Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.

European music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century. Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices such as improvisation and ''ad libitum'' ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (as in Indian classical music and Japanese traditional music) and popular music.

The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize" the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as a golden age. The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' is from about 1836.

Characteristics

Given the extremely broad variety of forms, styles, genres, and historical periods generally perceived as being described by the term "classical music," it is difficult to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type. Vague descriptions are plentiful, such as describing classical music as anything that "lasts a long time," a statement made rather moot when one considers contemporary composers who are described as classical; or music that has certain instruments like violins, which are also found in other genres. However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that few or no other genres of music contain.

Literature

The most outstanding and particular characteristic of classical music is that the repertoire tends to be written down. Composers and performers alike are typically highly literate in understanding notation and the written quality of the music has, in addition to preserving the works, led to a high level of complexity within them.

Instrumentation

The instruments used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century (often much earlier), and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as the piano, harpsichord, and organ). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music. The orchestra includes members of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families.

Electric instruments such as the electric guitar appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades with electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, electric and digital techniques such as the use of sampled or computer-generated sounds, and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such as the gamelan.

None of the bass instruments existed until the Renaissance. In Medieval music, instruments are divided in two categories: loud instruments for use outdoors or in church, and quieter instruments for indoor use. The Baroque orchestra consisted of flutes, oboes, horns and violins, occasionally with trumpets and timpani. Many instruments which are associated today with popular music used to have important roles in early classical music, such as bagpipes, vihuelas, hurdy-gurdies and some woodwind instruments. On the other hand, instruments such as the acoustic guitar, which used to be associated mainly with popular music, have gained prominence in classical music through the 19th and 20th centuries.

While equal temperament became gradually accepted as the dominant musical temperament during the 19th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. For instance, music of the English Renaissance is often performed in mean tone temperament. Keyboards almost all share a common layout (often called the piano keyboard).

Form

Whereas the majority of popular styles lend themselves to the song form, classical music can also take on the form of the concerto, symphony, sonata, opera, dance music, suite, étude, symphonic poem, and others.

Classical composers often aspire to imbue their music with a very complex relationship between its affective (emotional) content and the intellectual means by which it is achieved. Many of the most esteemed works of classical music make use of musical development, the process by which a musical idea or motif is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. The sonata form and fugue employ rigorous forms of musical development.

Technical execution

Along with a desire for composers to attain high technical achievement in writing their music, performers of classical music are faced with similar goals of technical mastery, as demonstrated by the proportionately high amount of schooling and private study most successful classical musicians have had when compared to "popular" genre musicians, and the large number of secondary schools, including conservatories, dedicated to the study of classical music. The only other genre in the Western world with comparable secondary education opportunities is jazz.

Complexity

Performance of classical music repertoire demands a significant level of technical mastery on the part of the musician; proficiency in sight-reading and ensemble playing, thorough understanding of tonal and harmonic principles, knowledge of performance practice, and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom inherent to a given period, composer or musical work are among the most essential of skills for the classically trained musician.

Works of classical repertoire often exhibit artistic complexity through the use of thematic development, phrasing, harmonization, modulation (change of key), texture, and, of course, musical form itself. Larger-scale compositional forms (such as that of the symphony, concerto, opera or oratorio, for example) usually represent a hierarchy of smaller units consisting of phrases, periods, sections, and movements. Musical analysis of a composition aims at achieving greater understanding of it, leading to more meaningful hearing and a greater appreciation of the composer's style.

Society

Often perceived as opulent or signifying some aspect of upper-level society, classical music has generally never been as popular with working-class society. However, the traditional perception that only upper-class society has access to and appreciation for classical music, or even that classical music represents the upper-class society, may not be true, given that many working classical musicians fall somewhere in the middle-class income range in the United States, and that classical concertgoers and CD buyers are not necessarily upper class. Even in the Classical era, Mozart's opere buffe such as ''Così fan tutte'' were popular with the general public.

Classical music regularly features in pop culture, forming background music for movies, television programs and advertisements. As a result most people in the Western World regularly and often unknowingly listen to classical music; thus, it can be argued that the relatively low levels of recorded music sales may not be a good indicator of its actual popularity. In more recent times the association of certain classical pieces with major events has led to brief upsurges in interest in particular classical genres. A good example of this was the choice of ''Nessun dorma'' from Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Turandot'' as the theme tune for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, which led to a noticeable increase in popular interest in opera and in particular in tenor arias, which led to the huge sellout concerts by The Three Tenors. Such events are often cited as helping to drive increases in the audiences at many classical concerts that have been observed in recent times.

History

The major time divisions of classical music are the early music period, which includes Medieval (500–1400) and Renaissance (1400–1600), the Common practice period, which includes the Baroque (1600–1750), Classical (1750–1830) and Romantic (1815–1910) periods, and the modern and contemporary period, which includes 20th century (1900–2000) and contemporary (1975–current).

The dates are generalizations, since the periods overlapped and the categories are somewhat arbitrary. For example, the use of counterpoint and fugue, which is considered characteristic of the Baroque era, was continued by Haydn, who is classified as typical of the Classical period. Beethoven, who is often described as a founder of the Romantic period, and Brahms, who is classified as Romantic, also used counterpoint and fugue, but other characteristics of their music define their period.

