# Are you, or do you think you might be related to any composer...



## Fsharpmajor (Dec 14, 2008)

...either a living or a dead one?

There is circumstantial evidence that I could be related to Erik Satie through my mother's side of the family. I don't have the family tree information to prove it, but the thought of it is appealing, all the same.

Anyone else have reason to think they could be related to a composer or other prominent figure in classical music? I don't recall there being a previous thread on this topic.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

I am related to Bach....

... and Mozart...

and Beethoven....

Im sure of it.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

I'm related to a local dead composer, I own his baton and other personal objects. But most people here don't even know he existed anyway.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

Slightly related to this; on Saturday I was at a G&S performance near Manchester and one of the ladies in the chorus was an Annie Prokofiev. Just possible there's a connection.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Jan said:


> I'm related to a local dead composer, I own his baton and other personal objects. But most people here don't even know he existed anyway.


Whats his name!?


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

emiellucifuge said:


> Whats his name!?


Oh he's not famous... he was just a musician/composer from madeira island. I don't even know if there's information about him on the internet :lol: but there are books around here. We had music history from Madeira at uni and he was one of the musicians we studied. I found out later that the musician we were learning about was related to me and it was a pleasant surprise. Especialy because there was a photograph of him hanged in the walls of my conservatory and I had no idea who he was till then. :lol:


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

By the way, how come you live on Madeira? Are you native?
Looks like a very beautiful island.


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## World Violist (May 31, 2007)

There was a time I thought I might possibly be related to Benjamin Britten, but there's no reason to get my hopes up because Britten/Britton/Briton is such a darn common name anyway.

I'm related to any composer who's related to that Andrew Jackson character, though.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

emiellucifuge said:


> By the way, how come you live on Madeira? Are you native?
> Looks like a very beautiful island.


Well... it's just a portuguese island as developed as the rest of the country. :lol:
We do have alot of nature and it's a calm place to live in.


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

No such lofty connections for me. The only thing that I can come up with is that one of my mum's relatives apparently used to manage Sheffield United FC.


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

Chris said:


> Slightly related to this; on Saturday I was at a G&S performance near Manchester and one of the ladies in the chorus was an Annie Prokofiev. Just possible there's a connection.


It's quite likely there's a connection. Sergei Prokofiev's son Oleg was born in Paris during Prokofiev's time there. He lived in Moscow from 1935 (when Prokofiev _père_ returned there) until 1971, when he defected to the UK. Oleg died of a heart attack in 1998, leaving three sons and three daughters. I know one of these (Gabriel, born 1975) is now an established composer in his own right. Perhaps 'Annie' is one of the daughters. She would need to be in her late 30s or 40s.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Jan said:


> Well... it's just a portuguese island as developed as the rest of the country. :lol:
> We do have alot of nature and it's a calm place to live in.


No of course, I was just wondering whether you are originally from the Island or whether you moved there for some reason.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

emiellucifuge said:


> No of course, I was just wondering whether you are originally from the Island or whether you moved there for some reason.


Oh right :lol:
Im originally from here yes.


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## Chris (Jun 1, 2010)

Delicious Manager said:


> It's quite likely there's a connection. Sergei Prokofiev's son Oleg was born in Paris during Prokofiev's time there. He lived in Moscow from 1935 (when Prokofiev _père_ returned there) until 1971, when he defected to the UK. Oleg died of a heart attack in 1998, leaving three sons and three daughters. I know one of these (Gabriel, born 1975) is now an established composer in his own right. Perhaps 'Annie' is one of the daughters. She would need to be in her late 30s or 40s.


This is interesting...I've found a website which says Oleg brought his daughter Anastasia to England, settling first in Leeds. Is Annie a normal familiar form of Anastasia?


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## Ravellian (Aug 17, 2009)

I'm Maurice Ravel's grandson.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Ravellian said:


> I'm Maurice Ravel's grandson.




The only connection I have is friend, not family. My mom's family in Finland is intimate friends with a descendant family of Sibelius.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Ravellian said:


> I'm Maurice Ravel's grandson.


You had me there for one second.


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## toucan (Sep 27, 2010)

The Christians say I am related to a bitch called Eve
The Darwinists say I am related to an ape called Lucy

Who am I to believe?
Whatever suits my fancy

Seriously though, I am related to Pierre Monteux, the conductor.


