We don’t know when exactly Shakespeare was born. We do know that he was baptized on April 26, 1564. Since he died on April 23, 1616, many have found it difficult to resist the pull of symmetry. Therefore, his birthday has traditionally been merged with the anniversary of his death. To borrow from “The Tempest,” our little lives are rounded with a sleep. But if you’re Shakespeare, and you die close enough to your natal day, your birthday is also rounded down.
It doesn’t really matter when the Bard was born. As one of the world’s most insightful and versatile playwrights, his output remains fresh, and his writings tie in beautifully with the spirit of renewal that springtime fosters. Also, there is just so much interesting and vital music inspired by his plays and sonnets.
Happy birthday, William Shakespeare (observed)!
Richard Wagner, “Das Liebesverbot” (after “Measure for Measure”)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a_-M8FKJDc
Josef Bohuslav Foerster, “From Shakespeare” (Introduction, Perdita, Viola, Lady Macbeth, and Katerina, Petruchio and Eros)
Geoffrey Bush, “Overture, Yorick” (A comedy overture inspired by “Hamlet!”)
Gerald Finzi, “Let Us Garlands Bring”
Mily Balakirev, “King Lear Overture”
Sir Arthur Sullivan, “The Merchant of Venice”
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, “Othello Suite”
Florent Schmitt, “Antoine et Cléopâtre”
Amy Beach, “Three Shakespeare Songs,” Op. 37
I. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_xNoT5MRCs
II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAJ735zUdwI
III. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3evsktsyZI
Johan Wagenaar, “The Taming of the Shrew Overture”
Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky, completed by Sergei Taneyev, “Romeo and Juliet”: Duet (from a projected opera)
Ralph Vaughan Williams, “In Windsor Forest” (adapted from the Falstaff opera, “Sir John in Love”)
Bedřich Smetana, “Richard III”
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, “Much Ado About Nothing”
Paul Moravec, “Tempest Fantasy” in five movements (Recipient of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Music)
Lars-Erik Larsson, “The Winter’s Tale”
The Musicians of the Globe present “Shakespeare’s Musick” (28 tracks)
The Broadside Band performs 39 “Songs & Dances from Shakespeare”
William Walton, “Henry V” (narrated by the late Christopher Plummer)
On St. George’s Day, “Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and St. Geeeeeeorge!’”