May 15, 2021

Happy birthday, Brian Eno

2 minutes

Synopsis

Crossword puzzle solvers know the three-letter answer to the clue “Composer Brian” is: E-N-O. But even fans of this British composer, performer, and producer might not know his full name, which is Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.

Brian Eno was born in Suffolk, England, on today’s date in 1948. He studied painting and music, and in his early 20s played synthesizer with the glam rock band Roxy Music before embarking on a solo career. In 1978, he released an album entitled “Music for Airports,” which was, quite literally, meant as calming music that could be played in airports, since Eno was so annoyed by the inane, perky muzak he usually heard there.

Eno coined the term “ambient music” to describe his album, whose release coincided with the early days of minimalist movement, itself a reaction to music deemed too complex and complicated.

“I was quite sick of music that was overstuffed,” said Eno, commenting, “In the late ’60s and early ’70s, recording went from two track to four track to eight track to 16 track to 32 track, and music got more and more grandiose, sometimes with good effect, but quite often not.”

Music Played in Today's Program

Brian Eno (b. 1948) — Music for Airports (Brian Eno, synthesizers)
Polydor 2310 647

On This Day

Births

1567 - Baptismal date of Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi, in Cremona;

1808 - Irish composer Michael William Balfe, in Dublin;

1908 - Swedish composer Lars-Erik Larsson, in Akarp (near Lund);

1941 - American composer and pianist Richard Wilson, in Cleveland;

Premieres

1913 - Debussy: ballet "Jeux" (Games), at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées by the Ballet Russe, Pierre Monteux conducting;

1920 - Stravinsky: ballet "Pulcinella," by Ballet Russe; at the Paris Opéra, with Ernest Ansermet conducting;

1939 - Douglas Moore: opera "The Devil and Daniel Webster," in New York City;

1949 - Hindemith: Concerto for Winds, Harp and Orchestra, in New York;

1949 - Randall Thompson: Symphony No. 3, Columbia University, in New York, Thor Johnson conducting;

1958 - Cage: Piano Concerto, in New York City;

1960 - Shostakovich: String Quartet No. 7, in Leningrad, by the Beethoven Quartet;

1972 - Rochberg: String Quartet No. 3, at Tully Hall in New York City, by the Concord Quartet;

1992 - Stephen Paulus: "Air on Seurat (The Grand Canal)", for cello and piano, at the National Cello Competition at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Ariz.;

1993 - Steve Reich: opera "The Cave," in Vienna at the Wiener Festspielhaus;

Others

1750 - First documented report of an audience standing during the "Hallelujah" chorus of Handel's "Messiah"; On May 1 and 15 in 1750, "Messiah" had been performed as a benefit for the Foundling Hospital charity (Gregorian dates: May 12 and 26, respectively).

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By American Public Media

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