December 19 - Fritz Reiner; Paul Dessau (The Musical Birthday Series)

Fritz Reiner (19 December 1888 – 15 November 1963) was a widely revered conductor best remember for his years with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Mean Streak

Maestro Reiner, martinet,

Made the best musicians sweat.

In rehearsal he made use of

Words insulting and abusive,

Finding ways to be sadistic

In the name of things artistic.

Strange that such behavior ended

In a legacy so splendid.

♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪

Paul Dessau (19 December 1894 – 28 June 1979) was a German composer best known for his collaborations with Bertold Brecht.

Vox populi

When Dessau was writing a song

His political motives were strong.

He wrote for The Masses

And thought that these classes

Returned his esteemed.  He was wrong.

(If you enjoy these posts, please consider helping me by sharing.)