Today’s date in 1879 marks the birthdate of composer and pianist Régine Wieniawski, born in Brussels, the daughter of the Polish violinist and composer Henryk Wieniawski. Although a Franco-Belgian composer in style, she published her music under the Slavic-sounding pen name Poldowski.

She was admired by many of the most famous musicians of her day. Henry Wood programmed her works on Proms concerts, and in 1912, she gave a concert at London’s Aeolian Hall, that, quite unusual for the time, consisted solely of her own works with the her at the piano. That concert introduced 24 of her songs, many to texts of French poet Paul Verlaine.

The review in the Daily Telegraph noted, “nearly every song was a distinguished example of the art of word setting; and the sense of harmonic color is decidedly strong.”

The performance of her Violin Sonata, also on the program, was not as well received; the London Times sniffed, “the method which was successful in the songs was less effective in the Violin Sonata.”

Oh well, Poldowski’s Verlaine settings are still very much admired and performed, and her instrumental music, neglected for decades, is also getting renewed attention.

Régine Wieniawski (aka Poldowski) (1879-1932): Scherzo from Violin Sonata; Clare Howick, violin; Miroslaw Feldgebel, piano; Dux 1840

Crossword puzzle solvers know the three-letter answer to the clue “Composer Brian” is: E-N-O. But even fans of this British composer, performer and producer might not know his full name, which is Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno.

Brian Eno was born in Suffolk, England on today’s date in 1948. He studied painting and music, and in his early 20s played synthesizer with the glam rock band Roxy Music before embarking on a solo career. In 1978, he released the album Music for Airports, which was, quite literally, meant as calming music that could be played in airports, since Eno was so annoyed by the inane, perky muzak he usually heard there.

Eno coined the term “ambient music” to describe his album, whose release coincided with the early days of minimalist movement, itself a reaction to music deemed too complex and complicated.

“I was quite sick of music that was overstuffed,” Eno said, commenting, “In the late 60s and early 70s, recording went from two-track to four-track to eight-track to 16-track to 32-track, and music got more and more grandiose, sometimes with good effect, but quite often not.”

Brian Eno (b. 1948): Music for Airports; Brian Eno, synthesizers; Polydor 2310 647

In the 1980s, the Finnish Broadcasting Company had come up with the idea of commissioning a whole evening’s worth of orchestral pieces by native composer Einojuhanni Rautavaara, which, when taken together, would form a conventional concert program of overture, concerto and symphony. These three works have come to be called the Angel Trilogy, since each of them has a title with the word “angel” in it.

Rautavaara’s Fifth Symphony, with the working title Monologue with Angels, premiered on today’s date in 1986, was originally to be the symphonic conclusion of this triple commission. But Rautavaara dropped the title, and his Symphony No. 7, (Angel of Light), ended up being the third part of the Angel Trilogy, alongside the overture Angels and Visitations and the double-bass concerto Angel of Dusk.

If you asked the mystical Rautavaara why he changed his mind, he would probably have said it really wasn’t his idea at all. Rautavaara believed his compositions already existed in “another reality,” as he said, and his job was just to bring it into our world in one piece.

“I firmly believe that compositions have a will of their own,” he said, “even though some people smile at the concept.”

Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-2016): Symphony No. 5; Leipzig Radio Symphony; Max Pommer, conductor; BMG 62671