Here’s about two week’s worth of accumulated trivia.<\/p>\n
I lost patience with radio years ago. The only time I listen nowadays is during storm warnings. Consequently, I never knew the Piano Puzzler<\/b><\/i> existed until Angela at Mommy Bytes<\/a> recently mentioned its tenth anniversary. Each week, pianist Bruce Adolphe arranges a “familiar” tune in the style of another composer, and the contestant’s task is to identify both the composer and the melody. I can usually identify the composer right off, but naming the tune is often difficult. What makes the segments memorable is Adolphe’s fantastic ingenuity in devising his arrangments, which must be heard to be believed. He does things like combine Schubert with Gershwin, Gershwin with Copland, The Fantasticks<\/b><\/i> with Berg, spirituals with Handel, “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” with Brahms, etc., and makes each combination, no matter how unlikely, work. You can stream the programs or download them here<\/a>. My favorite so far is the April 6, 2011 program.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n I gather that there’s another round of Olympics scheduled for the current hurricane season. Yawn. Let me know when the low jump coverage begins.<\/p>\n