• About
    • Other writings
  • Patrons
  • The Lists
    • Listening History
    • Complete List of Ratings
    • Compositions explored on 5:4
    • Albums and EPs reviewed on 5:4
    • Festivals reviewed on 5:4
    • Best Albums of the Years
    • The Proms premières – Poll results
  • The Dialogues
  • Mixtapes
    • Mixtapes
    • The Isolation Mixtapes
    • Mystery Mixtapes
    • Podcasts
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Submission Contact Form
5:4
Category:

Anniversaries

  • 20th CenturyAnniversariesCommemorations

    Jehan Alain – Trois Danses

    by 5:4 June 20, 2012 • 21:52
    June 20, 2012 • 21:52

    Today marks the anniversary of the death of Jehan Alain, one of the most interesting and enigmatic French composers of the first half of the twentieth century. To me, Alain’s unique musical sensibility draws comparison with two other composers; the free-spirited, swirling exoticism and spontaneous evocations of feeling suggest Alexander …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesCD/Digital releases

    20 years on: The Orb – Blue Room

    by 5:4 June 8, 2012 • 06:26
    June 8, 2012 • 06:26

    Twenty years ago today, The Orb released one of their finest and most legendary creations, the single Blue Room. It became famous immediately due to its length; at 39’58”, it was tantalisingly close to the durational limit set by Gallup, who ran the UK charts, which classified anything of 40 …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    George Crumb – Black Angels

    by 5:4 October 24, 2011 • 09:26
    October 24, 2011 • 09:26

    Today is the 82nd birthday of George Crumb. To mark the occasion, here’s a recording of a performance of one of his most well-known and loved pieces, the great and formidable string quartet Black Angels, which received its first performance 41 years ago yesterday (hmm, 82 and 41; Crumb would …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    20 years on: Enigma – MCMXC a.D.

    by 5:4 December 11, 2010 • 16:20
    December 11, 2010 • 16:20

    It’s one of those curious memories that remains surprisingly vividly—the time: mid-December 1990; the place: Our Price Records on Cheltenham High Street. Having made my way down the narrow stairs to the basement where the CDs were kept (cassettes only upstairs), i stumbled into a collection of sounds the like …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesPremièresThematic series

    Schnittke Week – Hommage à Edvard Grieg, Symphony No. 8 (UK Première), Concerto Grosso No. 2 & (K)ein Sommernachtstraum

    by 5:4 November 26, 2010 • 07:53
    November 26, 2010 • 07:53

    The fifth and final concert featured in this Schnittke Week was broadcast on 15 January 2001, and featured the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Eri Klaas. The first part of the concert opened with something of an oddity: Hommage à Edvard Grieg, composed for the 150th anniversary of Grieg’s birth …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesThematic series

    Schnittke Week – Cello Concerto No. 2 & Symphony No. 5 (Concerto Grosso No. 4)

    by 5:4 November 25, 2010 • 07:46
    November 25, 2010 • 07:46

    Today’s featured Alfred Schnittke concert was broadcast on 14 January 2001, and comprised two monumental pieces, the Cello Concerto No. 2, with Torleif Thedéen taking the solo role, and the dual-named Symphony No. 5 (Concerto Grosso No. 4); Vassily Sinaisky directs the BBC Philharmonic. More than the others, this recording …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesThematic series

    Schnittke Week – Concerto Grosso No. 6, Monologue, String Trio & Concerto for Three

    by 5:4 November 24, 2010 • 07:58
    November 24, 2010 • 07:58

    Day three of my celebration of the music of Alfred Schnittke features music from a concert focusing on works involving solo strings, broadcast on 14 January 2001. Taking centre stage are soloists Ula Ulijona (viola), Marta Sudraba (cello), and the great violinist Gidon Kremer; they’re joined by the London Sinfonietta, directed …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesPremièresThematic series

