April 3 - Zez Confrey (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 3rd may be found here: Reginald De Koven (2019),  Alessandro Stradella (2020), Wayne Newton (2021), Watkins Shaw (2022), Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (2023), and Richard Proulx (2024)

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Zez Confrey (3 April 1895 – 22 November 1971) was an American composer and performer of novelty piano and jazz music. His most noted works were "Kitten on the Keys" and "Dizzy Fingers."   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Novelty Act

I looked, and the calendar says

That today is the birthday of Zez

Confrey, who played with a flair

That seemed like a breath of fresh air.

But even his hit "Dizzy Fingers"

Has faded, and just barely lingers,

(Perhaps with a bit of unfairness)

On the fringe of the culture's awareness.

 

 

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April 2 - Richard Taruskin (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings for April 2nd may be found here: EmmyLou Harris (2019),  Marvin Gaye (2020), Franz Asplmayr (2021), Franz Lachner (2022), Giacomo Gotifredo Ferrari (2023), and  Franz Lachner (2024)

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Richard Taruskin (2 April 1945 – 1 July 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

En Garde!

Mr. Taruskin courted controversy in nearly everything he wrote. He had a no-holds-barred approach to intellectual combat. – excerpts adapted from William Robin, "Richard Taruskin, Vigorously Polemical Musicologist, Dies at 77," www.nytimes.com

Richard Taruskin was someone with whom

   It was foolish to vie in polemics,

With rhetorical flair he commanded the room

   And crushed less assured academics!

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.] 

 

 

April 1 - Sergei Rachmaninoff (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 1st may be found here: Sergei Rachmaninoff (2019), F. Melius Christiansen (2020), Alberta Hunter (2021), Debbie Reynolds; Sergei Rachmaninoff (2022), Susan Boyle (2023) and Rachmaninoff (2024)

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Sergei Rachmaninoff (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was, of course, one of the greatest pianists of his time, and remains one of the most beloved of all composers.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Different Strokes

For some, the concertos he wrote

Are clearly the work of the G.O.A.T.,

While other would say

They could listen all day

And hear nothing but bustle and bloat.

 

 

 

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.] 

 

March 31 - Sergei Diaghilev; Johann Sebastian Bach; Joseph Haydn (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for March 31st may be found here: Joseph Haydn (2019) and (2020), Herb Alpert (2022), Joseph Haydn; Johann Sebastian Bach (2022), Joseph Haydn (2023), and Shirley Jones; Johann Sebastian Bach (2024)

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Sergei Diaghilev (31 March [O.S. 19 March] 1872 – 19 August 1929) was a Russian art critic, patron, and ballet impresario (founder of the ballets Russes).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the Ballet

Nijinsky became Diaghilev's lover in late 1908. It was an intense relationship in which Diaghilev was often seen to dominate, and abruptly halted when Nijinsky married and Diaghilev dismissed him from the company in 1913. –"Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes – an introduction" at www.vam.ac.uk

The whiff of a scandal still hovers

In the case of Diaghilev's lovers,

And the kind of abuse

That the old Ballets Russes

Kept (literally) under the covers.

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Johann Sebastian Bach (31 March [O. S. 21 March] 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and organist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compensation

In Leipzig the weather was bleak,

And the fashions not flashy or chic,

But the Thomas Church choir

Had Herr Bach as supplier

Of cantatas sung week after week.

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Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809) was one of the great composers of the late 18th century.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working Man

At the Esterhazy country estate

Herr Haydn had lots on his plate,

While providing the court

With delights of the sort

That were neither too plain nor ornate.

If you enjoy these posts, please help me, and consider sharing.  [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Takes: Great Art Repurposed.]