October 10 - Giuseppe Verdi; Vernon Duke; Evgeny Kissin; Thelonious Monk (The Musical Birthday Series)

Giuseppe Verdi (9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was the most important composer of Italian opera in the mid-nineteenth century.

Maledizione

The jester at court, Rigoletto,

Had  daughter at home in the ghetto.

She met, through a fluke,

The Mantuan Duke,

And thus, there's a tragic libretto. 

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Vernon Duke (10 October 1903 – 16 January 1969) was the composer of a number popular hits.  He also composer concert music under the name Vladimir Dukelsky.

C’est l’amour

If you’re spending an April in Paris

   And Taking a Chance on Love,

It should neither surprise nor embarrass

  That a standard can give it a shove.

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Evgeny Kissin (b.10 October 1971) is a classical pianist who grew from a sensational child prodigy into one of the most respected pianists of his generation.

Back to Basics

When we try to describe what’s unique

About Evgeny Kissin’s mystique,

It isn’t his hair,

Or his confident air,

But his old-fashioned Russian technique.

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Thelonious Monk (10 October 1917 – 17 February 1982) was an innovative jazz pianist and composer.

Uncharted Territory

To play like Thelonious Monk

Requires both courage and spunk.

When you see the dimensions

Of his chordal extensions

You feel like your hands might have shrunk.


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