MAY 23
           Erik Satie: Limp Preludes for a Dog
 
             

              Standard titles for pieces in classical music are pretty boring, aren’t
              they? Suite No. 4. Symphony No. 1. Concerto in A. But there are some very
              notable exceptions. There’s nothing stale, for example, about
              “Unappetizing Chorale,” “She Who Talks Too Much,” and “Agreeable
              Despair.” It’s easy to imagine the avant garde, Belle Époque French
              composer Erik Satie was the man to come up with such odd names!
              Listen to one of his odder-titled pieces, “Limp Preludes for a Dog,” here.                                             

           MAY 22
           Richard Wagner: Die Walküre, Act III: "Wo ist Brünnhild?"

               In 1956 at London's Royal Opera House, the man performing the bass
               role of Wotan in “Die Walküre” was in a hurry to get onstage. He quickly
               grabbed his cloak from its pink, fluffy hanger in the dressing room,
               strolled onstage and began to sing…only to realize a moment later than
               he’d taken the coat hanger with him! We can say with certainty that’s the
               only time an audience has laughed at the very serious character of
               Wotan in Wagner’s “Ring” operas.                                    

           MAY 21
           George Frederich Handel: Keyboard Suite No. 1 in
           B Flat, HWV 434: I. Prelude
 
             

              Scarlatti and Handel were both keyboard superstars of their time, wowing
              audiences with their technical and improvisational skills. Once, they both
              attended a masquerade party, unaware of each other’s presence. Sitting
              at the harpsichord in a black mask was a man who played so
              extraordinarily that Scarlatti, looking on, exclaimed, “this must be the
              devil himself or that famous Saxon!” Well, he got it right the second time:
              it was Handel!                                             

           MAY 20
           Leroy Anderson: Clarinet Candy
 
             

              What’s about 26 inches long, uses a single reed and is often called a
              licorice stick? The clarinet! This instrument has found its way into jazz
              halls, symphonies, marching bands and klezmer bands due to its
              versatile sound. It can sound sad and soulful, sensual and acrobatic, or
              just plain silly, as in Leroy Anderson’s piece “Clarinet Candy.”                                          

              >    

           MAY 19
           Douglas Moore: The Ballad of Baby Doe: Gold is a
           Fine Thing ("Silver Aria")
 
             

              Belle “Bubbles” Miriam Silverman was the busiest soprano in the world
              for a time. She sang one role 64 times in the space of two years. She
              appeared on multiple talk shows all over the world, was awarded the
              Presidential Medal of Freedom, was called “an empire unto herself,” and
              took over as general director of the New York City Opera after her
              “retirement.” So why doesn’t that name ring a bell? Because it’s her birth
              name, not the stage name by which everyone in the world knows her:
              Beverly Sills.