Monthly Archives: March 2021
Henri Legay
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th March 2021Henri Legay (1920-92) was a French tenor whose career was mostly based in Paris. For a while he supported himself singing while accompanying himself with a guitar at Parisian cabarets. He composed some of the songs he sang. He also played for Edith Piaf and Ives Montand. in 1947 he received a first prize from…
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Giuseppe Borgatti
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th March 2021Giuseppe Borgatti (1871-1950) was Italy’s first heldentenor. He was born and raised in rural northern Italy. Apparently he grew up illiterate. His voice was discovered during his compulsory military service. A wealthy patron sponsored both his musical and reading lessons. He made his operatic debut at age 21 as Gounod’s Faust. He became famous when…
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Of Dogs and Socrates
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 21st March 2021Socrates stated that the unexamined life was not worth living when on trial for his life. Of course, he lost both. Let’s put the old Greek on hold for a while and consider the dog. Canis familiaris indisputably lives up to his reputation as man’s best friend. He seems effortlessly to possess all the qualities…
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Leaping Lovers
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th March 2021Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Well, the protagonists of some operas while not up to Superman’s level make some impressive leaps or jumps. No leap of faith here, has to be a real jump to make it into this article. Only in a comic opera does a jumper survive. Mozart’s The…
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On The Perils of Being Smart
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 11th March 2021First, you don’t have to be smart to realize how dangerous it may be. It’s easy to recognize a quality you may not possess. Also easy is the realization of why being smart may not be the smart way to go in today’s America. So what does it take to be smart? Getting a high…
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Sports
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th March 2021Sport: Vary from normal structure in a singular spontaneous manner. This is the definition of sport as applied to biology. It can be extended to include any event that is extraordinarily different from the norm. Below are a number of musical selections that could be called sports if one were generous with the appellation. If…
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The Greatest Musical Composition Ever – II
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 3rd March 2021Joseph Haydn wrote 14 masses. The last six were written for the Esterházy family to celebrate the name day of Princess Maria Hermenegild, the wife of Prince Nikolaus II and a friend of the composer. They mark the the last period of Haydn’s enormous musical output and are among the greatest liturgical compositions in Western music. In my opinion, the…
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