Finlandia, Op. 26, is a tone poem by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was written in 1899 and revised in 1900. The piece was composed for the Press Celebrations of 1899, a covert protest against increasing censorship from the Russian Empire, and was the last of seven pieces performed as an accompaniment to a tableau depicting episodes from Finnish history.
In order to avoid Russian censorship, Finlandia had to be performed under alternative names at various musical concerts. Titles under which the piece masqueraded were numerous—famous examples include Happy Feelings at the awakening of Finnish Spring, and A Scandinavian Choral March.
• 1972 ~ I Am Woman, by Helen Reddy, was released by Capitol Records. The number one tune (December 9, 1972) became an anthem for the feminist movement. Reddy, from Australia, made her stage debut when she was only four years old. She had her own TV program in the early 1960s. Reddy came to New York in 1966 and has appeared in the films Airport 1975, Pete’s Dragon and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Reddy also had four million-sellers: I Am Woman, Delta Dawn, Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) and Angie Baby. She had a total of 14 hits on the pop music charts.
• 1992 ~ Billy Joel, American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer, received an honorary diploma from Hicksville HS at 43
• 2000 ~ British actor David Tomlinson, who starred as father George Banks in the classic 1964 musical movie “Mary Poppins”, died at the age of 83.
• 2002 ~ Dolores Gray, a Tony-winning actress and singer, died of a heart attack at her Manhattan apartment. She was 78. Gray began performing in Hollywood clubs when she was 14, and at 15 she was discovered by Rudy Vallee and given a guest spot on his national radio show. She landed her first major theater success in 1947 as Annie in “Annie Get Your Gun” in London. In 1954, she won a Tony award for best musical actress in “Carnival in Flanders.” After signing a contract with MGM in 1955, Gray began to star in musical movies, including “Kismet,” and “The Opposite Sex.” She performed alongside Gene Kelly in “It’s Always Fair Weather” and with Gregory Peck and Lauren Bacall in “Designing Women.” Gray continued to perform in clubs, on stage, and on television variety shows, including the Bell Telephone Hour. She returned to Broadway for several productions, including “Destry Rides Again,” during which the stage curtain once caught fire as she sang “Anyone Would Love You.” As the theater’s firefighters and stagehands battled the blaze backstage, Gray kept singing, and was credited with keeping the audience calm until they could evacuate the theater. The show resumed after a 40-minute intermission.
• 2002 ~ Joe Derise, a musician, cabaret artist and former big band vocalist, died. He was 76. Derise sang with Tommy Dorsey at the age of 21 and performed as a singer, guitarist and arranger with the Claude Thornhill Orchestra. He went on to form his own group, Four Jacks and a Jill, which performed around the country. Derise made several records and composed some of his own songs with the lyricist Marcia Hillman. His last major performance was at the Algonquin Hotel in New York in 1999.
Today’s is a cheat post, partly because I ran out of time.
I’ve watched this video several times in the past few days. It’s a great overview of the Beatles music. And, yes, I have books of their music arranged for piano, if you want to play anything.
• 1771 ~ Jean-Claude Trial, Composer, died at the age of 38
• 1801 ~ Bendix Friedrich Zinck, Composer, died at the age of 58
• 1817 ~ Otto Carl Erdmann Kospoth, Composer, died at the age of 63
• 1824 ~ Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke, German pianist, composer and conductor
• 1833 ~ Nikolaus Paul Zmeskall, Composer, died at the age of 73
• 1837 ~ Ernest Guiraud, Composer
• 1852 ~ Stephane Raoul Pugno, Composer
• 1855 ~ Maude Valerie White, Composer
• 1877 ~ Blair Fairchild, Composer
• 1877 ~ Hermann Stephani, Composer
• 1888 ~ Emil Naumann, Composer, died at the age of 60
• 1891 ~ Francis Henry Brown, Composer, died at the age of 73
• 1892 ~ Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Polish pianist
• 1895 ~ Joseph Paul Skelly, Composer, died at the age of 44
• 1899 ~ Alexander Moiseyevich Veprik, Composer
• 1901 ~ Charles Kensington Salaman, Composer, died at the age of 87
• 1904 ~ Willie Mae “Mother” Smith, Gospel singer/evangelist folk artist
• 1920 ~ Paul Des Marais, Composer
• 1922 ~ Francis Thorne, American composer
• 1924 ~ Cecil (James) Sharp, English folk musician, died at the age of 64
• 1925 ~ Amada Galvez Santos Ocampo, Composer
• 1927 ~ Bob (Robert Louis) Fosse, Oscar Award-winning director and Tony Award-winning choreographer
• 1928 ~ Thomas H Rollinson, Composer, died at the age of 84
• 1929 ~ June Carter Cash, Grammy Award-winning country singer with husband, Johnny Cash, and songwriter
• 1940 ~ Adam Faith (Terence Nelhams), Singer
• 1941 ~ Lena Horne recorded St. Louis Blues for Victor Records and launched an illustrious singing career in the process. She was 23 years old at the time. Horne continued performing well into her 60s.
