Born Today! 24.10.2023

Quirino Gasparini (24 October 1721 – 26 September 1778) was an Italian composer, born in Gandino, near Bergamo, Italy. He studied for the priesthood, but largely devoted his life to music, becoming maestro de capello at Turin's cathedral. His compositions are mainly of church music, including a Stabat Mater which is still performed occasionally. He also wrote several operas, including a 1767 setting of Vittorio Amadeo Cigna-Santi's libretto Mitridate, re di Ponto, which three years later was set by the 14-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for the 1770 Milan carnival. One of Gasparini's arias, preferred by the tenor singer over Mozart's version of it, was sung at the Milan performance and is still included in modern publications of the opera's score. According to some accounts, Gasparini tried to subvert the Milan prima donna Antonia Bernasconi, attempting to persuade her to sing his settings of her arias rather than Mozart's. His ruse was, however, unsuccessful. He died in Turin in 1778.

Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (24 October 1739 – 10 April 1807), was a German princess and composer. She became the duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach by marriage, and was also regent of the states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach from 1758 to 1775. She transformed her court and its surrounding into the most influential cultural center of Germany.

Ramón Carnicer i Batlle (October 24, 1789 – March 17, 1855) was a Spanish composer and opera conductor, today best known for composing the National Anthem of Chile.

Carl Baermann (24 October 1810 – 23 May 1885) was a clarinetist and composer from Munich, Germany.

Ferdinand (von) Hiller (24 October 1811 – 11 May 1885) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, writer and music director.

Ferdinand (von) Hiller (24 October 1811 – 11 May 1885) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, writer and music director.

Josef Nešvera (24 October 1842 in Praskolesy - 12 April 1914 in Olomouc) was a Czech opera composer. The most successful of his five operas was Lesní vzduch ("Woodland Air") 1897.

Karl Emil Moritz Genetz (October 24, 1852 – May 1, 1930) was a Finnish composer of patriotic choral works. Genetz was born in Impilahti, Grand Duchy of Finland, Russian Empire (now in the Republic of Karelia). He became professionally employed as a language teacher, but gained prominence for his choral compositions. After studying chemistry and law at the University of Helsinki, he became a singer in the Finnish Opera, and traveled on a state grant to study at the Dresden Conservatory from 1875 to 1877. He spent time in various cities of Finland, including Hämeenlinna, Helsinki, and Hamina, working as a German language teacher, composing patriotic works, and conducting choirs. He died in Helsinki in 1930. Many of his works are still well known in modern Finland. James Fuld in his The Book of World-Famous Music points out that the first two measures of Genetz' Herää Suomi! (Arise Finland!) for male chorus, published in 1882, are almost identical with the main tune of Jean Sibelius' Finlandia of 1900, during which time the Grand Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire, which makes one consider how blatantly revolutionary against the Czarist regime Sibelius' wordless orchestral piece was.

Arnold Josef Rosé (born Rosenblum; 24 October 1863 – 25 August 1946) was a Romanian-born Austrian Jewish violinist. He was leader of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for over half a century. He worked closely with Brahms. and Gustav Mahler. Gustav Mahler was his brother-in-law. Although not known internationally as a soloist he was a great orchestral leader (concertmaster) and player of chamber music. He was leading the famous Rosé Quartet for several decades.

Franco Leoni (24 October 1864 – 8 February 1949) was an Italian opera composer. After training in Milan, he made most of his career in England, composing for Covent Garden and West End theatres. He is best known for the opera L'oracolo, written for Covent Garden but taken up successfully by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In addition to his operas, Leoni wrote several cantatas and oratorios and many ballads and other songs. He also worked as a conductor in London, both in the concert hall and in the theatre.

August Brunetti-Pisano (24 October 1870 - 1 September 1943), was an Austrian composer. Brunetti-Pisano was born in St. Gilgen. He was Georg Trakl's piano teacher. He was for a long time the president of the "Kunstgesellschaft Pan" (Society of Arts Pan) in Salzburg. In 1926 the "Brunetti-Gesellschaft" (Brunetti Society) was founded in Vienna. As a Late Romantic he struggled all his life for recognition, but with little success. Since 2005 he has been rediscovered, especially in Salzburg, where he died.

Ernst Leopold Christian Mielck (24 October 1877 – 22 October 1899) was a Finnish composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. A precocious but sickly youth, his promising career was cut short in its infancy when he died of consumption in Locarno, Switzerland, two days before his twenty-second birthday. As a result, Mielck's œuvre is small; his most acclaimed compositions are the Symphony in F minor (Op. 4; 1897) and the Dramatic Overture (Op. 6; 1898).

Pavel Grigorievich Chesnokov (Russian: Пáвел Григóрьевич Чеснокóв) (24 October 1877, Voskresensk, Zvenigorodsky Uyezd, Moscow Governorate – 14 March 1944, Moscow, also transliterated Tschesnokoff, Tchesnokov, Tchesnokoff, and Chesnokoff) was an Imperial Russian and Soviet composer, choral conductor and teacher. He composed over five hundred choral works, over four hundred of which are sacred. Today, he is most known for his piece Salvation is Created as well as works such as Do Not Reject Me in Old Age (solo for basso profondo) and movements from various settings of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom.

