Born Today! 10.02.2024

Johann Melchior Molter (10 February 1696 – 12 January 1765) was a German composer and violinist of the late Baroque period. He was born at Tiefenort, near Eisenach, and was educated at the Gymnasium in Eisenach. By autumn 1717 he had left Eisenach and was working as a violinist in Karlsruhe. Here he married Maria Salome Rollwagen, with whom he had eight children. From 1719 to 1721 he studied composition in Italy. From 1722 to 1733 he was court Kapellmeister at Karlsruhe. In 1734 he became Kapellmeister at the court of Duke Wilhelm Heinrich of Saxe-Eisenach. Maria died in 1737; by 1742 Molter had married Maria Christina Wagner. In that year he returned to Karlsruhe and began teaching at the gymnasium there. From 1747 to his death Molter was employed by Margrave Carl Friedrich of Baden-Durlach, the son of his first employer. He died at Karlsruhe. Molter's surviving works include an oratorio; several cantatas; over 140 symphonies, overtures, and other works for orchestra; many concertos, including some of the first clarinet concertos ever written; and many pieces of chamber music. One of Molter's many Trumpet Concertos is the signature piece of C-SPAN's Washington Journal.

Pierre de La Garde (10 February 1717, Crécy-la-Chapelle – c.1792) was a French composer and baritone. He was music master to the daughters of Louis XV. His surviving compositions are mainly lightweight, composed for himself to sing and accompany himself on the guitar. His opéra-ballet Aeglé (1748), of which a copy survives in the Musée de l'Amérique française, has been revived in Canada, and his comic cantata La Sonate, commencing "N’admirés vous pas ce tableau...," was recorded by Dominique Visse.

Johann Peter Pixis (10 February 1788 – 22 December 1874) was a German pianist and composer, born in Mannheim. He lived in Vienna from 1808 to 1824, then in Paris to 1840, during which time he was among the city's most prominent pianists and composers, although he is almost entirely forgotten nowadays.

Gustav Cornelius Gurlitt (10 February 1820 – 17 June 1901) was a German composer. He was a classmate of Carl Reinecke, whose father was head of the Leipzig Conservatory. Gurlitt studied with Reinecke's father for six years. His first public appearance at the age of seventeen was well received, and he decided to go to Copenhagen to continue his studies. There he studied organ, piano, and composition under Curlander and Weyse. While in Copenhagen he became acquainted with the Danish composer Niels Gade, and they remained friends until Gade's death. In 1842, Gurlitt moved to Hørsholm, where he resided as organist and music teacher for four years. He then moved to Leipzig, Germany, where Gade was musical director for the Gewandhaus concerts. Gurlitt next traveled to Rome, where his brother, Louis Gurlitt, a well-known painter, was studying. Cornelius Gurlitt's abilities as a musician were quickly recognized in Rome, and the papal Accademia di Santa Cecilia nominated him an honorary member, graduating as a Professor of Music in 1855. While in Rome he also studied painting with excellent results. On his return to Altona, the Duke of Augustenburg engaged him as teacher for three of his daughters. When the Schleswig-Holstein war broke out in 1848, Gurlitt became a military band master. His output was prodigious in quantity and breadth, ranging from songs and teaching pieces to operas, cantatas, and symphonies. He was born in Altona, Schleswig-Holstein and died in Altona.

Sir Walter Parratt (10 February 1841 – 27 March 1924) was an English organist and composer.

Vasily Pavlovich Kalafati (Russian: Василий Павлович Калафати, Vasilij Pavlovič Kalafati; 10 February [O.S. 29 January] 1869, Yevpatoria, Crimea – 20 March 1942, near Leningrad) was a composer and pedagogue of Greek descent in the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Kalafati was a pupil of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and would also teach composition and music theory there between 1907 and 1929, having been promoted to professor in 1923. His own students included Alexander Scriabin, Igor Stravinsky, and Heino Eller. He died during the German siege of Leningrad in World War II. Although largely forgotten after his death, Kalafati was one of the most important composers in Russia during his lifetime. He composed in a style which resembled that of Rimsky-Korsakov and his most notable works were an opera Cygany (based on Pushkin's poem The Gypsies), a symphony in A minor, a symphonic poem Legenda (which won him a prize at the 1928 International Schubert Competition in Vienna), an overture, a polonaise for orchestra, chamber music, pieces for piano, as well as art songs. Pianist, Mary-Victoria Voutsas recorded his works. Naxos released a cd of orchestral works including the Symphony and “Legenda”. (Naxos, 8.574132)

Zygmunt Wiehler (10 February 1890, Kraków, Austria-Hungary –26 December 1977, Warsaw) was a Polish popular and film music composer and director. Wiehler attended the Music Conservatory in Kraków. From 1907 he was connected professionally to many theaters in the country, and in the 1920s and 1930s, he was a musical manager and director in Warsaw cabarets ("Wodewil", "Qui pro quo", "Banda", "Perskie Oko", "Morskie Oko", "Ananas", "Wielka Rewia", "Cyganeria"). He prepared music to be presented under the theatrical director Leon Schiller. During 1935-39 he was the musical manager of Feliks Parnell's Ballet. At the dance festival during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin he shared in a medal for the Parnell Ballet. At the start of the occupation (1939–40) he played piano in Warsaw cafés, then (1940–44) directed in public theaters. After the war, he divided his time between Łódź and Warsaw theaters. At the end of the 1950s he turned to his own composing. He wrote nearly a thousand songs, of which many became hits. He is buried in Powązki Cemetery (Section 287-VI-9/10).

