January 27 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Jerome Kern (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 27th are here: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (2020), Jerome Kern (2021), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Mikhail Baryshnikov (2022), and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Jerome Kern (2023)

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was one of the greatest composers of all time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In re: Mozart’s Requiem

The rumors and gossip that spread,

And which dramas and  movies have fed,

Have led the unwary

Into blaming Salieri

For the unfinished Mass for the Dead.

 

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Just a Job

Though it’s said that his works are Divine,

Like a part of the Cosmic Design,

He was plying his trade

So his bills could be paid,

Without waiting for stars to align.

 

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

 

Jerome Kern (27 January 1885 – 11 November 1945) was an American composer of musical theater and popular music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Accountant Speaks

If you ask for a yes or a no vote

About a production of Showboat,

I don’t mean to judge it,

But given our budget,

It would have to be set in a rowboat.

 

 

 

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January 26 - Maria von Trapp (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 26th are here: Alice Babs (2020), Maria von Trapp (2021), Stéphane Grappelli; Jimmy Van Heusen (2022), and Emanuel Aloys Förster; Jimmy Van Heusen (2023)

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Maria von Trapp (26 January 1905 – 28 March 1987) was the matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She Had Confidence

The family had very little input in either the play or the movie The Sound of Music. While Maria was grateful that there wasn't any extreme revision of the story she wrote in The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, and that she herself was represented fairly accurately, she wasn't pleased with the portrayal of her husband. -- adapted from Joan Gearin,"Movie vs. Reality: The Real Story of the Von Trapp Family" at www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/winter/von-trapps-html

 

Maria Augusta von Trapp

Acquiesced to the sizeable gap

‘Twixt the literal truth

Of her Austrian youth,

And a Hollywood musical's sap.

 

 

 

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January 25 - Florence Mills (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 25th are here: Antônio Carlos Jobim (2020), Witold Lutosławski; Etta James (2021), Witold Lutosławski (2022), and Robert Burns (2023)

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Florence Mills (25 January 1896 – 1 November 1927), billed as the "Queen of Happiness", was an American cabaret singer, dancer, and comedian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Star Power

Mills became well known in New York as a result of her role in the Broadway musical Shuffle Along (1921), one of the events marking the beginning of the Harlem Renaissance. She received favorable reviews in London, Paris, Ostend, Liverpool, and other European values.  – adapted from Wikipedia

Her death shocked the music world. The New York Times reported that more than 10,000 people visited the funeral home to pay their respects. – Wikipedia

The “Queen of Happiness,”

  Florence Mills,

Exhibited scrappiness

  And her skills

In Broadway shows,

  And caused commotion

Among the pros

  Across the ocean.

The early demise

  Of one so powerful

Bewildered the wise,

  And thousands of sorrowful.

 

 

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January 24 - Ray Stevens (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for January 24th are here: Frederick the Second; E. T. A. Hoffmann (2020), E. T. A. Hoffmann (2021), Vítězslava Kaprálová (2022), and Farinelli (2023)

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Ray Stevens (b. 24 January 1939) is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Variety Is the Spice of Life

“Everything Is Beautiful in Its Own Way”

Is an ear-wormish hit from way back in the day,

With a message so tender that maybe it evens

The score that “The Streak” was also Ray Stevens.

 

 

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