Although Italian by birth, he served the king of France first as a ballet dancer. His musical compositions soon received official support, making him one of the most successful and influential composer around. He struck his foot with a large time-keeping baton during a performance of this piece, and the wound became infected causing his early death

This selection quotes a centennial scripture. Together with the work that was composed immediately before this piece, the two are the most overt in their themes based on the religious and ethnic identity of the composer. The first has been described as a work often at the edge of despair, while this music is joyful and at times serene.

The true nature of this piece lies in a 20th century event: the composer adopted the style of another composer in this deeply personal work that remembers his friends lost in the First World War. When he was confronted for the light-hearted nature of this elegy, he replied, “The dead are sad enough, in their eternal silence.”

Few philanderers can match the tenacity of the main character and antagonist of this well-known story. He measures his conquests by the page, and isn’t afraid to fault his devious nature. All of this running around makes punishment certain. The charlatan’s nature is exposed and all the lists in the world can’t keep him from his due reward.

The score for this epic story was cobbled together from a couple of different sources. One of those sources was originally published in ten volumes totaling nearly ten thousand individual lines of verse. And most written while the author was blind! After its initial success, the libretto was recast in the language of the composer’s home country.

This composer was the first American conductor of the New York Philharmonic and composed in both classical and popular fields. During his career cigarettes became something of his trademark, but later he became increasingly addicted to alcohol and drugs. He eventually developed lung cancer and died of cardiac arrest following lung failure.

This composer was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but lived in New York City until he was 16. He was invited to return to Argentina to play and arrange for a tango orchestra. He further developed his musical talents by studying with Alberto Ginastera Nadia Boulanger. He later began turning his attention to developing a new style of tango.

The holiday commemorated here is observed on a different date from one that’s celebrated in the West. The celebrations date all the way back to the age of paganism and early Christianity in that country. Most of the themes incorporated in the piece depict aspects of the country's liturgical music and pagan celebrations of the past.

This score was written just shortly after the composer penned an otherworldly TV theme, but the music heard here is no less chilling. A case of mistaken identity turns into a nightmare for a New York business executive when thugs presume he is out to stop their operation. Discover the solution to this puzzle on Ether Game, Tuesday evenings at 8.

This American composer had to take on several other odd jobs, including an insurance salesman, in order to make a living. This composer loved to think outside the box when it came to composing music, and while he never achieved significant musical notoriety during his lifetime, he has since become one of our country’s most admired musical figures.