May 6 - Gaston Leroux (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 6th may be found here: Carmen Cavallaro (2019), (2020),  George Perle (2021), Joseph Brackett (2022), and William Walker (2023)

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Gaston Leroux (6 May 1868 – 15 April 1927) was a French journalist and author, best known in the English-speaking world for his novel The Phantom of the Opera.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Opposing Viewpoints

All I Ask of You (1)

If Gaston Leroux came back to find

  His Phantom as a Broadway show,

Would the dapper Frenchman mind?

  The answer, I suspect, is no.

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Too Late (2)

The Spirit of Gaston Leroux

Saw Phantom on Broadway with rue,

For he knew that the checks

That an author expects

Would never, no never, come through.

 

 

 

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May 5 - Hans Pfitzner (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 5th may be found here: Charles Rosen and François-André Danican Philidor (2020),Tammy Wynette (2019), T. Tertius Noble (2021), Ola Gjeilo (2022), and Adele (2023)

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Hans Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist whose best known work is the opera Palestrina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pfading Away

That said, Palestrina is unlikely to enjoy any repeat performances in this

country. Despite the hype and considerable interest within opera circles,

the production didn't fill the Opera House. – Douglas McLennan, review of Palestrina at Lincoln Center in 1997

It can be said of Palestrina

That few of us have heard or seen a

Live production, and the score

Is widely held to be a bore.

Critics, by and large, are baffled

By a contrapuntal scaffold

That it only seems to slow and clot

The movement of the heavy plot.

And yet the show has its adherents

Who work against its disappearance

With somewhat cult-like perseverance. —-

(The tickets will be sold at clearance.)

 

 

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May 4 - Bartolomeo Cristofori (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 4th may be found here: Bartolomeo Cristofori (2019), Roberta Peters (2020), Lance Bass (2021), Marianna Martines (2022), and Roberta Peters (2023)

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Bartolomeo Cristofori (4 May 1655 –27 January 1731) is credited with inventing the piano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pentameters for B.C.

Bartolomeo Cristofori, who

Had mastered making splendid harpsichords,

Was looking out for something else to do

For novelty and fame and new rewards.

He came up with an intricate machine,

A complicated keyboard gizmo which

Played loud and soft and also in between.

The nascent pianoforte found its niche,

The harpsichord receded from the scene 

And all the courts of Europe made the switch.

And there you have it, friends, in all its glory,

The pure authentic Cristofori story.

 

 

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May 3 - Richard D'Oyly Carte (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 3rd may be found here: Richard D'Oyly Carte (2019), Virgil Fox (2020), Bing Crosby; Marcel Dupré (2021), Pete Seeger; Florian Leopold Gassmann (2022), and Johann Adolph Scheibe (2023)

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Richard D'Oyly Carte (3 May 1844 – 3 April 1901) was an English talent agent, theatrical impresario, and hotelier.  He is responsible for launching and nurturing the success of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Savoyards by the Yard

Raise your voice and do your part

To honor Richard D’Oyly Carte,

Who had the savvy to assess

That G and S would have success.

And Britons of a certain set,

Who knew exactly what they’d get,

Didn't seem at all dismayed

That things became a bit clichéd,
Until the recherché result

Was something of a Savoy Cult.

 

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May 2 - Lorenz Hart (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 2nd may be found here: Alessandro Scarlatti (2019),  Lorenz Hart (2020), Leslie Gore (2021). J. Fred Coots; Vicente Martín y Soler (2022), and Alessandro Scarlatti (2023)

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Lorenz Hart (2 May 1895 – 22 November 1943) was one of the most successful lyricists in the history of Broadway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered)

Hart experienced depression and sadness throughout his life.-- Wikipedia

Sing a song and do your part

In celebrating Lorenz Hart,

Whose lyrics had a lethal dagger

Hidden in their polished swagger,

With worldly wit and wordplay clothing

Ghastly layers of self-loathing.

 

 

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May 1 - Hugo Alfvén (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for May 1st may be found here: William Lawes (2019),  Judy Collins (2020), William Lawes (2021),  Leo Sowerby (2022), and Shirley Horn; Kate Smith (2023)

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Hugo Alfvén (1 May 1872 – 8 May 1960) was a Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short and Swede

The first rhapsody – Swedish Rhapsody No. 1, also known as Midsommarvaka (Midsummer Vigil) – was written in 1903 and is often simply called the "Swedish Rhapsody." It is the best-known piece composed by Alfvén and also one of the best-known pieces of music in Sweden. – Wikipedia

It sounds like Hugo Alfvén had some fun

With Swedish Rhapsody #1,

And it’s more famous, it has been agreed,

Than any other music by a Swede.

 

 

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