles Tomlinson GRIFFES:  Three Tone-Pictures, Op. 5 - The Vale of Dreams
Charles Tomlinson GRIFFES:  Three Tone-Pictures, Op. 5 - The Night Winds
 New World Chamber Ensemble conducted Seiji Ozawa
Works by Charles Tomlinson Griffes
Anthology of Recorded Music

Next is his piano sonata from 1905
Sonata
Denver Oldham
Charles Tomlinson Griffes: Collected Works for Piano
Anthology of Recorded Music


We return to the music of Darius MILHAUD, specifically his Saudades do Brasil composed in 1920 following his visit to Brazil in 1917-1918.  Each movement is a dance is based on a duple tango or samba rhythm and bears the name of a place or neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro.  MILHAUD uses the Portuguese term saudade which which means longing as in his wish to be back in Brazil or his longing for his time in Brazil.

Overture 
Sorocaba
Botafogo
Leme    
Copacabana
Ipanema
Gávea
Corcovado
Tijuca    
Sumaré
Paineiras    
Laranjeiras    
Paysandu

Darius MILHAUD Saudades do Brasil performed by Leonard Bernstein conducting the Orchestre national de France fro the album Milhaud: la Création Du Monde, Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit & Saudades Do Brasil   Columbia/Sony


We will close with George GERSHWIN  born on September  26, 1898.  Famous  for his Broadway and concert hall compositions he also died prematurely of a brain tumor at the age of 38.

Today we will hear his 

George GERSHWIN:   Piano Concerto in F   I. Allegro
George GERSHWIN:   Piano Concerto in F   II. Adagio
George GERSHWIN:   Piano Concerto in F   III. Allegro Agitato

André Previn & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Gershwin: Rhapsody In Blue, An American in Paris, Piano Concerto in F
Philips Records