Zygmunt Wiehler (10 February 1890, Kraków, Austria-Hungary –26 December 1977, Warsaw) was a Polish popular and film music composer and director. Wiehler attended the Music Conservatory in Kraków. From 1907 he was connected professionally to many theaters in the country, and in the 1920s and 1930s, he was a musical manager and director in Warsaw cabarets ("Wodewil", "Qui pro quo", "Banda", "Perskie Oko", "Morskie Oko", "Ananas", "Wielka Rewia", "Cyganeria"). He prepared music to be presented under the theatrical director Leon Schiller. During 1935-39 he was the musical manager of Feliks Parnell's Ballet. At the dance festival during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin he shared in a medal for the Parnell Ballet. At the start of the occupation (1939–40) he played piano in Warsaw cafés, then (1940–44) directed in public theaters. After the war, he divided his time between Łódź and Warsaw theaters. At the end of the 1950s he turned to his own composing. He wrote nearly a thousand songs, of which many became hits. He is buried in Powązki Cemetery (Section 287-VI-9/10).

Victor Guillermo Ramos Rangel (February 10, 1911, Cúa, Miranda state, Venezuela – December 10, 1986, Caracas) was a Venezuelan classical musician. Started his career in the Caracas Musical Declamation Academy (nowadays renamed in honor to José Ángel Lamas), where he graduated as composer. Ramos was one of the first students of Vicente Emilio Sojo and helped him in the compilation of Venezuelan folk songs. In 1930, he is part of the founders of the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra and the Orfeón Lamas. In this orchestra dedicated to execute the Bassoon. From 1941 to 1950, he was professor in Caracas' public schools such as: 19 de abril, Rubén González, Ricardo Zuloaga and Gabriela Mistral." In 1945, Ramos worked for the Education Ministry and was a music professor in the Cultural Direction of Caracas. In 1947 he married Dilia Díaz Cisneros, with whom he had a daughter and two sons. From 1944 until 1978, he was Professor of Theory, Solfege and Music History at the José Ángel Lamas Superior Music School. In 1978, he participated in the documentary about his hometown, for the series Pueblos de Venezuela on YouTube (Towns of Venezuela), of filmmaker Carlos Oteyza. Along with the Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela he traveled to Europe and the United States. Also, was member of the National Geographic Society reading club. In his live, he traveled around the world for cultural interests and the learning of new languages. Among his compositions, can be mentioned: Lo Eterno, La maravilla (Aprended flores de mi), A José María España, Bambú de caña batiente; and the songs Gota de agua and Amanecer.

Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929 – July 21, 2004) was an American composer known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the Star Trek franchise and three in the Rambo franchise, as well as for films including Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes, Tora! Tora! Tora!, Patton, Papillon, Chinatown, The Omen, Alien, Poltergeist, The Secret of NIMH, Medicine Man, Gremlins, Hoosiers, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Air Force One, L.A. Confidential, Mulan, and The Mummy. He also composed the fanfares accompanying the production logos used by multiple major film studios, and music for the Disney attraction Soarin'. He collaborated with directors including Robert Wise, Howard Hawks, Otto Preminger, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Richard Fleischer, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton, Roman Polanski, Gordon Douglas, Fred Schepisi, Paul Verhoeven, and Franklin J. Schaffner. His work for Donner and Scott also involved a rejected score for Timeline and a controversially edited score for Alien, where music by Howard Hanson replaced Goldsmith's end titles and Goldsmith's own work on Freud: The Secret Passion was used without his approval in several scenes. Goldsmith was nominated for six Grammy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, nine Golden Globe Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, and eighteen Academy Awards (winning in 1976 for The Omen).

Theodore Antoniou (Greek: Θεόδωρος Αντωνίου, Theódoros Andoníou; February 10, 1935 – December 26, 2018), was a Greek composer and conductor. His works vary from operas and choral works to chamber music, from film and theatre music to solo instrumental works. In addition to his career as composer and conductor, he was professor of composition at Boston University. His education included studies in violin, voice, and composition at the National Conservatory of Athens, the Hellenic Conservatory, and conducting at both The Hochschule für Musik and the International Music Centre in Darmstadt. He was a member of the Academy of Athens.In 2004, he was awarded the Herder Prize from the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung F.V.S.

Kazuko Hara (原 嘉壽子, Hara Kazuko, 10 February 1935 – 30 November 2014) was a prolific Japanese opera composer.

Zhanna Vasil'yevna Pliyeva (Russian: Жа́нна Васи́льевна Пли́ева; 10 February 1949 – 22 January 2023) was a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist.

Marc-André Dalbavie (born 10 February 1961 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France) is a French composer. He had his first music lessons at age 6. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied composition with Marius Constant and orchestration with Pierre Boulez. In 1985 he joined the research department of IRCAM where he studied digital synthesis, computer assisted composition and spectral analysis. In the early 1990s he moved to Berlin. Currently he lives in the town of St. Cyprien and teaches orchestration at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1994 he was awarded the Rome Prize. The same year he was one of three composers who won the Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize. In 1998, the Cleveland Orchestra appointed him the composer-in-residence (a Daniel Lewis Fellow) for two years. In 2004, he was made a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2018 he was awarded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's Elise L. Stoeger Prize.

Shahin Novrasli (born February 10, 1977) is an Azerbaijani jazz pianist, and composer.