Category Archives: Pianists

June 6: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment

• 1661 ~ Giacomo Antonio Perti, Composer

• 1676 ~ Georg Reidel, Composer

• 1722 ~ Adrien Trudo Sale, Composer

• 1735 ~ Anton Schweitzer, Composer

• 1735 ~ Georg Osterreich, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1747 ~ Jean Barriere, Composer, died

• 1785 ~ Johann Michael Demmler, Composer, died at the age of 36

• 1807 ~ Adrien François Servais, Composer

• 1735 ~ Francesco Antonio Norberto Pinto (1815) Composer

• 1819 ~ William Howard Glover, Composer

• 1840 ~ John Stainer, Organ composer

• 1852 ~ Tommaso Marchesi, Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1861 ~ Giuseppe Concone, Italian singing teacher, died at the age of 59

• 1869 ~ Siegfried Wagner, German opera composer/conductor

• 1878 ~ Gottfried Herrmann, Composer, died at the age of 70

• 1881 ~ Henry Vieuxtemps, Belgian Composer, died at the age of 61

• 1883 ~ Ciprian Porumbescu, Composer, died at the age of 29

• 1885 ~ The opera “Lakme” was produced in Paris

• 1891 ~ Istvan Kardos, Composer

• 1893 ~ Ludovic Feldman, Composer

• 1894 ~ Sabin V Dragoi, Composer

• 1891 ~ Ted Lewis (Theodore Leopold Friedman), Clarinettist, singer, bandleader with Ted Lewis & His Band.

• 1902 ~ Avraham Daus, Composer

• 1902 ~ James Melvin Lunceford, American jazz dance-band leader
More information about Lunceford

• 1903 ~ Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer
More information about Khachaturian

• 1905 ~ John Gart, Russian orchestra leader of the Paul Winchell Show

• 1910 ~ Toshitsugu Ogiwara, Composer

• 1915 ~ Vincent Persichetti, American composer

• 1917 ~ Iacob Moresianu, Composer, died at the age of 59

• 1922 ~ Ian Hamilton, Composer

• 1922 ~ Lillian Russell, Entertainer, died at the age of 60

• 1924 ~ Serge Nigg, Composer

• 1926 ~ Klaus Tennstedt, German conductor

• 1926 ~ Henry Tate, Composer, died at the age of 52

• 1928 ~ Heinrich Gottlieb Noren, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1929 ~ Boguslaw Schaffer, Composer

• 1931 ~ There Ought To Be A Moonlight Saving Time by Guy Lombardo hit #1

• 1934 ~ Philippe Entremont, French pianist/conductor, Vienna Chamber Orchestra

• 1935 ~ Misja Mengelberg, Dutch jazz pianist/composer

• 1935 ~ Jacques Urlus, tenor (Opera of Leipzig, Song of the Earth), died at the age of 68

• 1936 ~ Levi Stubbs (Stubbles), Lead singer of the popular R&B group, the Four Tops. The group was signed to Motown Records in 1963 and Levi had a number of successful songs with the Four Tops throughout the 1960s and 1970s including, “Baby I Need Your Loving,” “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” and “Reach Out I’ll Be There.” In addition to his singing career, Stubbs did a little voice work as he provided the voice of Audrey II in the film version of Little Shop of Horrors in 1986 and voiced the character of Mother Brain in the cartoon Captain N: The Game Master from 1989 to 1991.

• 1939 ~ Gary “US” Bonds (Anderson), Singer/songwriter

• 1939 ~ Louis Andriessen, Dutch Composer

• 1940 ~ Phillip Rhodes, Composer

• 1943 ~ Joe Stampley, Country singer

• 1944 ~ Peter Albin, Bass, guitar & vocals with Big Brother and The Holding Company

• 1944 ~ Monty Alexander, Jazz musician, piano

• 1955 ~ Bill Haley and Comets, Rock Around the Clock hit #1

• 1958 ~ Lily Theresa Strickland, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1962 ~ The Beatles met their producer George Martin for first time. After listening to a playback of the audition tapes, Martin said, “They’re pretty awful.” He changed his mind after meeting the group, however.

• 1964 ~ The Beatles arrived in the Netherlands

• 1966 ~ Claudette Orbison, wife of singer Roy, died in a motorcycle crash

• 1971 ~ Arnold Elston, Composer, died at the age of 63

• 1971 ~ John Lennon and Yoko Ono unannounced appearance at Fillmore East in NYC

• 1971 ~ For the last time, we saw Polish dancing bears, a little mouse named Topo Gigio, remembered The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, the comedy of Jackie Mason, John Byner, Rich Little, Richard Pryor and so many more, as The Ed Sullivan Show left CBS-TV. Gladys Knight and The Pips and singer Jerry Vale appeared on the final show. The Ed Sullivan Show had been a showcase for more than 20 years for artists who ranged from Ethel Merman to Ella Fitzgerald, from Steve (Lawrence) and Eydie (Gorme) to The Beatles. The Ed Sullivan Show was the longest-running variety show on TV ~ a “rillly big sheeeew.”

