Category Archives: Pianists

May 22 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1722 ~ Johannes Schmidlin, Composer

• 1759 ~ Gervais-François Couperin, Composer

• 1780 ~ Jan Emmanuel Dulezalek, Composer

• 1783 ~ Thomas Forbes Walmisley, Composer

• 1813 ~ (Wilhelm) Richard Wagner, German composer
Read quotes by and about Wagner
More information about Wagner

Happy Birthday Wagner-Style

• 1820 ~ Alexander Ernst Fesca, Composer

• 1850 ~ Johann Schrammel, Composer

• 1852 ~ Emile Sauret, Composer

• 1865 ~ Enrique Morera, Composer

• 1879 ~ Eastwood Lane, Composer

• 1879 ~ Jean Emile Paul Cras, Composer

• 1884 ~ Alceo Toni, Composer

• 1885 ~ Julio Fonseca, Composer

• 1900 ~ Edwin S. Votey of Detroit, MI patented his pianola, a pneumatic piano player. The device could be attached to any piano. Batteries not included.

• 1914 ~ Sun Ra (Herman Blount), American jazz composer and keyboard player who led a free jazz big band known for its innovative instrumentation and the theatricality of its performances. He passed away in 1993.

• 1916 ~ Gordon Binkerd, Composer

• 1924 ~ Charles Aznavour, French chanteur and composer

• 1924 ~ Claude Andre Francois Ballif, French composer

• 1926 ~ Elaine Leighton, Drummer, played with Billie Holiday

• 1928 ~ Jackie (Jacqueline) Cain, Singer

• 1930 ~ Kenny Ball, Musician, trumpeter, bandleader

• 1933 ~ John Browning, American pianist
More information about Browning

• 1934 ~ Peter Nero (Nierow), Pianist

• 1950 ~ Bernie Taupin, Elton John’s lyricist

• 1966 ~ Iva Davies (1955) Guitarist, singer with Icehouse

• 1958 ~ Wedding vows were taken by rock ’n’ roll star, Jerry Lee Lewis and his thirteen- year-old cousin, Myra.

• 1965 ~ The Beatles got their eighth consecutive number one hit as Ticket to Ride rode to the top of the singles list. The song topped the charts for one week and became their eighth consecutive number one hit.

• 1966 ~ Bruce Springsteen recorded his very first song at the age of 16, along with his band, The Castilles. It was titled, That’s What You’ll Get. The song was never released.

• 2003 ~ The final manuscript of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which was annotated by the composer, sold at auction for $3.47 million.

Today is National Buy a Musical Instrument Day

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Piano 8

 

 

Each year on May 22 we observe National Buy a Musical Instrument Day.  The day is all about playing music.  If you are a musician, it might be time for a new instrument.  Maybe you can learn to play a second or third one.  If you have never played an instrument before, National Buy A Musical Instrument Day might be the motivation you need to start.

Naturally, here at the O’Connor Music Studio, a piano, keyboard with weighted keys (and 88 of them!) or organ is recommended but this day is for all types of instruments and is for people of all ages.  Grandpa can play his ukulele while the grandkids play the drums, trombone, and flute. Together they can all make terrific music!

Adapted from http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-buy-a-musical-instrument-day-may-22/

 

May 21 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1633 ~ Joseph de La Barre, Composer

• 1671 ~ Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaia, Composer

• 1680 ~ Frederich Karl Erbach, Composer

• 1720 ~ Antonio Corbisiero, Composer

• 1722 ~ Wilhelm Gottfried Enderle, Composer

• 1841 ~ Joseph Parry, Composer

• 1867 ~ Marie Joseph Leon Desire Paque, Composer

• 1888 ~ May Aufderheide, Ragtime composer

• 1892 ~ The opera “I Pagliacci,” by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, was performed for the first time in Milan, Italy.

