Next Mystery

[shostakovich]

This man wrote mostly absolute music: symphonies, concertos, chamber. My 3 recommendations of his music are program music. What's especially nice, is that they can be found on one CD.<P>One is an opera suite based on a French novel. Another is a suite of incidental music based on an English play. The third is a short suite of 10 sections, the second (sometimes 3rd) of which is one of the most popular of pop concert pieces, a mere 90 seconds long. I'll bet most of you would recognize it.<P>This man also damaged the career of a fellow composer in order to save his own. He was in a tough spot.<P>The clues, again, might fit more than one person. So fire away with disguised guesses, which will be additional clues. Team effort.<BR>Shos

[Peter]

Mystery read, Shos, but I can't even get going here. Give me a couple more days, but I may need another clue.........

[EJA_2]

Tell me, was the French novel written by Alexandre Dumas?<P> -- EJA

[shostakovich]

Hi All, I'll be leaving the boards for a while because of pain fom a pinched nerve. I will follow this mystery person till you get it. The French writer was not Dumas.<P>To get you quickly into the ball park, the mystery man was a Soviet composer, who, in order to get himself off the backlist, placed Gavril Popov's name on it. After the 1948 convention, our guy was back in Stalin's good graces, and <BR>Popov's career took a nosedive. Many years ago, I found a Urania record (an LP label of the 50s) of Popov's 2nd Sym. I liked it, and wondered why I couldn't find any more of his music. It was many years later that I found the answer.<P>Happy hunting. Shos

[Peter]

Shos, <P>Sincere good luck with your treatment. I look forward to your return. Thanks for the extra clues - I am now nibbling the end of my pencil..........

[Michael]

Would Sting and Ralph Richardson and an Australian transvestite have, at one time or another, played a part in one of his compositions? Was another of his works rather fruity, too?<P>Michael

[~Leslie]

I'm not?? Oops, I'm so humiliated now. I shall make a quick getaway in my troika and head for the next onion dome a la Dr. Zhivago, while whistling Peter's theme song.<BR>BTW, care for an orange, anyone? ~<p>[This message has been edited by ~Leslie (edited 03-26-2001).]

[EJA_2]

I was thinking it was Prokofiev also (Leslie, you're not supposed to blurt it out like that ), and the English play would be Romeo and Juliet, but what is the French novel? And the ten-part piece I was thinking would be Peter and the Wolf, only I think I just found out that it only has 6 parts. ??<P> -- EJA

[EJA_2]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ~Leslie:<BR><B>I'm not?? Oops, I'm so humiliated now. I shall make a quick getaway in my troika and head for the next onion dome a la Dr. Zhivago, while whistling Peter's theme song.<BR>BTW, care for an orange, anyone? ~<P></B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><I>Much</I> better, Leslie. But how did you get your post dated before mine? It wasn't there last night, I'm quite sure, and contextually it follows mine. I guess those who would be first shall be last. <P> -- EJA<BR>

[~Leslie]

EJA, Every message has an edit option, ye mean ye didn't know? It's quite handy.~

[Peter]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ~Leslie:<BR><B>I'm not?? Oops, I'm so humiliated now. I shall make a quick getaway in my troika and head for the next onion dome a la Dr. Zhivago, while whistling Peter's theme song.<BR>BTW, care for an orange, anyone? ~<BR>[This message has been edited by ~Leslie (edited 03-26-2001).]</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I have a theme song?

[EJA_2]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ~Leslie:<BR><B>EJA, Every message has an edit option, ye mean ye didn't know? It's quite handy.~ </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Oh, I knew about it, but, "being a bear of a very small brain," I didn't catch on to how you had worked your magic. Or at least a bear in a very great hurry to make the users (computer users) happy. . . <P> -- EJA<P>

[shostakovich]

Hi all. I'm making my quick check here. Prokofiev is a good guess. But our guy is not quite so well known. Other than that, the clue guesses were terrific. Ethan accidentally identified something correctly (sort of). I'll be back later in the week. Miss you all. <BR>Shos

[Peter]

Hi Shos,<P>I'd have brought you grapes, but didn't know where you were incarcerated! So instead, a cryptic guess :<P>Does our man's christian name become No Itch, as an anagram? <P>Hoping I'm not getting on your nerves ,<P>Peter

[EJA_2]

I'm getting an increasing suspicion that his namesake is in our midst, but I don't have any hard evidence. . . <P> -- EJA

[John]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by shostakovich:<BR><B>Hi all. I'm making my quick check here. Prokofiev is a good guess. But our guy is not quite so well known. Other than that, the clue guesses were terrific. Ethan accidentally identified something correctly (sort of). I'll be back later in the week. Miss you all. <BR>Shos</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Shos:<P>I did my research.<BR>The answer is clear.<BR>I agree with EJA.<BR>The answer is here.<BR>Look no further.<BR>It's all in your name.<BR>Did I answer the riddle,<BR>to your little game?<P>John

[Peter]

Guys,<BR>Surely Shostakovich HELPED Popov with his career, not damaged it? (they were both alcoholics, though........).<p>[This message has been edited by Peter (edited 03-29-2001).]

[shostakovich]

Hi Peter. The No Itch anagram was unnervingly good. It took me some time to figure it. No Itch (T.K.) wrote much absolute music as did our guy, and their styles are similar. T.K. was also a bastard who tried to do in both Shostakovich and Prokofiev (professional jealousy). He was in a powerful position among Soviet composers, and had Stalin's ear. Stalin would not accept any denunciation of Shos, the fair-haired boy among Soviet composers. Stalin himself directed Shos in the approved path. On the other hand, Stalin must have admired T.K.'s cut-throat methods, so dear to his own heart. However, I don't think T.K. fits all the clues. Would anyone, other than Peter, care to identify T.K.?<P>Ethan and John (of the excellent jingle), It's not Shos. However, the mystery man's name has SOME CONNECTION with both T.K.'s and Shos's name. He was at one time the 4th best known of Soviet composers, after Prokofiev, Shos, and Khachaturian. I don't think posterity has been especially kind to him. The three selections that can be found on one disc are the essential _______. I enjoy them. I look forward to more clever clue guesses, right or wrong.<BR>Shos.<P>PS: Peter, why do you say Shos would have helped Popov, other than inference from their common enjoyment of the spirits?

[Sparky]

Peter: Your reference to grapes makes me think of BACcHus; then you ask about a CHRISTIAN name. Are you alluding to Johann Christian Bach? If so, where is the connection to No Itch?<p>[This message has been edited by Sparky (edited 03-30-2001).]

[John]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by shostakovich:<BR><B>... It's not Shos.... </B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Shos:<P>OK, so I was off the mark there. Part of learning is making mistakes. How about Kabalevsky?<P>John<BR>