Norman Charles Suckling (24 October 1904 – August 1994) was an English biographer, composer, pianist, and writer on music. Born in the Forest Gate neighborhood of London, he studied at the Bancroft's School in Woodford Green, Essex in his youth. He then entered The Queen's College, Oxford where he earned a diploma in History. He taught at Liverpool College before joining the faculty of King's College, Newcastle (now Durham University) where he was a professor of the French language. He contributed articles to a number of periodicals and is the author of several books, including biographies on Gabriel Fauré and Molière. While at Durham, Suckling sometimes performed as a pianist, presenting concerts of mostly French music. His Fauré monograph of 1946 was the first full length study to appear in English. He contributed articles on English, French and Russian music to The Listener and other publications. He composed many songs setting English poets. Other works include: Introduction and Scherzo for string quartet (1923) Ode for Violin and Piano (OUP, 1925) A Vision of Avalon (chamber opera, 1928) A Cycle of Shakespeare Sonnets for tenor, violin and piano (1928) Violin Sonata (1928) Man in the Beginning, ballet (1934) Berceuse élégiaque for clarinet and piano (1943) Pastorale saugrenue for flute and bassoon (1944) Variations on a Theme of Rameau for flute and piano (1947) Mass for eight voices

Pierre Sancan (24 October 1916 – 20 October 2008) was a French composer, pianist, teacher and conductor. Along with Olivier Messiaen and Henri Dutilleux, he was a major figure among French musicians in the mid-twentieth-century transition between modern and contemporary eras; but outside France his name is almost unknown.

Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled Sequenza), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. He proved one of the most prolific composers of the later 20th century. Berio’s long-established status as the leading Italian composer of his generation remains secure.

Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled Sequenza), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. He proved one of the most prolific composers of the later 20th century. Berio’s long-established status as the leading Italian composer of his generation remains secure.

Gilbert Bécaud (French pronunciation: [ʒil.bɛːʁ be.ko], 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love". He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years, identifiable in his dark blue suits, with a white shirt and "lucky tie"; blue with white polka dots. When asked to explain his gift he said, "A flower doesn't understand botany." His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix. He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955, attracting 6,000 on his first night, three times the capacity. On 13 November 1997, Bécaud was present for the re-opening of the venue after its reconstruction.

George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical language which "range[s] in mood from peaceful to nightmarish". Crumb's compositions are known for pushing the limits of technical prowess by way of frequent use of extended techniques. The unusual timbres he employs evoke a surrealist atmosphere which portray emotions of considerable intensity with vast and sometimes haunting soundscapes. His few large-scale works include Echoes of Time and the River (1967), which won the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for Music, and Star-Child (1977), which won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition; however, his output consists of mostly music for chamber ensembles or solo instrumentalists. Among his best known compositions are Black Angels (1970), a striking commentary on the Vietnam War for electric string quartet; Ancient Voices of Children (1970) for a mixed chamber ensemble; and Vox Balaenae (1971), a musical evocation of the humpback whale, for electric flute, electric cello, and amplified piano. Born to a musical family, Crumb was acquainted with classical music at an early age and his affinity for Classical and Romantic composers in particular would stay throughout his life. He was especially influenced by composers such as Mahler, Debussy and Bartók; Crumb wrote his four-volume piano set Makrokosmos (1972–1979) in response to Bartók's earlier piano set Mikrokosmos. His compositions often contain musical quotations from wide range of composers including Bach, Chopin, Schubert, Strauss, and the jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk. The use of pastiche is also found in his music, as is text by Federico García Lorca, whose poetry Crumb set eleven times. Elements of theatricality appear in numerous compositions, inspiring choreographies from contemporary dance groups. To convey his unorthodox and complex musical style, Crumb's musical scores are facsimile manuscripts, using special notation "distinguished by astonishing clarity, precision and elegance, and by arresting graphic symbols in which staves are bent into arches, circles and other pictorial devices." Among his students were the composers Jennifer Higdon, Christopher Rouse and Melinda Wagner.

Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (Russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина , Tatar: София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established international figure. Major orchestras around the world have commissioned and performed her works. She is considered one of the foremost Russian composers of the second half of the 20th century.

Giovanni Sollima (born 24 October 1962 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy) is an Italian composer and cellist. He was born into a family of musicians and studied cello with Giovanni Perriera and composition with his father, Eliodoro Sollima, at the Conservatorio di Palermo, where he graduated with highest honors. He later studied with Antonio Janigro and Milko Kelemen at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart and at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg. As a composer, Sollima's influences are wide ranging, taking in jazz and rock, as well as various ethnic traditions from the Mediterranean area. Sollima's music is influenced by minimalism, with his compositions often featuring modal melodies and repetitive structures. Because his works are characterized by a more diverse and eclectic approach to material than the early American minimalist composers, the American critic Kyle Gann has called Sollima a postminimalist composer.Sollima has collaborated with the American poet and musician Patti Smith, appearing on her records and performing with her in concert. He also collaborates with the Silk Road Project.