• 1943 ~ James Levine, American conductor and pianist
• 1944 ~ Rosetta Hightower, Singer with The Orlons
• 1948 ~ Nigel Osborne, Composer
• 1951 ~ Armin Knab, German Composer (Wunderhorn), died at the age of 70
• 1955 ~ Harry Belafonte became a popular TV star following the program debut of Three for Tonight, on CBS. Belafonte had been touring with the show before bringing it to the tube.
Today’s is a cheat post, partly because I ran out of time.
I’ve watched this video several times in the past few days. It’s a great overview of the Beatles music. And, yes, I have books of their music arranged for piano, if you want to play anything.
• 1735 ~ Pirro Conte d’ Albergati Capacelli, Composer, died at the age of 71
• 1741 ~ Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Composer, died at the age of 38
• 1741 ~ Alois Luigi Tomasini, Composer
• 1742 ~ Heinrich Gottfried Reichard, Composer
• 1745 ~ Hubert Renotte, Composer, died at the age of 41
• 1754 ~ Nicholas Siret, Composer, died at the age of 91
• 1824 ~ Frederic Louis Ritter, Composer
• 1830 ~ Theodor Leschetizky, Polish pianist and one of the greatest piano teachers of his time.
• 1843 ~ Gabriele Prota, Composer, died at the age of 88
• 1859 ~ Frank Heino Damrosch, Musician, teacher and author, founder of the Institute of Music
• 1883 ~ Jose Rolon, Composer
• 1900 ~ Jennie Tourel, Russian-born American mezzo-soprano
• 1905 ~ Walter Leigh, Composer
• 1910 ~ Sir Peter Pears, British tenor
More information about Pears
• 1921 ~ Gower Champion, Tony Award-winning choreographer: 42nd Street, 1981; The Happy Time, 1968; Hello Dolly! in 1964; Bye-Bye Birdie, 1961; Lend an Ear, 1949
• 1926 ~ Ruth Zechlin, Composer
• 1926 ~ Hermann Suter, Composer, died at the age of 56
• 1930 ~ Roy Drusky, DJ, songwriter
• 1932 ~ Michael Horvit, Composer
• 1936 ~ Kris Kristofferson, American country-rock singer, songwriter and actor
• 1939 ~ Bing Crosby and Connee Boswell joined in song to perform An Apple for the Teacher, on Decca Records.
• 1944 ~ Peter Asher, British singer with Peter and Gordon
• 1947 ~ Don Henley, Drummer and singer with the Eagles
• 1947 ~ Howard Kaylan (Kaplan), Singer with The Turtles
• 1948 ~ Todd Rundgren, Singer
• 1949 ~ Alan Osmond, Singer with The Osmonds and The Osmond Brothers
• 1950 ~ Julio Fonseca, Composer, died at the age of 65
• 1959 ~ Along Came Jones by the Coasters peaked at #9
• 1959 ~ Class by Chubby Checker peaked at #38
• 1959 ~ The Battle of New Orleans, by Johnny Horton, started week number four. The song was number one for a total of six weeks. It was Horton’s only number one record and million-seller. He had big hits, however, with movie music: Sink theBismarck and North to Alaska (from the film by the same title, starring John Wayne) — both in 1960. Horton, from Tyler, TX, married Billie Jean Jones, Hank Williams’ widow. Tragically, Johnny Horton was killed in a car crash on November 5, 1960.
• 1963 ~ “Little” Stevie Wonder, 13 years old, released Fingertips. It became Wonder’s first number one single on August 10th. Wonder had 46 hits on the pop and R&B music charts between 1963 and 1987. Eight of those hits made it to number one.