The prefix ''neo'' is used to describe a 20th century or contemporary composition written in the style of an earlier period, such as Classical or Romantic. Stravinsky's ''Pulcinella'', for example, is a neoclassical composition because it is stylistically similar to works of the Classical period.

Roots

The roots of Western classical music lie in early Christian liturgical music, and its influences date back to the Ancient Greeks. Development of individual tones and scales was done by ancient Greeks such as Aristoxenus and Pythagoras. Pythagoras created a tuning system and helped to codify musical notation. Ancient Greek instruments such as the aulos (a reed instrument) and the lyre (a stringed instrument similar to a small harp) eventually led to the modern-day instruments of a classical orchestra. The antecedent to the early period was the era of ancient music from before the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD). Very little music survives from this time, most of it from Ancient Greece.

Early Period

The Medieval period includes music from after the fall of Rome to about 1400. Monophonic chant, also called plainsong or Gregorian Chant, was the dominant form until about 1100. Polyphonic (multi-voiced) music developed from monophonic chant throughout the late Middle Ages and into the Renaissance, including the more complex voicings of motets. The Renaissance period was from 1400 to 1600. It was characterized by greater use of instrumentation, multiple interweaving melodic lines, and the use of the first bass instruments. Social dancing became more widespread, so musical forms appropriate to accompanying dance began to standardize.

It is in this time that the notation of music on a staff and other elements of musical notation began to take shape. This invention made possible the separation of the composition of a piece of music from its ''transmission''; without written music, transmission was oral, and subject to change every time it was transmitted. With a musical score, a work of music could be performed without the composer's presence. The invention of the movable-type printing press in the 15th century had far-reaching consequences on the preservation and transmission of music.

Typical stringed instruments of the Early Period include the harp, lute, vielle, and psaltery, while wind instruments included the flute family (including recorder), shawm (an early member of the oboe family), trumpet, and the bagpipe. Simple pipe organs existed, but were largely confined to churches, although there were portable varieties. Later in the period, early versions of keyboard instruments like the clavichord and harpsichord began to appear. Stringed instruments such as the viol had emerged by the 16th century, as had a wider variety of brass and reed instruments. Printing enabled the standardization of descriptions and specifications of instruments, as well as instruction in their use.

Common Practice Period

The Common Practice Period is when many of the ideas that make up western classical music took shape, standardized, or were codified. It began with the Baroque era, running from roughly 1600 to the middle of the 18th century. The Classical era followed, ending roughly around 1820. The Romantic era ran through the 19th century, ending about 1910.

Baroque music

Baroque music is characterized by the use of complex tonal counterpoint and the use of a basso continuo, a continuous bass line. Music became more complex in comparison with the songs of earlier periods. The beginnings of the sonata form took shape in the canzona, as did a more formalized notion of theme and variations. The tonalities of major and minor as means for managing dissonance and chromaticism in music took full shape.

During the Baroque era, keyboard music played on the harpsichord and pipe organ became increasingly popular, and the violin family of stringed instruments took the form generally seen today. Opera as a staged musical drama began to differentiate itself from earlier musical and dramatic forms, and vocal forms like the cantata and oratorio became more common. Vocalists began adding embellishments to melodies. Instrumental ensembles began to distinguish and standardize by size, giving rise to the early orchestra for larger ensembles, with chamber music being written for smaller groups of instruments where parts are played by individual (instead of massed) instruments. The concerto as a vehicle for solo performance accompanied by an orchestra became widespread, although the relationship between soloist and orchestra was relatively simple. The theories surrounding equal temperament began to be put in wider practice, especially as it enabled a wider range of chromatic possibilities in hard-to-tune keyboard instruments. Although Bach did not use equal temperament, as a modern piano is generally tuned, changes in the temperaments from the meantone system, common at the time, to various temperaments that made modulation between all keys musically acceptable, made possible Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.

Classical period music

The Classical period, from about 1750 to 1820, established many of the norms of composition, presentation, and style, and was also when the piano became the predominant keyboard instrument. The ''basic'' forces required for an orchestra became somewhat standardized (although they would grow as the potential of a wider array of instruments was developed in the following centuries). Chamber music grew to include ensembles with as many as 8–10 performers for serenades. Opera continued to develop, with regional styles in Italy, France, and German-speaking lands. The ''opera buffa'', a form of comic opera, rose in popularity. The symphony came into its own as a musical form, and the concerto was developed as a vehicle for displays of virtuoso playing skill. Orchestras no longer required a harpsichord (which had been part of the traditional ''continuo'' in the Baroque style), and were often led by the lead violinist (now called the concertmaster).

Wind instruments became more refined in the Classical period. While double reeded instruments like the oboe and bassoon became somewhat standardized in the Baroque, the clarinet family of single reeds was not widely used until Mozart expanded its role in orchestral, chamber, and concerto settings.

