2008, ISBN: 9781604695656

Taschenbuch, Gebundene Ausgabe

Center Point. Used - Good. . Former Library book.. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, em… Mehr…

Center Point. Used - Good. . Former Library book.. All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business., Center Point, 2.5, Hardback. Acceptable., 2.5, Beautiful Stars AbovePublisher  Fred Heltman Co, Cleveland, Ohio  191910 5/8 x 13 3/4 inches, 5 pagesalso includes single page of sheet music of "Just Dreaming of Yous" on back cover (by A. H. Eastman & Fred Heltman, copyright Fred Heltman Co., Cleveland, OH  1915)-------------------------Stephen Fuzy, an all-but-forgotten Cleveland, Ohio cultural icon, was born in Hungary but immigrated to the United States in 1912.  Rigorously trained as a classical pianist, Fuzy and his wife settled in Cleveland, where he became a highly respected theater organist, piano teacher, composer and arranger.  Though we have reason to believe that his musical output was large, the whereabouts of his manuscripts is unknown.  So far we have managed to unearth one unpublished piano rhapsody, a few of his published popular songs and one player piano roll.We are now doing our best to ferret out anything else he might have left behind.  He is known to have written at least two musical comedies, "The Woman Hater" and "Little Mischief Maker,"  both of them staged at Bohemian National Hall, Cleveland during his lifetime. Alas, no trace is left of either one at present.  We know  the name of yet a third operetta, "Three Men and a Girl", which was definitely copy-written, though it is not known if it ever made it to the stage.We think Fuzy's music is well worth resurrecting, particularly as it epitomizes the romantic era in which he created it.  We have found the search for it to be as exciting a treasure hunt as could ever be imagined.  Please accept this as your personal invitation to join us!  Let us know if you are aware where any of Fuzy's music may be found.A vital key to putting back together a coherent story of Fuzy's life was provided to us by Mrs. Edith Fuzy Durbin.  She commissioned, and was then willing to share, a very comprehensive study by Hungarian genealogists of the Fuzy family in general, and in particular that branch of it from which Stephen Fuzy descended.  In addition to providing a wealth of details about the Fuzys, it also confirms a long-standing family tradition which held that Stephen's roots were planted firmly in titled Hungarian aristocracy who have since all but disappeared.  Mrs. Durbin's research traces the family back  some 500 years, shows the same family coat of arms which was carved onto an amethest signet ring Stephen used to wear, etc.In 1926 Fuzy composed the school's Fight Song.  To mark the occasion, the school newspaper wrote about Fuzy, providing many important -- but hitherto unknown -- facts about him.  Sue found both the newspaper article and the music for us .  Thanks, Sue, for some really pivotal help!We were delighted recently to find that, in addition to the historical signifcance of Fuzy's music, it continues to have some (relatively) contemporary appeal as well.  A critical review in the Trinidad & Tobago "Newsday" reveals that lyric soprano Natalia Dopwell  (with the apparent encouragement of  her voice teacher/tutor at the Manhattan School of Music) decided to help promote unknown US composers by performing one of Fuzy's songs at a recital in Trinidad & Tobago on June 18, 2008.------------------------------Stephen Fuzy was born Istvan Bela Laszlo Fuzy in Eperjes, Saros Megye, Hungary (now Presov, Saris Region, Slovak, Republic/Slovakia)  on July 19, 1886.  His was a noble family with a remarkably well documented  five-hundred-year history.  His father, Istvan Adam Ignac Fuzy, was deeply involved in the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Army, making it no surprise that the comparatively genteel and courtly Stephen had to spend four years in a military school before graduating from (musical studies at?) the Imperial Academy in Budapest.  However his musical gifts were clearly innate, and he had long been noted  for giving piano concerts at socials for the Hungarian nobility at a very early age. Despite his rich family heritage he decided to come to the United States, perhaps to avoid any more of the militarism which was prevalent in the Austo-Hungarian Empire -- and much of the rest of the world -- at the time.On April 8, 1912, then twenty-five years old, Stephen arrived in New York  aboard the Campenello, and headed immediately for Bridgeport, Ohio and Wheeling, West Virginia.  In Wheeling he became organist for the Court Theater.  He married in Wheeling as well, and his only child, Gladys Claire Fuzy Sinay, was born there on March 3, 1914.  Later Steven moved his family to Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as organist for the Monarch Theatre for five years, and at the Regents Theater for the next six years.Stephen did his best to get his music published and brought before the attention of the musical world.  He published several popular songs (see below).  In this process he teamed up on occasion with Fred Heltman, well known in Cleveland as a composer of popular songs and also as a music publisher, and one or two other musicians.  