September 6 - Anton Diabelli; Isabella Leonarda (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 6th are here: Manfred Gurlitt; Sylvester (2019), Anton Diabelli (2020), and Georg Christoph Bach (2021)

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Anton Diabelli (5 or 6 September 1781 – 7 April 1858) was an important Austrian music publisher and minor composer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strata

Surrounding himself with the great composers of his time, he put the unusual combination of his musical and mercantile talents to good advantage by sharing his enthusiasms with the musical market of his time. In the very best sense of the word, he was a popularizer without whom many a greater gift might never have surfaced and many a passionate amateur might never have blossomed. – Music Associates of America website

When deciding what music would please

The musically suave Viennese,

He published some fluff,

And some serious stuff,

Take your pick, - some of those, some of these.

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isabella Leonarda (6 September 1620 – 25 February 1704) was an Italian composer and Ursuline nun.

Sister Act

Leonarda was a highly regarded composer in her home city, but her music was apparently little known in other parts of Italy. – Wikipedia

Isabella Leonarda, a nun,

Wrote music for God, not for fun.

Her fame remained small,

But to have it at all,

Was a newsworthy thing to have done.

 

 

 

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September 5 - John Cage (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 5th are here: John Cage; Giacomo Meyerbeer (2019), John Cage (2020), and Johann Christian Bach (2021)

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John Cage (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was one of the leading composers of the mid-twentieth century avant-garde in music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hardware Dealer

John Cage took meticulous care

With a piano he wished to prepare.

To make thuds and pings

From traditional strings

He would place odds and ends here and there.

 

 

 

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September 4 - Anton Bruckner (The Musical Birthday Series)

Previous posts for September 4th are here: Anton Bruckner (2019), Darius Milhaud (2020), and Anton Bruckner (2021)

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Anton Bruckner (4 September 1824 – 11 October 1896) was one of the great late nineteenth century symphonists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This/That

Ironically, it's exactly the things Bruckner's fiercest critics hate that his devotees admire so much: the scale, the uniqueness of his harmony, the new kind of symphonic form he developed, the spiritual journeys he creates.  – Tom Service, “Listen without prejudice,” The Guardian (6 Oct 2011)

When Bruckner is played the reaction

Is decided according to faction, –

For some it’s a time

That approaches sublime,

For others, like being in traction.

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Thank God. I'm a Country Boy

Bruckner was a pious, plain-spoken composer and organist from an upper Austrian village who specialized in writing massive symphonies. Both the man and his music were misunderstood and maligned, both in his day and beyond his death in 1896. He was mocked for his backwoods dialect and simple clothing. – Tom Huizenga, “Why Bruckner Matters,” NPR.org, (19 Jan 2017)

Herr Bruckner was a simple soul,

  Who humbly served his God,

But there are tales, and they are droll,

  It seems that he was odd.

And though, of course, it wasn’t fair,

   His peasant-like rusticity

Exposed him to the hostile glare

   Of critical publicity.

 

September 3 - Knut Nystedt (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 3rd are here: Dorothy Maynor; Thurston Dart (2019), Adriano Banchieri (2020), and Jo Ann Castle (2021) 

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Knut Nystedt (3 September 1915 – 8 December 2014) was a Norwegian orchestral and choral composer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Untying Knut’s Knots

 

With unfailing artistry he showed a remarkable ability to adapt essential new discoveries to his own, highly personal, style, which is rich in colours and, at the same time, delicately nuanced.His musical language showed his understanding of developments in the avant-garde of his time while remaining true to conventions of his forefathers. -- excerpted from knutnystedt.com

When college choirs sing his stuff

His style is challenging enough

That relatives may find it tough,

But not so much to cause a huff.

He showed a perspicacious skill

In sugaring a bitter pill

For folks who found the avant-garde

Was fearsome, muddled and too hard.

 

 

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September 2 - Laurindo Almeida (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 2nd are here: Georg Böhm (2019), Hugo Montenegro (2020), and Alphons Diepenbrock (2021)

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Laurindo Almeida (2 September 1917 – 26 July 1995) was a Brazilian guitarist and composer in classical, jazz, and Latin music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Multitasking

Almeida was the first guitarist to receive Grammy Awards for both classical and jazz performances. His discography encompasses more than a hundred recordings over five decades. – Wikipedia

With Laurindo Almeida one hears

What seems to be two separate careers.

It’s a life which impresses

With stellar successes

In multiple musical spheres.

 

 

 

 

 

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September 1 - Emanuel Schikander (The Musical Birthday Series, 4th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 1st are found here: Engelbert Humperdinck (2019), Johann Pachelbel (2020), and Franz Biebl (2021)

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Emanuel Schikaneder (1 September 1751 – 21 September 1812) was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers!

Raise a glass as we salute

The author of The Magic Flute!

Mozart wrote the score, of course,

But Schikaneder was the source,

For it was he who wrote the play,

And that is why you hear me say,

We owe his ghost and toast today!

 

 

 

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