Pianist/composer Sergei Rachmaninov was possessed of both unusually large hands and a staggering lack of empathy when it came to writing piano music for other people. Hyung-ki Joo is by no means the first pianist to have been confounded by the mammoth chords of his Prelude in C sharp minor (Op.3, No.2).
He probably is the first to have come up with this particular solution helped by his partner in crime, violinist Aleksey Igudesman.
• 1571 ~ Pier Francesco Corteccia, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1730 ~ Georg von Pasterwiz, Composer
• 1736 ~ Karl Frieberth, Composer
• 1778 ~ Johann Georg Zechner, Composer, died at the age of 62
• 1784 ~ Jean-Baptiste Canavas, Composer, died at the age of 71
• 1789 ~ Vaclav Jan Kopriva, Composer, died at the age of 81
• 1863 ~ Franz Xavier Gruber, Composer, died at the age of 75
• 1833 ~ Alexander Ritter, Composer
• 1846 ~ Wladyslaw Gorski, Composer
• 1865 ~ Guido Gasperini, Composer
• 1867 ~ Luigi Maurizio Tedeschi, Composer
• 1873 ~ Landon Ronald, Composer
• 1874 ~ Theodor Streicher, Composer
• 1885 ~ Percy Brier, Composer
• 1891 ~ Athos Palma, Composer
• 1893 ~ Johann Schrammel, Composer, died at the age of 43
• 1897 ~ George Szell, Hungarian-born American conductor
• 1909 ~ Actress Mary Pickford made her motion picture debut in “The Violin Maker of Cremona”.
• 1911 ~ Franz Reizenstein, Composer
• 1911 ~ Silas Roy Crain, Singer/arranger/songwriter
• 1915 ~ Benjamin Lambord, Composer, died at the age of 35
• 1917 ~ Dean Martin (Dino Crocetti), Singer
• 1922 ~ Hubert Du Plessis, Composer
• 1926 ~ Dick Williams, Choral director of the Andy Williams Show
• 1926 ~ Henry Charles Tonking, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1928 ~ Charles Strouse, American of popular music
• 1931 ~ Henry Weinberg, Composer
• 1932 ~ Emil Pauer, Composer, died at the age of 76
• 1934 ~ Phillip Entremont, Pianist
• 1934 ~ Samuel Lipman, Music critic
• 1934 ~ Wynn Stewart, Singer
• 1939 ~ Larry Clinton and his orchestra recorded In a Persian Market (by Ketelbey) on Victor Records.
• 1940 ~ Tom Jones, Grammy Award-winning singer
• 1941 ~ Jaime Laredo, Bolivian-born American violinist Clarence White (1944) Guitarist with the Byrds
• 1945 ~ Ruben Marcos Campos, Composer, died at the age of 69
• 1945 ~ The opera “Peter Grimes” by Benjamin Britten, premiered in London, at Sadler’s Wells Theater.
• 1948 ~ Georges Adolphe Hue, Composer, died at the age of 90
• 1949 ~ Due to an impending lawsuit that stemmed from Milton Berle’s TV show, comedienne Cathy Mastice held the first musical press conference. She sang her way into announcing the court action. Due to the publicity she received, Ms. Mastice became an overnight success.
• 1953 ~ Kukla, Fran (Allison) and Ollie, along with the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler, were featured on the first network telecast in ‘compatible color’. The program was broadcast from Boston, MA.
• 1958 ~ Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson), Singer
• 1963 ~ First Rolling Stones TV appearance (Thank Your Lucky Stars)
• 1965 ~ Pierre Cardevielle, French Composer/conductor, died at the age of 59
• 1969 ~ “Johnny Cash Show,” debuted on ABC~TV
• 1969 ~ Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash combined on a Grand Ole Opry TV special
• 1969 ~ Tommy James & Shondells released Crystal Blue Persuasion
• 1970 ~ The Who’s rock opera “Tommy” was performed at NY’s Lincoln Center
• 1972 ~ “Grease” opened at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 3,388 performances
• 1974 ~ The Entertainer by Scott Joplin, used in the motion picture The Sting, earned a gold record for pianist and conductor, Marvin Hamlisch.
• 1975 ~ Thank God I’m a Country Boy, by John Denver hits #1
• 1976 ~ Bobby Hackett, Jazz cornetist/orchchestra leader, died at the age of 61
• 1982 ~ Sixteenth Music City News Country Awards: Barbara Mandrell
• 1983 ~ Daniele Amfiteatrov, Composer, died at the age of 81
• 1990 ~ Michael Jackson hospitalized for chest pains
• 1991 ~ Singer Jimmy Osmond wed Michelle Larson
• 1993 ~ Prince celebrated his birthday by changing his name to a symbol and calling himself The Artist Previously Known as Prince. He went back to “Prince” in 2000