Stephen's music would have been heard in various places around Cleveland, including when he gave organ recitals (sometimes over radio station WHK ), or when played by Maurice Spitalny's orchestra at the Statler Hotel or by Vitale's orchestra at the Park Theater.   He was also recorded on piano rolls, including "Beautiful Stars Above," played by Ted Baxter, QRS Music Company (see note in "Presto," May 22, 1920; and the 1924 piano roll of "Only Mine: Marimba Waltz").It is known that Stephen's first wife died at a very early age.  He later remarried and eventually moved to Miami, Florida to be near his brother.  Stephen died there in 1952.  He is survived by a grandson, Dennis Harkless,  and several great grandchildren, including the brilliant American painter, Eugenia Harkless Pardue.Known compositions:1913:  Hungarian Nights Rhapsodie (composed 1913? )   Never published?  (Currently known only in manuscript).1918:  When Goos-Step Turns into Rhine-Step:  Characteristic Dance Song.  For voice and piano. (Two Pages).  Copyright 1918.  Reportedly available in digital form from the Library of Congress website.1919:   Beautiful Stars Above, Published by Fred Heltman Co., Cleveland, Copyright Fred Heltman.  Follow this link, scroll all the way down to "Beautiful Stars Above," and click on the little "loudspeaker" icon to hear an elegant player-piano version of this wonderful song:1920:  On the Lagoon (Sobre La Laguna), Published by Fred Heltman Co., Cleveland, Ohio, Copyright Fred   Heltman.1921:  Night of Love, Published by Fred Heltman Co., Cleveland, Ohio, Copyright Fred Heltman (May also have been published by A.J. Stasny Music Co., Ltd).1924:  Wings of Love, Published by Ludwig Music Publishing Co., Cleveland, Ohio, Copyright Ludwig Music1924:  Cathedral Latin School Song and March ("FIght Song") Published by Cathedral Latin School, Cleveland, Copyright Cathedral Latin School . Use this link (and click on the musical notes) to hear a delightful piano recording of Fuzy's "Fight Song" still sung at many of the school's major athletic events:1924:   Only Mine (Marimba Waltz). Listed in the March, 1929 Music Trade Review , p. 46, as "a new piano roll from the Electora Company, Chicago, Illinois".  In the Trade Review, the performer is given as "Scott-Waters," who may be one or two people.  In contrast, the roll which I own identifies the the performer(s) as "Arlen and Korlander".  Perhaps there was more than one roll? The box in which my roll was sold gives the original price as $1.25, and it is also marked "copyright Weile Publishing Co" and "QRS".  No sheet music of this composition is yet known to exist.1928:  Fight Song.  Cleveland Boys' Cathedral Latin School  Fight Song.1930:  Macedonia.  A song with music by Stephen Fuzy and words by Evan Georgeoff.  Published by Evan Georgeoff Music Publishing Company, Superior Building, Cleveland, Ohio.   For some reason (known best perhaps to Mr. Georgeoff), the title is given both in English and Russian.  (One wonders whether American consumers, sitting in front of their upright pianos in their parlors scattered throughout the US, might  have been a little put off by the very sight of what would to them have been the totally alien Cyrillic  alphabet).One gets the impression  that, for some reason, Georgeoff Publishing decided to undertake a modest marketing strategy of some sort with this song, as my copy is rubber-stamped  in the margin "Your co-operation of playing this number will be greatly appreciated by the publisher".  Rubber-stamped in the upper righthand corner is the name "Theodore Strong", who I presume was the organist and pianist known to have made a few recordings accompanying violinists, soloists, etc.  If so, it is interesting that this copy would be so carefully marked as his (perhaps by himself?).Georgeoff, who was born August 17, 1897 in Reno, Bulgaria,  seems to have made a study of Slavic (?) music, and traveled around Eastern Europe (?) gathering songs, etc. Macedonia may have been part of a collection of similar works Georgeoff put together or was trying to put together.  Who his intended audience was meant to be eludes me, especially since Macedonia, like many other popular tunes of its day, seems to have originated entirely in Fuzy's creative imagination and does not strike one as a scholarly folk discovery or anything of the sort.   Georgeoff never married and died in Ohio on December 13, 1969.1938:  Three Men and a Girl. Music and Libretto by Stephen Fuzy. Apparently an operetta.    (Title found in Catalogue of Copyrighted Entries, Part I, Group 3, Dramatic Compositions).  Uncertain whether this particular citation means a copy of this work (published or manuscript) has survived.1939:  I'm Lost in Your Beautiful Eyes, copyright Feb 25, 1939, Cleveland, Ohio.1941:  Cheers to America : Patriotic Song (Words and music by Stephen Fuzy). Lists an address of 7219 Hough Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. Only known copy is inscribed by Fuzy "To my dear friend Reginald Merrill."???       The Woman Hater  An operetta produced in Cleveland at National Hall during Stephen's lifetime but probably never published.  Score lost.???       Little Mischief Maker.  An operetta produced in Cleveland at National Hall during Stephen's lifetime but probably never published.  Score lost., Fred Heltman Co, 1919, 0, Key Porter Books, 2003-01-01. Paperback. Very Good. 0.5512 8.8976 5.9843., Key Porter Books, 2003-01-01, 3, UsedGood. Dust jacket is torn or not included. Moderate wear to corners/edges from shelving., 0<