Previous posts for April 1st may be found here: Sergei Rachmaninoff (2019), F. Melius Christiansen (2020) and Alberta Hunter (2021)
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Debbie Reynolds (1 April 1932 – 28 December 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman.
Generic Expectations
When a Debbie Reynolds musical’s on tap,
You know there won’t be any Reynolds Rap.
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪
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.
Two Limericks on the Same Theme
The 1954 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians notoriously dismissed Rachmaninoff's music as "monotonous in texture ... consist[ing] mainly of artificial and gushing tunes" and predicted that his popular success was "not likely to last". To this, Harold C, Schonberg, in his Lives of the Great Composers, responded: "It is one of the most outrageously snobbish and even stupid statements ever to be found in a work that is supposed to be an objective reference.” – Wikipedia
(1)
Rachmaninoff’s urge to conceive
His themes with his heart in his sleeve,
Led some to condemn,
Which was snobbish of them,
And has proven obtuse and naive.
(2)
The middle-brow public will gush
When his music is lavish and lush,
While highbrows might sneer
At this lavish veneer
And complain that it’s sugary mush.
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