• 1964 ~ Barbra Joan Streisand signed a 10-year contract with CBS-TV worth about $200,000 a year. Both CBS and NBC had been bidding for Streisand’s talents.
• 1968 ~ Herb Alpert used his voice and his trumpet to run to the top of the pop music charts. This Guy’s in Love with You became the most popular song in the nation this day. It would rule the top of the pop music world for four weeks. It was the only vocal by Alpert to make the charts, though his solo instrumentals with The Tijuana Brass scored lots of hits. Alpert performed on 19 charted hits through 1987.
• 1968 ~ Here Come Da Judge by The Buena Vistas peaked at #88
• 1969 ~ Judy Garland passed away
• 1972 ~ “Man of La Mancha” opened at Beaumont Theater New York City for 140 performances
• 1973 ~ Jacques Leon Wolfe, Composer, died at the age of 77
• 1973 ~ George Harrison released Living in the Material World
• 1974 ~ Darius Milhaud, French Composer, died at the age of 81 He was best known for the wide variety of styles in which he composed. His ballet La Creation du Monde” uses jazz themes.
More information about Milhaud
• 1976 ~ “Godspell” opened at Broadhurst Theater New York City for 527 performances
• 1979 ~ Little Richard quit rock & roll for religious pursuit
• 1987 ~ Fred Astaire died at the age of 88. He starred in a large number of stage musicals and films, 10 with dancing partner Ginger Rogers.
• 1988 ~ Dennis Day (Eugene Denis McNulty) passed away
• 1989 ~ Bengt Viktor Johansson, Composer, died at the age of 74
• 1990 ~ Billy Joel, American pianist, singer-songwriter, and composer, performed a concert at Yankee Stadium
• 2015 ~ Albert Evans, retired principal dancer with New York City Ballet, died at 46.
• 2015 ~ James Horner, American film composer (Titanic, Apollo 13, Casper), died in a plane crash at the age of 61
Today we listen to the third movement Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.11 III (Turkish March) with just a bit of the first movement near the end.
The Turkish influence on western music came through the Turkish military band music (Mehter), which was at the time was the only military band in Europe. It was once popular among western composers like Mozart to write Turkish-style (alla Turca) works, Turkish music being known at that time as Turkish band music. That’s why the Turkish-influenced music works by Mozart, Beethoven or Strauss are in march rhythm as they are called march.
A rondo is a piece of music where the musical material stated at the beginning of the piece keeps returning. This opening music can be called either the theme or the refrain; they are the same thing. The form can be A, B, A or A, B, C, A – anything as long as the “A” theme returns
The Turkish March movement:
On guitar:
Harmonica, anyone?
Vocal:
Find the Turkish march movement of this sonata in these Piano Pronto books: Encore, Mozart: Exploring His Life and Music,
The first movement can be found in Keyboard Kickoff, Movement 2
• 1732 ~ Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, composer and 5th son of Johann Sebastian Bach
• 1790 ~ Wilhelm Speyer, Composer
• 1805 ~ Karl Friedrich Curschmann, Composer
• 1846 ~ Adolphe Sax patented the saxophone he invented in 1840
• 1862 ~ Henry Holden Huss, Composer
• 1865 ~ Albert Herbert Brewer, Composer
• 1868 ~ Wagner’s opera “Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg” premiered in Munich
• 1887 ~ Adolf Schimon, Composer, died at the age of 67
• 1892 ~ Hilding Rosenberg, Swedish composer
• 1893 ~ Alois Hába, Czech opera composer and writer
• 1900 ~ Gunnar Ek, Composer (he died on 81st birthday)
• 1900 ~ Polibo Fumagalli, Composer, died at the age of 69
• 1903 ~ Louis Krasner, violinist
• 1906 ~ Luis Maria Millet, Composer
• 1908 ~ Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian Composer, died at the age of 64. He was best known for his orchestral piece “Sheherezade” and the opera “The Golden Cockerel” as well as his re-orchestration of Moussorgsky’s opera “Boris Godunov.”
More information about Rimsky-Korsakov
• 1941 ~ Wayne King and his orchestra recorded Time Was, with Buddy Clark providing the vocal accompaniment, for Victor Records.
