Month: September 2024

Classical Music Timeline: 1980s

This is one of a series of postings of important classical music dates, from the 17th century to the present. Included are the date and location of the birth and death of composers, and the premiere date and location of the first public performance of works. When the premiere date and location is unknown, the date or year of completion of the work is given. Though reasonably comprehensive, this is a subjective list, so the choice of composers and works is mine. If you find any errors, or if you can offer a premiere date and location for a work where only the completion date or year is listed, please post a comment here.

1980
January 17 – Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed (In Memoriam: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) by Adolphus Hailstork (1941-) was first performed in Baltimore, Maryland

May 6 – The Empire Strikes Back, with film score by John Williams (1932-), was released

December 24 – Alec Wilder (1907-1980) died in Gainesville, Florida

1981
January 23 – Samuel Barber (1910-1981) died in New York, New York

February 1 – Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981) died in Oslo, Norway

February 26 – Howard Hanson (1896-1981) died in Rochester, New York

June 12 – Raiders of the Lost Ark, with film score by John Williams (1932-), was released

1982
May 26 – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, with film score by John Williams (1932-), was released

1983
March 8 – William Walton (1902-1983) died in La Mortella, Italy

May 1 – Cypresses, for voice and piano, B11 by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was first performed in Prague, Czech Republic

May 25 – Return of the Jedi, with film score by John Williams (1932-), was released

June 25 – Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983) died in Geneva, Switzerland

1984
June 8 – Gordon Jacob (1895-1984) died in Saffron Walden, Essex, England

July 18 – Olympic Fanfare and Theme by John Williams (1932-) was first performed in Los Angeles, California

1985
April 30 – “1712 Overture” by [P.D.Q. Bach] Peter Schickele (1935-2024) was first performed in Boston, Massachusetts

September 11 – William Alwyn (1905-1985) died in Southwold, England

October 13 – Requiem by John Rutter (1945-) was first performed in Dallas, Texas

1986
Malcolm Arnold (1921-2006) completed Four Irish Dances, op. 126

January 22 – Ilse Fromm-Michaels (1888-1986) died in Detmold, Germany

November 15 – Alexandre Tansman (1897-1986) died in Paris, France

December 27 – Lars-Erik Larsson (1908-1986) died in Helsingborg, Sweden

1987
Krasimir Kyurkchiyski (1936-2011) completed Kalmankou Denkou (The Evening Gathering), for a cappella Bulgarian female choir, this year or before

February 14 – Dmitry Kabalevsky (1904-1987) died in Moscow, Russia

December 11 – Empire of the Sun, with film score by John Williams (1932-), was released

1988
November 28 – Atardecer (Dusk), for piano four hands, by Joaquín Rodrigo (1901-1999) was first performed in Madrid, Spain

1989
September 30 – Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) died in New York, New York

December 20 – Born on the Fourth of July, with film score by John Williams (1932-), was released

←1970s

1990s→

How Far the Sun

How do we know our Sun is 93 million miles (150 million km) away1?

The ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus of Samos, who lived around 2,300 years ago, was probably the first person who made a reasonable attempt to determine the distance to the Sun.

Using a method of geometric analysis developed by Euclid (trigonometry had not yet been invented), Aristarchus measured the angle between the half-lit Moon and the Sun and determined that the Sun is 18 to 20 times farther away than the Moon.  Though he fell far short of the actual value of 389 due to the extreme difficulty of making accurate measurements using the instruments and methods available to him, Aristarchus showed the way for future generations of astronomers to determine the true distance to the Sun.

Determining the actual distance (and not the relative distance) to the Sun had to wait for Kepler’s Third Law of planetary motion that relates a planet’s orbital period to its distance from the Sun, the invention of the telescope, and Isaac Newton’s laws of motion and gravitation.

P^{2}\propto a^{3}

Distances within the solar system can be determined using trigonometry and parallax, which is the apparent shift of an object against the distant background stars as seen from different locations.

Hold your thumb at arm’s length and alternate between right and left eye open to see the parallactic shift.
Bring your thumb closer, and the shift is greater.

Measuring the parallax to a Sun-orbiting object (such as Mars) from two different locations on the Earth’s surface allows us to measure its distance and, thanks to Kepler and Newton, sets the scale for the entire solar system.  The true distance of each planet from the Sun can then be mathematically determined.  This was first accomplished in 1672, and has been done many times since, with ever-improving accuracy.

Observations of the position of Mars by Giovanni Cassini at Paris and Jean Richer at Cayenne
allowed the first determination of the distance to Mars using trigonometric parallax in 1672.

Today, we have even better methods to determine the scale of the solar system: timing radar reflections off of solar system objects, and measuring travel time for radio communications between Earth and spacecraft.  Both radar and radio signals travel at the speed of light, which is very well determined.

1Approximate average distance