On this day 75 years ago (October 27, 1948), members of the chorus and orchestra of Teatro alla Scala gave the first complete performance of Stravinsky's "Mass" in Milan! One of only a handful of pieces by Stravinsky that was not commissioned, Stravinsky composed his "Mass" between 1944 and 1948. "My Mass was partly provoked by some Masses of Mozart that I found at a secondhand store in Los Angeles in 1942 or 1943. As I played through these rococo-operatic sweets-of-sin, I knew I had to write a

Born 100 years ago today: Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda (July 11, 1925)! Celebrated for his versatility and radiant tone, Gedda was a fixture on the world’s greatest stages, and was one of the most recorded tenors of the 20th century. His collaborations with Leonard Bernstein included: 🎼 Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the New York Philharmonic (1963) 🎼 Mozart arias at the Philharmonic’s 125th anniversary (1967) 🎼 The Governor in the concert performance of Candide at London's Barbican Centre and

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of MASS, PBS stations are scheduling broadcasts of Great Performances l PBS: LEONARD BERNSTEIN MASS, the Ravinia Festival’s highly acclaimed 2019 production conducted by Marin Alsop and featuring Tony Award winner Paulo Szot as the Celebrant. Check your local listings for more details. The program will also be available online for free streaming on PBS Passport from September 8 to October 6, 2021. | Leonard Bernstein