Romantic era music

The music of the Romantic era, from roughly the second decade of the 19th century to the early 20th century, was characterized by increased attention to an extended melodic line, as well as expressive and emotional elements, paralleling romanticism in other art forms. Musical forms began to break from the Classical era forms (even as those were being codified), with free-form pieces like nocturnes, fantasias, and preludes being written where accepted ideas about the exposition and development of themes were ignored or minimized. The music became more chromatic, dissonant, and tonally colorful, with tensions (with respect to accepted norms of the older forms) about key signatures increasing. The art song (or ''Lied'') came to maturity in this era, as did the epic scales of grand opera, ultimately transcended by Richard Wagner's Ring cycle.

In the 19th century, musical institutions emerged from the control of wealthy patrons, as composers and musicians could construct lives independent of the nobility. Increasing interest in music by the growing middle classes throughout western Europe spurred the creation of organizations for the teaching, performance, and preservation of music. The piano, which achieved its modern construction in this era (in part due to industrial advances in metallurgy) became widely popular with the middle class, whose demands for the instrument spurred a large number of piano builders. Many symphony orchestras date their founding to this era. Some musicians and composers were the stars of the day; some, like Franz Liszt and Niccolò Paganini, fulfilled both roles.

The family of instruments used, especially in orchestras, grew. A wider array of percussion instruments began to appear. Brass instruments took on larger roles, as the introduction of rotary valves made it possible for them to play a wider range of notes. The size of the orchestra (typically around 40 in the Classical era) grew to be over 100. Gustav Mahler's 1906 ''Symphony No. 8'', for example, has been performed with over 150 instrumentalists and choirs of over 400.

European cultural ideas and institutions began to follow colonial expansion into other parts of the world. There was also a rise, especially toward the end of the era, of nationalism in music (echoing, in some cases, political sentiments of the time), as composers such as Edvard Grieg, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Antonín Dvořák echoed traditional music of their homelands in their compositions.

20th century, modern, and contemporary music

Modernism (1905–1985) marked a period when many composers rejected certain values of the common practice period, such as traditional tonality, melody, instrumentation, and structure. Composers, academics, and musicians developed extensions of music theory and technique. 20th century classical music, encompassing a wide variety of post-Romantic styles composed through the year 1999, includes late Romantic, Modern and Postmodern styles of composition. The term "contemporary music" is sometimes used to describe music composed in the late 20th century through to the present day.

Significance of written notation

Modernist view of the significance of the score

The modernist views hold that Classical music is considered primarily a ''written'' musical tradition, preserved in music notation, as opposed to being transmitted orally, by rote, or by recordings of particular performances. While there are differences between particular performances of a classical work, a piece of classical music is generally held to transcend any interpretation of it. The use of musical notation is an effective method for transmitting classical music, since the written music contains the technical instructions for performing the work. The written score, however, does not usually contain explicit instructions as to how to interpret the piece in terms of production or performance, apart from directions for dynamics, tempo and expression (to a certain extent). This is left to the discretion of the performers, who are guided by their personal experience and musical education, their knowledge of the work's idiom, their personal artistic tastes, and the accumulated body of historic performance practices.

Criticism of the modernist view

Some critics express the opinion that it is only from the mid 19th century, and especially in the 20th century, that the score began to hold such a high significance. Previously, improvisation, rhythmic flexibility, improvisatory deviation from the score and oral tradition of playing was integral to style of music. Yet in the 20th century, this oral tradition and passing on of stylistic features within classical music disappeared. Instead, musicians use the score to play music, yet even given the score, there is considerable controversy about how to perform the works. Some of this controversy relates to the fact that this score-centric approach has led to performing styles that emphasize metrically strict block-rhythms (just as the music is notated in the score).

Some quotes that highlight this criticism of modernist overvaluing of the score:

''[...]one of the most stubborn modern misconceptions concerning baroque music is that a metronomic regularity was intended'' (Baroque Interpretation in Grove 5th edition by Robert Donington)

''Too many teachers, conditioned to 20th Century ideas, teach Bach and other Baroque music exactly the wrong way. This leads to what musicologist Sol Babitz calls "sewing machine Bach."'' ''[...] tendency to look alike, sound alike and think alike. The conservatories are at fault and they have been at fault for many years now. Any sensitive musician going around the World has noted the same thing. The conservatories, from Moscow and Leningrad to Juilliard, Curtis and Indiana, are producing a standardized product. [...] clarity, undeviating rhythm, easy technique, "musicianship". I put the word musicianship in quotes, because as often as not, it is a false kind of musicianship – a musicianship that sees the tree and not the forest, that takes care of the detail but ignores the big picture; a musicianship that is tied to the printed note rather than to emotional meaning of a piece.The fact remains that there is a dreadful uniformity today and also an appalling lack of knowledge about the culture and performance traditions of the past.'' (Music Schools Turning out Robots? by Harold C. Schonberg)

Improvisation

Improvisation once played an important role in classical music. A remnant of this improvisatory tradition in classical music can be heard in the cadenza, a passage found mostly in concertos and solo works, designed to allow skilled performers to exhibit their virtuoso skills on the instrument. Traditionally this was improvised by the performer; however, it is often written for (or occasionally by) the performer beforehand. Improvisation is also an important aspect in authentic performances of operas of Baroque era and of bel canto (especially operas of Vincenzo Bellini), and is best exemplified by the ''da capo aria'', a form by which famous singers typically perform variations of the thematic matter of the aria in the recapitulation section ('B section' / the 'da capo' part). An example is Beverly Sills' complex, albeit pre-written, variation of ''Da tempeste il legno infranto'' from Händel's ''Giulio Cesare''.

