April 25 - Ella Fitzgerald (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 25th may be found here: Ella Fitzgerald (2019), Jerry Lieber (2020),  Björn Ulvaeus (2021), Gottlieb Muffat (2022), and Jerry Lieber (2023)

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Ella Fitzgerald (25 April 1917 – 15 June 1996) was a great American jazz singer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Fanfare for EF

Whether sung with a band,

Whether sung a cappella

Let's sing, as we stand,

In a tribute to Ella!

Let salutings be thunderous!

Let them be double-barreled!

As we honor the wondrous

Miss Ella Fitzgerald!

 

 

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April 24 - Blanche Ring (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 24th may be found here: Barbra Streisand (2019), Barbra Streisand (2020), Giovanni Battista Martini (2021), John Williams (2022), and Johann Philipp Kirnberger (2023)

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Blanche Ring (24 April 1871 – 13 January 1961) was an American singer and actress in Broadway shows and musicals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But You Are, Blanche

In 1902 she made her Broadway debut and  introduced to the public the new song "In the Good Old Summertime." -- Wikipedia

Blanche Ring, who had her big success

   Before the First World War,

Enjoyed her life, without much press,

   For several decades more.

If you don’t know her name, don’t stress,

   Or blame yourself therefóre,

But if you do, then I would guess

   You've seen the vintage score.

 

 

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April 23 - Albert Coates (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 23rd may be found here: Ruggero Leoncavallo (2019), Sergei Prokofiev (2020), Robert Fayrfax (2021), Sergei Prokofiev (2022), and Sergei Prokofiev (2023)

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Albert Coates (23 April 1881 – 11 December 1953) was an English conductor and composer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On and On

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes his compositions as "technically proficient rather than imaginative". – adapted from Wikipedia

The Guardian critic described [Coates’s Piano Concerto] as "an endless patchwork of remnants from all the music that Coates ever conducted." – Wikipedia

He was “technically proficient,” but without imagination, —

    It’s the very definition of faint praise;

He stitched together patchworks of such tedious duration

   That he's largely been forgotten nowadays.

 

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

 

April 22 - Paul II Anton Esterházy de Galánth; Yehudi Menuhin; Kathleen Ferrier (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for April 22rd may be found here: Alfred Burt (2019), Ethel Smyth (2021), Joshua Rifkin, and Glen Campbell (2021), Giuseppe Torelli (2022), and Alfred Burt (2023)

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Prince Paul II Anton Esterházy de Galántha (22 April 1711 – 18 March 1762) was a Hungarian prince, soldier, and patron of music from the Esterházy family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Duty

The Esterházy princes (Paul Anton, then from 1762 to 1790 Nikolaus I) were musical connoisseurs who appreciated his work and gave him daily access to his own small orchestra. During the nearly thirty years that Haydn worked at the Esterházy court, he produced a flood of compositions, and his musical style continued to develop. – Wikipedia, s.v. “Joseph Haydn”

Paul, the Prince of Esterhazy,

Earns a mention here because he

(In the year before he died)

Hired Haydn to provide

Music for the palace band,

Which Haydn did, at his command;

And then, for decades, answered “yes sir”

To Nikolaus, old Paul’s successor.

 

 

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Yehudi Menuhin (22 April 1916 – 12 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fruition

The talent of the young Yehudi Menuhin

Was recognized by everyone as genuine;

An assessment which was reaffirmed as truth

When Menuhin was long in the tooth.

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Kathleen Ferrier (22 April 1912 – 8 October 1953) was an English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts

It’s hard to think of singer Kathleen Ferrier

As one who made a music party merrier.

Contraltos by the nature of their voices

Must make the best from their restricted choices;

Not everyone is giddy and delirious,

And there are those who thrive on being serious.

But higher things in art were not a barrier

For someone with the soul of Kathleen Ferrier.

 

 

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