12-04: Zappa : Mount St Mary's 1963 | Montreux 1971 - Britten : Billy Budd Gunn / Bostridge 2008 | 4 Sea Interludes & Passacaglia / Bernstein 1973 - Tommy Bolin / Billy Cobham Spectrum Sessions 1973 - Hubert Sumlin I Know You 1998

Not shown above: Petronio Franceschini, Daniel Read, Maria Koubatová & Karl Walter

1676 – Johann Georg Ebeling (German composer, cantor & teacher)
1732 – John Gay (English poet & dramatist, The Beggar's Opera)
1680 – Petronio Franceschini (Italian composer & cellist)
1836 – Daniel Read (American composer)
1867 – Constance Nantier-Didier (French mezzo-soprano)
1884 – Alice Mary Smith (English composer)
1897 – Caradog [Griffith Rhys Jones] (Welsh conductor, South Wales Choral Union)
1902 – Fyodor Stravinsky [Фёдор Стравинский] (Russian operatic bass & actor, father of Igor)
1913 – Maria Koubatová (Czech soprano)
1915 – Gustav Hollaender (German violinist, conductor & composer)
1929 – Karl Walter (German organist, teacher, musicologist & authority on organ & bell construction)
1935 – Johan Halvorsen (Norwegian composer, conductor & violinist)
1938 – Dina Appeldoorn (Dutch composer & pianist)
1953 – Daniel Gregory Mason American composer & music critic)
1959 – Hubert Marischka (Austrian tenor, actor, film director & screenwriter)
1964 – Vera Schwarz (Croatian soprano)
1965 – Franz Völker (German dramatic tenor)
1969 – Alceo Toni (Italian composer & author)
1976 – Tommy Bolin (American rock guitarist, Zephyr, Energy, James Gang, Deep Purple, Billy Cobham, Moxy)
1976 – Benjamin Britten (English composer, conductor & pianist)
1980 – Zdeněk Otava (Czech operatic baritone)
1985 – Marcel Boereboom (Belgian musicologist)
1993 – Frank Zappa (American composer & rock songwriter, guitarist & singer)
2004 – Teo Peter (Romanian rock bass guitarist, Compact)
2004 – Elena Souliotis [Έλενα Σουλιώτη] (Greek operatic soprano)
2005 – Gloria Lasso (Spanish pop singer, active in France)
2007 – Pimp C (American rapper, singer & producer)
2009 – Liam Clancy (Irish folk singer, guitarist & concertinist)
2011 – Hubert Sumlin (American blues guitarist, Howlin' Wolf)

Here's one of those big days I was talking about... although tomorrow promises to be even bigger.

I don't need to tell you anything about Frank Zappa, do I? To me, he's the figure who represents, more than anyone else, the state of Western music in the late 20th century. He's the man who embraced rock 'n' roll and the avant garde with equal gusto, who took on those powers who called for censorship on behalf of the age-old reactionary quest for "decency"... and he could play a hell of a guitar solo too!

And then there's Benjamin Britten, the composer who with his Peter Grimes and subsequent works single-handedly revitalized the state of English opera, which had declined ever since the death of Henry Purcell two and a half centuries earlier. And it's appropriate that he should have passed on the anniversary of the passing of John Gay, not just because he was (the relationship between Britten and Peter Pears, in fact, being famously among the most successful artistic/romantic collaborations in modern history), but because Britten made his own excellent adaptation of The Beggar's Opera in 1948, fleshing out all the many harmonic and instrumental details that were missing from the original Gay-Pepusch political satire that's been handed down to us.

So much that I could say as well about Tommy Bolin, about Stravinsky's father Fyodor, about Liam Clancy and Teo Peter and Hubert Sumlin... but we've got to keep moving around here...

