April 22 - Ethel Smyth (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Ethel Smyth (22 April 1858 – 8 May 1944) was a distinguished British composer and suffragist. 

[For last year's thoughts on Alfred Burt click here.]

Unrequited

"At age 71, she fell in love with writer Virginia Woolf... who, both alarmed and amused, said it was "like being caught by a giant crab", but the two became friends." - Wikipedia

Dame Ethel Smythe

(No longer lithe),

   Thought Woolf was a sensation.

We’re told Woolf thought,

(Amused, but fraught),

It was a lot

Like being caught

    By an oversized crustacean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

 

April 21 - Leonard Warren (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

 Leonard Warren (21 April 1911 – 4 March 1960) was a great American operatic baritone.

[For last year's remarks on Randall Thompson click here.]

 

Tempus fugit

Leonard Warren died on stage, 

Though only in his middle age.

Thus, the moral if you’re one

Who likes to finish what’s begun:

Take the lead and have your say,

Don’t delay another day.

Make a splash and kick the door in!

Death comes soon, viz. Leonard Warren.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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April 20 - Georg Michael Telemann (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Georg Michael Telemann (20 April 1748 – 4 March 1831) was a composer and organist, and grandson of Georg Philipp Telemann.

[For last year's limericks on Tito Puente and Lionel Hampton go here.]

 

 

Family Affair

Georg Michael Telemann

Doomed to obscurity,

Relied on his bloodline

For social security.

Each Lent, while in Riga.

In spite of new fashions,

He proudly presented his

Grandfather’s Passions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

April 19 - Jonathan Tunick (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Jonathan Tunick (b, 19 April 1938) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer.  He is one of sixteen people won all four major American show business awards.

[For last year's limerick on Germaine Tailleferre click here.] 

 

 

More Than a Tunic

Jonathan Tunick, who needed a tux,

Decided that fashion was worth a few bucks --

At the Emmys, the Oscars, the Grammys, the Tonys,

He always looked great at award ceremónies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

April 18 - Leopold Stokowski (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Leopold Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was an English conductor, long active in America.

[For last year's limerick on Franz von Suppé click here.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hands On

With an air of the grandest of grands,

Stokowski conveyed his demands,

And when there was not light

He ordered a spotlight

To show off his elegant hands,

 

 

 

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 [Also, please visit my other blog: Alternate Tales: Great Art Repurposed.]

 

 

April 17 - Johann David Heinichen (The Musical Birthday Series, 2nd Annual Cycle)

Johann David Heinichen (17 April 1683 – 16 July 1729) was a German composer and music theorist.

[For last year's post on Anja Silja click here.]

 

 

I’ll Have a Heinichen, Please

If you want to begin to know

The art of continuo,

     Heinichen left us a book.

And though all the rules and such

May seem just a bit too much

     You should give it much more than a look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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