My fondest greetings to all of you! I have been absent for far too long and I will try to make amends as I get my life together. I can't tell you how delighted I am to see how you have kept the Classical Corner together and I promise to try and contribute in the same way you have.  It has many happy memories for all of us. 

Don...
... it is good to see you back where you belong...back in our classical room...

Thank you Jackie, and to mark my return here is a classical quiz!
1: Which composer was known as the Velvet Gentleman?      
2: This opera featured a stocking weaver, a furrier and a cobbler.  What's the name of that opera.
3: What opera shares the same name as a gentleman's hat?     
4: In terms of attire what do all of these operatic characters have in common: Cherubino in Mozart's Marriage Of Figaro, Count Ory in Rossini's Comte Ory and Octavian in Strauss' opera Der Rosenkavalier 
5: Which composer started designing his own clothes such as jackets, togas and leggings. And for his girlfriend Karren he designed what may be the first version of a sports bra.     

#4 - These are "pants" roles, or trouser roles, where females dress as men.

1) The French eccentric composer... Erik Satie.....just got this answer in before my bedtime 9.45 pm...been dozing off watching the tv...

Edited: deleted my number 3) i made an incorrect answer...MSG, you are right..

You meant to say "Fedora"?

Well done Tomereader and Jackie.  Jackie you are incorrect on the hat part

MSG Fedora is the correct answer

Just an aside: The Comte d'Ory is the most hilarious Opera I have ever seen! I laughed until my sides ached.  The version I saw had a marvelous cast too.

5. Percy Grainger

Here is one you all may remember: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRZFuY3iUMA


I just ran across a Great Courses Audiobook that may be of interest here: Music as a Mirror of History. Don, I think we touched on the subject of how music may be a reflection of the times back in May/June of 2016. I think we were commenting on selections from one of your programs which often brought on some interesting discussions. Sorry, I don't have a post number.

It's great to to see that you have lost none of classical skills and knowledge. Now I'm off to make another quizz.

Don...
...it is good reviving our classics..it is just like old times...

Wow, I blinked, missed a day, and missed the quiz.

Don, it's so good to see you back.

musical pearl from Peru: A Maiden symphony - metal and  classical music

https://youtu.be/FS6a0NWI0do

Ravel's Boléro, piece by piece
This is how the French National Orchestra does social distancing

https://youtu.be/Sj4pE_bgRQI

Bolero was my Dad's favorite of the small collection of records he had. Almost all were classical. I still have his 33's but not his 78's which he passed on to a co-worker before he retired. I also have two or three 45's with short classical pieces. Now you know from where I got my love of classical music. 

Marsgal, if you leave out the sentence about still having some of the records, your post describes me.

I had a spot of bother with the web site in that it would not let me post. However, Bubble came to the rescue and now all is good. I have for you another quiz which may be a bit of a challenge, but that's what makes them such fun.  Here it is.

1:  Composers Peter Warlock and E.J. Morean totally shocked the citizens of the village of Eynsford when they drove through on a motorbike.   Why?   

2: What famous ballerina died in 1927 when her trademark scarf got tangled in the wheel of her sports car and strangled her   
 
 3:  Which composer fathered his first child, Catherine Dorothea in 1708, and his last child, Regina Susana in 1742, and eighteen others in between ? 

5: In Prokoffiev's Peter And The Wolf, which instrument portrays the grandfather?     

6:   Which composer was a co-guardian of his nephew Karl when the lad's father died, and then got into struggle with his sister-in-law for full custody? 

7: What operetta character is joined in everything he does by his sisters and his cousins (he has  them by the dozens) and his aunts.   

No. 7: Sir Joseph Porter, K.C.B., H.M.S. Pinafore, Gilbert & Sullivan.

2) Isadora Duncan, a dancer, I watched that film some years ago..

3. Johann Sebastian Bach

5. Bassoon

1. If I remember correctly, they were nude. Warlock (Philip Arnold Heseltine) and E.J. Moeran lived together in Eynsford for a few years.
Moeran: Symphony in G minor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3cI58UA8wY   

All of your answers are correct.  Only #6 is unresolved. Answer it if you can and I'll start on another one.

# 6 is driving me nuts.  I know I've seen the answer somewhere, but I sure can't come up with it.

For No. 6, it was apparent that the composer would have to have been German-speaking ("Karl") and very famous, or no one would care about the custody battle. (Would anyone care if Hummel or Thalberg had fought with his sister-in-law?)  And also probably someone known to have been troubled and sometimes grouchy.  So I guessed Beethoven. But I cheated and checked first before posting here. Yes, it was Beethoven.

Nice reasoning, MSG.

Come on people, we need some action here, wake up!

This in my opinion is also classic    so, maybe come and join the fun? I am sure Radioman would love to see that 

https://youtu.be/exrcnq6Uac4

No, i give up, i cant do it, cant lift my leg high enough...

Gee, I knew I shouldn't have thrown out my ruffled petticoats!