• 1991 ~ Stan Getz, Jazz saxophonist (Girl from Ipanema), died at the age of 64

• 1994 ~ Willie Humphrey, Jazz clarinetist, died at the age of 93

• 1995 ~ Imam Elissa, Singer, died at the age of 76

• 2006 ~ Billy Preston, American soul musician, singer and pianist, 5th Beatle (David Brenner Show), died following long-term health issues at the age of 59

• 2006 ~ Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican-American jazz pianist died

• 2010 ~ Marvin Isley, American Musician The Isley Brothers died

• 2015 ~ Ronnie Gilbert, American folk singer (The Weavers), died at the age of 88

Daily Listening Assignments ~ June 6, 2025

Posted by MaryO on

 

What can I say about John Cage’s 4′33″?  Pretty much anyone can play this anytime.

It consists of the pianist going to the piano, and not hitting any keys for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. (He uses a stopwatch to time this.) In other words, the entire piece consists of silence or rests.

On the one hand, as a musical piece, 4’33” leaves almost no room for the pianist’s interpretation: as long as he watches the stopwatch, he can’t play it too fast or too slow; he can’t hit the wrong keys; he can’t play it too loud, or too melodramatically, or too subduedly.

On the other hand, what you hear when you listen to 4’33” is more a matter of chance than with any other piece of music — nothing of what you hear is anything the composer wrote.

With orchestra and soloist

Next time you come to a lesson and haven’t practiced, just tell me you’re playing Cage’s 4’33”!

June 5: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment

• 1625 ~ Orlando Gibbons, English organist/composer, died at the age of 41

• 1665 ~ Nicolas Bernier, Composer

• 1686 ~ Cristoph Raupach, Composer

• 1722 ~ Johann Kuhnau, Composer, died at the age of 62

• 1759 ~ Theodor Zwetler, Composer

• 1785 ~ Gottfried August Homilius, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1798 ~ Alexey Fyodorovich L’vov, Composer

• 1813 ~ Prosper Philippe Catherine Sainton, Composer

• 1816 ~ Giovanni Paisiello, Italian Composer (Serva Padrona), died at the age of 76

• 1826 ~ Carl Maria von Weber, German Composer (Oberon), died at the age of 39
Read more about von Weber

• 1826 ~ Ivar Christian Hallstrom, Composer

• 1852 ~ Tomasz Napoleon Nidecki, Composer, died at the age of 45

• 1861 ~ Tomas Genoves y Lapetra, Composer, died at the age of 55

• 1863 ~ Arthur Somervell, Composer

• 1868 ~ Anselm Huttenbrenner, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1879 ~ Adolf Wiklund, Composer

• 1895 ~ August Baeyens, Flemish Composer of Coriolanus

• 1885 ~ Julius Benedict, Composer (Protoghesi), died at the age of 80

• 1894 ~ Immanuel Faisst, Composer, died at the age of 70

• 1908 ~ Luca Fumagalli, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1909 ~ Alfred Uhl, Composer

• 1913 ~ Friedrich Wildgans, Composer

• 1922 ~ Specs (Gordon) Powell, Musician: drummer: CBS staff musician

• 1923 ~ Daniel Pinkham, American composer

• 1925 ~ Bill Hayes, Singer, entertainer

• 1927 ~ Paul Lacombe, Composer, died at the age of 89

• 1932 ~ Pete Jolly (Cragioli), Pianist

• 1937 ~ Stanley Lunetta, Composer

• 1941 ~ Martha Argerich, Brazilian pianist

• 1941 ~ Floyd Butler, Singer with Fifth Dimension and Friends of Distinction

• 1941 ~ Roy Eldridge was featured on trumpet and vocal as drummer Gene Krupa and his band recorded After You’ve Gone for Okeh Records.

• 1942 ~ Sammy Kaye and his orchestra recorded the classic I Left My Heart at the Stage Door Canteen for Victor Records.

• 1942 ~ Charles Dodge, Composer

• 1943 ~ Bill Hopkins, Composer

• 1944 ~ Riccardo Zandonai, Composer, died at the age of 61

• 1945 ~ Don Reid, Singer, Grammy Award-winning group: The Statler Brothers and CMA Vocal Group of the Year from 1972 to 1980

• 1946 ~ Fred Stone, Singer with Sly and the Family Stone

• 1947 ~ Laurie Anderson, American composer and performance artist

• 1956 ~ Kenny G (Gorelick), Saxophonist. Kenny G is one of the most successful international musicians, a best-selling artist with over 75 million record sales worldwide. He began playing the saxophone at the age of 10 and played music professionally while at University for various bands. In 1982 he got his big break and was signed to Arista Records and released his first solo album. Throughout his career he has worked with top artists including Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion, Smokey Robinson, Natalie Cole, and many others. He has also worked on several soundtracks including The Bodyguard. He has been nominated for 15 Grammy Awards and has won one in 1994 for his instrumental “Forever in Love.”

• 1956 ~ Elvis Presley made his second appearance on Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre. Presley sang Heartbreak Hotel, his number one hit. The TV critics were not kind to Elvis’ appearance on the show. They panned him, saying his performance looked “like the mating dance of an aborigine.”

Also in 1956,  Presley introduced his new single, “Hound Dog,” on The Milton Berle Show. and scandalized the audience with his suggestive hip gyrations.

• 1959 ~ Bob Zimmerman graduated from high school in Hibbing, MN. Zimmerman was known as a greaser to classmates in the remote rural community, because of his long sideburns and leather jacket. Soon, Zimmerman would be performing at coffee houses at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and later, in Greenwich Village in New York City. He would also change his name to Bob Dylan (after poet Dylan Thomas, so the story goes).

