November 4 - Carl Tausig (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for November 4th are here: Carl Tausig (2019), Gena Branscombe (2020), Arnold Cooke; Sean Combs (2021), Carl Tausig (2022), and Carl Tausig

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Carl Tausig (4 November 1841 – 17 July 1871) was a great pianist and a minor composer, now mostly remembered for virtuoso arrangements and transcriptions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anything You Can Do…

Carl Tausig, though his life was short,

Attained an immortality of sort

By publishing extravagant transcriptions

Whose difficulty beggars all descriptions.

 

 

 

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November 3 - Vincenzo Bellini (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for November 3rd are here: Vladimir Ussachevsky; Vincenzo Bellini (2019), Samuel Scheidt (2020), Jake Shimabukuro (2021), and Vincenzo Bellini (2022)

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Vincenzo Bellini (3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an important Italian opera composer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Facts of Life

Though Bellini is dreamy and pensive,

The demands that he makes are extensive,

And a diva who’s weak

From the point of technique,

Will await her reviews, apprehensive.

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Fach of Life

Though Bellini is pensive and dreamy,

He isn’t verismo or steamy,

And the voice to perform a

Persona like Norma

Is different from one that sings Mimi.

 

 

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November 2 - Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for November 2nd are here: Patrice Chéreau; Friedrich Kalkbrenner (2019), k. d. lang; Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2020), Friedrich Kalkbrenner (2021), Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2022), and Otto Reubke

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Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an a composer and violinist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Namesake

Since this new post required a noble title, Ditters was sent to Vienna and given the noble title of von Dittersdorf. His full surname thus became "Ditters von Dittersdorf", but he is usually referred to simply as "Dittersdorf". — Wikipedia

Since it gave court officials the jitters

To address him as simply Herr Ditters,

They had his name padded,

With “von Dittersdorf” added,

Which made him the grandest of critters!

 

 

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November 1 - Roger Quilter (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for November 1st are here: Roger Quilter; Guido Adler (2019), Victoria de los Angeles (2020), Roger Quilter (2021), Roger Quilter (2022), and Roger Quilter

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Roger Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, important for his art songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessment

While a collection rather than a true song cycle, Seven Elizabethan Lyrics is "probably the best single volume of songs the composer ever produced", according to Michael Pilkington.  – Wikipedia

Roger Quilter’s lyric taste,

Traditional and very chaste,

Focused on familiar rimes

From Merrie England’s Olden Times.

He set these verses by the cluster

With all the taste that he could muster,

And writing with polite sincerity,

Avoided bombast or severity.

 

 

 

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