11-28: Steppenwolf Fillmore West 1968 - Lennie Tristano Toronto 1952 - Havergal Brian Symphony 1 Gothic / Lenard 1989 - Haydn Symphony 93 94 Surprise 95 / Bernstein 1971-1972

1585 – Hernando Franco (Spanish composer, active in Guatemala & Mexico)
1695 – Giovanni Paolo Colonna (Italian organist & composer)
1815 – Johann Peter Salomon (German violinist, impresario, composer & conductor, active in London, associate of Haydn)
1860 – Ludwig Rellstab (German poet & music critic)
1861 – Robert Führer (Czech composer)
1878 – Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti (Italian guitarist & composer)
1907 – Ricardo Castro Herrera (Mexican pianist & composer)
1918 – Alexis Contant (Canadian composer, organist, pianist & teacher)
1935 – Erich von Hornbostel (Austrian ethnomusicologist, musical psychologist & co-author of Sachs-Hornbostel system)
1966 – Vittorio Giannini (American composer & violinist)
1972 – Havergal Brian (English composer of 32 symphonies, including the largest-scale ever performed)
1972 – Gustave Frederic Soderlund (Swedish composer, music theorist, author & teacher)
1976 – Robert Fleming (Canadian composer, pianist, organist, choirmaster & teacher)
1987 – Paul Arma [Amrusz Pál] (Hungarian-born French pianist, composer & ethnomusicologist)
1989 – Jo Vincent (Dutch soprano)
1993 – Jerry Edmonton (Canadian rock drummer, Steppenwolf)
1994 – Al Levitt (American jazz drummer, active also in France & the Canary Islands)
1996 – Anna Pollak (Austrian-born British mezzo-soprano)
2002 – Dave "Snaker" Ray (American blues singer, songwriter & guitarist)
2007 – Gudrun Wagner (German co-director of Bayreuth Festival along with husband Wolfgang, grandson of Richard)

Today, we get two very different looks at that most elevated instrumental genre of them all - the symphony!

First, thanks to Johann Peter Salomon, the impresario who brought Franz Joseph Haydn to London between 1791 and 1795 to regale the English public with what would turn out to be his last twelve symphonic statements - we have works which represent, along with the last few of Mozart, the ones that are definitive of the genre during the Classical period (at least until Beethoven got to it and transformed what it meant for all time). These symphonies of Haydn (nos. 93 thru 104), usually called his "London Symphonies," are sometimes instead called the "Salomon Symphonies" in honor of the man without whom they likely would never have been written.

Then, we have a very different product - what the symphony had grown into by a century or more later. No longer is it merely the vehicle for the composer's loftiest philosophical ideas. After Berlioz, and Liszt, and Bruckner, it's become something of a monstrosity, a paean to the cult of the gigantic, at least among late-Romantic composers with "progressive" or "modernist" tendencies. And in Havergal Brian's Symphony No. 1, "The Gothic" (completed in 1927), we find the sine qua non of this development, a work that surpasses even Gustav Mahler's largest creations (his 2nd, 3rd, and 8th symphonies) in its length (close to 2 hours) and in the performing forces it requires (nearly 200 instrumentalists, plus several hundred singers).

Brian's "Gothic" has even won a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "largest-scale symphony" ever written. However, some claim that the Symphony No. 3 by Kaikhosru Sorabji is even longer - a believable claim, if you know anything about Sorabji. However, that symphony (like many of Sorabji's more humungous creations) has yet to be performed by anyone, so it's difficult to say. 

Oh, symphony... how far you've come, since the early 18th century when you were just a multi-sectional overture to an opera or oratorio! Baby symphony done all growed up and ever'thang.

11-04: Sprague Coolidge Cornucopia! Copland Appalachian Spring | Stravinsky Apollo etc | Respighi Trittico Botticelliano etc | Poulenc Flute Sonata : Synth Guitar Arr.

Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge (l) with Ethel & Frank Bridge

Works commissioned by Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge. Plus others that happen to be on the same discs! Oh, and I forgot to mention in the supplemental reading... the performer on the Respighi is the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. They play without a conductor, you know. Don't worry, they stay together just fine!

IVES THANKSGIVING SPECIAL: Symphony 2 / Bernstein 1958 - Thanksgiving & Forefathers' Day / Tilson Thomas 1986

Okay, so I'm a little late with this. However, you know very well that you'll be gnawing on that bird and all the trimmings not just for the remainder of this long weekend, but well into the foreseeable future.

