#Cereal that&039;s shot from guns

[musicalalmanac]

August 5, Birthday of Betsy Jolas (b. 1928)

August 5, Birthday of Betsy Jolas (b. 1928)

Born in Paris between WWI and WWII, Jolas grew up in an enviable milieu. Her mother was a well-known translator and her father founded the literary magazine, “transition,” which published James Joyce’ Finnegan’s Wake as a “Work in Progress.” Her studies at the Paris Conservatory were interrupted by WWII and she and her family decamped to the US, where she completed her studies at Bennington.…

[musicalalmanac]

July 11. Birthday of Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918

July 11. Birthday of Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918

Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918) was an English operatic soprano and composer, known for her vocal compositions.

Bird Songs

(more…)

[musicalalmanac]

July 6, birthday of Nancy Dalberg (July 6, 1881 – September 28, 1949)

July 6, birthday of Nancy Dalberg (July 6, 1881 – September 28, 1949)

Nancy Dalberg studied with Carl Nielsen and was the first Danish woman to write a symphony.

Nancy Dalberg : Scherzo for string orchestra op. 6

(more…)

[musicalalmanac]

July 3, birthday of Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)

July 3, birthday of Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)

Ruth Crawford Seeger is a surprise and delight. Originally a pianist, she began studying composing after moving to Chicago from Jacksonville, Florida. In the windy city, she came under the influence of Alexander Scriabin’s music and Theosophy. After marrying Charles Seeger (a musicologist and father of Pete), she moved with him to Washington, DC, where she worked closely with John and Alan Lomax…

[musicalalmanac]

July 9-15, birthdays of Liza Lehmann, Catherine Emingerová, and Anna Cramer

July 9-15, birthdays of Liza Lehmann, Catherine Emingerová, and Anna Cramer

Liza Lehmann (11 July 1862 – 19 September 1918) was an English operatic soprano and composer, known for her vocal compositions. Bird Songs (more…)

[musicalalmanac]

July 3, birthday of Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)

July 3, birthday of Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953)

Ruth Crawford Seeger is a surprise and delight. Originally a pianist, she began studying composing after moving to Chicago from Jacksonville, Florida. In the windy city, she came under the influence of Alexander Scriabin’s music and Theosophy. After marrying Charles Seeger (a musicologist and father of Pete), she moved with him to Washington, DC, where she worked closely with John and Alan Lomax…

[musicalalmanac]

June 30, birthday of Adriana Hölszky (b. 1953)

June 30, birthday of Adriana Hölszky (b. 1953)

Adriana Hölszky is Romanian-born and lives in Berlin. She’s received a number of awards in Italy, France, and Netherlands for her compositions. Her biographical info in English is scant save for what other sites have copied from Wikipedia. Very modern and experimental. I hope my friend Marie Marshall likes these. Stefan Hussong plays: Adriana Hölszky “High Way For One”…

[musicalalmanac]

June 25, birthday of Katherine Kennicott Davis (1892-1980)

June 25, birthday of Katherine Kennicott Davis (1892-1980)

Katherine Kennicott Davis composed mostly vocal music, and is perhaps best known for “The Carol of the Drums,” popularly known as “The Little Drummer Boy.” Youtube has over 100 different recordings of this piece recorded in nearly every country and by every singer including a very cringeworthy version by Bing Crosby and David Bowie. Pity. She received a classical education, studying at Wellesley…

[musicalalmanac]

June 14, birthday of Olga Gorelli (1920-2006)

June 14, birthday of Olga Gorelli (1920-2006)

    I Carry Your Heart With Me (more…)

[musicalalmanac]

June 5, birthday of Laurie Anderson (b. 1947)

June 5, birthday of Laurie Anderson (b. 1947)

When I heard “O Superman” in 1982, I became an instant fan. “Big Science” was like nothing I had ever heard–witty spoken word pieces that commented on absurdism in the US set to haunting and sometimes minimalist inspired music. Next came “Mr. Heartbreak,” which still mesmerizes me. But I stopped there, though I knew she continued to write, tour and perform. When I heard that she had married Lou…

[musicalalmanac]

May 29, birthday of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh (b. 1947)

May 29, birthday of Franghiz Ali-Zadeh (b. 1947)

Wikipedia has precious little to say about Azerbaijani composer, Franghiz Ali-Zadeh. He biography on the liner notes of the first performance below, “Mugam Sayagi,” on the Kronos Quartet website, fills in the details of this quite well-know (in Europe and Central Europe at least.) Mugam Sayagi (more…)

[musicalalmanac]

May 27, birthday of Liana Alexandra (1947-2011)

May 27, birthday of Liana Alexandra (1947-2011)

  Hora Concerto for Piano Four-Hands Pastorale (more…)

[musicalalmanac]

May 14, Maria de Lourdes Martins (1926-2009)

May 14, Maria de Lourdes Martins (1926-2009)

  Maria de Lourdes Martins gets about two lines in Wikipedia but this biography is more complete. She was quite established as an avante garde composer, working with Stockhausen, but then she went to Munich and studied with Carl Orff and brought his musical teaching method to Portugal. The following pieces are all that I can find of her work on Youtube, but you can definitely hear the influence…

[musicalalmanac]

May 14, Birthday of Emilie Mayer (1812-1883)

May 14, Birthday of Emilie Mayer (1812-1883)

  Emilie Mayer was born in 1812 in the town of Friedland, Germany, and died in Berlin at the age of 70. Considered the female Beethoven of the time, she enjoyed great popularity during her life, but lapsed into obscurity after her death. The first recording of any of works took place in 2001 as a result of a conference in Berlin on 19th century women composer. Since then quite a few of her works…

[musicalalmanac]

May 7, Birthday of Alison Bauld (b. 1944)

May 7, Birthday of Alison Bauld (b. 1944)

Alison Bauld is an Australian composer and novelist who lives in London.  Most of her work consist of passages from Shakespeare’s plays set to music.  Wish I could have found more about her.  The longest bio is on her own website linked at the beginning of this paragraph. Titania’s Song (more…)

[musicalalmanac]

May 6, Birthday of Victoria Bond (b. 1945)

May 6, Birthday of Victoria Bond (b. 1945)

Victoria Bond is a contemporary composer and conductor. She studied conducting at Julliard under Herbert von Karajan and composition with Roger Sessions. “Bridges” Mvt. 4 The Brooklyn Bridge (more…)