Alan Menken is a musical composer for Disney and Broadway. He was born July 22, 1949 to Judy Menken and Norman Menken, along with 2 sisters, Faye and Leah. He grew up in New Rochelle, New York. He lived in a house filled with music, theater, comedy and drama. He started working on Broadway in 1982, then started working for Disney in 1988. He composed 10 movies for Disney so far. His work has touched countless lives of children and adults.
Alan Menken has made an impact on all little children around the world through Disney movies. Think about it, almost every little girl wants to grow up to be a Disney princess. Without Alan’s creative thinking the world would not have the catchy Disney songs they have today. Some people might find them annoying but in
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He started back in 1972 and is still going strong today.
He is very important to music. Without his brilliance we wouldn’t have the classical masterpieces we have today. Such as we have music from Aladdin, Christmas carol and sister act. Those few musicals have brought our music to where we are today. He is one of the most brilliant composers of our day in age.
Alan Menken wrote music for many different things. Such as Aladdin, Pocahontas, the Little Mermaid, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast and Newsies. Aladdin was actually a movie and a stage show. They had the stage show at Disneyland for a long time but now it’s on tour. “Howard Ashman and I had a version of ‘Aladdin’ that we scrapped about 4 years before the approved version was released in 1992. There were three sidekicks; Babkak, Omar and Kassim, who provided a Hope-Crosby Road Picture tone to our story telling. Aladdin even had an actual living mother, to whom our big ballad (‘Proud of Your Boy’) was sung. Now, with our Broadway adaptation, we’ve gotten to reinstate a lot of the material that we lost way back in the late ‘80s.” Pocahontas was a great work of art. The composer that Alan worked
Sondheim’s music is well-appreciated by many people of all ages. He has won eight Tony’s, more than any other composer. Sondheim sculpted the musicality of musical theatre into what it is today by
...s work more then anything represented a sound that was quintessentially American, and displayed a uniqueness never heard before in modern American music. Known as “The Dean of American Composers” Aaron Copland is regarded as one of the best and most well known composers of the 20th century. Despite being a confrontational modernist, Copland eventually found himself established as the ultimate American populist. His work, although unique to the time it was created in is relatable and easy enough to listen to that it still holds up today when heard by the average music fan. It’s likely his songs have inspired those in the country, jazz, blues, and folk genres if not at least served as a guide to aspiring musicians and songwriters in those fields and it is likely his work will continue to inspire those who live to create original works of music for years to come.
Leonard Bernstein is widely known not only as one of the greatest American conductors, but also as a composer whose creativity and passion was spread over a wide range. His social and cultural influences helped shape his career into a musical icon and his music rekindled the American spirit. Above all, he will be remembered as one of the most amazing and influential musical personalities of the twentieth century.
...dard of Soviet art. He revealed feelings of those suffering around him through his music. His legacy and musical styles have persevered, and Shostakovich is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential composers on twenty-first century music.
Quincy Jones is one of the greatest music composers and producers ever. Born on March 16, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois, Quincy grew up in the poor south side of Chicago. Growing up he found out that he was a music prodigy, and then fell in love with music. When he became an adult, he began to create albums and even worked with some of the greatest artists like, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Celene Dion, Aretha Franklin and many more. Quincy Jones contributed greatly to American society by composing films and television, producing some of the most legendary albums, and working as a children’s activist.
successful lyricist. Also, it was Ira’s interest in music that made their parents purchase the
appreciation. Because of these composers and musicians, music was enjoyed by the public and revered by the church. Because of their creativity and their willingness to take musical risks, these composers were the fathers of the Renaissance, the rebirth, the life of the vigorous and intellectual activity, the beginning of music.
Bach is one the best composers of all time, or like what he liked to call himself, an organist. Bach is very popular for so many reasons. When Bach was young his passion for music started as a young age. Many might say that Bach was into music because most of his family was and it was expected for him to follow the same steps. Bach decided to follow music not just because it was part of his family, but because he was devoted to it. Many people who listen to Bach will say that listening to his compositions make them feel like they are at home, it feels natural and
Richard Wagner was an operatic composer who faced much adversity during his career. However it is his adversity that shaped much of his musical beliefs and ideals, which have influenced not only the world of music and opera but that how society should hold music to the same worth and value as the ancient Greeks did.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German organist, composer, and musical scholar of the Baroque period, and is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, noted for their intellectual depth, technical command, and artistic beauty, have provided inspiration to nearly every musician after him, from Mozart to Schoenberg.
The first thing I will talk about is the type of music he is know for which gave him that name. Most people listen to the type of music he composed but next to none know who or how it was composed. There seems to be an abundance of music fans who know little or nothing about the origin of their music. By discussing what he has accomplished it will explain why he is considered to be so important to his type of music.
Oscar Hammerstein II, born July 12, 1895, came from a family of theater people. His grandfather, Oscar Hammerstein I, built theatres and loved opera. Following him, would be a generation of theatre managers and Vaudeville presenters. But the true love of theatrical storytelling was in Hammerstein II. From an earlier age, Hammerstein was a quick worker and very productive when it came to his work. Unlike all lyricists at the time, he wrote the libretto to most of the musicals for which he contributed the lyrics. Therefore, the scenes in which his lyrics are place stemmed from the same creative mind. Much of his early career was with many different composers like Herbert Stothart, Otto Harbach, and Jerome Kern. Yet, his name was often
Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 to a German-Irish-Canadian-American family who lived in Chicago, Illinois. He had three brothers and one sister. His mother was a German-American woman named Flora Call Disney. His father was an Irish-Canadian man named Elias Disney (Encarta Encyclopedia 2).
Mozart was an influental composer of the classical music era. He put over 600 compositions and is considered to be the best musical composer till this day. Mozart knew how to blend comporary elements with triditional music and instuments to create his own musical distive style that people still admire today.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was unlike most other composers of his time. “He wrote music for the glory of God, and to satisfy his own burning curiosity, not for future fame.” During the 1700s, people knew him as a talented musician, not as a composer, as we do today. He never left his country to pursue bigger and better things. Bach was content as long as he could play music. Traditions were very important to him. He wanted to carry on the musical tradition of his family, and never opted to change the traditional ways of composing, as did most composers. Bach’s work is vast and unique.