Its written transmission, along with the veneration bestowed on certain classical works, has led to the expectation that performers will play a work in a way that realizes in detail the original intentions of the composer. During the 19th century the details that composers put in their scores generally increased. Yet the opposite trend – admiration of performers for new "interpretations" of the composer's work – can be seen, and it is not unknown for a composer to praise a performer for achieving a better realization of the original intent than the composer was able to imagine. Thus, classical performers often achieve very high reputations for their musicianship, even if they do not compose themselves. Generally however, it is the composers who are remembered more than the performers.

Another consequence of the primacy of the composer's written score is that this has led to the state, where today improvisation plays a relatively minor role in classical music, in sharp contrast to musicians who lived during the baroque, classical and romantic era. Improvisation in classical music performance was common during both the Baroque era and in the nineteenth, yet lessened strongly during the 2nd half of the 19th and in the 20th centuries. Recently the performance of such music by modern classical musicians has been enriched by a revival of the old improvisational practices. During the classical period, Mozart and Beethoven often improvised the cadenzas to their piano concertos (and thereby encouraged others to do so), but they also provided written cadenzas for use by other soloists. In opera, the practice of singing strictly by the score i.e. ''come scritto'', is famously propagated by Maria Callas, who called this practice 'straitjacketing' and implied that it allows the intention of the composer to be understood better, especially during studying the music for the first time.

Relationship to other music traditions

Popular music

Classical music has often incorporated elements or material from popular music of the composer's time. Examples include occasional music such as Brahms' use of student drinking songs in his ''Academic Festival Overture'', genres exemplified by Kurt Weill's ''The Threepenny Opera'', and the influence of jazz on early- and mid-20th century composers including Maurice Ravel, exemplified by the movement entitled "Blues" in his sonata for violin and piano. Certain postmodern, minimalist and postminimalist classical composers acknowledge a debt to popular music.

There are numerous examples of influence in the opposite direction, including popular songs based on classical music, the use to which ''Pachelbel's Canon'' has been put since the 1970s, and the musical crossover phenomenon, where classical musicians have achieved success in the popular music arena.

Folk music

Composers of classical music have often made use of folk music (music created by musicians who are commonly not classically trained, often from a purely oral tradition). Some composers, like Dvořák and Smetana, have used folk themes to impart a nationalist flavor to their work, while others (like Bartók) have used specific themes lifted whole from their folk-music origins.

Commercialism

Certain staples of classical music are often used commercially (either in advertising or in movie soundtracks). In television commercials, several passages have become clichéd, particularly the opening of Richard Strauss' ''Also sprach Zarathustra'' (made famous in the film ''2001: A Space Odyssey'') and the opening section "O Fortuna" of Carl Orff's ''Carmina Burana''; other examples include the ''Dies Irae'' from the Verdi Requiem, Edvard Grieg's ''In the Hall of the Mountain King'' from ''Peer Gynt'', the opening bars of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, Wagner's ''Ride of the Valkyries'' from ''Die Walküre'', Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee", and excerpts of Aaron Copland's ''Rodeo''.

Similarly, movies and television often revert to standard, clichéd snatches of classical music to convey refinement or opulence: some of the most-often heard pieces in this category include Mozart's ''Eine kleine Nachtmusik'', Vivaldi's ''Four Seasons'', Mussorgsky's ''Night on Bald Mountain'', and Rossini's ''William Tell Overture''.

Education

Throughout history, parents have often made sure that their children receive classical music training from a young age. Some parents pursue music lessons for their children for social reasons or in an effort to instill a sense of self-discipline. Some believe that knowledge of important works of classical music is part of a good general education.

During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books wrote on what came to be called the "Mozart effect": an observed temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of listening to Mozart's works. The approach has been popularized in a book by Don Campbell, and is based on an experiment published in ''Nature'' suggesting that listening to Mozart temporarily boosted students' IQ by 8 to 9 points. This popularized version of the theory was expressed succinctly by a ''New York Times'' music columnist: "researchers... have determined that listening to Mozart actually makes you smarter." Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect. Florida passed a law requiring toddlers in state-run schools to listen to classical music every day, and in 1998 the governor of Georgia budgeted $105,000 per year to provide every child born in Georgia with a tape or CD of classical music. One of the co-authors of the original studies of the Mozart effect commented "I don't think it can hurt. I'm all for exposing children to wonderful cultural experiences. But I do think the money could be better spent on music education programs."

See also

Notes

References

Kennedy, Michael (2006), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'', 985 pages, ISBN 0-19-861459-4

Further reading

Copland, Aaron;(1957) – ''What to listen for in music''. McGraw Hill.-10: 7018981026 (paperback).

Grout, Donald Jay; Palisca, Claude V. (1996) – ''A History of Western Music'', Fifth Edition. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-96904-5 (hardcover).

Hanning, Barbara Russano; Grout, Donald Jay (1998 rev. 2009) – ''Concise History of Western Music''. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-92803-9 (hardcover).

Johnson, Julian (2002). ''Who Needs Classical Music?: Cultural Choice and Musical Value''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514681-6.

