In reply to his comment about his birthday on 25 September, I replied to
Deryk Barker:

>>To which you can add Pichl, Gershwin and J Strauss I.

To which Deryk replied:

>I long thought Gershwin, but Baker's says he's September 26

My source was a database of births and deaths of composers familiar to me
which I did years ago using the 1954 Grove as a source.  It gives 25th as
the date, but the 1980 edition and presumably the vilely expensive new one,
give 26th, as do both editions of Leonard Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz.
26th it is, then.  The only Baker's I've ever seen in the wild was a few
years ago in a secondhand bookshop. I was about to pick it up when the
owner of the shop grabbed it, clutched it to himself and snapped, 'This is
NOT FOR SALE", in tones that led me to believe I'd be thrown out if I took
the matter any further.  It must be quite a book!

Incidentally, J Strauss I was not born on Deryk's birthday, but died
then.  I was tempted to assume that no-one would notice my error, but
my conscience ordered me to come clean.

Of Draeseke, Deryk wrote:

>I'm still trying to absorb his massive Christus, which I acquired
>2nd-hand  about a year ago.

I had enough trouble with Liszt's.  The two symphonies of Draeseke's I've
heard - #1 on MDG and #3 on CPO - are both well worth exploring, IMO.

Richard Pennycuick
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