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Famous Pianists, Composers & Musicians born in May.
May 1, 1872 - Hugo Alfven, the Swedish composer, violinist and choral conductor was born in Stockholm. May 1, 1900 - Jon Leifs, Icelandic composer, conductor, and music director of Icelandic Radio, was born in Solheimar. May 1, 1895 - Leo Sowerby, American composer and organist was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. May 1, 1924 - Earl George, American pianist and composer, was born is Milwaukee, Wisconsin. May 1, 1937 - Bo Nilsson, Swedish composer was born in Skellefteaa. May 2, 1660 - Allesandro Scarlatti, the Italian opera composer, was born in Palermo. His famous son was Domenico Scarlatti the composer of many piano sonatas and other compositions. Allesandro was considered the founder of the Neapolitan School of music of the eighteenth century. May 2, 1843 - Karl Ziehrer, the Austrian operetta composer was born in Vienna. May 3, 1886 - Marcel Dupre, the French organist and composer, famous for his improvisations, was born in Paris. May 3, 1912 - Virgil Fox, the famous American organist was born in Princeton, Illinois. May 4, 1655 - Bartolommeo Cristofori, the famous Italian harpsichord maker who is also credited with inventing the first pianoforte, was born in Padua. May 4, 1891 - Frederick Jacobi, the American composer who used original American Indian themes for his works, was born in San Francisco, California. May 4, 1930 - Roberta Peters, the great American opera singer, was born in New York City. May 5, 1891 - An important event took place - Carnegie Hall first opens in NewYork City with a week of concerts; Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky is the guest conductor for four of the first programs. May 7, 1840 - Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky - the brilliant Russian composer was born in Votkinsk. Tchaikovsky studied composition with Anton Rubinstein at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Once Tchaikovsky had an assignment to compose variations and he stayed up all night composing 200. He worked for perfection all his life. Tchaikovsky composed the enchanting Nutcracker Suite, First Piano Concerto, the Sleeping Beauty Ballet and numerous piano works. Tchaikovsky died November 6, 1893 in St. Petersburg. May 7, 1833 - Johann Brahams, the great composer was born in Hamburg, Germany. He died in Vienna, Austria on April 3, 1897. He was a friend of Robert and Clara Schumann. May 8, 1829 - Louis Gottschalk, the great American pianist and composer is born in New Orleans. He composed numerous works for piano. In between he concert tours he taught Teresa Carreno piano lessons. May 8, 1846 - Oscar Hammerstein - the playwright and opera impresarios was born in Stettin, Germany. May 9, 1814 - Adolph von Henselt, the German pianist and composer, was born in Schwabach. He taught for 40 years in Russia. May 9, 1939 - Bruce Mather, the Canadian pianist and composer, was born in Toronto. May 11, 1888 - Irving Berlin, the beloved composer of "God Bless American" and "White Christmas" was born in Temun, Russia. May 12, 1842 - Jules Massenet, French opera composer and teacher was born in Montaud. May 12, 1845 - Gabriel Faure, the French composer is born in Pamiers. He studied with Saint-Saens. Faure was a great teacher and some of his students were Ravel, Enesco, and Nadia Boulanger. May 13, 1842 - Sir Arthur Sullivan, was born in London, England. Gilbert and Sullivan formed a successful team composing many musicals including the comic opera H.M.S Pinafore which opened in London on May 25, 1878 and had 700 consecutive performances. Sir Arthur Sullivan wrote the famous hymn "Onward Christian Soldiers". Sullivan died in England on November 22, 1900. May 14, 1884 - Samuel Samosud, the Russian opera conductor was born in Odessa. May 15, 1813 - Stepehn Heller, the famous Hungarian pianist and composer was born in Budapest. From a Jewish family, he converted to Christianity. Heller was a prolific composer of music for the piano. May 16, 1927 - Liberace, the popular American pianist and television entertainer was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. He dazzled audiences with his spectacular costumes and jewelry. His first name was Walter. There is a museum in Las Vegas with many of his pianos on display. May 17, 1866 - Erik Satie, the unique composer who combined narrations with his compositions was born in Honfleur, France. His piano works include the popular Gymnopedies. He died in 1925. May 21, 1844 - Amy Fay, and American pianist and composer was born in Bayou Goula, Louisiana. She was a pupil of Franz Liszt. Amy Fay is best remembered for her book Music Study in Germany, which had more than twenty printings. May 22, 1933 - John Browning, the great concert pianist was born in Denver, Colorado. May 22, 1813 - Richard Wagner, the famous opera composer, was born in Leipzig, Germany. He died in Venice, Italy on February 13, 1883. May 23, 1759 - Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst Bach, the great German pianist, composer and Music director for the Queen of Prussia was born. He was the grandson of Johann Sebastian Bach. Wilhelm was born in Buckeburg. May 23, 1794 - Ignaz Moscheles, the German-Bohemian pianist and composer was born in Prague. He was a friend and teacher of Felix Mendelssohn. May 23, 1923 - Alicia de Larrocha, the concert pianist, was born in Barcelona, Spain. May 27, 1822 - Joachim Raff, Swiss born German composer is born in London. Edward MacDowell studied with him in Germany. May 27, 1928 - Thea Musgrave, the Scottish composer and teacher was born in Edinburgh. In her "space music" the instrumentalists move around in the orchestra or concert hall. Thea usually conducts the premieres of her major compositions. May 28, 1779 - Thomas Moore, the Irish ballad singer, poet, composer, is born in Dublin. May 30, 1932 - Pauline Oliveros, American composer who used mixed media in her works was born in Houston, Texas. May, 31 1866 - Vladimir Rebikov, the Russian composer was born in Krasnoyarsk. He composed many piano works. My favorite composer born in May is Johannes Brahms He was a confirmed bachelor, a very simple and down to earth man. When he later became rich and famous, Brahms remained a lodger in furnished rooms. There was never a career less eventful than his. Brahms rose every morning at five a.m. then brewed his coffee. Robert Schumann used his influence to help Brahms get his songs published. The famous Hans von Bulow was the first to perform Brahms music in public and he coined the phrase, "the Three B's" for Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. The Ballades, 3 Sonatas, 18 Intermezzos, 21 Hungarian Dances and Brahms 16 Waltzes, remain favorites of piano students the world over. Brahms died on April 3, 1897. Copyright © 2003 by Mel Bay Publications, Inc., Pacific, MO 63069. 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