April 25 - Jerry Lieber (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 25th may be found here: Ella Fitzgerald (2019), Jerry Lieber (2020),  Björn Ulvaeus (2021), and Gottlieb Muffat (2022)

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Jerry Lieber (25 April 1933 – 22 August 2011) was half of the song-writing team of Leiber and Stoller, who wrote "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock" among many other hits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Compare and Contrast

Presley, the great rock and roller,

Often sang Lieber and Stoller,

On the other hand, young Justin Bieber

Never sang Stoller and Lieber.

 

 

 

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April 24 - Johann Philipp Kirnberger (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 24th may be found here: Barbra Streisand (2019), Barbra Streisand (2020), Giovanni Battista Martini (2021), and John Williams (2023)

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Johann Philipp Kirnberger (24 April 1721 – 27 July 1783) was a musician, composer (primarily of fugues), and music theorist. He was a student of Bach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rules

Kirnberger is known today primarily for his theoretical work Die Kunst des reinen Satzes in der Musik (The Art of Strict Composition in Music, 1774, 1779).  -- Wikipedia

Kirnberger, the famous theorist,

Followed Bach at his severest,

Which is to say, that he was strict

At what he chose to interdict.

 

 

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April 23 - Sergei Prokofiev (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 23rd may be found here: Ruggero Leoncavallo (2019), Sergei Prokofiev (2020), Robert Fayrfax (2021), and Sergei Prokofiev (2022)

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Sergei Prokofiev (23 April [recte 27] 1891 – 5 March 1953) was  Soviet Russian pianist, composer, and conductor. (NB. He believed his birthday to be April 23rd, but it was discovered after his death, that he was actually born on the 27th.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part of the Job

One can’t be a pianist of note

Unless one takes time to devote

Your practice room sweat

To the challenges met

In the sonatas Prokofiev wrote.

 

 

 

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April 22 - Alfred Burt (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 22rd may be found here: Alfred Burt (2019), Ethel Smyth (2021), Joshua Rifkin, and Glen Campbell (2021), and Giuseppe Torelli (2022)

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Alfred Burt (22 April 1920 – 7 February 1954) was an American jazz musician who is best known for composing the music for fifteen Christmas carols on family cards between 1942 and 1954.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caroling, Caroling

 

Only one of the carols was performed in public outside his immediate family circle during his lifetime. -- Wikipedia 

Although it’s not December now

  Take this as your alert

To sit up and remember now

  The work of Alfred Burt.

The carols from his yearly cards

   Were just a private whim,

Conveying holiday regards

  To kith and kin from him.

He never dreamt that they would be

  Belov’d and much recorded,

Or of the family legacy

  These little gifts afforded.

 

 

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April 21 - Randall Thompson (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual cycle)

Previous posts for April 21st may be found here: Randall Thompson (2019), Leonard Warren (2020), Patti LuPone (2021), and Randall Thompson; Lionel Rogg (2022)

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Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 – July 9, 1984) was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Standard Repertoire

If you're seeking a piece to inspire

A competent amateur choir,

There are pieces one hears

That stand up through the years,

And Thompson's a frequent supplier.

 

 

 

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April 20 - Nikolai Myaskovsky (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 20th may be found here: Tito Puente; Lionel Hampton (2019), Georg Michael Telemann (sic) (2020), Luther Vandross (2021), and John Eliot Gardiner (2022) 

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Nikolai Myaskovsky (20 April 1881 – 8 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Place on the Shelf

He is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the Soviet Symphony". -- Wikipedia

With twenty-seven symphonies

  To Myaskovsky’s credit

He had a chance a real fame

  And yet we find instead, it

 Turned out he’s a figure

  With erudite admirers,

But not a man who’s asked about

  By casual inquirers.

 

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