• 1964 ~ David Jones and The King Bees had their first record, Liza Jane, released by Vocalion Records of Great Britain. Less than a decade later, we came to know Jones better as David Bowie.

• 1965 ~ “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and Pharaohs hit #2

• 1971 ~ Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg), Guitarist, singer with Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch

• 1972 ~ Maureen McGovern quit her job as a full-time secretary for a new career as a full-time singer. Maureen was part of a trio before recording as a solo artist in July, 1973. Her first song, The Morning After, from the movie, The Poseidon Adventure, was a million-seller. She also sang the theme, Different Worlds, from ABC-TV’s Angie, and Can You Read My Mind from the movie, Superman. Ms. McGovern starred in Pirates of Penzance for 14 months on Broadway.

• 1993 ~ Conway Twitty, Country star (Linda on My Mind), died at the age of 59 during surgery

• 1994 ~ Ish Kabbible (Merwyn A Bogue), Cornetist with Kay Kyser, died at the age of 86

• 1999 ~ Mel Torme passed away

• 2016 ~ Phyllis Curtin, American soprano (New York City Opera), died at the age of 94

June 4: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment

• 1585 ~ Marc-Antoine de Muret, Composer, died at the age of 58

• 1770 ~ James Hewitt, Composer

• 1846 ~ Josef Sittard, Music writer

• 1872 ~ Stanislaw Moniuszko, Composer, died at the age of 53

• 1585 ~ Erno Rapee (1891) Hungarian conductor

• 1899 ~ Leo Spies, Composer

• 1905 ~ Carl Albert Loeschhorn, Composer, pianist and Royal Professor died at the age of 85

• 1907 ~ Marjan Kozina, Composer

• 1907 ~ Agathe Grondahl, Composer, died at the age of 59

• 1909 ~ Paul Nordoff, American composer of the Frog Prince

• 1913 ~ Bruno Bettinelli, Composer

• 1915 ~ William Charles Denis Browne, Composer, died at the age of t 26

• 1919 ~ Robert Merrill (Moishe Miller), Metropolitan Opera singing star, baritone

• 1922 ~ Irwin Bazelon, American composer

• 1916 ~ Mildred J Hill, Composer/musician (Happy Birthday To You), died at the age of 56

• 1927 ~ Gerry Mulligan, American jazz baritone saxophonist and arranger

• 1930 ~ Morgana King, Jazz singer

• 1930 ~ Pentti Raitio, Composer

• 1931 ~ Cesar Bolanos, Composer

• 1934 ~ The Dorsey Brothers, Tommy and Jimmy, recorded Annie’s Aunt Fanny on the Brunswick label. The track featured trombonist Glenn Miller, who also vocalized on the tune.

• 1937 ~ Freddie Fender, Guitarist

• 1940 ~ Dorothy Rudd Moore, Composer

• 1942 ~ Glenn Wallichs did what was called ‘promotion’ for Capitol Records in Hollywood. He came up with the idea that he could send copies of Capitol’s new records to influential radio announcers all around the U.S. and, maybe, add to the chances that stations would play the records. The practice would soon become common among most record labels.

• 1944 ~ Roger Ball, Musician, saxophonist and keyboards with Average White Band

• 1945 ~ Anthony Braxton, Jazz musician
Read more about Braxton

• 1945 ~ Michelle Phillips (Holly Michelle Gilliam), Singer with The Mamas and the Papas

• 1945 ~ Gordon Waller, Singer with Peter and Gordon

• 1951 ~ Conductor Serge Koussevitsky died. Born in Russia, he conducted the State Symphony Orchestra in Petrograd before moving to the U.S. to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Read more about Serge Koussevitsky

• 1956 ~ Max Kowalski, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1961 ~ “Wildcat” closed at Alvin Theater NYC after 172 performances

• 1963 ~ First transmission of Pop Go The Beatles on BBC radio

• 1964 ~ The Beatles “World Tour” begins in Copenhagen Denmark

• 1972 ~ Godfried Devreese, Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1978 ~ 32nd Tony Awards: Da and Ain’t Misbehavin’ won

• 1988 ~ “Cabaret” closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 262 performances

• 1988 ~ 42nd Tony Awards: M Butterfly and Phantom of the Opera won

• 1989 ~ Vaclav Kaslik, Czech opera Composer/conductor, died at the age of 71

• 1994 ~ Derek Lek Leckenby, rock guitarist (Herman’s Hermits), died at the age of 48

• 1994 ~ Earle Warren, Alto sax player, died at the age of 79

• 1995 ~ 49th Tony Awards: Love! Valour! Compassion! and Sunset Boulevard won

• 1997 ~ Ronnie Lane, bassist (Faces), died at the age of 50 of multiple sclerosis

