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Joaquin Rodrigo.


David

Yes, yes yes! It was indeed Joaquin Rodrigo!

I was a fairly famous composer. Even those damned organ-grinders would play my stuff morning till night, so I hired out all their instruments for the season. It cost me a thousand francs, but at least I could be left in peace!

Who am I?

...Hmmmmm... these are getting weird!!

Could the correct answer be Verdi ?

(Aside to gryphon: I checked out the "Show us your picture" thread... 'thought you were a crotchety old man!! )

d

In response to a bad review, I wrote the following in a letter to the editor:

"I am sitting in the littlest room in my house. I have your review before me. Soon it will be behind me"

Who am I?

Yes, mdp1w, it was indeed Verdi!

Chris, the way it's supposed to work is that there is only one question in play at a time. However, since mdp1w got the last question right with her answer of Verdi, the ball's in your court for now.

Chris,

Would the answer be Barbra Streisand (original quote -Shaw)?

d

It was Max Reger, unless I am mistaken, in which case it wasn't him.

Bingo!

The exact quote is "Ich sitze in dem kleinsten Zimmer in meinem Hause. Ich habe ihre Kritik vor mir. Im nachsten Augenblick wird sie hinter mir sein."

I was so loved that my funeral procession consisted of six thousand mourners, four military bands, and a chorus of a hundred voices. My operas dominated Europe for a half century. During a visit once, a fellow composer asked me what I was writing. I replied that it was my dog's birthday and I write a little piece for him every year.

Who am I?

Gryphon - i notice you about to become a 10000er.

Might it be Giacomo Meyerbeer? (Famous in his days, not so much anymore today.)

What's not to love about a man who would compose a song for his dog's birthdays?!?

The correct answer must be Rossini !

[img]http://tinypic.com/2ijjht[/img]

d

And maybe in one of these posts one day I'll write something worth reading.

Yes, mdp1w, it was Gioacchino Rossini! I thought people would ask me for more clues on that one. So I have a hard one. Well, maybe not as hard as the Lionel Hampton one, but give it a go.

In Mozart's time, the Mannheim Orchestra was considered one of the best merely because the members could all crescendo together! I am best known for my opera reforms, but I also reformed the way musicians rehearse together. Before me orchestras had only cursory rehearsals. I insisted that my orchestras repeat passages up to thirty times until they were perfected. I worked them harder than anyone had ever dared. And the players respected, rather than resented, me for this practice.

Who am I?

Gluck?

Arturo Toscanini ?

...or were you bluffing that this was a tough one?

d

Arturo Toscanini? Ha! Phlebas is correct, it was Christoph Willibard Gluck! (Get this next one and I will tell you a personal story related to him).

I finished my best-known composition while having an excruciating toothache. One of my works was inspired by the bad music and worse singing in the Russian church.

Scant clues, but maybe enough to reveal who I am.

Who am I?

(I will say Toscanini was a good guess!)

Stravinsky

Yes, Phlebas, Igor Stravinsky is correct! And The Rite of Spring was the work that Stravinsky was working on while having his excruciating toothache.

And now I will divert this thread slightly to my story.

Many of you will probably be familiar with the "Satanic Rock" music argument. One can play ELO and other music backward to hear secret messages, etc. There is more to it than that, for example back beats that work against the heart's natural rhythm and so on, but you know what I'm talking about. Stravinsky is usually credited with having a large influence on this as his music was a "turning point" in music.

What is surprising about this (other than the outright statements) is some of Stravinsky's words themselves (I could post more):

"The more one separates oneself from the canons of the Christian church, the further one distances oneself from the truth."

"The church knew what the psalmist knew: music praises God. Music is as well or better able to praise Him than the building of the church and all its decorations; it is the church's greatest ornament."

I wish I had known this more than 30 years ago. My contrary nature could have put it to good use. Now back to your regularly scheduled stupid game. (And another doggy story).

My powerful music was very unappreciated in my own time. (How many composers in this thread can claim that? Probably most of them!) I was deeply loved by my music students, although they knew that the public generally rejected my music in favor of Wagner's. While I was away, my students trained my dog. They would play a Wagner motif, and as they did so would slap the dog and chase him. Then they would play one of my compositions, and while this was playing they would give him something to eat. He soon showed considerable preference for my work.

One day one of my students said to me how much better my music was than Wagner's. To my astonishment, they played some Wagner and my dog howled and ran out of the room. Then they played one of my works and my dog returned wagging his tail! It was soon clear what they had done, but I was deeply touched by their loyalty. The love I had shown my students was returned to touch me.

Who am I?