Kamien, Roger (2008) – ''Music: An Appreciation'' Sixth Brief Edition ISBN 978-0-07-340134-8

Lihoreau, Tim; Fry, Stephen (2004) – ''Stephen Fry's Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music''. Boxtree. ISBN 978-0-7522-2534-0

Scholes, Percy Alfred; Arnold, Denis (photographer) (1988) – ''The New Oxford Companion to Music''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-311316-3 (paperback).

Taruskin, Richard (2005, rev. Paperback version 2009) – ''Oxford History of Western Music''. Oxford University Press (USA). ISBN 978-0-19-516979-9 (Hardback), ISBN 978-0-19-538630-1 (Paperback)

External links

Historical classical recordings from the British Library Sound Archive

Category:European music

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name	Erik Satie
birth name	Erik Alfred Leslie Satie
birth date	May 17, 1866
birth place	Honfleur, France
death date	July 01, 1925
death place	Paris, France
occupation	Pianist, Composer
partner	Suzanne Valadon }}

Éric Alfred Leslie Satie () (17 May 1866 – Paris, 1 July 1925; signed his name Erik Satie after 1884) was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde. His work was a precursor to later artistic movements such as minimalism, repetitive music, and the Theatre of the Absurd.

An eccentric, Satie was introduced as a "gymnopedist" in 1887, shortly before writing his most famous compositions, the ''''. Later, he also referred to himself as a "phonometrician" (meaning "someone who measures sounds") preferring this designation to that of a "musician", after having been called "a clumsy but subtle technician" in a book on contemporary French composers published in 1911.

In addition to his body of music, Satie also left a remarkable set of writings, having contributed work for a range of publications, from the dadaist ''391'' to the American top culture chronicle ''Vanity Fair''. Although in later life he prided himself on always publishing his work under his own name, in the late nineteenth century he appears to have used pseudonyms such as and in some of his published writings.

Early life and training

Satie was the son of Alfred Satie, and his wife Jane Leslie (née Anton) who was born in London to Scottish parents. Erik was born at Honfleur in Normandy; his home there is open to the public. When Satie was four years old, his family moved to Paris, his father having been offered a translator's job in the capital. After his mother's death in 1872, he was sent, together with his younger brother Conrad, back to Honfleur, to live with his paternal grandparents. There he received his first music lessons from a local organist. When his grandmother died in 1878, the two brothers were reunited with their father in Paris, who remarried (a piano teacher) shortly afterwards. From the early 1880s onwards, Satie started publishing salon compositions by his step-mother and himself, among others.

In 1879 Satie entered the Paris Conservatoire, where he was soon labelled untalented by his teachers. Georges Mathias, his professor of piano at the Conservatoire, described his pupil's piano technique in flatly negative terms, "insignificant and laborious" and "worthless". Émile Descombes called him "the laziest student in the Conservatoire". Years later Satie related that Mathias, with great insistence, told him that his real talent lay in composing. After being sent home for two and a half years, he was readmitted to the Conservatoire at the end of 1885, but was unable to make a much more favourable impression on his teachers than he had before, and, as a result, resolved to take up military service a year later. However, Satie's military career did not last very long; within a few weeks he left the army through deceptive means.

Career

Montmartre

In 1887 Satie left home to take lodgings in Montmartre. By this time he had started what was to be an enduring friendship with the romantic poet Patrice Contamine, and had had his first compositions published by his father. He soon integrated with the artistic clientele of the Le Chat Noir Café-cabaret, and started publishing his ''Gymnopédies''. Publication of compositions in the same vein ('''', '''', etc.) followed. In the same period he befriended Claude Debussy. He moved to a smaller room, still in Montmartre (), in 1890. By 1891 he was the official composer and chapel-master of the Rosicrucian Order "", led by , which led to compositions such as '''', '''', and the ''''.

By mid-1892 he had composed the first pieces in a compositional system of his own making (''''), had provided incidental music to a chivalric esoteric play (two ''''), had had his first hoax published (announcing the premiere of '''', an anti-Wagnerian opera he probably never composed), and had broken with Péladan, starting that autumn with the ''Uspud'' project, a "Christian Ballet", in collaboration with . While the comrades from both the and sympathised, a promotional brochure was produced for the project, which reads as a pamphlet for a new esoteric sect.

In 1893 he met the young Maurice Ravel for the first time, Satie's style emerging in the first compositions of the youngster. One of Satie's own compositions of that period, the ''Vexations'', was to remain undisclosed until after his death. By the end of the year he had founded the (the Metropolitan Church of Art of the Leading Christ). As its only member, in the role of "Parcier et Maître de Chapelle" he started to compose a '''' (later to become known as the ''''), and wrote a flood of letters, articles and pamphlets showing off his self-assuredness in religious and artistic matters. To give an example: he applied for membership of the Académie Française twice, leaving no doubt in the application letter that the board of that organisation (presided by Camille Saint-Saëns) as much as owed him such membership. Such proceedings without doubt rather helped to wreck his popularity in the cultural establishment. In 1895 he inherited some money, allowing him to have more of his writings printed, and to change from wearing a priest-like habit to being the "Velvet Gentleman".

