March 21 - Modest Mussorgski (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings for March 21st may be found here: J. S. Bach [sic] (2019), Modest Mussorgsky (2020), and Modest Mussorgsky; Hermann Finck (2021)

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Modest Mussorgsky (21 March [O.S. 9 March] 1839 – 28 March [O.S. 16 March] 1881) was a Russian composer.

 

A Note of Pronunciation: While I am aware that the correct stress is on the first syllable of his family name, this verse assumes the usual American accentuation on the second syllable.

 

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With a Little Help From Your Friends

 

For many years, Mussorgsky's works were mainly known in versions revised or completed by other composers. – Wikipedia

"It is easy enough to correct Mussorgsky's irregularities. The only trouble is that when this is done, the character and originality of the music are done away with, and the composer's individuality vanishes." Anatoly Lyadov, qtd. in Wikipedia

Mussorgsky left a bunch of works unfinished.

His friends, when they completed them, diminished

     Their quirky personality.

In other cases, posthumous decisions

Resulted in unfortunate revisions

     Of his originality

Envoi

It’s dicey when your legacy depends

Upon the taste of well-intentioned friends.

 

 

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October 13 - Anselm Hüttenbrenner (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 13th are here: Art Tatum; Paul Simon (2019) and Paul Simon (2020)

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Anselm Hüttenbrenner (13 October 1794 – 5 June 1868) was an Austrian composer. He was a close friend of both Beethoven and Schubert.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s What Friends Are For

 

He was also present on 26 March 1827, at the time of Beethoven's death, when the only other person present was Beethoven's housekeeper. In commemoration of the moment, Huttenbrenner cut a lock of Beethoven's hair, now in Graz together with Beethoven's family archival book in the Fux Conservatory. --Wikipedia

 

Schubert sent the manuscript of his Unfinished Symphony to Hüttenbrenner around 1823. -- adapted from Wikipedia 

Hüttenbrenner claimed with pride

That he was there when Ludwig died.

And just to prove that he was there,

He cut a lock of Ludwig’s hair,

Which tied (no doubt) in tiny knots

Can still be seen when you’re in Graz.

Schubert, Hüttenbrenner’s friend,

Gave him a score which had no end,

Two movements and a few bars more, so

To this day it’s just a torso.

Since Schubert left the score that way, it

Is, of course, the way we play it.

 

 

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June 12 - Oliver Knussen (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 12th are found here: Richard M. Sherman (2019) and Jim Nabors (2020)

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Oliver Knussen (12 June 1952 – 8 July 2018) was a widely played and much admired British composer and conductor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early Riser; or, Morning Disaffirmations

Aged 15, Knussen stepped in to conduct his symphony's première at the Royal Festival Hall, London,  after István Kertész fell ill.--- Wikipedia

 

Oliver Knussen created a scene

  By conducting the world premiere

Of a symphony written when he was fifteen,

  For the musical world to hear.

It’s stories like this that leave regular folk

  With a feeling that something is lacking;

That our petty achievements are mirrors and smoke,

  And the best that we do only slacking;

That our journey through life is a kind of joke,

  And we shouldn’t have started unpacking!

 

 

 

 

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June 4 - Robert Merrill (The Musical Birthday Series, 3rd Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 4th are found here: Cecilia Bartoli (2019) and James Hewitt (2020)

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Robert Merrill (4 June 1917 – 23 October 2004) was a great American baritone active in opera and musical theater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safe

"On the other hand, the repertory and the interpretations are as 'central' as the voice itself. His records are not stamped with the sort of individuality that lodges immediately in a listener's memory; they are simply the work of a very good opera singer and source of unfailing pleasure to the ear." --- J. B. Steane, as quoted in Merrill’s New York Times obit

Robert Merrill’s career embraced

The middle ground of lyric taste.

By temperament or conscious choice

The shadings of his splendid voice

Lacked a certain vital force.

It’s not a fatal flaw, of course,

But greater baritone’s have found

There’s more to life than pretty sounds.

He could have taken risks, instead he

Chose a course more sure and steady,

And though he made iconic discs,

We seldom hear him taking risks.

 

 

 

 

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 [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.] 

 

January 28 - Artur [Arthur] Rubinstein; Johann Ernst Bach (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Artur [Arthur] Rubinstein (28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the last century.

[For last year's limerick on John Tavener click here.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common Practice

"According to his memoirs, he learned César Franck's Symphonic Variations while on a train en route to the concert, without the benefit of a piano, practicing passages in his lap. Rubinstein described his memory as photographic... " -- Wikipedia

The story goes that Rubinstein

   Learned music on the train,

Because he thought that practicing

   Was too much of a strain.

He wasn't like the rest of us,

    Who lack his special powers,

And have to find a practice room

   And practice there for hours.

  

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Johann Ernst Bach (28 January 1722 – 1 September 1777) was a distant relation 

and student of J. S. Bach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Matters

After his studies, [Johann Ernst Bach] returned to Eisenach. and became his father's official assistant and the next year his successor as court and city organist. - adapted from Wikipedia

When Germany was overrun

   With Bachs in every parish,

Your future plans, if you were one,

   Were bullish more than bearish.

Now Johann Ernst was such a boy,

   A member of the family Bach,

And soon enough he found employ

   As organist in Eisenach.

 

 

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