February 4 - Carl Michael Bellman (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 4th are here: Erich Leinsdorf (2020), James Dunn (2021), Johann Ludwig Bach (2022), Alice Cooper (2023), and Johann Ludwig Bach (2024)

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Carl Michael Bellman (4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795)] was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet, and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature, to this day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skål!

He has been compared to Shakespeare, Beethoven, Mozart, and Hogart, but his gift, using elegantly rococo classical references in comic contrast to sordid drinking and prostitution—at once regretted and celebrated in song—is unique. – Wikipedia

Bellman entertained the stolid Swedes

With songs and poems about the squalid needs

Of folks whose lives were given to carousing.

And songs like these made entertaining browsing

For Swedes relaxing in the dark of winter,

Who grabbed their copies fresh-inked from the printer;

Which puts the lie to those who think that hedonism

Was never an intrinsic part of Swedenism!

 

 

 

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February 3 - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; Felix Mendelssohn (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 3rd are here: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; Felix Mendelssohn (2020), Mabel Mercer (2021), Johann Georg Albrechtsberger; Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (2022), Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (2023), and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; Felix Mendelssohn (2024)

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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525 – 2 Februar 1594) was one of the great composers of all time.  We do not, in fact, know when he was born, but 3 February turns up in some sources, so we are somewhat arbitrarily adopting that here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generic Differences

With this, my dear friends, you have seen a

Limerick for old Palestrina,

Whose liturgical style

Never raises a smile,

So he's rare in the comic arena.

 

 

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

 

 

Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor whose works are still a core part of the repertoire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genetic Singularity

 

Mendelssohn was an enthusiastic visual artist who worked in pencil and watercolor. His correspondence indicates that he could write with considerable wit in German and English – sometimes accompanied by humorous sketches and cartoons. --- adapted from Wikipedia

 

The very special double helix

That formed the DNA of Felix

Mendelssohn possessed the traits

That this effusion celebrates.

He had a genius so encompassing

That any field where he went rumpussing,

Was handled with the casual ease

And ample inborn expertise.

 

 

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

 

 

February 2 - Jascha Heifetz; Fritz Kreisler (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 2nd are here: Stan Getz (2020), Martina Arroyo (2021), Jussi Björling; Jascha Heifetz; Fritz Kreisler (2022), Elaine Stritch; Geoffrey O'Hara (2023), and

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Jascha Heifetz (2 February [20 January O.S.] 1901 – 10 December 1987) was a great Russian-American violinist.

Fritz Kreisler (2 February 1875 – 29 January 1962) was a great Austrian-born American violinist and composer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stringing Along

I checked the date today and saw that it’s

   The birthday of a pair of fiddling titans:

Of Heifetz (Jasha), also Kreisler (Fritz).

   This is the sort of trivia that brightens

The day one of who daily wracks his wits

   While hoping he amuses and enlightens.

 

 

 

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February 1 - Francesco Stradivari (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for February 1st are here: Renata Tebaldi; Victor Herbert; George Beverly Shea (2020), James P. Johnson; Clara Butt (2021), James P. Johnson (2022), Harry Styles (2023), and Hildegarde (2024)

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Francesco Stradivari (1 February 1671 - 11 May, 1743) was an Italian violin maker, and son of the famous Antonio Stradivari.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Far from the Tree

He survived his father by only six years, during which time he was not particularly productive.. – tarisio.com

Both Francesco and Omobono were overshadowed by the genius of their father; they produced good work, if not work of the highest quality. – “The Stradivari Family”

“ @www.newadvent.org

Antonio was a superstar, he

Made the name of Stradivari;

A synonym for all that’s great,

But sadly, when he met his fate

His son Francesco, as his sequel,

Never was his father’s equal.

Envoi

Family fortunes are precarious

Even for a Stradivarius.

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