Spurred on by a recent listen to Tyzen Hsiao's 1947 Overture, I decided to see just how many years have their own piece. By which I don't mean had a piece composed that year, which of course would be every one for the past many centuries, but rather years which are explicitly included in a piece's title.
Of course Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is the blatant example, with a few others that come to mind shortly thereafter:
Husa: Music for Prague 1968
Barber: Knoxville, Summer of 1915
Shostakovich: Symphony #11 "The Year 1905"
Shostakovich: Symphony #12 "The Year 1917"
...but I managed to come up with twenty just by going through the list of music I own. So the obvious question is, what other years belong on this list?
Janacek: Piano Sonata "1.X.1905"
Kilar: Koscielec 1909
Tournemire: Symphony #3 "Moscow 1913"
Hindemith: Suite 1922
Harris: Symphony 1933
Clifford: Symphony 1940
Prokofiev: 1941 Suite
Martinu: Merry Christmas 1941
Antheil: Symphony #4 "1942"
Creston: Chant of 1942
Finney: Symphony #1 "Communique 1943"
Francis Judd Cooke: Symphony 1944
Cikker: Symphony 1945
Gerster: Festoverture 1945
Nyström: 1945 Overture
Montsalvatge: Partita 1958
Gorecki: Symphony #1 "1959"
Fine: Symphony 1962
Werle: Summer Music 1965
Schuller Symphony 1965
Avni: Programme Music 1980
Francis Judd Cooke: Symphony 1990
Bokhour: New York, 1999
-J
--
Jim Moskowitz
The Unknown Composers Page: http://kith.org/jimmosk/TOC.html
My latest list of unusual classical CDs for auction: http://tinyurl.com/jimsCDs
Quote from: jimmosk on Wednesday 23 February 2011, 06:55
what other years belong on this list?
Hubert Parry: Symphonic Fantasia
1912 (Symphony No.5)
William Wallace: Symphonic Poem
Wallace A.D. 1305-1905
Karl Amadeus Hartmann: Piano Sonata 27 April 1945
Ivo Petric: Odisej 1967
Leif Segerstam: Thoughts 1990 (and I think there are several other works by him with a year)
and a whole decade:
William Kraft: Contextures: Riots - Decade '60
Some additions:
PDQ Bach (Peter Schikele): 1712 Overture
Tan Dun: Symphony 1997
If a decade is admitted, why not Ellen Zaaffe Twilich "Millennium" ?
Wagner - Music to the Festspiel "Beim Antritt des neuen Jahres 1835" (WWV36)
Liszt - Funerailles, October 1849
Probably doesn't really count, but Sibelius wrote two "Cantata for The Helsinki University Ceremonies of [1894/1897]".
I could have sworn he had another with the year (probably a choral piece) but I can't find what it is...
Likewise there is a similar cantata (or two?) by Alfven on such a subject as the 450th (?) anniversary of Uppsala University. But the world does not turn on it, and I'm too tired to go chase up the year in which that occurred! Apologies to those who might care about such things!
Did someone mention "The Spirit of 1918 Overture"? :) (I only just found out about it now actually. And the movie it's related to, yes.)
I may add Florent's Schmitt "Fonctionnaire 1912" - inaction en musique pour orchestre, opus 74.