Move to Arcueil

By mid-1896 all of Satie's financial means had vanished, and he had to move to cheaper and much smaller lodgings, first at the , and two years later, after he'd composed the two first sets of ''' in 1897, to Arcueil, a suburb some five kilometres from the centre of Paris. During this period he re-established contact with his brother Conrad for numerous practical and financial matters, disclosing some of his inner feelings in the process. The letters to Conrad made it clear that he had set aside any religious ideas.

From 1899 on Satie started making money as a cabaret pianist, adapting over a hundred compositions of popular music for piano or piano and voice, adding some of his own. The most popular of these were '''', text by Henry Pacory; '''', text by Vincent Hyspa; '''', a waltz; ''"'', text by Dominique Bonnaud/Numa Blès; '''', a march; '''', text by Contamine de Latour lost, but the music later reappears in ''''; and many more, many of which have been lost. In his later years Satie would reject all his cabaret music as vile and against his nature, but for the time being, it was an income.

Only a few compositions that Satie took seriously remain from this period: ''Jack-in-the-box'', music to a pantomime by Jules Dépaquit (called a "" by Satie), '''', a short comic opera on a serious theme, text by Lord Cheminot, ''The Dreamy Fish'', piano music to accompany a lost tale by Lord Cheminot, and a few others that were mostly incomplete, hardly any of them staged, and none of them published at the time.

Both '''' and ''The Dreamy Fish'' have been analysed by Ornella Volta as containing elements of competition with Claude Debussy, of which Debussy was probably not aware, Satie not making this music public. Meanwhile, Debussy was having one of his first major successes with '''' in 1902, leading a few years later to ‘who-was-precursor-to-whom’ debates between the two composers, in which Maurice Ravel would also get involved.

In October 1905 Satie enrolled in Vincent d'Indy's Schola Cantorum de Paris to study classical counterpoint while still continuing his cabaret work. Most of his friends were as dumbfounded as the professors at the Schola when they heard about his new plan to return to the classrooms, especially as d'Indy was an admiring pupil of Saint-Saëns, not particularly favoured by Satie. Satie would follow these courses at the Schola, as a respected pupil, for more than five years, receiving a first (intermediate) diploma in 1908. Some of his classroom counterpoint-exercises, such as the '''', were published after his death. Another summary, of the period prior to the Schola, also appeared in 1911: the '''', which was a kind of compilation of the best of what he had written up to 1903.

Something that becomes clear through these published compilations is that Satie did not so much reject Romanticism and its exponents like Wagner, but that he rejected certain aspects of it. From his first composition to his last, he rejected the idea of musical development, in the strict definition of this term: the intertwining of different themes in a development section of a sonata form. As a result, his contrapuntal and other works were very short; the "new, modern" Fugues do not extend further than the exposition of the theme(s). Generally, he would say that he did not think it permitted that a composer take more time from his public than strictly necessary. Also Melodrama, in its historical meaning of the then popular romantic genre of "spoken words to a background of music", was something Satie avoided. His 1913 '''' could be seen as an absurdistic spoof of that genre.

In the meantime, other changes had also taken place: Satie had become a member of a radical socialist party, and had socialised with the Arcueil community: Amongst other things, he'd been involved in the "" work for children. He also changed his appearance to that of the 'bourgeois functionary' with bowler hat, umbrella, etc. He channelled his medieval interests into a peculiar secret hobby: In a filing cabinet he maintained a collection of imaginary buildings, most of them described as being made out of some kind of metal, which he drew on little cards. Occasionally, extending the game, he would publish anonymous small announcements in local journals, offering some of these buildings, e.g. a "castle in lead", for sale or rent.

Height of success and influence

Starting in 1912, Satie's new humorous miniatures for piano became very successful, and he wrote and published many of these over the next few years (most of them premiered by the pianist Ricardo Viñes). His habit of accompanying the scores of his compositions with all kinds of written remarks was now well established so that a few years later he had to insist that these not be read out during performances. He had mostly stopped using barlines by this time. In some ways these compositions were very reminiscent of Rossini's compositions from the final years of his life, grouped under the name Péchés de vieillesse.

However the acceleration in Satie's life did not come so much from the success of his new piano pieces; it was Ravel who inadvertently triggered the characteristics of Satie's remaining years and thus influenced the successive progressive artistic and cultural movements that rapidly manifested themselves in Paris over the following years. Paris was seen as the artistic capital of the world, and the beginning of the new century appeared to have set many minds on fire. In 1910 the "", a group of young musicians around Ravel, proclaimed their preference for Satie's earlier work from before the Schola period, reinforcing the idea that Satie had been a precursor of Debussy.

At first Satie was pleased that at least some of his works were receiving public attention, but when he realised that this meant that his more recent work was overlooked or dismissed, he looked for other young artists who related better to his more recent ideas, so as to have better mutual support in creative activity. Thus young artists such as Roland-Manuel, and later Georges Auric, and Jean Cocteau, started to receive more of his attention than the "".

As a result of his contact with Roland-Manuel, Satie again began publicising his thoughts, with far more irony than he had done before (amongst other things, the '''' and '''').