• 2001 ~ John Hartford, a versatile and wry performer who wrote the standard Gentle on My Mind and turned his back on Hollywood to return to bluegrass music, died Monday at the age of 63. He was a singer-songwriter, comedian, tap-clog dancer, television performer and riverboat enthusiast. Gentle on My Mind has been broadcast on radio or television more than 6 million times, according to Broadcast Music Incorporated, which collects song royalties. It has been recorded more than 300 times, most prominently by Glen Campbell in 1967. Hartford’s career rambled from Hollywood to Nashville, with stops writing and performing on network television, thousands of shows at bluegrass clubs and festivals, and stints as a licensed steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. At the height of his fame in the early 1970s, Hartford reconsidered his decision to take an offer to star in a detective series on CBS. Instead, he returned to Nashville and resumed his career as an innovative, relatively low-profile bluegrass singer-songwriter. “I knew that if I did it, I would never live it down,” Hartford said of the television series in a 2000 interview. “Because then when I went back to music, people would start saying, `Oh, he didn’t make it in acting so he’s gone country.”‘ Born in New York City and raised in St. Louis, Hartford was enthralled as a youngster by riverboats and bluegrass music, in particular that of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He moved to Nashville in 1965, and his first album “John Hartford Looks at Life” was released the following year. Hartford’s version of Gentle on My Mind from second album “Earthwords & Music” was a minor hit in 1967. The song is about a hobo whose mind is eased by the thought of a former lover. Hartford moved to California in 1968, landing a job writing and performing on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” His went on to the cast of “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.” Returning to Nashville in 1971, Hartford released the landmark acoustic album “Aereo-Plain” and continued to record until his death. He was one of the performers on the hit soundtrack to the film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”

June 3: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment

• 1657 ~ Manuel de Egues, Composer

• 1660 ~ Johannes Schenck, Composer

• 1661 ~ Gottfried Scheidt, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1736 ~ Johann Christoph Oley, Composer

• 1746 ~ James Hook, Composer

• 1750 ~ Frederic Thieme, Composer

• 1773 ~ Michael Gottard Fischer, Composer

• 1801 ~ Frantisek Jan Skroup, Composer

• 1804 ~ Jean-Engelbert Pauwels, Composer, died at the age of 35

• 1809 ~ John “Christmas” Beckwith, Composer, died at the age of 58

• 1828 ~ Jean Alexander Ferdinand Poise, Composer

• 1828 ~ Jose Inzenga y Castellanos, Composer

• 1829 ~ Alfonse Charles Renaud de Vilback, Composer

• 1832 ~ Alexander Charles Lecocq, Composer

• 1841 ~ Eduardo Caudella, Composer

• 1844 ~ Emile Paladilhe, Composer

• 1849 ~ Francois de Paule Jacques Raymond de Fossa, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1858 ~ Julius Reubke, Composer, died at the age of 24

• 1867 ~ Bela Anton Szabados, Composer

• 1868 ~ Lvar Henning Mankell, Composer

• 1872 ~ Heinrich Esser, Composer, died at the age of 53

• 1875 ~ French composer Georges Bizet died at the age of 36, the same year his “Carmen” was first produced. It caused a scandal at first but went on to become one of opera’s most popular works.
More information on Bizet

• 1887 ~ Roland Hayes, American tenor

• 1887 ~ Emil Axman, Composer

• 1888 ~ Cark Reidel, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1890 ~ Henryk Oskar Kolberg, Composer, died at the age of 76

• 1893 ~ Assen Karastoyanov, Composer

• 1898 ~ Nikolai Afanisev, Composer, died at the age of 77

• 1899 ~ Johann Strauss Jr., Viennese conductor and composer of waltzes including “The Blue Danube”, died at the age of 73.
More information on Strauss

• 1904 ~ Jan Peerce (Jacob Pincus Perlemuth), Opera singer, tenor

• 1906 ~ Josephine Baker, American-born French jazz singer and dancer

• 1907 ~ Antonio Emmanvilovich Spadavecchia, Composer

• 1911 ~ Come Josephine in My Flying Machine hit #1

• 1913 ~ Josef Richard Rozkosny, Composer, died at the age of 79

• 1922 ~ Ivan Patachich, Composer

• 1926 ~ Carlos Veerhoff, Composer

• 1926 ~ Janez Maticic, Composer

• 1927 ~ Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (Yakety Sax)

• 1931 ~ The Band Wagon, a Broadway musical, opened in New York City. The show ran for 260 performances.

• 1932 ~ Dakota Staton (Aliyah Rabia), Jazz singer

. 1932 ~ The Broadway musical “The Band Wagon” opened in New York City. The comedic musical film about an aging star that tries to revive his career in a Broadway production. The film ranked #17 in the American Film Institute’s list of best musicals in 2006.

• 1939 ~ Beer Barrel Polka hit #1 on the pop singles chart by Will Glahe

• 1942 ~ Curtis Mayfield, American rhythm-and-blues singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist Grammy Award-winner, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, March 15, 1999

• 1944 ~ Mike Clarke, Musician, drummer with The Byrds

• 1946 ~ Ian Hunter, Singer, songwriter with Mott the Hoople

• 1949 ~ Stephen Ruppenthal, Composer

• 1950 ~ Suzie Quatro (Quatrocchio), Singer

• 1951 ~ Deniece Williams, Singer

• 1952 ~ Frank Sinatra recorded the classic Birth of the Blues for Columbia Records

• 1959 ~ Ole Windingstad, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1961 ~ Charles Hart, Lyricist: Phantom of the Opera

• 1961 ~ “Wildcat” closed at Alvin Theater NYC after 172 performances

• 1964 ~ The Hollywood Palace on ABC-TV hosted the first appearance of the first U.S. concert tour of The Rolling Stones. Dean Martin emceed the show. One critic called the Stones “dirtier and streakier and more disheveled than The Beatles.”

• 1971 ~ Yehudi Menuhin performed on a 250-year-old Stradivarius violin at Sotheby’s auction house. It sold for $200,000.