• 1895 ~ Franz von Suppe, Austrian composer of light operas, notably “Poet and Peasant,” died.
More information about von Suppe

• 1898 ~ Karel Haba, Composer

• 1901 ~ Horace Heidt, Bandleader: Horace Heidt and His Musical Knights

• 1904 ~ “Fats” Waller, American jazz pianist, organist, singer, bandleader and composer
Listen to Waller’s music
More information about Waller

• 1905 ~ Edward Lockspeiser, Composer

• 1917 ~ Dennis Day (Eugene Denis McNulty), Singer

• 1924 ~ Robert Parris, Composer

• 1926 ~ Joseph Horovitz, Composer

• 1929 ~ Charles Wadsworth, Pianist

• 1930 ~ Tommy Bryant, Jazz/studio musician: bassist

• 1932 ~ Robert Sherlaw Johnson, Composer

• 1933 ~ Maurice André, French trumpeter

• 1935 ~ Terry Lightfoot, Clarinetist, bandleader with the New Orleans Jazzmen

• 1939 ~ Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist, composer and conductor

• 1940 ~ Will Bradley and his orchestra recorded one of the best of the Big Band era. Ray McKinley played drums and did the vocal for the boogie-woogie tune, Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar. The song, on Columbia Records, was so long it took up both sides of the 78 rpm record.

• 1941 ~ Ronald Isley, Singer with The Isley Brothers

• 1944 ~ Marcie Blane, Singer

• 1948 ~ Leo (Gerard) Sayer, Pop-singer and songwriter. Some of his hits were YouMake Me Feel like Dancing and When I Need You

• 1959 ~ Gypsy opened. Ethel Merman played the lead role in the musical which opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York City. The popular show ran for 702 performances. It was based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, the famous burlesque queen.

• 1973 ~ Vaughn Monroe passed away

• 1973 ~ The sensual Pillow Talk, by Sylvia (Sylvia Vanderpool), earned a gold record.

• 1985 ~ Marvin Gaye’s last album was released. Dream of a Lifetime featured songs that critics considered too offensive, such as the controversial, pop version of The Lord’s Prayer. Three of the songs from the album were completed after Gaye’s death. Marvin Gaye was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

May 20 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1547 ~ Melchior Bischoff, Composer

• 1554 ~ Paulo Bellasio, Composer

• 1650 ~ Francesco Sacrati, composer, died at the age of 44

• 1751 ~ Domingo Miguel Bernaube Terradellas, Composer, died at the age of 38

• 1754 ~ Hans Gram, Composer

• 1782 ~ Carlo Giovanni Testori, Composer, died at the age of 68

• 1782 ~ Christoph Gottlieb Schroter, Composer, died at the age of 82

• 1812 ~ Gustav Adolf Mankell, Composer

• 1850 ~ Eaton Faning, Composer

• 1876 ~ John Owen Jones, Composer

• 1889 ~ Felix Arndt, Composer

• 1890 ~ Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor

• 1896 ~ Clara Josephine Wieck Schumann, Composer and pianist, died at the age of 76

• 1900 ~ Gustav Heinrich Graben-Hoffman, Composer, died at the age of 80

• 1903 ~ Jerzy Fitelberg, Polish composer

• 1910 ~ Jean-Baptiste Theodore Weckerlin, Composer, died at the age of 88

• 1913 ~ Ion Dumitrescu, Composer

• 1917 ~ Enyss Djemil, Composer

• 1920 ~ Hephzibah Menuhin, American pianist

• 1926 ~ Vic Ames (Urick), Singer with The Ames Brothers

• 1927 ~ David Frederick Barlow, Composer

• 1927 ~ Walter Aschaffenburg, Composer

• 1937 ~ Teddy Randazzo, Singer

• 1939 ~ Three Little Fishies, by Kay Kyser hits #1

• 1941 ~ Harry James and his orchestra recorded the classic You Made Me Love You for Columbia Records.