    Schnittke Week – Concerto Grosso No. 1, Fragments (World Première) & Symphony No. 4

    by 5:4 November 23, 2010 • 08:29
    November 23, 2010 • 08:29

    The second concert being featured in this week of music by Alfred Schnittke comprised two of his major compositions plus the world première of a work unfinished at his death. It took place on 13 January 2001, and was given by the London Sinfonietta, conducted by Martyn Brabbins. The concert …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesThematic series

    Schnittke Week – String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3, Piano Quintet

    by 5:4 November 22, 2010 • 10:19
    November 22, 2010 • 10:19

    The coming week sees the anniversary of the birth of one of Russia’s most outstanding composers, Alfred Schnittke, born on 24 November 1934. 5:4 is therefore devoting this week to his music, focusing on works that were included in the Barbican’s ‘Seeking the Soul’ festival, in January 2001. Having kicked …

    Read more
    1 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    Björk – The Breezeblock & Mixing It Specials

    by 5:4 November 21, 2010 • 01:00
    November 21, 2010 • 01:00

    It’s more than a little staggering to realise that today is the 45th birthday of Björk Guðmundsdóttir, an artist i’ve followed for the entirety of her solo career and continue to admire very much (one day, i hope to explore her complete output here – when i have a couple …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    10 years on: Radiohead – Kid A

    by 5:4 October 4, 2010 • 13:11
    October 4, 2010 • 13:11

    You have to work at albums like Kid A. You have to sit at home night after night and give yourself over to the paranoid millenial atmosphere as you try to decipher elliptical snatches of lyrics and puzzle out how the titles […] might refer to the songs. In other …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    25 years on: a-ha – Take On Me

    by 5:4 September 21, 2010 • 15:10
    September 21, 2010 • 15:10

    This week marks the 25th anniversary of, in my view, one of the finest pop songs ever recorded: “Take On Me” by a-ha. It could be argued that the release of “Take On Me” marked a turning point for pop, which had spent the preceding years mooching around in New …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • AnniversariesMixtapes

    Mixtape #17 : Lay the Voice to Rest, Dear Mist (In Memoriam Danielle Baquet-Long)

    by 5:4 July 8, 2010 • 00:12
    July 8, 2010 • 00:12

    How quickly a year passes. On this day, 12 months ago, Danielle Baquet-Long died, bringing to an abrupt end the remarkable musical project that she and husband Will had crafted together for several years. Of course, music, like life, goes on regardless, and the prospect of plenty more releases yet …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    Einojuhani Rautavaara – Vigilia

    by 5:4 October 9, 2009 • 12:01
    October 9, 2009 • 12:01

    On this day in 1928, the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara was born, and to commemorate the occasion, here is a performance of his 1971 work, Vigilia. A complete setting of the Orthodox liturgies of Vespers and Matins, it was broadcast in an edition of Choirworks on Radio 3 in 2001, …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • Anniversaries

    25 years on: Propaganda – Dr. Mabuse and Bronski Beat – Smalltown Boy

    by 5:4 August 30, 2009 • 00:12
    August 30, 2009 • 00:12

    This year marks the 25th anniversary of two of the most striking songs of the 1980s—as well as being, in my opinion, among the best songs of all time. The first is “Dr. Mabuse” by German synthpop outfit Propaganda, inspired by the character made famous by Fritz Lang. Released to …

    Read more
    0 FacebookTwitterPinterestRedditEmail
  • 1
  • 2

Subscribe to 5:4

World New Music Days 2025 Nils Henrik Asheim: Lydkilder Sound and Image: Aesthetics and Practices Music Beyond Airports: appraising ambient music Simon Cummings | 間 Studies vol. 6

  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Rss
  • Mixcloud
Footer Logo

© Simon Cummings

5:4
  • About
    • Other writings
  • Patrons
  • The Lists
    • Listening History
    • Complete List of Ratings
    • Compositions explored on 5:4
    • Albums and EPs reviewed on 5:4
    • Festivals reviewed on 5:4
    • Best Albums of the Years
    • The Proms premières – Poll results
  • The Dialogues
  • Mixtapes
    • Mixtapes
    • The Isolation Mixtapes
    • Mystery Mixtapes
    • Podcasts
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Submission Contact Form