• 1978 ~ Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams combined their singing talents to reach the number one spot on the nation’s pop music charts with Too Much, Too Little, Too Late.

• 1986 ~ Arthur Charles Ernest Hoeree, Composer, died at the age of 89

• 1994 ~ Hub Matthijsen, Violinist/bandmaster, died at the age of 52

June 2: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

today

Be sure your student reads and listens to Today’s Daily Listening Assignment

• 1577 ~ Giovanni Righi, Composer

• 1614 ~ Benjamin Rogers, Composer

• 1715 ~ Herman-François Delange, Composer

• 1750 ~ Johann Valentin Rathgeber, German Composer, died at the age of 68

• 1806 ~ Isaac Strauss, Composer

• 1807 ~ Robert Fuhrer, Composer

• 1830 ~ Olivier Metra, Composer

• 1831 ~ Jan G Palm Curaçao, Bandmaster/choirmaster/composer

• 1857 ~ Sir Edward Elgar, British composer Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance, usually heard at graduations, was featured in Disney’s Fantasia 2000.
Read quotes by and about Elgar
More information about Elgar

• 1858 ~ Harry Rowe Shelley, Composer

• 1863 ~ Paul Felix Weingartner, German conductor

• 1873 ~ François Hainl, Composer, died at the age of 65

• 1876 ~ Hakon Borresen, Composer

• 1891 ~ Ernst Kunz, Composer

• 1897 ~ Alexander Tansman, Composer

• 1900 ~ David Wynne, Composer

• 1909 ~ Robin Orr, Composer

• 1913 ~ Bert Farber, Orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey and Vic Damone

• 1915 ~ Robert Moffat Palmer, American composer

• 1927 ~ Carl Butler, Country entertainer, songwriter

• 1927 ~ Freidrich Hegar, Composer, died at the age of 85

• 1929 ~ Alcides Lanza, Composer

• 1929 ~ Frederic Devreese, Composer

• 1932 ~ Sammy Turner (Samuel Black), Singer

• 1934 ~ Johnny Carter, American singer

• 1937 ~ Louis Vierne, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1939 ~ Charles Miller, Saxophonist and clarinetist

• 1941 ~ William Guest, Singer with Gladys Knight & The Pips

• 1941 ~ Charlie Watts, Drummer with Rolling Stones

• 1944 ~ Marvin Hamlisch, American pianist, composer and arranger of popular music
More information about Hamlisch

• 1947 ~ Hermann Darewsky, Composer, died at the age of 64

• 1949 ~ Dynam-Victor Fumet, Composer, died at the age of 82

• 1949 ~ Ernest Ford, Composer, died at the age of 91

• 1960 ~ For the first time in 41 years, the entire Broadway theatre district in New York City was forced to close. The Actors Equity Union and theatre owners came to a showdown with a total blackout of theatres.

• 1964 ~ The original cast album of “Hello Dolly!” went gold — having sold a million copies. It was quite a feat for a Broadway musical.

• 1964 ~ “Follies Bergere” opened on Broadway for 191 performances

• 1972 ~ Franz Philipp, Composer, died at the age of 81

• 1977 ~ Henri D Gagnebin, Swiss organist and composer, died at the age of 91

• 1982 ~ “Blues in the Night” opened at Rialto Theater NYC for 53 performances

• 1983 ~ Stan Rogers, musician, died in aircraft fire

• 1985 ~ The Huck Finn-based musical “Big River” earned seven Tony Awards in New York City at the 39th annual awards presentation.

• 1986 ~ Daniel Sternefeld, Belgian conductor and composer died at the age of 80

• 1987 ~ Andres Segovia, Spanish classical guitarist, died at the age of 94. He established the guitar as a serious classical instrument through his numerous concerts and by his transcriptions of many pieces of Bach and Handel.
More information on Segovia

• 1987 ~ Sammy Kaye, Orchestra leader (Sammy Kaye Show), died at the age of 77

• 1994 ~ Prima Sellecchia Tesh, daughter of John Tesh and Connie Sellecca

• 1997 ~ Doc Cheatham, Jazz musician, died of stroke at the age of 91

• 2001 ~ Imogene Coca, the elfin actress and satiric comedienne who co-starred with Sid Caesar on television’s classic “Your Show of Shows” in the 1950s, died at the age of 92. Coca’s saucer eyes, fluttering lashes, big smile and boundless energy lit up the screen in television’s “Golden Age” and brought her an Emmy as best actress in 1951. Although she did some broad burlesque, her forte was subtle exaggeration. A talented singer and dancer, her spoofs of opera divas and prima ballerinas tiptoed a fine line between dignity and absurdity until she pushed them over the edge at the end. With Caesar she performed skits that satirized the everyday – marital spats, takeoffs on films and TV programs, strangers meeting and speaking in cliches. “The Hickenloopers” husband-and-wife skit became a staple.

• 2015 ~ Paul Karolyi, Hungarian composer, died at the age of 80

Daily Listening Assignments 2025

Posted by MaryO on

This summer, I’ve decided to add a new feature to piano lessons.  I know that many families travel during the summer months and it’s sometimes difficult to practice.

These daily assignments, June through August will help you and your students learn a bit more about the pieces they’re learning during the year – or maybe give ideas for something that they’d like to learn.

Each piece has a bit of composer info and several different interpretations, some of which are very humorous.  Some of the assignments appear in Piano Maestro so be sure to have that handy, if your student uses that.

