Compiled by London swaminathan

swami_48@yahoo.com

Date: 25 April 2019

British Summer Time uploaded in London – 13-34

Post No. 6307

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Music Anecdotes

“No, Madam, replied Dr Johnson to the lady who had asked him if he liked the music, but of all noises, music is the least disagreeable”.

 
Xxx

I KNOW ONLY TWO TUNES

President Ulysses S Grant had a violent dislike of music. One time during a concert at Peabody Institute at Baltimore he turned to Robert Winthrop sitting next to him and said,

“Why Mr Winthrop, I know only two tunes. One is, Yankee Doodle and the other isn’t .”

Xxx

MUSIC IS HARD TO KNEES!

At the first performance of the celebrated Miserere of Lully before the Court of Louis XIV in the chapel of Versailles, the monarch being on his knees during the whole time, necessarily kept his court in the same position. At its conclusion the King asked the Count de Grammont his opinion of it.

“Sire, he replied, the music is very soft to the ears, but very hard to the knees”.

Xxxx

ANY ASS KNOWS THAT- BRAHMS

The musical world is full of smart alecs tricksters and faddists; such as the so called tune detectives , who delight in singling out musical phrases which may appear identically in the work of a number of different composers.

Such men ignore the fact that music is a form of language in which the words and phrases are common stock to some degree, much as with the spoken word. Moreover, it is by no means uncommon for a composer to pay some compliment of quotation, again as practised in the literary world. This is sometimes carried to the length seen in some of the notable variations upon themes,

Brahms waited until the rich maturity of his talents before composing his first symphony. When the great was in its final rehearsal, before the premiere playing, there was in the auditorium a certain officious musical upstart fond of seizing opportunities to display his great musical learning. The person hastened to the podium at the end of the rehearsal and pulling at Brahms’ coat tail, said

“Meister, in the fourth movement there is a theme which is very similar to that used by Beethoven in the fourth movement of the Ninth Symphony”. 

Brahms wheeled majestically upon the upstart,
“Any ass knows that!” he roared.
Xxx Subham xxxx