Scan 44
Baker S Biographical Dictionary Of Musicians, 1900
14 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1wrote 3 operas: Mitridate (1738), Ifigenia (1739), Semiramide (1740); a divertimento Apollo tra le Muse in Parnasso (1737), and a Stabat Mater (1749).
3Alkan (ahl-kahn) (real name Morhange); Charles-Henri Valentin, French pianist and composer of Jewish extraction; b. Paris, Nov. 30, 1813; d. there, March 29, 1888. His three brothers were also musicians; his father was the founder of a school for Jewish children. Alkan's talent was precocious; he was accepted at the Paris Cons. at the age of six and studied piano with Zimmermann. In 1833 he visited London, then returned to Paris, where his main activities were playing concerts in the fashionable salons and teaching piano. He entered the brilliant circle of musicians and littérateurs, among whom were Chopin, George Sand, Hugo and Liszt. He died as a result of injuries sustained when a heavy bookcase fell on him as he tried to reach for a book. Like Chopin, Alkan wrote almost exclusively for piano; the list of his works includes 76 opus numbers, in addition to many pieces not numbered by opus. His pieces are programmatic, bearing such titles as Désir; a set of variations, Les Omnibus; Le vent (op. 15); Le Tambour bat aux Champs (op. 50); he was the first composer to write a piece descriptive of the railroad (Le Chemin de fer, op. 27). His 2 sets of études, in all major and minor keys (op. 35 and 39), of transcendent difficulty, present great interest as examples of modern piano technique. Other works are 3 Études de bravoure (op. 16); Le preux, étude de concert (op. 17); 3 pièces poétiques (op. 18); Bourrée d'Auvergne (op. 29); a sonata (op. 33, subtitled Les quatre âges); Les mois (op. 8, 74), comprising 12 pieces, etc. He also wrote 2 piano concertos, a piano trio, a cello sonata and vocal music. César Franck arranged several of his pieces for organ. For a long time Alkan's music was completely forgotten, but his significance as an inventive composer became more evident in the 20th century. Chapters dealing with Alkan are found in Sorabji's book Around Music (London, 1932), and in Bernard van Dieren's Down Among the Dead Men (London, 1935).
5Allegri, Domenico, Italian composer; b. Rome, 1585; d. there, Sept. 5, 1629. He was maestro di cappella at S. Maria Maggiore from 1610-29, and was one of the first to provide vocal music with an independent instrumental accompaniment. A few of his Mottetti are extant (a soprano solo with violins, a tenor duet and a bass solo, each accompanied by 2 violins).
7Allegri, Gregorio, Italian composer; b. Rome, c. 1582; d. there, Feb. 17, 1652. He was a choir boy in Rome from 1591-96; then studied with Giovanni Maria Nanino (1600-07). He entered the Papal Chapel in 1629, after serving for some years as chorister and composer for the cathedral at Fermo. He is chiefly known as the composer of the celebrated Miserere in 9 parts (i.e., for two choirs singing 4 and 5 parts respectively), regularly sung during Holy Week at the Sistine Chapel, and surreptitiously written out by Mozart after hearing it twice, though its publication was forbidden on pain of excommunication; since then it has been frequently published. Many other works by Allegri are preserved in MS.; 2 books of Concertini and 2 of Mottetti have been printed, also a 4-part sonata for strings which might be regarded as the prototype of the string quartet. See A. Gametti, La scuola dei pueri cantus di S. Luigi dei Francesi in Roma, in 'Rivista Musicale Italiana' (1915); J. Amann, Allegris Miserere und die Aufführungspraxis in der Sixtina (Regensburg, 1935); A. Eaglefield-Hull, The Earliest Known String Quartet, in the 'Mus. Quarterly' (Jan., 1929).
9Allen, Creighton, American pianist and composer; b. Macon, Miss., March 26, 1900. He made his first public appearance at the age of nine; studied with Hutcheson in New York; then settled there as teacher and composer. He has written a piano concerto, a violin concerto, 17 settings of the poems of Edgar Allan Poe, piano pieces and many songs, some of which have acquired considerable popularity.
11Allen, George Benjamin, English singer and composer; b. London, April 21, 1822; d. Brisbane, Queensland, Nov. 30, 1897. He was active successively as chorister, conductor, and organist in England, Ireland, and Australia; managed a light opera company, producing several of Sullivan's operas. He composed the operas: Castle Grim (London, 1863); The Viking (not performed); The Wicklow Rose (Manchester, 1882); 3 cantatas and songs.
13Allen, Sir Hugh Percy, eminent English organist and educator; b. Reading, Dec. 23, 1869; d. Oxford, Feb. 20, 1946. He studied with Dr. F. Read in Reading, and at Oxford Univ. (Mus. Doc., 1898). At the age of 11 he acted as church organist in Reading. Thereafter he was organist at various churches and cathedrals until the turn of the century. He was appointed organist at New College, Oxford (1901-18), and later
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.