Igor Stravinsky / The Producers

On this day in classical music: Igor Stravinsky’s “Fanfare for a New Theatre,” composed for the opening of the New York State Theatre at Lincoln Center, received its premiere in 1964. Listen to trumpet players Reinhold Friedrich and Wolfgang Bauer perform the lively fanfare. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfSZoOLfb38 

On this day in the musical theatre: American musical theater history was rewritten when “The Producers” opened on Broadway in 2001. Based on the screenplay by Mel Brooks, the musical starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick as Broadway producers who hatch a scheme to bilk money out of wealthy old women and use it to mount what is certain to be a flop. The musical was nominated for 15 Tony Awards and won a dozen, two more than any musical in history. “The Producers” ran for more than five years. 

Musical musings: I know that the twelve notes in each octave and the varieties of rhythm offer me opportunities that all of human genius will never exhaust. – Igor Stravinsky

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