Music History Monday: Worst Love Songs (A Few at Least!)
February
14th,
2022
Wayne's World starring Mike Myers (born 1963, left) and Dana Carvey (born 1955) On February 14, 1992 – an even 30 years ago today – the Paramount Pictures movie Wayne’s World was released in the United States. It was both a critical and commercial success. It became the tenth highest grossing film of 1992, raking…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Wolfgang Mozart, Masses
February
8th,
2022
Portrait of Mozart (1756-1791) by his brother-in-law, Joseph Lange, now believed to have been painted in 1783 In his heart-of-hearts, Wolfgang Mozart was a believer. Like so many other aspects of and lessons in his life, Wolfgang Mozart got his earliest exposure to religious piety from his father, Leopold (1719-1787). Having said that, we’d observe…
Music History Monday: Gregorio Allegri, Allegri’s Miserere, and Wolfgang Mozart
February
7th,
2022
Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652) We mark the death on February 7, 1652 – 370 years ago today – of the Italian composer and Sistine Chapel singer Gregorio Allegri, in Rome. He had been born in that great and ancient city 70 years before, in 1582. Allegri is remembered today for a work he composed in the…
Dr. Bob Prescribes Franz Schubert, Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, D. 485
February
1st,
2022
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1827, by Franz Eybl Schubert and the First Viennese School Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was born, lived, and died in the Austrian capital of Vienna. Of all the great masters of “Viennese Classicism” – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert – Schubert was the only native-born Viennese. (These composers are often referred to…
Music History Monday: With a Little Help from His Friends
January
31st,
2022
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) in 1825; watercolor by Wilhelm August Rieder We mark the birth on January 31, 1797 – 225 years ago today – of Franz Peter Schubert, in Vienna. He died in that city 31 years, 9 months, and 19 days later, on November 19, 1828. Franz Schubert is no stranger to Music History…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Lennie Tristano
January
25th,
2022
Lennie Tristano (1919-1978) Let’s get this out of the way up front, because the pretext for today’s post on Lennie Tristano was yesterday’s Music History Monday which, for the large part, was about sightless musicians. Writes Tristano biographer Eunmi Shim (Lennie Tristano: His Life in Music; The University of Michigan Press, 2007): “Born with weak…
Music History Monday: Conrad Paumann
January
24th,
2022
Conrad Paumann (circa 1410-1473) We mark the death on January 24, 1473 – 549 years ago today – of the German organist, lutenist, and composer Conrad Paumann, in Munich at the age of 63. Lest I be accused of dredging up an utterly unknown musician in order to come up with a topic on an…
Dr. Bob Prescribes The Trombone
January
18th,
2022
Mic Gillette (1951-2016) in a typical pose, holding his trumpet in his right hand and his trombone in his left Yesterday’s Music History Monday post featured the trumpet, trombone, and flugelhorn virtuoso Mic Gillette (1951-2016). In fact, Gillette could play virtually all modern brass instruments, and though he was primarily known as a trumpet player,…
Music History Monday: Mic Gillette, Tower of Power, and the Oaktown Sound
January
17th,
2022
Mic Gillette (1951-2016) We mark the death on January 17, 2016 – six years ago today – of the American trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn, and tuba player and teacher, Mic Gillette, of a heart attack in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Concord. Born on May 7, 1951, in Oakland, Gillette was 64 years old…
Dr. Bob Prescribes: Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross
January
11th,
2022
Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, a vocal ensemble consisting of three parts, one singer per part The vocal ensemble that is Lambert, Hendricks & Ross grew from a long and storied tradition of vocal ensembles, going back over 500 years. As a public service, I would offer up a quick survey of that tradition, starting with…