Some days give hints that the assignment of the day may be played (or reviewed) at the next lesson so please be sure that your student takes note of that (no pun intended!)

Find them here, under Daily Listening Assignment starting June 1 at 9:00 am.

Have a safe and musical summer!

May 31: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

 

• 1656 ~ Marin Marias, Composer

• 1674 ~ Friedrich Erhard Niedt, Composer

• 1696 ~ Heinrich Schwemmer, Composer, died at the age of 75

• 1802 ~ Cesare Pugni, Composer

• 1804 ~ Jeanne-Louise Farrenc, Composer

• 1809 ~ Franz Joseph Haydn died at the age of 77

• 1817 ~ Edouard Deldevez, Composer

• 1854 ~ Vatroslav Lisinski, Composer, died at the age of 34

• 1866 ~ Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov, Composer

• 1875 ~ Italo Montemezzi, Composer

• 1879 ~ Mark Hambourg, Composer

• 1892 ~ Louis Fourestier, Composer

• 1892 ~ Willem Ravelli, baritone singer

• 1898 ~ Johan Brouwer, Dutch pianist, writer and resistance fighter

• 1902 ~ Billy Mayerl, Composer

• 1902 ~ Ralph Walter Wood, Composer

• 1912 ~ Alfred Deller, British countertenor

• 1914 ~ Akira Ifukube, Composer

• 1917 ~ First jazz record released (Dark Town Strutters Ball)

• 1919 ~ Chet Gierlach, Music publisher and composer

• 1919 ~ Emmanual Tettey Mensah, Musician

• 1923 ~ Wolfgang Lesser, Composer

• 1928 ~ Jacob Lateiner, Cuban pianist and professor at Juilliard

• 1929 ~ Aladar Zoltan, Composer

• 1933 ~ Shirley Verrett, American mezzo-soprano, New York Met

• 1934 ~ Karl-Erik Welin, Composer

• 1938 ~ Peter Yarrow, American folk singer and guitarist
More information on Yarrow

• 1939 ~ Charles Drain, singer

• 1940 ~ Augie Meyers, Keyboardist with Texas Tornados

• 1941 ~ Johnny Paycheck (Don Lytle), Country singer

• 1944 ~ Mick Ralphs, Guitarist with Mott the Hoople

• 1947 ~ Henri G Casadesus, French alto violist (viola d’amour) and composer, died at the age of 66

• 1948 ~ Jose Vianna da Motta, Composer, died at the age of 80

• 1955 ~ Raoul Gunsbourg, Composer, died at the age of 95

• 1961 ~ Rock ’n’ roll fans were ready for a good old-fashioned summertime as Chuck Berry’s amusement park, Berryland, opened near St. Louis, MO.

• 1962 ~ Eduardo Toldra, Composer, died at the age of 67

• 1967 ~ Billy Strayhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger died at the age of 51 of esophageal cancer

• 1969 ~ Stevie Wonder’s My Cherie Amour was released by Tamla Records. The song made it to number four on the pop music charts on July 26 and stayed on the nation’s radios for eleven weeks.

• 1969 ~ John Lennon, Yoko Ono recorded Give Peace a Chance

• 1974 ~ William DeVaughn, a soul singer, songwriter and guitarist from Washington, DC, received a gold record for his only hit, Be Thankful for What You Got.

• 1976 ~ Ear doctors didn’t have to drum up business this day. There were plenty of walk-ins as The Who put out a total of 76,000 watts of power at 120 decibels. They played the loudest concert anyone had ever heard, making it into “The Guinness Book of World Records”.

• 1977 ~ “Beatlemania” opened at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 920 performances

• 1979 ~ Radio City Music Hall (NYC) reopened

• 1989 ~ First presentation of rock n roll Elvis awards

• 1994 ~ Herva Nelli, Soprano, died at the age of 85

. 1996 ~ Normani Kordei Hamilton. Known simply as Normani, the talented singer and dancer gained fame as part of the group Fifth Harmony, who were formed in 2012 on the American version of X-Factor, a television singing competition. The group ended up in third place on the competition show but went on to achieve commercial success. In 2018 the group split and Normani began her solo career. Her first solo single “Motivation” reached the US Top 40 and was certified platinum. Normani has also collaborated with notable musicians Calvin Harris, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Sam Smith, and Megan Thee Stallion.

• 1997 ~ “Once Upon a Mattress,” closed at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 187 performances.

• 2002 ~ Mario Lago, an influential composer, actor and political dissident, died of lung failure. He was 90. Throughout a multifaceted career, Lago wrote more than 200 popular songs and appeared in 20 films and more than 30 telenovelas, Brazil’s version of television soap operas. He was also an active member of Brazil’s Communist Party, and was imprisoned six times during Brazil’s 1964-86 military regime. One of Lago’s most successful songs, Amelia, sang the praises of a woman happy with very little from her husband. The name came to signify a submissive woman in Brazilian slang. Lago continued acting until January, 2002 when he was hospitalized for a month with emphysema.

