January 27 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Jerome Kern (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 27th are here: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2020), Jerome Kern (2021), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Mikhail Baryshnikov (2022), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Jerome Kern (2023), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Jerome Kern (2024)

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was one of the greatest composers of all time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Köchel Doodle Do (1 & 2)

(1)

When you eyes are beginning to glaze

Having studied your Köchel for days,

You can show erudition

Naming each composition

And its place in Mozartian K.s.

(2)

Though your friends hope that it’s only a phase,

And react with bewildered malaise,

Put it all in Excel

And they might respond well

When Köchel’s amassed in arrays.

 

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Jerome Kern (27 January 1885 – 11 November 1945) was an American composer of musical theater and popular music. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kerning

There are those who devotedly yearn

For this day and its yearly return,

When they get out their tome

Of the works of Jerome, ---

Not the Saint of the Desert, but Kern.

January 26 - Jimmy Van Heusen (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 26th are here: Alice Babs (2020), Maria von Trapp (2021), Stéphane Grappelli; Jimmy Van Heusen (2022), Emanuel Aloys Förster; Jimmy Van Heusen (2023), and Maria von Trapp (2024)

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Jimmy Van Heusen (26 January 1913 – 6 February 1990) was an American composer of popular songs.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art Is Politics

One won’t find political views in

The songbook of Jimmy Van Heusen,

Though some hold the theory

That we ought to be leery,

And that nothing is merely amusin’.

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Out of Synch

The Jimmy Van Heusen revue

Used mics for the band and the crew,

But the set had a myriad

Of props from the period,

And the sound didn’t match with the view.

 

 

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

 

January 25 - Antônio Carlos Jobim (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 25th are here: Antônio Carlos Jobim (2020), Witold Lutosławski; Etta James (2021), Witold Lutosławski (2022), Robert Burns (2023), and Florence Mills (2025)

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Antônio Carlos Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994) was the best-known exponent of bossa nova.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Explanation

Antonio Carlos Jobim

Will seldom be seen in a meme,

But though you may curse

He appears in light verse

Since his name fits the rhythmical scheme.

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Artful Ways

Jobim always strove to express

His soul with a subtle finesse,

Using rhythmic refinement

In beguiling alignment

With a voice like a gentle caress.

 

 

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

 

January 24 - Vítězslava Kaprálová (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 24th are here: Frederick the Second; E. T. A. Hoffmann (2020), E. T. A. Hoffmann (2021), Vítězslava Kaprálová (2022), Farinelli (2023), and Ray Stevens (2024)

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Vítězslava Kaprálová (24 January 1915 – 16 June 1940) was a Czech composer and conductor. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heroic Elegy for One Dying Too Young: Vítězslava Kaprálová

Raise your voice, let praise be sung

To honor her who died too young.

Alas, she died at twenty-five!

How cruel of Fate to thus deprive

The world of all that should have come

From such a talent, who, in sum,

Had early shown sufficient promise

To silence any doubting Thomas.

Raise your voice in mournful song,

And let laments be loud and long,

And curse the gods who did this wrong.

 

 

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

 

 

 

February 23 - Muzio Clementi (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 23rd are here: Muzio Clementi (2020), John Luther Adams (2021), Django Reinhardt; Gary Burton (2022), Anita Pointer; Chita Rivera (2023), and Marty Paich (2024)

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Muzio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian-born English pianist, composer, publisher, and piano manufacturer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Clementi Sonatinas

If you were given lessons as a child

And learned the pieces every teacher picks,

Then somewhere in you memory bank is filed

Clementi’s famous opus 36.

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Duel at the Court

In Vienna, Clementi agreed to enter a musical contest with Mozart for the entertainment of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and his guests at the Viennese court. The composers were called upon to improvise and to perform selections from their own compositions. The Emperor diplomatically declared a tie.  – adapted from Wikipedia

When Clementi and Mozart competed one day,

The result of that evening of dazzling display

Was a tie in the judgement of Joseph the Second,

Who was most diplomatic when such things were reckoned.

 

 

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