Andy Williams, Crooner of ‘Moon River,’ Dies at 84

Andy Williams, the affable, boyishly handsome crooner who defined both easy listening and wholesome, easygoing charm for many American pop music fans in the 1960s, most notably with his signature song, “Moon River,” died on Tuesday night, September 25, 2012, at his home in Branson, Mo. He was 84 and also had a home in La Quinta, Calif.
NYTimes Obit | Wikipedia

"Hal" David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012)

Harold Lane "Hal" David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach. Wikipedia Bio Bacharach and David hits included "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "This Guy's in Love with You", "I'll Never Fall in Love Again", "Do You Know the Way to San Jose", "Walk On By", "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "I Say a Little Prayer", "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me", "One Less Bell to Answer", and "Anyone Who Had a Heart". The duo's film work includes the Oscar-nominated title songs for "What's New Pussycat?" and "Alfie"; "The Look of Love", from Casino Royale; and the Oscar-winning "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In addition, "Don't Make Me Over", "(They Long to Be) Close to You", and "Walk On By" have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Ruggiero Ricci Dies at 94; Prodigy Violin Master

Ruggiero Ricci, a virtuoso violinist who first awed audiences at age 10 with his mastery of Mendelssohn and later remade himself into a mature musician whose range reached from the 19th-century acrobatics of Paganini’s Caprices to premiere performances of contemporary works, died on Sunday 5 August 2012,  at his home in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 94.NYTimes Obit | Wikipedia

Composer Marvin Hamlisch Dies; He Was 68

Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer. He is one of only eleven people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony. He is also one of only two people to have won those four prizes and also a Pulitzer Prize (the other is Richard Rodgers). Hamlisch also won two Golden Globes. 

He was married to news broadcaster Terre Blair. 

Wikipedia | NYTimes

Marguerite Piazza, Popular Singer of Opera, Dies at 86

Marguerite Piazza had a voice that could pack a concert hall and a figure that transfixed television audiences. She was sought out for ribbon cuttings and commercial endorsements and once performed as part of a Super Bowl halftime show. Ms. Piazza, who at the pinnacle of her career in the 1950s performed with the Metropolitan Opera, died of congestive heart failure on Thursday at her home in Memphis, her daughter Marguerite Bonnett said. She was 86. NYTimes | Wikipedia

Mihaela Ursuleasa, Classical Pianist, Dies at 33

Ms. Ursuleasa, a Romanian-born pianist renowned for her prodigious technique and often idiosyncratic interpretations, was performing internationally by the time she was a teenager.

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Tony Martin (December 25, 1913 – July 27, 2012) American Pop singer

TONY MARTIN

He was a featured vocalist on the George Burns and Gracie Allen radio program. On the show Allen playfully flirted with Tony, often threatening to fire him. She'd say things like "Oh Tony you look so tired, why don't you rest your lips on mine." In films, he was first cast in a number of bit parts, including a role as a sailor in the movie Follow the Fleet (1936), starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. He eventually signed with 20th Century-Fox and then Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in which he starred in a number of musicals. Between 1938 and 1942, he made a number of hit records for Decca. Martin was featured in the 1941 Marx Brothers film The Big Store, in which he played a singer and performed Tenement Symphony, which was written by Hal Borne who became his long-time musical director. He appeared in film musicals in the 1940s and 1950s. His rendition of "Lover Come Back To Me" with Joan Weldon in Deep in My Heart - based on the music of Sigmund Romberg and starring José Ferrer - was one of the highlights of that film.

He also starred as Gaylord Ravenal in the Showboat segment from the 1946 film Till the Clouds Roll By.

NYTImes Obit Martin died on the evening of July 27, 2012, of "natural causes" at the age of 97.



 

British arranger Roland Shaw has died aged 91...

Roland Shaw, born May 26 1920, died May 11 2012...was one of Britain’s most popular and successful arrangers of popular music, working with artists such as Vera Lynn and Mantovani; he also recorded cover versions of music from the James Bond films in the 1960s, when “Bond mania” was at its height. He became an arranger and record producer for Decca Records with his orchestra recording for that label and Phase 4 Stereo. His orchestra performed on the albums Mexico and Westward Ho. In December 1964 his orchestra released an album of cover versions of Themes from the James Bond Thrillers to coincide with the American release of Goldfinger. More | Wikipedia

Celeste Holm (April 29, 1917 – July 15, 2012)

Academy Award winner and Broadway star Celeste Holm died from heart problems and other ailments, according to New York's news station NY1. She was 95. The role that got her the most recognition from critics and audiences was Ado Annie in the flagship Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! in 1943. Wikipedia