• 1943 ~ Tison Street, Composer

• 1944 ~ Cipa Dichter, Brazilian pianist, wife of Misha Dichter

• 1944 ~ Joe (John Robert) Cocker, British rock-blues singer and songwriter

• 1946 ~ Cher (Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre), Entertainer

• 1952 ~ Warren Cann, Drummer

• 1960 ~ Sue Cowsill, Singer with The Cowsills

• 1961 ~ Hans Werner Henze’s opera “Elegy for Young Lovers,” premiered in Schwetzingen

• 1967 ~ The BBC banned The Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” because of drug references

• 1970 ~ The Beatles’ “Let it Be” movie premiered in the United Kingdom

• 1975 ~ Jacques Stehman, Composer, died at the age of 62

• 1979 ~ The first western pop star to tour USSR was Elton John

• 1984 ~ “On Your Toes” closed at Virginia Theater NYC after 505 performances

• 1986 ~ Bernard Naylor, Composer, died at the age of 78

• 1991 ~ Julian Orbon De Soto, Composer, died at the age of 65

• 2000 ~ Jean-Pierre Rampal, who popularized the flute as a solo instrument and became one of classical music’s brightest stars, died in Paris. He was 78. The cause was a heart attack.
More information about Rampal

• 2002 ~ Sandor Konya, a tenor who spent much of his career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, died. He was 78. Born in Sarkad, Hungary, in 1923, Konya studied in Hungary, Italy and Germany before making a name for himself as a Wagnerian tenor and giving hundreds of performances at the Met in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He moved to Ibiza in the 1980s and started Pro Arte, a local foundation to promote the operatic arts with productions throughout the season, said Echarte, who is vice president.

May 19 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1616 ~Johann Jakob Froberger, composer

• 1861 ~ Dame Nellie Melba (Helen Porter Mitchell), Australian coloratura soprano. She gave her name to Melba Toast, Peach Melba and Melba Sauce.
More information about Melba

• 1919 ~ Georgie Auld (John Altwerger), Musician: saxophones: bandleader; passed away in 1990

• 1921 ~ The first opera presented in its entirety over the radio was broadcast by 9ZAF in Denver, CO. The opera, “Martha”, aired from the Denver Auditorium.

• 1941 ~ The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra backed the popular singing duo of Bob Eberly and Helen O’Connell as Decca record number 3859 turned out to be Time Was – a classic.

• 1945 ~ Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend, British rock guitarist
More information about Townshend
News Items about Townshend

• 1949 ~ Dusty Hill, Musician, bass, singer

• 1952 ~ Grace Jones, Jamaican new-wave singer and songwriter

• 1958 ~ Bobby Darin’s single, Splish Splash, was released as the first eight-track master recording pressed to a plastic 45 RPM disc.

• 1965 ~ Roger Miller received a gold record for the hit, King of the Road. The song was Miller’s biggest hit record. It got to number four (3/20/65) on the pop charts and stayed on for 12 weeks.

• 1966 ~ Country music came to New York’s Carnegie Hall this night. Eddy Arnold debuted with an array of popular country artists in the Big Apple.

• 1968 ~ Piano stylist and vocalist Bobby Short gained national attention as he presented a concert with Mabel Mercer at New York’s Town Hall. He had been the featured artist at the intimate Hotel Carlisle for years.

• 1973 ~ Stevie Wonder moved to the number one position on the Billboard pop music chart with You are the Sunshine of My Life.

• 2001 ~ Joe Graydon, who left the FBI for show business and became a popular big band singer, TV talk show host and concert promoter, died at the age of 82. Graydon joined the FBI in 1940, spending the next six years investigating spy cases and tracking down World War II military deserters. But Graydon, who had worked his way through college singing in nightclubs and on college campuses, decided to return to music after the war. He accepted a four- month gig as a singer on the highly popular radio show, “Your Hit Parade.” A successful singing career followed, and in 1950 he was offered a job in television as well. “The Joe Graydon Show” was broadcast on Los Angeles and San Diego television stations for much of the first half of the 1950s. He later switched to managing the careers of others, including Helen Forrest, Dick Haymes, Ray Eberle and the Pied Pipers. When swing music saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s, he began producing Big Band concerts and shows.

