Musician's Datebook: January 16th

Births:
1728—Italian opera composer Niccoló Piccinni, in Bari;
1905—Spanish composer Ernesto Halffter, in Madrid;
1934—American composer Richard Wernick, in Boston, Massachusetts;
1943—English composer Gavin Bryars, in Goole, Yorkshire;
1943—English composer Brian Ferneyhough, in Coventry;

Deaths:
1886—Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli, age 51, in Milan;
1891—French ballet composer Leo Delibes, age 54, in Paris;
1957—Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, age 89, in New York;
1969—Russian-born American composer and songwriter Vernon Duke (Vladimir Dukelsky), age 65, in Santa Monica, Calif,;

Premieres:
1724 — Bach: Sacred Cantata No. 155 ("Mein Gott, wie lang, ach lange") performed on the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany as part of Bach's first annual Sacred Cantata cycle in Leipzig (1723/24);
1739 — Handel: oratorio, "Saul," in London at the King's Theater in the Haymarket (Gregorian date: Jan. 27);
1745 — Handel: musical drama "Hercules" (Julian date: Jan. 5);
1800 — Cherubini: opera "Les deux journées," in Paris at the Théatre Feydeau;
1869 — Borodin: Symphony No. 1, in St. Petersburg (Julian date: Jan. 4);
1876 — Tchaikovsky: "Serenade mélancolique,"in Moscow (Gregorian date: Jan. 28);
1905 — d'Albert: opera "Tiefland" (The Lowlands) (2nd version), in Magdeburg at the Stadttheater;
1916 — Prokofiev: "Scythian" Suite (Gregorian date: Jan. 29);
1933 — Miaskovsky: Symphony No. 11, in Moscow;
1936 — Frank Bridge: "Ovation (Concerto elegiaco)" for Cello and Orchestra, in London, by the BBC Symphony conducted by the composer, with Florence Hooton the soloist;
1942 — Britten: "Diversions on a Theme" for Piano Left Hand, by pianist Paul Wittgenstein, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy conducting;
1969 — Babbitt: "Relata II," by the New York Philharmonic, with Leonard Bernstein conducting;
1983 — Daniel Asia: "Why (?) Jacob" for piano, by Sanford Margolis;
1997 — Esa-Pekka Salonen: "L.A. Variations" for orchestra, by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with the composer conducting.