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Judging by how many kids he had, and the fact that I am mostly German, there is about a 5.7% chance that I am a direct descendent of Bach.


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

Couchie said:


> Judging by how many kids he had, and the fact that I am mostly German, there is about a 5.7% chance that I am a direct descendent of Bach.


I disagree. I calculated the probability as 5.6893%, not 5.7%.


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## Delicious Manager (Jul 16, 2008)

Ravellian said:


> I'm Maurice Ravel's grandson.


You are a wonder of nature! Ravel didn't have any children, so well done on being the offspring of one of those :tiphat:


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Jan said:


> Oh right :lol:
> Im originally from here yes.


Então você é conterrâneo do Cristiano Ronaldo! 
Um abraço de alguém que ama a cultura portuguêsa, e um brinde com o excellente vinho que produzem aí!
:tiphat:


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

> You are a wonder of nature! Ravel didn't have any children, so well done on being the offspring of one of those


...But maybe Ravel had a few illegitimate children, like Ray Charles or Mick Jagger did ...


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Então você é conterrâneo do Cristiano Ronaldo!
> Um abraço de alguém que ama a cultura portuguêsa, e um brinde com o excellente vinho que produzem aí!
> :tiphat:


O seu português é muito bom!
Onde é que aprendeu?


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

Eu também posso falar Português sem usar o Google Translate, eu prometo...


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## Edward Elgar (Mar 22, 2006)

I'm related to Edward Elgar. I know this because I ate his remains with with some fava beans and a nice chianti. Not to mention a bit of the old Worcestershire Sauce!

In all seriousness, my old biology teacher was a direct descendant of Sibelius! Mr Stimson his name was. Descended from one of Sibelius' daughters.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

Couchie said:


> Eu também posso falar Português sem usar o Google Translate, eu prometo...


 Very good.



Edward Elgar said:


> I'm related to Edward Elgar. *I know this because I ate his remains with with some fava beans and a nice chianti*. Not to mention a bit of the old Worcestershire Sauce!
> 
> In all seriousness, my old biology teacher was a direct descendant of Sibelius! Mr Stimson his name was. Descended from one of Sibelius' daughters.


You forgot the: "FFTFTFTFTFT!"

Interesting about your old biology teacher by the way.


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## the_emptier (Jan 27, 2011)

Not sure, I am pretty closely related to Carmine "the snake" Persico, my great-grandfather was an african american pearl harbor war hero and my other great grandather was an academy award nominated filmmaker :0


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Jan said:


> O seu português é muito bom!


Oops, I did make a mistake, I wrote "excellente" instead of "excelente."
But I do speak fluent Portuguese.



> Onde é que aprendeu?


My wife is Brazilian, my sister lives in Brazil, and I've visited several times (last, two months ago).
I've been to Portugal too, and absolutely loved it!
The food, the wines (Porto, Dão, Alvarinho), the cheese (Serra da Estrela), the friendly people, the music (fado), the landscapes, the beaches, the architecture, the literature (José Saramago, Luis de Camões, Fernando Pessoa)... what is not to like? It's an outstanding country!


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## Almaviva (Aug 13, 2010)

Couchie said:


> Eu também posso falar Português sem usar o Google Translate, eu prometo...


Eu garanto que eu não estava usando o Google Translator. Eu falo português sim, e me orgulho de dizer que falo e escrevo bem... Quando alguém usa o Google Translator, sempre há a possibilidade de construções estranhas, que não soam bem. Sempre é possível ter uma idéia sobre a legitimidade do uso da língua, quando se compara a linguagem natural de alguém que realmente domina a língua, com os artificialismos daqueles que usam ferramentas de tradução.

OK, folks, I should better go back to English before one of my fellow moderators tells me that I should be setting the example... Foreign languages are nice, but we shouldn't keep other members out of the loop. We can always use PMs to dialogue in other languages.


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## Yoshi (Jul 15, 2009)

Almaviva said:


> Oops, I did make a mistake, I wrote "excellente" instead of "excelente."
> But I do speak fluent Portuguese.
> 
> My wife is Brazilian, my sister lives in Brazil, and I've visited several times (last, two months ago).
> ...


That mistake was one of the signs that made me realize you weren't using the translator .

That's really cool... you might even know more about my country's culture than me. Ha! :tiphat:


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