With Jean Cocteau, whom he had first met in 1915, Satie started work on incidental music for a production of Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (resulting in the ''''). From 1916, he and Cocteau worked on the ballet ''Parade'', which was premiered in 1917 by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets russes, with sets and costumes by Pablo Picasso, and choreography by Léonide Massine. Through Picasso Satie also became acquainted with other cubists, such as Georges Braque, with whom he would work on other, aborted, projects.

With Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, and Germaine Tailleferre Satie formed the , shortly after writing ''Parade''. Later the group was joined by Francis Poulenc and Darius Milhaud. In September 1918, Satie – giving little or no explanation – withdrew from the . Jean Cocteau gathered the six remaining members, forming the Groupe des six (to which Satie would later have access, but later again would fall out with most of its members).

From 1919 Satie was in contact with Tristan Tzara, the initiator of the Dada movement. He became acquainted with other artists involved in the movement, such as Francis Picabia (later to become a Surrealist), André Derain, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Hugo and Man Ray, among others. On the day of his first meeting with Man Ray, the two fabricated the artist's first readymade: ''The Gift'' (1921). Satie contributed writing to the Dadaist publication ''391''. In the first months of 1922 he was surprised to find himself entangled in the argument between Tzara and André Breton about the true nature of avant-garde art, epitomised by the failure of the Congrès de Paris. Satie originally sides with Tzara, but manages to maintain friendly relations with most players in both camps. Meanwhile, an "" had formed around Satie, with young musicians like Henri Sauguet, Maxime Jacob, Roger Désormière and Henri Cliquet-Pleyel.

Finally he composed an "" ballet ('''') in collaboration with Picabia, for the of Rolf de Maré. In a simultaneous project, Satie added music to the surrealist film '''' by René Clair, which was given as an intermezzo for ''''.

Personal life

Satie and Suzanne Valadon, an artists' model and artist in her own right, and a long-time friend of Miguel Utrillo (and mother of Maurice Utrillo), began an affair early in 1893. After their first night together, he proposed marriage. The two did not marry, but Valadon moved to a room next to Satie's at the . Satie became obsessed with her, calling her his '''', and writing impassioned notes about "her whole being, lovely eyes, gentle hands, and tiny feet". During their relationship, Satie composed the '''' as a kind of prayer to restore peace of mind, and Valadon painted a portrait of Satie, which she gave to him. After six months she moved away, leaving Satie broken-hearted. Afterwards, he said that he was left with "nothing but an icy loneliness that fills the head with emptiness and the heart with sadness". It is believed this was the only intimate relationship Satie ever had.

Death

After years of heavy drinking, Satie died on 1 July 1925 from cirrhosis of the liver. Over the course of his 27 years in residence at Arcueil, no one had ever visited his room. After his death, Satie's friends discovered compositions that were totally unknown or thought to have been lost. These were found behind the piano, in the pockets of his velvet suits, and in other odd places, and included the ''Vexations''; ''Geneviève de Brabant'' and other unpublished or unfinished stage works; ''The Dreamy Fish''; many Schola Cantorum exercises; a previously unseen set of "canine" piano pieces; and several other works for piano, many untitled. Some of these would be published later as additional '''', '''', '''', and ''furniture music''.

Media

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Recordings and arrangements

Piano works

Recordings of Satie's piano works have been released by Cristina Ariagno, Jean-Pierre Armengaud, Jean-Joël Barbier, Aldo Ciccolini, Claude Coppens (live recording), Reinbert de Leeuw, Eve Egoyan, Philippe Entremont, Frank Glazer, Olof Höjer, Michel Legrand, Jacques Loussier, Anne Queffélec, Bill Quist, Pascal Rogé, João Paulo Santos, Yūji Takahashi, Branka Parlić, Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Daniel Varsano, among others.

Orchestral and vocal

A recording of historical importance is '''', re-issued by EMI as a 2-CD set, containing among other pieces: ''Geneviève de Brabant'' (in a version before Contamine's text had been recovered), ''Le piège de Méduse'', ''Messe des pauvres'', etc. Many other recordings exist: '''' (Michel Plasson / ), ''Satie: Socrate [etc.]'' (Jean-Paul Fouchécourt / Ensemble), and recordings of songs, e.g., by Anne-Sophie Schmidt.

Arrangements in popular music

In 1968, Blood Sweat & Tears released their eponymous second album, which included an adaptation of Erik Satie's '''' (arranged by Dick Halligan) which they titled as ''Variations on a Theme by Erik Satie (First and Second Movements)''. The first movement is a straightforward elaboration of the basic theme using flutes, an acoustic guitar and a triangle. The second is a far more abstract variation using only brass instruments. In 1969, Halligan received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance for the piece. In 1974, the jazz flutist Hubert Laws recorded an arrangement by Bob James of the "" in his "In the Beginning" double album. The band featured keyboardist Bob James, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Steve Gadd, three strings, and Hubert's brother Ronnie Laws on tenor sax. In 1979 the band "Sky" (Tristan Fry, Francis Monkman, Kevin Peek, Herbie Flowers, and John Williams) included a version of , which was arranged by John Williams, on the band's first album, which was entitled "Sky" In 1980, Gary Numan's 7-inch "We Are Glass" featured " (First Movement)" on the B-side.