10-14b: Hate Eternal : King Of All Kings 2002 - Mahler 1 2 3 & 10 Adagio / Bernstein 1987 - Freddy Fender Greatist Hits 2 CDs

1990 – Leonard Bernstein (American composer, conductor & pianist)
1994 – Gioconda de Vito (Italian-born British violinist)
1998 – Frankie Yankovic (American Slovenian-style polka accordionist)
2002 – Norbert Schultze (German film composer & songwriter, "Lili Marleen")
2004 – Vlassis Bonatsos [Βλάσσης Μπονάτσος] (Greek singer, actor & entertainer)
2006 – Freddy Fender (American country, Tejano & rock singer, songwriter & guitarist)
2006 – Jared Anderson (American death metal bassist & singer, Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel)
2007 – Big Moe (American rapper & soul singer)

Being from South Texas myself, it's hard for me to say what people elsewhere think of Freddy Fender, or even if they think of him at all. He does have a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, but then again so do Kenny G, Rip Taylor, and Woody Woodpecker. Of course, none of the three of them have attained virtual sainthood anywhere like Freddy has 'round these parts. But perhaps I speak too soon; any residents of Fire Island, please let us know in the comments how well Rip's reputation is holding up. Wait a tick... Rip isn't R.I.P. yet, is he? I was certain he was, but he apparently is still with us, along with Abe Vigoda, Richard Dawson, Jim Nabors, and Rick Perry's presidential aspirations. See, now, belonging to the When You Die I'll Be Surprised Because I Thought You Were Dead Already Club probably qualifies one for a certain level of sainthood all on its own.

Well, that was one of my more tangential tangents in recent memory. And I didn't even mention how Fender took country music, old-time rock 'n' roll, Tejano and Cajun music, and fused them into a style all his own. And while we're on the subject of things I must not forget to mention, no, Frankie Yankovic was not the father, or the uncle, or whatever, of "Weird" Al, at least as far as I know. But like Freddy Fender, he could sure play a mean polka!

I'm going to resist saying anything about Leonard Bernstein. If I get started, I'll never be able to stop. Podium histrionics. Whoops... I let something slip out... see how dangerous this is? Bernstein was only the most famous orchestra conductor the U.S. ever produced; in fact, he may be the most famous conductor in world history, possibly even more famous than Herbert von Karry-On Luggage. Yes, I have taken my medication today. No, I don't feel like being not-silly, just because I'm talking about one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. Maybe, one day I'll say something relevant about him, or anybody. But for now, you're getting exactly what you paid for. Oh, just go to the damned supplemental reading, already...

08-27: Terrorizer : World Downfall 1989 - Josquin L'homme armé Masses : Tallis Scholars - Ella Fitzgerald Whisper Not 1967 - Beethoven Choral Fantasy : Serkin / Bernstein 1962

To represent Joan Cererols, I used the Basilica of Montserrat, his place of burial. Tagged image here.

1521 – Josquin des Prez (Franco-Flemish composer)
1680 – Joan Cererols (Spanish composer & Benedictine monk)
1746 – Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (German composer & keyboardist)
1841 – Ignaz von Seyfried (Austrian conductor & composer, pupil of Mozart, friend of Beethoven)
1846 – Frantiszek Ścigalski (Polish composer, violinist & conductor)
1846 – Gottfried Wilhelm Fink (German theologian, poet, composer, writer & lecturer on music & music editor)
1855 – Francisco Eduardo da Costa (Portuguese pianist & composer)
1865 – Józef Nowakowski (Polish composer, pianist & teacher, friend of Chopin)
1867 – Karol Kątski (Polish violinist & composer)
1868 – Franz Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee (Swiss composer, pianist, conductor & writer on music)
1883 – August Friedrich Pott (German violinist & composer)
1887 – Wilhelm Volkmar (German organist & composer)
1922 – Carl Fuchs (German cellist, composer, teacher & writer on music)
1948 – Oscar Lorenzo Fernández (Brazilian composer, violinist, pianist, cellist & academician)
1948 – Oley Speaks (American songwriter & baritone singer)
1953 – Nicolai Berezowsky (Russian-born American violinist, composer & conductor)
1958 – Nina Garelli (Italian operatic soprano)
1962 – Carlos Lavín (Chilean composer & musicologist)
1964 – Aleksey Zhivotov (Russian composer)
1965 – Otto Reinhold (German composer)
1967 – Brian Epstein (English music entrepreneur & manager of The Beatles)
1976 – Mukesh (Indian Bollywood playback singer)
1979 – Bolesław Szabelski (Polish composer)
1981 – Joan Edwards (American jazz singer & philanthropist)
1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan (American blues guitarist & singer)
1991 – Vince Taylor (English rock singer & songwriter, The Playboys, "Brand New Cadillac")
1994 – El Polaco [Roberto Goyeneche] (Argentine tango singer)
1994 – Thomas Hayward (American operatic tenor & teacher)
1995 – Marty Paich (American jazz arranger, pianist, composer & conductor)
1997 – Sotiria Bellou (Greek rebetiko singer)
2005 – Giorgos Mouzakis (Greek songwriter, trumpeter & composer of light music)
2006 – Jesse Pintado (Mexican-born American metal guitarist, Napalm Death)