• 1944 ~ Ray Davies, Musician, guitar, singer, songwriter with The Kinks
• 1945 ~ Chris Britton, Guitarist with The Troggs
• 1946 ~ Brenda Holloway, American singer and songwriter
• 1946 ~ Heinrich Kaminski, Composer, died at the age of 59
• 1948 ~ Columbia Records announced that it was offering a new Vinylite long-playing record that could hold 23 minutes of music on each side. One of the first LPs produced was of the original cast of the Broadway show, South Pacific. Critics quickly scoffed at the notion of LPs, since those heavy, breakable, 78 RPM, 10- inch disks with one song on each side, were selling at an all-time high. It didn’t take very long though, for the 33-1/3 RPM album — and its 7-inch, 45 RPM cousin to revolutionize the music industry and the record-buying habits of millions.
• 1951 ~ Nils Lofgren, Musician, guitar, keyboards, singer, songwriter
• 1958 ~ Splish Splash was recorded by Bobby Darin. It was his first hit and it took Darin only ten minutes to write the song.
• 1972 ~ Billy Preston received a gold record for the instrumental hit, Outa-Space. Preston, who played for gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, back in 1956, was also in the film St. Louis Blues as a piano player. He was a regular on the Shindig TV show in the 1960s; and recorded with The Beatles on the hits Get Back and Let It Be. Preston also performed at The Concert for Bangladesh in 1969. Many well-known artists have utilized his keyboard talents, including Sly & The Family Stone and the Rolling Stones.
• 1972 ~ Seth Bingham, Composer, died at the age of 90
• 1975 ~ Heinz Lau, Composer, died at the age of 49
• 1985 ~ Ron Howard directed his first music video. The TV star of The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days also directed the film Cocoon, which included Gravity, the song used in the video. Michael Sembello, a guitarist who played on Stevie Wonder’s hits between 1974 and 1979 was responsible for Gravity.
• 1990 ~ June Christy passed away
• 1990 ~ Little Richard received a star on Hollywood’s walk of fame
• 1992 ~ Thomas Whitfield, Gospel vocalist, died of heart attack at 38
• 1993 ~ “Camelot” opened at the Gershwin Theater New York City for 56 performances
• 1997 ~ Art Prysock, Jazz musician, died at the age of 68
• 2000 ~ Alan Hovhaness, a prolific composer who melded Western and Asian musical styles, died at the age of 89.
• 2001 ~ Bluesman John Lee Hooker, whose foot-stompin’ and gravelly voice on songs like Boom Boom and Boogie Chillen electrified audiences and inspired generations of musicians, died of natural causes at the age of 83. He recorded more than 100 albums over nearly seven decades. He won a Grammy Award for a version of In The Mood, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s Grammys. His distinctive sound influenced rhythm and blues musicians, as well as rock ‘n’ rollers including Van Morrison, the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt and ZZ Top. Hooker’s 1990 album “The Healer“, featured duets with Carlos Santana, Raitt and Robert Cray. It sold 1.5 million copies and won him his first Grammy Award, for a duet with Raitt on I’m in the Mood. Born in Clarksdale, Miss., August 22, 1917, Hooker was one of 11 children born to a Baptist minister and sharecropper who discouraged his son’s musical bent. In Detroit, he was discovered and recorded his first hit, Boogie Chillen, in 1948.
• 2003 ~ William Leslie died at the age of 78. He was a jazz saxophonist who toured the world with the Louis Jordan Band in the 1950s in Sellersville, Pa. He played with the Jordan Band in New York, Chicago, Las Vegas and Europe and on the television show “Your Hit Parade.” Mr. Leslie had played the saxophone since he was 12. After serving in World War II, he attended the Landis School of Music in West Philadelphia, Pa., on the GI Bill.
• 2015 ~ Gunther Schuller, American hornist and jazz composer (1994 Pulitzer Prize), died at the age of 89
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major), K. 525, is a 1787 composition for a chamber ensemble by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German title means “a little serenade”, though it is often rendered more literally but less accurately as “a little night music.” The work is written for an ensemble of two violins, viola, and cello with optional double bass but is often performed by string orchestras and there are many arrangements for other instruments as we will see below.
Part of a full orchestral score:
Follow the score…
Easy piano sheet music might look like this:
The first movement of Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, with a graphical score.
