{"podcast":{"title":"Composers Datebook","slug":"composers-datebook-550176","podcast_index_feed_id":550176,"rss_url":"https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/composers-datebook","website_url":"https://www.yourclassical.org/composers-datebook","image_url":"https://img.apmcdn.org/1486eb29dcac7f11a5275eaa0d424ba7c6b9afc7/uncropped/8588a0-20210225-composers-datebook-2000.jpg","author":"American Public Media","episode_count":30,"summary":"Composers Datebook™ is a daily two-minute program designed to inform, engage, and entertain listeners with timely information about composers of the past and present. Each program notes significant or intriguing musical events involving composers of the past and present, with appropriate and accessible music related to each.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-07T04:19:16.343454+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/composers-datebook-550176"},"episode":{"title":"Bach in the USA","slug":"bach-in-the-usa","published_at":"2026-04-21T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/composers-datebook-550176/bach-in-the-usa","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/composers-datebook-550176","url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/composers_datebook/2026/04/21/datebook_20260421_128.mp3","audio_url":"https://pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/5/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/play.publicradio.org/podcast/o/composers_datebook/2026/04/21/datebook_20260421_128.mp3","summary":"Synopsis In 1863, the price of The New York Times was three cents, and many plunked down their pennies to read front-page news about “the rebellion” — what we now call the Civil War. But if you were a music aficionado back in 1863, the Times “Amusements” page noted that one of Verdi’s newest operas, Un Ballo in Maschera , had just closed at the Academy of Music, and the contemporary composer-pianist Louis Moreau Gottschalk had given a concert of his latest works the day before. After all that “modern” music, maybe you were in the mood for some really old music. The enterprising duo of William Mason and Theodore Thomas was offering a Soiree of Chamber Music at Dodworth’s Hall on April 21, 1863, and their program included the first public performance in America of the Concerto for Two Keyboards and Strings by J.S. Bach. Now this was really old stuff — predating the birth of America in 1776 by a good 50 years! The Times did not review this Bach premiere, but the next documented American performance in Boston in 1877 was described in Dwight’s Journal as a “cheerful, lightsome, everyday sort of composition … full of vigor and life, the best of tonics.” Music Played in Today's Program J.S. Bach (1650-1721): Concerto for Two Keyboards","meta_description":"Synopsis In 1863, the price of The New York Times was three cents, and many plunked down their pennies to read front-page news about “the rebellion” — wha…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":120,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/composers-datebook-550176/episodes/bach-in-the-usa/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/composers-datebook-550176/bach-in-the-usa.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}