May 17 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1866 ~ Erik Satie, French composer and pianist
Read quotes by and about Satie
More information about Satie

• 1890 ~ Pietro Mascagni’s famous opera “Cavalleria Rusticana”, set in Sicily, was first performed in Rome.

• 1901 ~ Werner Egk, German composer and conductor

• 1918 ~ Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano. Famed for her singing of Wagner, she took part in the first pioneering commercial recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

• 1921 ~ Bob Merrill, Songwriter

• 1924 ~ Dick Hixson, Trombonist, studio musician

• 1932 ~ Jackie (John) McLean, Jazz musician: alto sax; composer, playwright; educator: University of Hartford, CT

• 1935 ~ French composer Paul Dukas, whose composition “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” featured in the Disney films “Fantasia” and “Fantasia 2000” died

• 1938 ~ Pervis Jackson, Singer with The Spinners

• 1939 ~ The Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, NY was the scene of a memorable dual- network radio broadcast of Glenn Miller and his orchestra. Both NBC and Mutual carried the event, which was attended by 1,800 people in the casino ballroom.

• 1942 ~ Taj Mahal (Henry St. Claire Fredericks), Entertainer, songwriter, singer

• 1949 ~ Bill Bruford, Drummer

• 1971 ~ Jordan Knight, Singer with New Kids on the Block

• 1971 ~ The musical, Godspell, opened this night at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. Godspell featured the song Day by Day (a top-15 hit in 1972). The rock musical that featured Robin Lamont played for 2,124 performances and was the third longest-running off-Broadway production at the time.

• 1975 ~ NBC-TV paid a whopping $5,000,000 for the rights to show Gone with the Wind just one time. It was the top price paid for a single opportunity to show a film on television.

• 1975 ~ Elton John’s Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy album was released and certified a platinum record on the very same day. It was the first album to be certified a million-seller (in this case, a two-million seller) on the first day of release.

• 2002 ~ John de Lancie, an oboist whose talent as a player and teacher helped create a new repertoire for his instrument, died from leukemia. He was 80. De Lancie’s style became a signature of the Philadelphia Orchestra, which he joined in 1946 and served as principal from 1954-77. He was then appointed director of the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia conservatory whose graduates include Leonard Bernstein. Students of Mr. de Lancie also occupy principal chairs in Boston, Montreal and Minneapolis. As a 24-year-old soldier stationed in Germany during World War II, de Lancie approached Richard Strauss about writing a concerto for oboe. The 81-year-old Strauss said he had not considered such a work, but went on to create a score that joined the standard repertoire. De Lancie entered the Curtis Institute at 14 to study with the legendary French oboist Marcel Tabuteau. De Lancie entered the Army in 1942 and played in the Army Band. While stationed in Paris, he met his wife, Andrea. They had two children; Christina, a playwright, and John de Lancie, an actor who played the character Q on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”

May 16 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1813 ~ Stephen Heller, Hungarian pianist, teacher and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet, and was an influence for later Romantic composers.

• 1892 ~ Richard Tauber (Ernst Seiffert), Austrian-born British tenor. He sang a wide range of music and was as equally at home in opera, notably Mozart, as in Austrian operetta.

• 1913 ~ Woody (Woodrow Charles) Herman, American jazz clarinetist, bandleader and composer

• 1922 ~ Eddie Bert, Jazz musician, trombone

• 1929 ~ The first Academy Awards were presented on this night, hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William C. de Mille. This first awards ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. It attracted an audience of 200 people.

• 1929 ~ Paul Whiteman and his orchestra backed Bing Crosby for the tune, Sposin’, which ‘Der Bingle’ recorded for Columbia Records. Betty Carter (Lillie Mae Jones) (1930) Jazz singer: toured with Lionel Hampton & Miles Davis

• 1946 ~ The Irving Berlin musical, Annie Get Your Gun, at New York’s Imperial Theatre. Once of the most successful shows presented on a Broadway stage, the show ran for 1,147 performances.

