December 26 - Franz [François] Hünten (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 26th are here: Earle Brown (2019), Steve Allen (2020), George Winston (2021), George Winston (2022), and Victor Hely-Hutchinson (2023)

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Franz [sometimes François] Hünten (26 December 1792 – 22 February 1878), was a German pianist and composer of salon music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social Studies

He wrote pleasant and technically undemanding piano music: rondos, fantasies, variations, dances, etc. Hünten's music was wildly popular throughout France, Germany, and England, but critical notices inevitably described it as trifling and later assessments have been much the same. – Wikipedia

Hünten’s music focused on

The music for the posh salon.

This genre never ages well,

But Hünten knew his wares would sell

To leisured bourgeois clientele.

For this he offered no excuses

Since music for domestic uses

Enlivened his creative juices.

Though critics called his pieces trifling,

They made the evening hours less stifling,

And carping critics notwithstanding

He kept his pieces undemanding,

And this, he knew, was clever branding

When rondos and the latest dances

Provide a backdrop that enhances

The chances of romantic glances.

 

 

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December 25 - Cosima Wagner (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 2th are here: Orlando Gibbons (2019), Cosima Wagner (2020), Cab Calloway (2021), Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (2022), and A Christmas Carol (2023)

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Cosima Wagner (24 [sic] December 1837 – 1 April 1930) was the daughter of Franz Liszt  and Marie d'Agoult. She became the second wife of Richard Wagner and ran the Bayreuth festival after his death. While her birthday was actually on the 24th, she chose to celebrate it on the 25th. ("Cosima Wagner wurde zwar am 24. Dezember 1837 geboren, feierte ihren Geburtstag aber traditionell am ersten Weihnachtstag. Deshalb ist oft irrtümlich der 25. Dezember als Geburtsdatum angegeben." = German Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bayreuth Bark

The subordination of the music to text, diction and character portrayal was a specific feature of the Bayreuth style; Cosima, according to Spotts, turned the principle of clear enunciation into "a fetish ... The resulting harsh declamatory style came to be derided as ... the infamous Bayreuth bark". – Wikipedia

 

The “bark” heard in Cosima’s Ring

Was a strangely Bayreauthian thing;

Every plosive and fricative

Became fiercely indicative

Of the mythical thoughts singers sing.

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Doing What He Wrote

The primary purpose of all her productions was to follow the instructions and reflect the wishes of the Master: "There is nothing left for us here to create, but only to perfect in detail". – Wikipedia

Cosima Wagner, née Liszt,

Could not be ignored or dismissed.

Innovation was banished,

And novelty vanished

When she shook her Wagnerian fist.

 

 

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December 24 - Franz Waxman (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 24th are here: Harry Warren (2019), Ricky Martin (2020), Peter Cornelius (2021), Charles Wakefield Cadman (2022), and Peter Cornelius (2023)

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Franz Waxman (24 December 1906 – 24 February 967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in Hollywood film music,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Short Feature

Let us note

Waxman’s chores

As he wrote

Movie scores,

 

 

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December 23 - Mathilde Wesendonck (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 23rd are here: Chet Baker (2019), Mathilde Wesendonck (2020), Ross Lee Finney (2021), José Greco (2022), and Chet Baker (2023)

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Mathilde Wesendonck (23 December 1828 – 31 August 1902) was a German  poet and author.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Letter Writing, Letter Reading

By 1857, Wagner had become infatuated with Mathilde. It is not known whether she returned his affections to the same degree, or if the affair - if there was one - was ever consummated. In 1858, Wagner's wife Minna intercepted a romantic letter from Wagner to Mathilde. – Wikipedia

We know that Mathilde attracted

Herr Wagner’s attentions, who acted

By sending her notes

Full of amorous quotes,

Which his wife somehow read unredacted.

The sordid affair might have been a

One-sided thing, but Frau Minna

Was quick to disparage

This affront to her marriage,

And called Frau Mathilde a sinna.

So here is the moral imparted

By the tale that these limericks have charted:

If a stray billet-doux,

Can be traced back to you,

You will rue the ado that you started.

 

 

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December 22 - Giacomo Puccini (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 21st are here: András Schiff; Michael Tilson Thomas (2019), Michael Tilson Thomas (2020), Frank Zappa; Werner von Trapp (2021), Michael Tilson Thomas (2021), Edgard Varèse; Giacomo Puccini (2022), and Giacomo Puccini; Maurice Gibb; Robin Gibb (2023)

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Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 – 29 November 1924) composed several of the most beloved operas in the repertoire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

For the Masses

The public has shown a affinity

   (And how can one argue with them)

For Puccini’s belov'd holy trinity, -

  (That's Butterfly, Tosca, Bohème),

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December 21 - Ludwig Schuncke (The Musical Birthday Series, 6th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for December 21st are here: András Schiff; Michael Tilson Thomas (2019), Michael Tilson Thomas (2020), Frank Zappa; Werner von Trapp (2021), Michael Tilson Thomas (2022), and David Baker (2023)

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Ludwig Schuncke (21 December 1810 – 7 December 1834) was a German pianist and composer, and close friend of Robert Schumann. His early promise was eclipsed by his death from tuberculosis at the age of 23. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fading

Ludwig Schuncke, Schumann’s friend,

Met a most untimely end;

He started out with hopes and gumption,

But soon fell victim to consumption.

This friend of Chopin, Liszt, and Spohr,

Was taken to that final shore

When he was not yet twenty-four,

And thus achieved, there’s no denying,

A most Romantic way of dying.

 

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