On August 27th we remember one of history's greatest composers, Josquin; the greatest Spanish composer of Josquin's century, Victoria (who may have died on the 20th, not the 27th - I opted for the earlier date to remember him, considering how full-up the 27th is - I mean, just LOOK at that list); Beatles manager Brian Epstein; Bollywood playback singer Mukesh; Texas blues great Stevie Ray Vaughan; jazz arranger Marty Paich; grindcore guitar pioneer Jesse Pintado of Napalm Death; and a whole lot of other tuneful stiffs...

Such as Gottfried Wilhelm Fink. Fink was, among many other things, both a poet and a composer. Thus, many of his compositions are Lieder for which he set his own poems to music. I have no idea if they're any good. But, it is kind of interesting, and something you don't see every day in a 19th-century composer. Of course, much earlier, you had your medieval poet-composers: your troubadours, your trouvères, your Minnesänger. But eventually a division of labor between writing of lyrics and music became pretty standard, at least for professional songwriters.

Now, for folk musicians - itinerant minstrels, jongleurs, country blues singers and the like - it's always been a little different. But even up until the mid-20th century, lyrics and music of published songs were usually written by separate persons. Songwriters who did both, like Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and (sometimes) Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael were definitely exceptions to the rule. And that's for pop songwriting. In the classical world, such exceptions are still almost unheard-of, which is why Fink is quite remarkable. Rotten about his surname. With a name like Fink you don't get very far in the English-speaking world. Although in German, it merely means "finch," which is quite lovely. Seriously, take a look at these guys and tell me they aren't the most delightful creatures you've ever seen:

As you can see, some of them are more colorful than others.

Oscar Lorenzo Fernández was a Brazilian composer of Spanish descent. His nationalistic opera Malazarte (1931–33) is considered the first successful Brazilian opera of this type. Its Portuguese libretto by Graça Aranha was for some reason translated into Italian for its 1941 premiere at the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro. In 1936, Fernández founded the Conservatório Brasiliero de Música in Rio, which he directed until you-know-what happened.

Nicolai Berezowsky recalled in his memoire Duet with Nicky that as a young chorister in the Imperial Capella in St. Petersburg, the choir sometimes sang for the family of Tsar Nicholas and Rasputin. He says the choirboys would tear pages from their hymnals to make spit-balls which they would aim at Rasputin. After settling in New York, Berezowsky attended Juilliard and played in the 1st Violin section of the New York Philharmonic. He was a protégé of Serge Koussevitzky, who premiered his symphonies to great acclaim. In his lifetime, he was apparently a better-known composer than Aaron Copland.

Do you know who wrote the music to "On the Road to Mandalay," with words by Rudyard Kipling, that Frank Sinatra recorded for his 1958 album Come Fly With Me? - Oley Speaks. - That's nice, but what was the name of the composer? - Oley Speaks. - Okay, fine. You don't want to tell me his name. But could you at least tell me what this guy Oley is saying? - He's not saying anything. He's been dead for 63 years....