May 30: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

• 1578 ~ Valentin Dretzel, Composer

• 1746 ~ Giovanni Antonio Pollarolo, Composer, died at the age of 69

• 1778 ~ Voltaire, (François-Marie Arouet), French writer of Candide, died at the age of 42. Candide was later set to music by Leonard Bernstein

• 1791 ~ Ildephons Haas, Composer, died at the age of 56

• 1797 ~ Johann Christian Lobe, Composer

• 1797 ~ Carl Ludwig Junker, Composer, died at the age of 48

• 1808 ~ Joaquim Casimiro Jr, Composer

• 1833 ~ Josef Slavik, Composer, died at the age of 27

• 1844 ~ Louis Varney, Composer

• 1853 ~ Karl Fritjof Valentin, Composer

• 1866 ~ Opera “Die Verkaufte Braut” premiered in Prague

• 1870 ~ Gustave Vogt, Composer, died at the age of 89

• 1883 ~ Riccardo Zandonai, Composer

• 1887 ~ Gino Tagliapietra, Composer

• 1906 ~ William Yeates Hurlstone, Composer, died at the age of 30

• 1909 ~ Benny Goodman, American jazz clarinetist, composer and bandleader. He became a leading player with his own bands during the 1930’s and also commissioned works from classical composers including Bartok and Copland.
More information on Goodman

• 1913 ~ Pee Wee (George) Erwin, Trumpet with Tommy Dorsey Band and Isham Jones Band

• 1913 ~ Cedric Thorpe Davie, Composer

• 1917 ~ The jazz standard “Dark Town Strutters Ball” by Original Dixieland Jass Band was first recorded

• 1920 ~ George London, Baritone singer with Bel canto Trio (with Frances Yeend and Mario Lanza); member: Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera; Artistic Director of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Director: National Opera Institute; head of the Washington Opera and established the George London Foundation for Singers in 1971.

• 1922 ~ ‘Smilin’ Ed McConnell debuted on radio, smiling and playing his banjo. McConnell quickly became a legend in the medium.

• 1923 ~ Howard Hanson’s 1st Symphony “Nordic,” premiered

• 1923 ~ Camille Chevillard, Composer, died at the age of 63

• 1925 ~ Claude Prey, Composer

• 1928 ~ Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch organist and harpsichordist

• 1935 ~ Lothar Windsperger, Composer, died at the age of 49

• 1936 ~ Galina Shostakovich, daughter of Russian Composer Shostakovich

• 1940 ~ Olivia Stapp, American soprano

• 1944 ~ Lenny Davidson, Musician with The Dave Clark Five

• 1947 ~ Sidney Hugo Nicholson, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1952 ~ Zoltan Kocsis, Composer

• 1952 ~ Darius Milhaud’s “West Point Suite,” premiered

• 1954 ~ Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Odisseia de Uma Raca,” premiered

• 1959 ~ Thomas Carl Whitmer, Composer, died at the age of 85

• 1962 ~ Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem,” premiered

• 1962 ~ The King of Swing, Benny Goodman, turned 53 and led the first American jazz band to play in the Soviet Union. Goodman and his band played six concerts in the U.S.S.R.

• 1964 ~ The Beatles 1961 record of Cry for a Shadow was #1 in Australia

• 1964 ~ The Beatles’ Love Me Do, single was #1

• 1968 ~ The Beatles begin work on their only double album “Beatles”

• 1969 ~ Gaston Brenta, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1971 ~ Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer, died at the age of 85. He was organist of St. Sulpice from 1934 until 1971.

• 1972 ~ Margaret Ruthven Lang, Composer, died at the age of 104

• 1973 ~ Hal Hastings, Orchestra leader for Chevrolet on Broadway, died at the age of 66

• 1975 ~ Wings released “Venus and Mars” album

• 1977 ~ Paul Desmond, American jazz saxophonist, died at the age of 52

• 1980 ~ Carl Radle, bassist with Derek and the Dominoes, died of a kidney ailment

• 1986 ~ Hank Mobley, American jazz saxophonist, died at the age of 55

• 1987 ~ Turk Murphy, Jazz trombonist, died at the age of 71

• 1989 ~ Zinka Milanov, Metropolitan Opera Diva, died at the age of a stroke at 83

• 1992 ~ Paul Simon married Edie Brickell

• 1993 ~ Sun Ra, Blues pianist/orchestra leader, died of a stroke at the age of 79

• 1996 ~ Bob Stroup, trombonist, died at the age of 57

• 1996 ~ John Kahn, bassist, died at the age of 47

• 2019 ~ Leon Redbone [Dickran Gobalian], American blues and jazz musician (Seduced, Theme to Mr. Belvedere), died at the age of 69

May 29: Today’s Music History

Posted by MaryO on

• 1680 ~ Abraham Megerle, Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1680 ~ Luca Fumagalli (1837) Composer

• 1730 ~ William Jackson, Composer

• 1731 ~ Orazio Mei, Composer

• 1741 ~ Johann Gottfried Krebs, Composer

• 1750 ~ Giuseppe Porsile, Composer, died at the age of 70

• 1753 ~ Joseph Haydn’s “Krumme Teufel,” premiered

• 1791 ~ Pietro Romani, Composer

• 1833 ~ William Marshall, Composer, died at the age of 84

• 1860 ~ Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer
More information about Albéniz

• 1843 ~ Emile Pessard, Composer

• 1862 ~ Franciszek Wincenty Mirecki, Composer, died at the age of 71

• 1881 ~ Frederik Septimus Kelly, Composer

• 1883 ~ William Beatton Moonie, Composer

• 1889 ~ August Strindberg’s “Hemsoborna,” premiered in Copenhagen

• 1890 ~ Francis de Bourguignon, Composer

• 1897 ~ Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Austrian-born American composer
More information about Korngold

• 1897 ~ Ignace Lilien, Composer

• 1899 ~ Frantz Jehin-Prume, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1903 ~ Bob Hope, Entertainer

• 1905 ~ Fela Sowande, Composer

• 1905 ~ Leon Francis Victor Caron, Composer, died at the age of 55

• 1906 ~ Hans Joachim Schaeuble, Composer

• 1910 ~ Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Russian Composer, died at the age of 73

• 1911 ~ Sir William Gilbert, English librettist who together with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan collaborated on many operettas, died of a heart attack after rescuing a woman from drowning. He was 74.

