I've been listening to Griffes' The Pleasure Dome of Kubla Khan this week and I just noticed the composer died on this date in 1920, at the age of 35. Wikipedia suggests he died from Spanish Flu although liner notes from DRAM say empyema, a form of pneumonia that may or may not be related to the epidemic.
I don't normally listen to tone poems but each of the musical episodes is varied and appealing, especially in the original piano version. The composer Busoni wrote a letter of recommendation for Griffes but told him to either orchestrate or shorten the piece. He did both.
gbarto on the work:
...a bit gloomy, a touch saccharine here and there, but very nice in places and eminently listenable.
NPR streams here.
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