Misunderstanding

Classical musicians have a custom of talking about a piece of music by referring to the composer of the piece. If they are talking about a particular symphony by Beethoven, they might refer to it as “the Beethoven”. If they are talking about a particular overture by Mozart, they might refer to it as “the Mozart. They would say, “We’re playing the Mozart tonight”.

There once was a composer named Dragonetti. He is mainly known for only one piece. It is a composition for string bass. It is a popular audition piece for symphony orchestra positions. Every bass player should know how to play “the Dragonetti”.

A few years ago a newspaper reporter interviewed someone who plays bass in a symphony orchestra. The reporter asked the player how he got started with the orchestra. The player responded that for his audition he played “the Dragonetti”.

The reporter did not know about the practice of referring to a piece by its composer and did not know about Dragonetti. It did not occur to the bass player to explain. In the printed newspaper article the bass player was quoted as saying he played “the Dragon Eddy”!

I began to think there might be an actual Dragon named Eddy. Here are some results of my research:

There once was a dragon named Teddy.
He met a young sweetheart named Betty.
They married when ready.
Their marriage was steady.
Their twins were named Freddy and Eddy.

There once was a dragon named Betty.
Her sons were named Freddy and Eddy.
Their stomachs were needy.
Their appetites greedy.
Their mother cooked tons of her meatball spaghetti!

There once was a dragon named Eddy.
He had a twin brother named Freddy.
They had a wild party.
It was hale. It was hearty.
They had champagne, and chocolate, and sparkle confetti!



Copyright July 19, 2009
eMeRaLD Effect Enterprises