June 6 - Vincent Persichetti (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for June 6th are found here: John Stainer (2019), Siegfried Wagner (2020), Louis Andriessen (2021), Aram Khachaturian (2022), and Lloyd Lindroth (2023)

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Vincent Persichetti (6 June 1915 – 14 August 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Variations on a Theme of Persichetti

Anyone who has played in a high school or college band/wind ensemble, or has attended the concerts of such, has likely encountered the music of Vincent Persichetti, one of the foremost composers of American wind band music. –Victor Carr Jr., at classicstoday.com

(1)

Persichetti’s music is on hand

To program when you have a concert band.

(2)

Persichetti wrote a mass

Of music scored for winds and brass.

(3)

Persichetti added to the store

Of music in the wind band repertoire.

(4)

Persichetti wrote a bunch of things

For winds and brass, eschewing strings.

(5)

If your son’s in band I’ll bet he

Plays the works of Persichetti.

 

 

 

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March 18 - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous postings for March 18th may be found here: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (2019), John Kirkpatrick (2020), Adam Levine (2021), John Kander (2022), and John IV of Portugal (2023)

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Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (18 March [O.S. 6 March] 1844 – 21 June [O.S. 8 June] 1908) wrote a huge catalogue of distinguished and colorful music. much of which remains quite rarely played outside of Russia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught

Rimsky-Korsakov taught theory and composition to 250 students over his 35-year tenure at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, "enough to people a whole 'school' of composers". This does not include pupils at the two other schools where he taught, including Glazunov, or those he taught privately at his home, such as Igor Stravinsky. – Wikipedia

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

  Was held in veneration;

He acted as a music prof

  And taught a generation

Of Russians one could rattle off

  In distinguished aggregation.

 

 

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February 5 - Christian Gottlob Neefe (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 5th are here: Ole Bull (2020), Barrett Strong; Christian Gottlob Neefe (2021), Grażyna Bacewicz (2022), and Ole Bull (2023)

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Christian Gottlob Neefe (5 February 1748 – 28 January 1798) was a German opera composer, conductor, and organist. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teach Your Children Well

He was known as one of the first teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. – Wikipedia

Christian Gottlob Neefe’s name

  Perhaps deserves obscurity;

In any case his future fame

  Would not have been surety

Without a stroke of Fate that grew

  From out of Bonn’s community,

And teaching Ludwig was, he knew,

  His golden opportunity.

 

 

 

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October 28 - Josef Gingold (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for October 28th are here: Howard Hanson; Cleo Laine (2019), Howard Hanson (2020), Howard Hanson; Dmitry Bortniansky (2021), and John Thomson; Howard Hanson (2022)

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Josef Gingold (28 October 1909 – January 11, 1995) was a Russian-born American classical violinist and teacher who lived most of his life in the United States, teaching for many years at Indiana University.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pentameters for a Pedagogue

Josef Gingold mentored Joshua Bell.

By all accounts he did it very well,

Instilling in the Indiana guy

The wisdom he had garnered from Ysaÿe.

He taught for years at Bloomington’s IU,

And troupes of gifted players cycled through

His studio to learn the outs and ins

Of virtuoso feats on violins.

 

 

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

 

 

February 26 - Anton Reicha (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 26th are here: Frank Bridge (2020), Fats Domino; Betty Hutton (2021), and Franz Strauss; Johnny Cash (2022)

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Anton Reicha (Rejcha) (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, Bavarian-educated, later naturalized French composer and music theorist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Legacy

The fame that Anton Reicha gets

Is for his fugues and wind quintets,

But ponder this before we close,

He mentored Liszt and Berlioz,

And Cesar Franck, Pauline Viardot,

Louise Farrenc, and Charles Gounod.

 

 

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