On July 12, 1985, Oscar Hammerstein II was born into a show business family. Residing in New York New York, his father and uncle, Willie and Arthur Hammerstein, were successful theater managers, and his grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, was a famous opera impresario. His father was not supportive of his son’s desire to participate in the arts, even though it was the business most of his family was involved in. Because of his father’s decision, Oscar he was a great man Hammerstein studied at Columbia University, focusing on pre-law. It was not until his father’s death during his second year at school that Hammerstein began writing lyrics. From here, he began writing and performing in many of their varsity shows. He enjoyed this so much that he dropped out of Columbia University to pursue a career in theater as an assistant stage manager with his Uncle Arthur.
Following created the modern musical that we all know and love. Before they became Rodgers and Hammerstein, they were simply Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, both of New York City. Hammerstein, born in 1895, was brought up in a theatrical family. His father was an “operatic impresario”, otherwise known as an opera director or manager. Wildflower, Hammerstein had the opportunity to work with famous composers, such as Jerome Kern, Rudolph Friml, and Irving Berlin.
Through collaborations with these composers Hammerstein won fame and popularity for shows like Rose-Marie, Desert Song, and New Moon. Hammerstein and Kern paired up and wrote several successful musicals over the next decade; the most famous was Show Boat. The dramatic content was strong, and the music gave it a deeper meaning. According to PBS, “Show Boat firmly established Oscar’s success and reputation a...
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...rming Arts, “Hammerstein also served as a mentor to Alan Jay Lerner, and to Stephen Sondheim, who met Hammerstein when he was still very young. Sondheim credits his success with the lyrics to West Side Story to Hammerstein’s influence and guidance.” He was very influential and provided wisdom and guidance to these men. Hammerstein said, “You got to have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you going to make a dream come true?” He always had a passion for the arts and shared this with all who were interested.
Oscar Hammerstein II died on August 23, 1960, at his home in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, of stomach cancer. Because of his accomplishments and contributions to theater, people mourned worldwide when he passed away. The lights of Times Square in New York City and the West End theatre district in London were dimmed in recognition of his contribution to theater.
The Five, The Mighty Handful, and The New Russian School all depict the five Russian composers who came together in 1856-57 in St Petersburg. Their ultimate goal was to portray and produce a Russian style of music , and this is exactly what they would accomplish. Though one of "The Five" goes farther than this with his works, this being Modest Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky was a composer born march 21st 1839, with one of the most controversial names and spellings of a name. He was born to wealthy land owners and was raised for the military life. Studying piano at a young age in St. Petersburg, then later arriving at a cadet school.
"Agnes De Mille :: Rodgers & Hammerstein :: Bio Details." Agnes De Mille :: Rodgers & Hammerstein :: Bio Details. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.
In class, Jonathan studied the theatre of Bertolt Brecht and Peter Brook. Among his musical influences were JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, the Beatles, Prince, and the Police, but the writer he admired most was Stephen Sondheim, to whom he wrote during his last year in college. The distinguished composer-lyricist answered him and became an adviser to the young songwriter.
Gershwin began to get a few of his songs set into current musical shows and his popularity began to grow. His first big success came in 1919 when Al Jolson helped him promote Swanee by adding tit to his touring show. This same year, Gershwin also
successful lyricist. Also, it was Ira’s interest in music that made their parents purchase the
George Gershwin is one of the greatest influences to American music in the 20th century. His compositions can be found throughout the entertainment world, ranging from Broadway to motion pictures. Though he had a short career, George Gershwin's music continues to bring inspiration and delight almost sixty years later.
It was a sad and tragic end to a life that had so deeply affected the evolution of the big band music era. His life was considered to be valued amongst the famous vocalists of the 1940’s, ranging from the great Bing Crosby to the first lady of jazz, Ella Fitzgerald. Frank Albert Sinatra, a passion driven and timeless soul, became the voice of a century thanks to his authentic, charismatic voice suited with such clarity and beloved dictation. He was a man who expanded a young nations love for the craft of jazz music, and by using such a craft he was able to show his “true colors” on and off the stage. He was 82 years old when he had passed away on May 14th, 1998 because of a second heart attack that derived from a combination of heart and kidney diseases along with his gravely growing dementia that had come with age.
Known as one of the greatest Russian pianists of all time, Sergei Vasilievivh Rachmaninoff was born on the 1st of April 1873 near Novgorod . Rachmaninoff was born into an aristocratic family that had a strong musical background. His father, Vasily Arkadyevich, was an amateur pianist. Sergei’s mother, Lyubov Butakova, and her father encouraged the development of his musical talent, providing him with piano lessons at the age of four. Financial crisis hit the family when Rachmaninoff was nine years old. They had to action off their home and Rachmaninoff had to continue his musical studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory . During that same year, 1883, his sister passed away and his father moved to Moscow. His maternal grandmother took up the responsibilities of raising him and his four other siblings. His regular exposure to Russian chants and church bells is later seen to have majorly influences his compositions.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
Richard Wagner was born in 1813 in Liepzig,Germany.Wagner, as a child had a great passion for writing poetry, but his musical interests were left aside until he was eighteen.At eighteen he began lessons with Theodor Weinlig in Leipzig Germany, for a year. His career began in 1833, when he became choral director in Wurzburg Germany. Around this time he began composing and was composing in imitation of German Romantic composers such as Ludwig Van Beethoven, who was his biggest influence at this time.
Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants. Leonard's father, Samuel immigrated to America in 1908 at the age of sixteen from the Russian province of Volhynia where he came from a long line of rabbis. (Gradenwitz 1987: 20)
Richard Wagner was born on May 22nd 1813 in Leipzig, Germany to Friedrich and Johanna Wagner. His father later died that same year in October from typhoid fever and Ludwig Geyer, who was a close friend to the family, became Wagner’s adoptive father after marrying Wagner’s mother on August 28th 1814. ½ Wagner began his formal studies in Dresden in December of 1822, but he was much less interested in school studies than he was in aspects of music and theatre. Eventually he enrolled in Leipzig University to study music in February of 1831. 3 Wagner’s first professional career was being a chorus master at a theatre in Wurzburg from 1833 to 1834. However upon return to Leipzig in 1834 he met Heinrich Laube, and became involved with the literary and political movement Junges Deutschland, and began to follow not only musical philosophies such as the rejection of the classicalism of Mozart but also a favoritism towards hedonism and sensuality, straying away from Catholic Morality. From there Wagner held many positions and traveled to many places, including musical director for a traveling theatre company where he met his future wife Christine Wilhelmine Planer, who was one of the lead singers of the company.
Horowitz, Mark Eden. "The Craft Of Making Art: The Creative Processes Of Eight Musical Theatre Songwriters." Studies In Musical Theatre 7.2 (2013): 261-283.Humanities Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Cole Porter has been know as a musical theater composer and lyricist. He was born in Peru, Indiana on June 6, 1891. Throughout his life, he has been written many and many pieces of music, mainly focusing on musicals theater music type. Cole Porter’s family was not as much as supporting him on his way becoming a musician. “As his grandfather didn't want him to have a career in music, Porter was dispatched to Harvard's law school.” In the later years, he makes his decision to still keeping on studying music without the support and permission of his grandfather. His mother though, Katie Cole Porter, was supporting him and helping him published his first song at his age of eleven. Cole’s Mother and Grandfather had many arguments on his future
Igor Stravinsky was born in 1882 and lived to be nearly ninety years old, dying in 1971. What accomplished during his lifetime changed the music world and inspired many musicians to come. He was a very disciplined pianist who loved composing and thinking outside the box. But how did he begin his musical career? What was his music like? Why did he compose and who did he compose for?