• 1947 ~ Barbara Lee, Singer with The Chiffons

• 1947 ~ Darrel Sweet, Drummer, singer

• 1953 ~ Bill Haley and His Comets made it to the Billboard music charts for the first time with Crazy Man Crazy. The tune went to number six and became the first rock ’n’ roll record to make the pop music chart.

• 1965 ~ The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd, a Broadway musical starring Anthony Newley, made its premiere at the Shubert Theatre in New York City. Cyril Ritchard appeared in the production which entertained audiences for 231 performances.

• 1966 ~ Janet Jackson, Singer

• 1990 ~ Jim Henson, the famous creator who of the Muppets, a cast of puppets including Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, Elmo, Ernie and Bert, died at the age of 54.

• 1990 ~ The entertainer who could do it all, Sammy Davis, Jr., died this day, in Beverly Hills, California, USA. From vaudeville at age three (with his father and uncle) to the star of Broadway’s “Mr. Wonderful”, from Las Vegas nightclubs to hit records, the actor, singer, dancer, impersonator, and musician performed his way into the hearts of young and old everywhere. The world mourned the passing of Sammy Davis, Jr. at age 64 of throat cancer.

• 1993 ~ Marv Johnson passed away.  He was an American R&B and soul singer.

• 1995 ~ Lola Flores, fiery Spanish dancer and singer, died. She made many films but was best known for her flamenco movements and passionate songs.

May 15 ~ This Day in Music History

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• 1567 ~ Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer
More information about Monteverdi

• 1808 ~ Michael William Balfe, Irish composer

• 1918 ~ Eddie Arnold, Singer

• 1908 ~ Lars-Erik Larsson, Swedish composer

• 1923 ~ Ellis Larkins, Pianist, a favorite accompanist of singers from Mildred Bailey to Ella Fitzgerald

• 1936 ~ Anna Maria Alberghetti, Singer

• 1937 ~ Trini Lopez, Folk Singer and guitarist

• 1938 ~ Lenny Welch, Singer

• 1938 ~ Guy Lombardo and his orchestra recorded Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride, the group’s last side for Victor Records. Lombardo took disc number 25861 and moved the Royal Canadians over to Decca Records to make “the sweetest sound this side of heaven.”

• 1942 ~ Lainie Kazan, Singer

• 1947 ~ Graham Goble, Guitarist with Little River Band

• 1948 ~ Brian Eno, Musician, synthesizer, record producer, songwriter, co-founder of Roxy Music

• 1953 ~ Mike Oldfield, Composer, musician

• 1964 ~ The Smothers Brothers, Dick and Tom, gave their first concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

• 1970 ~ Close to You, the Carpenter’s second album and the one that launched them to meteoric fame, was released by A&M Records. The title song, (They Long to Be) Close to You, became a pop music standard and the first of six million-sellers in a row for Karen and Richard.

• 1972 ~ Glen Campbell earned a gold record for his Greatest Hits album on this day.

May 13 ~ This Day in Music History

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OCMS 1842 ~ Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan, British composer, best known for his comic operettas
Read quotes by and about Sullivan
More information about Sullivan

• 1868 ~ Composer Gioacchino Rossini died. He was very superstitious. He particularly feared Friday the thirteenth. And here’s an incredible fact: he died on Friday the thirteenth, 1868!

• 1911 ~ Maxine Sullivan (Marietta Williams), Singer

• 1912 ~ Gil Evans, Canadian jazz pianist, composer, arranger and bandleader

• 1914 ~ Johnny ‘Johnnie’ Wright, Country singer: duo: Johnnie and Jack, married to singer Kitty Wells since 1937

• 1938 ~ Louis Armstrong and his orchestra recorded the New Orleans jazz standard, When the Saints Go Marching In, on Decca Records.