• 1911 ~ Carl M Story (1916) Fiddler

• 1912 ~ Fifteen women were dismissed from their jobs at the Curtis Publishing Company in Philadelphia, PA — for dancing the Turkey Trot while on the job!

• 1922 ~ Iannis Xenakis, Rumanian-born French theorist and composer
More information on Xenakis

• 1923 ~ Eugene Wright, Jazz musician, bass with Dukes of Swing, played with Brubeck

• 1935 ~ Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer, died at the age of 61

• 1930 ~ Eleanor Fazan, Opera and show choreographer

• 1937 ~ Peter Kolman, Composer

• 1941 ~ Roy Crewsdon, Guitarist with Freddie and The Dreamers

• 1942 ~ The biggest selling record of all time was recorded. A little out of season, perhaps, but White Christmas, the Irving Berlin classic, was recorded by Bing Crosby for Decca Records. The song was written for the film “Holiday Inn”. More than 30-million copies of Crosby’s most famous hit song have been sold and a total of nearly 70-million copies, including all versions of the standard, have been sold.

• 1942 ~ “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, based on life of George M. Cohan, directed by Michael Curtiz, starring James Cagney and Joan Lesley, premiered in New York City (Academy Awards Best Actor 1943)

• 1943 ~ Hermann Hans Wetzler, Composer, died at the age of 72

• 1943 ~ “The Million Dollar Band” was heard for the first time on NBC radio. Charlie Spivak was the first leader of the band that featured Barry Wood as vocalist. The unusual feature of the show was the awarding each week of five diamond rings!

• 1945 ~ Gary Brooker, Keyboard player, singer

• 1948 ~ Linda Esther Gray, opera singer

• 1948 ~ Michael Berkley, Composer and broadcaster

• 1949 ~ Francis Rossi, Guitarist

• 1949 ~ Gary Brooker, Rock keyboardist with Procol Harum

• 1950 ~ Rebbie (Maureen) Jackson, Singer, oldest member of the Jackson family

• 1951 ~ Dimitrios Levidis, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1951 ~ Fanny Brice, Ziegfeld Girl (Baby Snooks Show), died at the age of 59

• 1951 ~ Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Composer, died at the age of 91

• 1951 ~ Robert Kahn, Composer, died at the age of 85

• 1951 ~ Danny Elfman (1953) Singer with Oingo Boingo;, composer of soundtracks to Batman, Beetlejuice and The Simpsons

• 1956 ~ LaToya Jackson, Singer

• 1956 ~ Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (Gewandhausorkest), died at the age of 73

• 1956 ~ Arnold Schoenberg’s “Modern Psalm,” premiered

• 1960 ~ Everly Brothers Cathy’s Clown hit #1

• 1961 ~ Melissa Etheridge, Singer

• 1961 ~ Uuno Kalervo Klami, Composer, died at the age of 60

• 1961 ~ Ricky Nelson reached the top spot on the “Billboard” singles chart with Travelin’ Man. It was Nelson’s second chart-topping hit. Poor Little Fool made it to the top in August of 1958.

• 1962 ~ Barbra Streisand appeared on “Garry Moore Show”

• 1967 ~ Geronimo Baqueiro Foster, Composer, died at the age of 69

• 1971 ~ Max Trapp, Composer, died at the age of 83

• 1972 ~ The Osmonds received a gold record for the album, “Phase III”.

• 1975 ~ Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown, Singer

• 1976 ~ One Piece At A Time by Johnny Cash hit #29

• 1977 ~ Goddard Lieberson, Composer, died at the age of 66

• 1989 ~ Danielle Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis Presley

• 1991 ~ “Les Miserables” opened at ACTEA Theatre, Auckland NZ

• 1992 ~ Peter John “Ollie” Halsall, Guitarist, died of a heart attack at 43

• 1994 ~ Oliver “Bops Junior” Jackson, drummer, died at the age of 61

• 1994 ~ “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” closed at Minskoff Theater NYC after 223 performances

• 1996 ~ James George “Jimmy” Rowles, Jazz pianist, died at the age of 77

• 1997 ~ Jeff Buckley, Musician, drowned at age 30

• 2003 ~ Janet Collins, the first black prima ballerina to appear at the Metropolitan Opera and one of a few black women to become prominent in American classical ballet, died. She was 86. In 1951, Collins performed lead roles in “Aida” and Bizet’s Carmen and danced in “La Gioconda” and “Samson and Delilah” at the Met in New York City. That was four years before Marian Anderson made her historic debut as the first black to sing a principal role at the Met. Collins left the Met in 1954. During the 1950s, she toured with her own dance group throughout the United States and Canada and taught. Collins also danced in films, including the 1943 musical “Stormy Weather” and 1946’s “The Thrill of Brazil.” The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1974 paid homage to Collins and Pearl Primus as pioneering black women in dance.