Kurt Nemes' Classical Music Almanac
(A love affair with music)
| Diana Nasution was an Indonesian pop singer. I can’t find much on her except the link to her obituary in the Jakarta Post. She was the mother of Marcello ‘Ello’ Tahitoe and wife of musician Minggus Tahitoe. There is a wikipedia entry for Nasution, but it’s in Bahasa Indonesia, which I cannot read. Anyone want to take a stab at translating it for me? | A to Z Challenge |
| BENCI TAPI RINDU |
Tembang Kenangan (Full Album) |
| Chen Yi, was a gifted child prodigy, playing both piano and violin. However, when the Cultural Revolution occurred in 1966, education stopped, her house was raided, all the instruments “liberated,”and she was packed off to the countryside to labor as a peasant. There she was influenced by Chinese folk music, and after returning to Beijing when the cultural revolution ended, she became the first woman in China to earn a Master of Art in Composition. She and her husband now live and teach at the University of Missouri-Kansas-City. I included two versions of Spring Dreams, one a studio recording and another live version, which I think is amazing. | A to Z Challenge |
| “Ning” for violin, cello and pipa |
As In A Dream (如梦令) |
| Spring Dreams |
Spring Dreams (Live performance by Chanticleer) |
| Alberta Hunter was born in Memphis, Tennessee to a maid who worked in a bordello. There she began her career singing in men’s club. When her mother married in 1906, she decamped and moved to Chicago, where she heard she could make it as a singer. She didn’t at first, but then started gigging in bordellos, became well known, and eventually performed with King Oliver. In the 20s and 30s, her career flourished both as a singer and a songwriter. Hunter was married once, shortly, divorced, and in 1927 sailed to Europe with her partner, Lottie Taylor, with whom she lived until Taylor died. In 1957, Hunter’s mother died, which she said took the fun out of performing, so she claimed she was younger, forged a high school diploma, and entered nursing school. She remained a nurse until 1977, though she did start recording in 1971. | A to Z Challenge |
| Downhearted Blues (1939) |
Downhearted Blues (1977) |
| Fats Waller & Alberta Hunter Beale Street Blues (1927) |
Someday Sweetheart |
Kurt Nemes' Classical Music Almanac 