April 30 - Sheldon Harnick (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 30th may be found here: Franz Lehár (2019), Sheldon Harnick (2020), Robert Shaw; Alfred Gaul (2021), Merrill Osmond (2022), Franz Lehár (2023), and Robert Shaw (2024)

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Sheldon Harnick (30 April 1924 – 23 June 2023) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his musicals written with Jerry Bock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Encore

It's always a bit of a shock

That the theater public will flock

To greet the arrival

Of the umpteenth revival

Of Fiddler by Harnick and Bock.

 

 

 

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April 29 - Steve Norquist (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 29th may be found here: me (2019), me (2020), me (2021), me (2022), me (2023), me (2024)

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Steve Norquist (b. 29 April 1954) writes this blog.  He is a musicologist and pianist, and performs obscure, undeservedly forgotten, and just plain odd piano music at his YouTube channel Piano Curiosities with Steve Norquist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Verse about.... Me

Each day, with a verse to conceive,

He rolls up his figurative sleeve,

And cobbles away

At his metrical play, —-

I'm speaking of Norquist, called Steve.

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Dated Apt

Since Norquist is seventy-one,

You'll note that his verse are spun

With threads from the past, 

Unperturbed, unharassed,

By the urge to make up-to-date fun.

 

 

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April 28 - Blossom Dearie; John Jacob Niles (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 28th may be found here: John Jacob Niles (2019), Michael Daugherty (2020), Blossom Dearie (2021), Ludvig Schytte (2022), John Jacob Niles (2023), and Ann-Margaret; Blossom Dearie (2024)

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Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer, pianist, and cabaret artist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chanteuserie

Her skill as both a pianist and vocalist meant she knew "how to complement the singing"; in her opinion, many accompanists played "entirely too much piano for the vocalist". — Wikipedia

Here's the answer to those who would query

The secret of Miss Blossom Dearie:

"The voice and each word

Should be easily heard." –

In short, a most practical theory.

 

 

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

 

John Jacob Niles (28 April 1892 –1 March 1980) collected, arranged, or composed (the boundaries are fluid) some of the most beloved American folk melodies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sing Out!

In the days of the Folksong Revival

They avoided the merely archival;

But no one would quarrel

If sources were oral, 

And here, J. J. Niles had no rival.

 

 

 

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April 27 - Nicolas Slonimsky (The Musical Birthday Series, 7th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 27th may be found here: Friedrich von Flotow (2019), Nicolas Slonimsky (2020), Johann Adam Reincken (2021), Nicolas Slonimsky (2022), Friedrich von Flotow (2023), and Guido Cantelli (2025)

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Nicolas Slonimsky (April 27 [O.S. April 15] 1894 – December 25, 1995) was a Russian-born American conductor, author, pianist, composer and lexicographer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Thoughts on Slonimsky's Lexicon of Musical Invective

In 1953, Slonimsky brought out the Lexicon of Musical Invective ("Critical Assaults on Composers since Beethoven's Time"), a collection of hilariously scathing, insulting, vituperative, and enraged contemporary critiques of musical greats in their time.  – Wikipedia

 

(1)

Though the sway of the critical throng

Is sometimes alarmingly strong,

Slonimsky found laughs

In the marvelous gaffes,

When reviewers were charmingly wrong.

(2)

Consider the fate that was faced

By a critic reviewing in haste, —

When their judgement was sloppy

In the deadline for copy,

They were mocked in his book and disgraced.

 

 

 

 

 

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