Maria Cole, Singer and Wife of Nat King Cole, Dies at 89

Maria Cole, a jazz singer who performed with Count Basie and Duke Ellington in the 1940s and who was married to Nat King Cole for 17 years until his death in 1965, died on Tuesday July 10, 2012, in Boca Raton, Fla. She was 89. NYTimes 

Mrs. Cole was also the mother of the Grammy-winning singer Natalie Cole

Evelyn Lear, Versatile Soprano, Dies at 86

Evelyn Lear, an American soprano who became a star in Europe in the 1950s and later won acclaim in the United States for singing some of the most difficult roles in contemporary opera, died on Sunday in Sandy Spring, Md. She was 86. NYTimes 


Evelyn Lear (January 8, 1926 – July 1, 2012) was an American operatic soprano. Between 1959 and 1992, she appeared in more than forty operatic roles, appeared with every major opera company in the US and won a Grammy Award in 1966. She was well known for her musical versatility, having sung all three main female roles in Der Rosenkavalier. Lear was also known for her work on 20th century pieces by Robert Ward, Alban Berg, Marvin David Levy, Rudolf Kelterborn and Giselher Klebe. She was married to the American bass-baritone Thomas Stewart until his death in 2006.  Wikipedia

Brigitte Engerer, Concert Pianist, Dies at 59

Brigitte Engerer, a Russian-trained French pianist known for her immense sound, prodigious technique and probing musicality, died on June 23 in Paris. She was 59.

Wikipedia

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Bountiful German Baritone, Dies at 86

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, the German baritone whose beautiful voice and mastery of technique made him the 20th century’s pre-eminent interpreter of art songs, died on Friday, May 18, 2012, at his home in Bavaria. He was 86. NYTimes | Wikipedia

Roman Totenberg, Violinist and Teacher, Dies at 101

Roman Totenberg, a Polish-born violin prodigy who came of age in the era of expressive players like Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz, shared their virtuosity and influenced generations of musicians as a teacher, died on Tuesday 8 May 2012, at his home in Newton, Mass. He was 101. Roman Totenberg (1 January 1911 – 8 May 2012) Roman Totenberg was the father of National Public Radio journalist Nina Totenberg NYTimes Obit | Wikipedia

Mort Lindsey, TV Bandleader and Accompanist to Stars, Dies at 89

Mort Lindsey, who led Merv Griffin’s television orchestra, accompanied Barbra Streisand on the piano in Central Park and played with Judy Garland in her celebrated comeback concert at Carnegie Hall, died on Friday May 4, 2012 at his home in Malibu, Calif. He was 89. 

Mort Lindsey, (March 21, 1923, Newark, New Jersey – May 4, 2012)

NYTimes Obit 

 

Zvi Zeitlin, Violinist Who Championed Modernist Composers, Dies at 90

NYTimes By MARGALIT FOX
Mr. Zeitlin was an internationally renowned violinist who was closely associated with the work of modernist composers like Aaron Copland and Lukas Foss. Wikipedia

Hugo Fiorato, Conductor at City Ballet, Dies at 98

Hugo Fiorato, a former child prodigy who became the conductor of the New York City Ballet and one of its most enduring influences, died on Monday [23 APR 2012] in Boston. He was 98. NYTimes

Bert Weedon, Guitarist and teacher, dies at 91

Bert Weedon, a British guitarist and recording artist whose popular instructional manual “Play in a Day” taught the instrument to a generation of young hopefuls such as  Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, John Lennon and Paul McCartney — died on Friday 20 April 2012, at his home in Beaconsfield, in the English county of Buckinghamshire. He was 91.      Wikipedia

Lili Chookasian, 90, Contralto

Lili Chookasian (August 1, 1921 – April 10, 2012) was an American contralto who appeared with many of the world's major symphony orchestras and opera houses. She began her career in the 1940s as a concert singer but did not draw wider acclaim until she began singing opera in her late thirties. She arose as one of the world's leading contraltos during the 1960s and 1970s, and notably had a long and celebrated career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1962 through 1986. She was admired for her sonorous, focused tone as well as her excellent musicianship. She often chose, against tradition, to sing oratorios from memory.

NYTimes Obit | Wikipedia

Jane Taylor, Bassoonist of Dorian Quintet, Dies at 79

Jane Taylor, the founding bassoonist of the Dorian Wind Quintet, one of the premier ensembles to involve that uneasy alliance of flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn and bassoon, died on Sunday, April 8, 2012 in Manhattan. She was 79.

Retires | NYTimes Obit