• 1941 ~ Ritchie Valens (Richard Steven Valenzuela), Singer
More about Valens

• 1943 ~ Mary Wells, Singer

• 1946 ~ Danny Klein, Musician, bass with The J. Geils Band

• 1950 ~ Stevie Wonder, American rock singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.   A child prodigy who developed into one of the most creative musical figures of the late 20th century. Wonder who has been blind from shortly after birth, signed with Motown’s Tamla label at the age of eleven and continues to perform and record for Motown to this day. Wonder has scored over 40 other US & UK Top 40 singles.
More information about Wonder

• 1954 – The Pajama Game made its debut on Broadway in New York City at the St. James Theatre. Harold Prince produced The Pajama Game, his first Broadway endeavor. The show ran for 1,063 performances. John Raitt and Janis Paige starred in the leading roles. Carol Haney came to national fame for her rendition of the song, Steam Heat. The movie version also starred Raitt — along with Doris Day.

• 1971 ~ Aretha Franklin, the ‘Queen of Soul’, received a gold record for her version of Bridge over Troubled Water, originally a Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel tune.

• 1984 ~ The Fantasticks, playing at the Sullivan Theatre in Greenwich Village in New York City, became the longest-running musical in theater history with performance number 10,000 on this night. The Fantasticks opened on May 3, 1960.

May 10 ~ This Day in Music History

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OCMS 1855 ~ Anatoli Liadov, Russian composer
More information about Liadov

• 1876 ~ Richard Wagner’s Centennial Inaugural March was heard for the first time at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, PA. Wagner did just fine for creating the magnificent work. He received a paycheck of $5,000. In 1876 dollars, that was quite a lot of money.

• 1888 ~ Max Steiner, composer and conductor, born. Best known for his film scores for such films as “The Informer” and “Now Voyager” for which he won academy awards and Gone With The Wind.

• 1899 ~ Fred Astaire (Austerlitz), Dancer

• 1899 ~ Dmitri Tiomkin, Conductor, composer: film scores such as “High Noon.”

• 1909 ~ Mother Maybelle Carter (Addington), Played melody on bass strings of guitar, rhythm on treble, singer with The Carter Family

• 1916 ~ OCMS Milton Byron Babbitt, American composer and theorist
More information on Babbitt

• 1935 ~ Larry Williams, Singer

• 1940 ~ Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra recorded the classic, Perfidia, for Decca Records. The song would later be a hit for The Ventures (1960).

• 1936 ~ Gary Owens, DJ, TV and radio host

• 1938 ~ Henry Fambrough, Singer with The Spinners

• 1941 ~ Danny Rapp, Singer with Danny & The Juniors

• 1945 ~ Graham Gouldman, Musician: guitar, singer, songwriter

• 1946 ~ Donovan (Leitch), Scottish folk singer

• 1946 ~ Dave Mason, Songwriter, musician, singer

• 1951 ~ Frank Sinatra teamed with Axel Stordahl’s orchestra and on Columbia Records.

• 1963 ~ The Rolling Stones produced their very first recordings this day. The session included Come On and I Wanna Be Loved. The Stones would make it to the American pop music charts in August, 1964.

• 1974 ~ Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely earned a gold record for the group, The Main Ingredient. The trio began as the Poets in 1964. Cuba Gooding, Sr. is heard singing lead.

• 2000 ~ Margaret Harris, a theater designer whose work helped modernize staid, gilt-laden English theater in the 1930s, died at the age of 95. Harris began attending theater as a teenager with her sister and a friend. They sketched the actors they saw on stage, sending the drawings to each theater. One sketch caught the eye of actor John Gielgud, who suggested the trio design the costumes for a production of “Romeo and Juliet” he planned to direct. Adopting the name Motley, the three went on to design several productions for Gielgud, including 1932’s landmark “Richard of Bordeaux,” “The Merchant of Venice” and “Hamlet.” Harris also worked on Broadway and in Hollywood, designing an American production of “Romeo and Juliet” starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh and working on the sets for the film version of the musical “Oklahoma!” Queen Elizabeth II made Harris a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1975. In 1997, she received a special Olivier award, Britain’s equivalent of Broadway’s Tony.