# share a funny story you know about your favorite composer(s)



## Tarneem (Jan 3, 2022)

on the other day, years ago while I was reading Beethoven's letters, one of them made me jump out of my seat.

I would be sharing the text of the letter in the *bold* font and my reaction in the _italic_ font

*TO CHERUBINI.
March 15, 1823.
HIGHLY ESTEEMED SIR,--
I joyfully take advantage of this opportunity to address you. I have done so frequently in spirit, as I prize your theatrical works beyond others. The artistic world has only to lament that, in Germany at least, no new dramatic piece of yours has appeared. Highly as all your works are valued by true connoisseurs, still it is a great loss to art not to possess any fresh production of your great genius for the theatre.
*

_My eyes opened wildly, my jaw almost fell on my chest_

*True art is imperishable, and the true artist feels heartfelt pleasure in grand works of genius, and that is what enchants me when I hear a new composition of yours; in fact, I take greater interest in it than in my own; in short, I love and honor you. *

_I jumped out of my seat, grabbed my smartphone and started listening to the compositions of that Cherubini lamenting how come I never knew him before, needless to say that I was very disappointed because what I heard of his compositions were not as good as Beethoven claimed. _

*Were it not that my continued bad health prevents my going to see you in Paris, with what exceeding delight would I discuss questions of art with you! Do not think that this is merely intended to serve as an introduction to the favor I am about to ask of you. I hope and feel convinced that you do not for a moment suspect me of such base sentiments*.

_LOL,,,, now this letter has started to make a lot of sense_

*I recently completed a grand solemn mass, and have resolved to offer it to the various European courts, as it is not my intention to publish it at present. I have therefore solicited the King of France, through the French embassy here, to subscribe to this work, and I feel certain that his Majesty would, at your recommendation, agree to do so. *

_Oh my God,,, Beethoven you are a shameless hypocrite! looooooooool_

what makes the whole thing even more hilarious is under the letter there is a footnote that says Cherubini declared that he never received this letter


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## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

When Ravel toured the United States, he performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, and one morning he was late to rehearsal because he got tangled in his hair net.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Stravinsky composed Scènes de ballet, a 15-minute ballet score for a 1944 Broadway revue called “The Seven Lively Arts” on a commission from Billy Rose, an American showman and impresario. Rose paid Stravinsky $5,000 and gave him three months to write the ballet sequence, which was to be based on Giselle. Rose heard an early version of the score and telegraphed Stravinsky: “Your music great success. Could be a sensational success if you would authorize Robert Russell Bennett to retouch your orchestration. Bennett orchestrates even the works of Cole Porter.” Stravinsky replied: “Satisfied with great success.”


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## composingmusic (Dec 16, 2021)

I heard this rather amusing story of how Varèse and Takemitsu met from another composer. Takemitsu, while he was living in NY, really enjoyed going to the movies. He’d often go several times a week, and the theatre would often be nearly empty. One evening, he sits down, and a man with rather big hair sat down pretty much right in front of him. Now, Takemitsu was pretty short, and was initially annoyed that this other guy had come in and was now blocking his view. However, the theatre was pretty empty, so Takemitsu just moved a few seats to the side. No big deal. 

About halfway through this movie (one of the Beatles movies, must have been one of the earlier ones) Takemitsu notices that this guy looks an awful lot like Varèse. The resemblance is uncanny… could it be…? Well, afterward, Takemitsu goes up to this guy and asks “Sir, are you Mr. Edgar Varèse?” And Varèse answers “Yes.” To which Takemitsu responds: “I am Toru Takemitsu; I am a composer from Japan, and I really like your music!”


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I heard this from Aaron Copland at a luncheon many moons ago. He was writing Rodeo for Agnes DeMille who for one scene said she wanted a slow waltz. So he wrote it and come the orchestra rehearsal, DeMille said No! No! No! This will not do! I want a waltz!

Then she begins to indicate what she wanted. This is hard to do in words, but I'll try to explain what Copland imitated DeMille doing: like she was conducting, she went 1 - 2 - 3 - (4) - 1 - 2 - 3 - (4) - 1 -2 -3 -(4). 

Count it out loud evenly, but silent on the (4) and that's how he did it, how DeMille thought a waltz went.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

There's an anecdote about Bach and a Leipzig beggar who used to keen and whine for money. It's said that Bach would always give the beggar a Groschen but that he would hold it over the beggar's head. The beggars whining would rise and rise in pitch and Bach would hold the Groschen higher and higher until he extracted the highest note possible.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

https://interlude.hk/the-passions-of-bach/
The truth, however, is that to most people it never occurs that Bach was a passionate man. And why not? Because of one portrait. The only authenticated portrait of Bach shows him as an old man - bewigged, bejowled, stout and stolid. This is the portrait everybody knows, the portrait of the serious, solemn, even severe "old master" who played the organ and taught counterpoint to generations of children at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Looking at this portrait, it's not hard to imagine that Bach was great, but it is hard to imagine that he was ever young. Or slim. Or good-looking. But he was all those things. And more. He had 20 children, after all, and he didn't create them at the harpsichord. Many of the works we know and love, including most of his great instrumental works, Bach wrote in his twenties and thirties. We remember that he died at the age of 65, but somehow we forget that he wasn't born at 65. He always had quite a temper, was no stranger to scraps with his employers, and as a young man he once even managed to get himself into a sword fight.


