News archive – Musical anniversaries
Scott Joplin's "The Cascades" and the St. Louis World's Fair
When you think of Scott Joplin (1867 or 1868-1917), a piano rag probably comes to mind rather than a piece for piano plus strings, winds, and percussion—but the latter is precisely the instrumentation of the only work in the RISM database by Joplin, who died 100 years ago on April...
30 March 2017
Musical Anniversaries in 2017
Happy New Year! We start the year by looking ahead and getting ready to celebrate people in the RISM database who will have a major birthday this year or to remember those who died. We would like to begin 2017 with an overview of these people: they are not only...
10 January 2017
Mozart Autographs Online
Today we’re marking the 225th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and at RISM we have our own way to celebrate the composer. Our online catalog now has around 340 autograph manuscripts, of which almost 50 can be freely viewed online. The catalog can deliver the famous...
5 December 2016
Happy Birthday, Edmée Sophie Gail (1775-1819)
Edmée Sophie Gail was born on August 28, 1775 in Paris and showed musical talent as a singer and composer from a young age. The start of the French Revolution coincided with the publication of Gail’s first songs in magazines, and Gail was able to continue work as a singer...
25 August 2016
Eugène Ysaÿe's Manuscripts
Belgian composer and violin virtuoso Eugène Ysaÿe (1858- 1931) was born 158 years ago this Saturday. Those looking for manuscript sources for Ysaÿe should look no further than the Royal Library of Belgium (B-Br). The Fonds Eugène Ysaÿe contains 161 autograph manuscripts and 1,083 printed scores (by Ysaÿe as well...
14 July 2016
326 Years of Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770)
Today we are celebrating the 326th anniversary of the day that Gottlieb Muffat (1690-1770) was baptized, the closest we have to a date of birth. “The Famously Little-Known Gottlieb Muffat” is the name of an essay by Alison J. Dunlop that nicely sums up the contradiction between the fame of...
25 April 2016
Shakespeare 400 in Music
Around the world, playwrights, thespians, and lovers of English literature are celebrating William Shakespeare (1564-1616), who died 400 years this Saturday. (His 452nd birthday is next Tuesday.) The Bard left us a legacy that is treasured worldwide and he works still inspire music to this day. With just one exception,...
21 April 2016
George Frideric Handel at the British Library
Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 - 1759) died 257 years ago today. Though born in Germany, he settled in England and became a citizen. Handel may have lost an umlaut in the process, but England gained a treasure trove of manuscripts - and indeed, in the RISM database you will find...
14 April 2016
Happy Birthday, Johann Erasmus Kindermann (1616 - 1655)
Today is Johann Erasmus Kindermann’s 400th birthday! The son of a comb maker, Kindermann worked as a teacher and organist at various churches in Nuremberg, a city in which he stayed his whole life. He wanted to leave, however, as evidenced by many compositions he wrote as part of applications...
29 March 2016
Exhibit at the Frankfurt University Library: 350th Anniversary of Johann Andreas Herbst's Death
Johann Andreas Herbst (1588–1666) and His Music Library: A Testimonial to Music Playing and the Art of Printing Music Motivated by the ceremonial coronations for Holy Roman Emperor that took place in Frankfurt am Main in 1612 for Matthias and in 1619 for Ferdinand II, the city appointed its first...
28 January 2016