One of my favorites, Barbershop-Style. Eine Kleine Not Musik by the Gas House Gang tells the story of The Magic Flute (from June 19) to the music of Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
A piano transcription
For four recorders, all played by the same person
From the Muppets: The Great Gonzo performing Eine Kleine Nachtmusik on bagpipe while sitting on a ten-foot pole!
When my son and I played Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart arranged for 2 pianos November 30, 2014 we were the last people to play in the old Steinway Hall. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good video camera 😦
Find this arranged for piano in Piano Pronto: Movement 2, Movement 3, Encore, Coda and Mozart: Exploring His Life and Music.
• 1819 ~ Jacques Offenbach, German-born French conductor, cellist and composer of operettas
Read quotes by and about Offenbach
More information about Offenbach
• 1833 ~ Philip Knapton, Composer, died at the age of 44
• 1837 ~ Giovanni Furno, Composer, died at the age of 89
• 1842 ~ Michael Umlauf, Composer, died at the age of 60
• 1861 ~ Arthur Battelle Whiting, Composer
• 1883 ~ Giannotto Bastianelli, Composer
• 1888 ~ Cesare Dominiceti, Composer, died at the age of 66
• 1899 ~ Anthon van der Horst, Dutch organist and composer
• 1922 ~ Vittorio Monti, Composer, died at the age of 54
• 1923 ~ Joseph Leopold Rockel, Composer, died at the age of 85
• 1924 ~ Chet Atkins (Chester Burton), Grammy Award-winning guitarist, made over 100 albums and elected to Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.
• 1925 ~ Wilhelm Posse, Composer, died at the age of 72
• 1927 ~ John M Dengler, Jazz bass sax, trumpet, trombone
• 1928 ~ Robert Satanowski, Composer
• 1929 ~ Ingrid Haebler, Austrian pianist
• 1931 ~ Arne Nordheim, Norwegian conductor and composer
• 1934 ~ Cornel Taranu, Composer
• 1938 ~ Nikolay Avksentevich Martinov, Composer
• 1939 ~ first TV broadcast of an operetta, “The Pirates of Penzance” by Gilbert and Sullivan W2XBS (later WCBS-TV) in New York City televised Pirates of Penzance. It was presented to a very small viewing audience since television was a new, experimental medium at the time.
• 1936 ~ Billy Guy, Singer with The Coasters
• 1937 ~ Jerry Keller, Singer
• 1940 ~ Jehan Alain, French organist and composer, died in battle at 29
• 1942 ~ Brian Wilson, Bass player, singer with The Beach Boys, inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988
• 1946 ~ André Watts, American pianist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• 1948 ~ George Frederick Boyle, Composer, died at the age of 61
• 1949 ~ Lionel Richie, Tenor sax, songwriter, singer with the Commodores
• 1951 ~ Peter Gordon, Composer
• 1953 ~ Cyndi Lauper, Singer
• 1953 ~ Alan Longmuir, Musician, bass with Bay City Rollers
• 1955 ~ Michael Anthony, Musician, bass with Van Halen
• 1955 ~ “Almost Crazy” opened at Longacre Theater New York City for 16 performances
• 1960 ~ John Taylor, Musician: guitar, bass with Duran Duran
• 1963 ~ The Beatles formed “Beatles Ltd” to handle their income
• 1969 ~ Guitarist Jimi Hendrix earned the biggest paycheck ever paid (to that time) for a single concert appearance. Hendrix was paid $125,000 to appear for a single set at the Newport Jazz Festival.
• 1970 ~ The Long and Winding Road, by The Beatles, started a second week in the number one spot on the pop music charts. The tune was the last one to be released by The Beatles.
• 1975 ~ Daniel Ayala Perez, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1980 ~ Gustaf Allan Pettersson, Composer, died at the age of 68
• 1987 ~ Whitney Houston’s album, Whitney, debuted on Billboard magazine’s album chart at number one. Houston became the first female to have an LP debut at the top. The singer, daughter of Cissy Houston and cousin of Dionne Warwick, began her singing career at age 11 with the New Hope Baptist Junior Choir in New Jersey. Houston first worked as a backup vocalist for Chaka Khan and Lou Rawls; entered modeling in 1981, appearing in Glamour magazine and on the cover of Seventeen. Whitney married soul singer, Bobby Brown, in the late 1980s.
• 1997 ~ Lawrence Payton, singer with the Four Tops, died at the age of 59
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