Sunday, August 25, 2024

August 25 - Furtein Valen; Ruby Keeler (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for August 25th are here: Leonard Bernstein (2019), (2020), Stefan Wolpe; Undine Smith Moore (2021), Leonard Bernstein (2022), and Leonard Bernstein (2023)

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Fartein Valen (25 August 1887 – 14 December 1952) was a Norwegian composer notable for his work in atonal polyphonic music.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment

 

Glenn Gould became a great admirer of Valen and wrote at the time of his recording of Valen's Piano Sonata no. 2, "I really do feel, for the first time in many years, that I've encountered a major figure in 20th century music". -- extracted from Wikipedia 


I don’t know how it all began,

But Gould was Valen’s biggest fan,

Which likely didn’t help the man.


Gould, of course, was not a liar,

And yes, there’s much there to admire.

But Valen’s never catches fire.


And while it’s true a man like Gould

Would not be likely to be fooled,

His judgment has been overruled.

 

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


Ruby Keeler (25 August 1909 28 February 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, and singer in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Bros. 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Song and Dance


In the ‘30s when talkies were new,

The Hollywood musical drew,

Big stars to the West

And the movies were blest

When Miss Keeler was seen in a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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