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

I hope it's ok a story about a jazz composer (Andrew Hill) and another one (Charles Mingus)

" I remember a story his first wife Laverne told me about their days in NYC. Although a little fuzzy on some of the details at this point, it seems either they moved into an apartment with Charles Mingus living right next door, or he moved in next to them. Laverne noticed a decline in Andrew's playing of the piano and she asked him why. He mentioned that the walls were thin and he was afraid Mingus might "lift" some of his ideas. (They could often hear Charles playing the piano). One afternoon, when Laverne came back to the apartment, she found Andrew holding a glass to his ear, with the top of the glass flush with the wall. It seems that Andrew was doing some serious Mingus research!!!!"


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Stravinsky again - he obviously had a subtle, off-kilter sense of humour. According to IS this is how a phone conversation went which resulted in the the brief _Circus Polka_, composed in early 1942:

Balanchine: "I wonder if you'd like to do a little ballet with me?"

Stravinsky: "For whom?"

Balanchine: "For some elephants."

Stravinsky: "How old?"

Balanchine: "Very young."

Stravinsky: "All right. If they are very young elephants, I will do it..."

Stravinsky had the last laugh too - apparently he demanded (and got) a fat fee for a short piano work which lasted barely three minutes.


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## vtpoet (Jan 17, 2019)

Mozart's first crush, as far as the Weber family goes, was with Aloysia Weber, not Costanza Weber (who he later married). At a social function, Mozart did his damndest to flirt with Aloysia and reinstate himself in her favors (he had been absent in Paris), but Aloysia couldn't be bothered with the little and insignificant man, instead impressed by a soldier (who she later married).

"When he entered, she appeared no longer to know him, for whom she previously had wept. Accordingly, he sat down at the piano and sang in a loud voice, "Leck mir das Mensch im Arsch, das mich nicht will" (The one who doesn't want me can lick my ****)."


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

vtpoet said:


> Mozart's first crush, as far as the Weber family goes, was with Aloysia Weber, not Costanza Weber (who he later married). At a social function, Mozart did his damndest to flirt with Aloysia and reinstate himself in her favors (he had been absent in Paris), but Aloysia couldn't be bothered with the little and insignificant man, instead impressed by a soldier (who she later married).
> "When he entered, she appeared no longer to know him, for whom she previously had wept. Accordingly, he sat down at the piano and sang in a loud voice, "Leck mir das Mensch im Arsch, das mich nicht will" (The one who doesn't want me can lick my ****)."


"Dundes (1984) provides ample coverage of scatological humor in Mozart, but also cites scatological texts from Martin Luther, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich Heine, and others who helped shaped German culture. Karhausen (1993) asserts that "scatology was common in Mitteleuropa [central Europe]", noting for instance that Mozart's Salzburg colleague Michael Haydn also wrote a scatological canon." ("Scheiss nieder, armer Sunder", **** fast, poor sinner) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozart_and_scatology#In_the_18th_century


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## RICK RIEKERT (Oct 9, 2017)

John Cage relates this personal tidbit in one of his essays:

“I was surprised when I came into Mother’s room in the nursing home to see that the TV set was on. The program was teenagers dancing to rock-and-roll. I asked Mother how she liked the new music. She said, “Oh, I’m not fussy about music.” Then, brightening up, she went on, “You’re not fussy about music either.”

In a biography of Oscar Levant, there is a very amusing anecdote. Levant was talking about the string quartet he was writing for Schoenberg. He said, “The constant acerbity which tonally characterized the piece forced me suddenly to rebel. So I inserted two bars of rather agreeable harmony and counterpoint, which didn’t germinate from what had preceded them.” When Schoenberg saw these two innocent bars, he asked suspiciously, “How did this evolve?” And Levant answered, “Your system doesn’t work for me.” Schoenberg replied, “That’s the beauty of it: It never works.”


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

When Carl Nielsen went to London to conduct a program of his works with the London symphony orchestra , he addressed the orchestra thusly at the first rehearsal : "Good morning gentlemen, I'm glad to see you . I hope I will also be glad to hear you ".


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

There's that story about Max Reger writing a reply to a bad review written by a critic about one of his compositions.

'I am in the smallest room of the house. I have your review in front of me. Soon it will be behind me.'


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