May 14 - Otto Klemperer (The Musical Birthday Series)

Otto Klemperer (14 May 1885 – 6 July 1973) was one of the most renowned conductors of the previous century.

The Klemperers; or, When Otto Begat Werner

Reputation can change in a blink.

It could drive a good person to drink!

Imagine the odium!

A god of the podium,

Now known as the father of Klink.

May 13 - Arthur Sullivan (The Musical Birthday Series )

Arthur Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was a respected composer in a Mendelssohnian vein, but he was also, of course, the musical half of Gilbert and Sullivan. The rhyme below is what happens when the limerick meets the patter song.

The Very Model of Modern-Age Victorian

A Gilbert and Sullivan show

    Has outdated jokes

    Which regular folks

Are lacking the background to know.

It’s this vintage Victorian glow

Which diehards, (the really gungho),

   Seem most to enjoy.

   And oh, boy oh boy,

   It’s what they employ

   (Those fans of Savoy)

   To shame and annoy

   The mere hoi polloi,

So tit willow, old boy, tally ho!

May 12 - Jules Massenet; Gabriel Fauré (The Musical Birthday Series)

Two of the most important late 19th century French composers were born on this day just three years apart - Jules Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) and Gabriel Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924). So here is a limerick for both together, and one for each.

Le couple français

It’s the birthday of Jules Massenet,

Who shares the event with Fauré,

So sound a French horn

For the day they were born,

And honor the twelfth day of May

Thais’ Thighs

When Massenet wrote his Thais

He remembered the stage and the police,

So though she beguiles

With a courtesans wiles

She wears a most modest chemise.

Do Go Gentle 

The requiem mass of Fauré

Invites you to ponder and pray;

No trumpets or banners

Disturb the good manners

Of its civilized Gallic dismay.

May 11 - Irving Berlin (The Musical Birthday Series)

Irving Berlin (11 May 1888 – 22 September 1989) wrote both the music and lyrics for some of the most enduring songs in the Great American Songbook. The claim in the nonsense below is probably more true of his mature style than of his many early ragtime/vaudeville efforts.

 Just Like the Ones I Used to Know

The songbook of Irving Berlin

Is free from temptation and sin.

When prudish Aunt Sally

Explored Tin Pan Alley

She started with Holiday Inn.

May 10 - Milton Babbitt (The Musical Birthday Series)

Milton Babbitt (10 May 1916 – 29 January 2011) was an American composer and theorist known for his uncompromising advocacy of advanced serial and electronic techniques.

P-I-R-RI

Babbitt, as everyone knows,

Used combinatorial rows

To ensure every note

Of each piece that he wrote

Was related to these and to those.

May 9 - Giovanni Paisiello (The Musical Birthday Series)

Giovanni Paisiello (9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was one of the preeminent opera composers of the Haydn-Mozart generation. His La serva padrona retains a small place in the repertoire, especially with workshops and smaller companies.

There's Only Room for One of Us in this Town...

Giovanni Paisiello

Was an amiable fellow

Whose Barber of Seville was done

As long as there was only one,

But when Rossini made it two

It quickly faded out of view.

May 8 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk (The Musical Birthday Series)

Louis Moreau Gottschalk (8 May 1829 – 18 December 1870) was the first American piano virtuoso to gain an international reputation.  He was successful playing his own compositions. 

Louis Louis

When Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s toured

To Latin ports of call,

His glitzy novelties ensured

Astonishment from all,

With rhythms from his Creole roots,

And banjo imitations,

With operatical salutes,

And tunes from many nations.

And if his musical appeal

Is light and meretricious,

It’s safe to say not every meal

Is meant to be nutritious.