In 1990, Movement 98's (Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne) single "Joy and Heartbreak" used the opening phrase of Trois Gymnopedies as the intro and instrumental.

In 1994, Malcolm McLaren arranged Gnossinne 3&4 in his concept album ''Paris''.

In 1999, electronic music act Plaid's CD "Restproof Clockwork" included a track called "Tearisci" which is an uncredited version of Satie's "Pièces Froides, No. 2: Danses De Travers: III. Encore".

In 2000, ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett released the album, "Sketches of Satie", performing Satie's works on acoustic guitar, with contributions by his brother John on flute.

The English electronic duo Isan recorded versions of the three for a 2006 7-inch single, "" on the Morr Music record label. The 2nd movement of his '''' has been used in the original soundtrack of 2010 Japanese animated film ''The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya'' by Kyoto Animation studio. The full ''Gymnopédies'' as long as ''Gnossiennes'' are included in the 2nd CD of this OST.

Ogive Number 2 (incorrectly labelled Ogive Number 1) was re-recorded electronically by William Orbit on his album Pieces in a Modern Style

See also

Ambient music

Dada

Impressionist music

List of compositions by Erik Satie

Surrealism

References

Sources

''In English, unless indicated:''

Writings by Satie

''A Mammal's Notebook: Collected Writings of Erik Satie'' (Serpent's Tail; Atlas Arkhive, No 5, 1997) ISBN 0-947757-92-9 (with introduction and notes by Ornella Volta, translations by Anthony Melville, contains several drawings by Satie)

'''' (Paris: Fayard/Imes, 2000; 1265pp) ISBN 2-213-60674-9 (an almost complete edition of Satie's letters, in French)

Books and Articles on Satie

Allan, Kenneth R. “Metamorphosis in ''391'': A Cryptographic Collaboration by Francis Picabia, Man Ray, and Erik Satie.” ''Art History'' 34, No. 1 (February, 2011): 102-125.

Davis, Mary E., ''Erik Satie''. Reaktion Books – Critical Lives. June 2007. ISBN 9781861893215

Gillmor, Alan M., ''Erik Satie'' (Twayne Pub., 1988, reissued 1992; 387pp) ISBN 0-393-30810-3

Myers, Rollo H., ''Erik Satie.'' (Dover Publications, New York 1968.) ISBN 0-486-21903-8

Orledge, Robert, ''Satie Remembered'' (London: Faber and Faber, London, 1995)

Orledge, Robert, ''Satie the Composer'' Cambridge University Press: 1990; 437pp – in the series ''Music in the Twentieth Century'' [ed.] Arnold Whittall) ISBN 0-521-35037-9

Templier, Pierre-Daniel (translated by Elena L. French and David S. French), ''Erik Satie'' (The MIT Press, 1969, reissued 1971) ISBN 0-262-70005-0 ''and'' (New York: Da Capo Press, 1980 reissue) ISBN 0-306-76039-8. Note: Templier extensively consulted Conrad, Erik Satie's brother, when writing this first biography that appeared in 1932. The English translation was, however, criticised by John Cage; in a letter to Ornella Volta (25 May 1983) he referred to the translation as disappointing compared to the formidable value of the original biography.

Volta, Ornella and Simon Pleasance, ''Erik Satie'' (Hazan: The Pocket Archives Series, 1997; 200pp) ISBN 2-85025-565-3

Volta, Ornella, transl. Michael Bullock, ''Satie Seen Through His Letters'' (Marion Boyars, 1989) ISBN 0-7145-2980-X

Whiting, Steven, ''Satie the Bohemian: from Cabaret to Concert Hall'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1999; 596pp). A fully researched account of Satie's musical career in what then was regarded as popular music.

Other

Satie Home page – Niclas Fogwall's website dedicated to Satie

External links

Information and listening

Biography and photos

UbuWeb's Erik Satie pages – including an Erik Satie Primer and downloadable recordings

About Erik Satie – The eccentric Impressionist French composer and musician

Erik Satie at Pytheas Center for Contemporary Music

Three Gymnopedies by Eric Satie

erik-satie.com Website dedicated to the musician, with blog, timeline, gallery, biography

Scores

Public domain scores Satie's Scores + Audio

www.kreusch-sheet-music.net Free Scores by Satie

Satie's Scores – by the Mutopia Project

Category:1866 births Category:1925 deaths Category:20th-century classical composers Category:French socialists Category:French people of Scottish descent Category:Cabaret Category:Dada Category:Fin de siècle Category:French classical pianists Category:French composers Category:Neoclassical composers Category:People from Calvados Category:Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni Category:Blue plaques Category:Les six

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Name	Tim Conway
Birth name	Thomas Daniel Conway
Birth date	December 15, 1933
Birth place	Willoughby, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, writer, director, comedian
Years active	1956–present
Spouse	Mary Anne Dalton (1961–1978)Charlene Fusco (1984–present)
Website	http://www.timconway.com/ }}

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (born December 15, 1933) is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best-known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt. Commander Quinton McHale (played by Ernest Borgnine), in the popular 1960s WWII sitcom ''McHale's Navy'', and for co-starring alongside Carol Burnett on ''The Carol Burnett Show''.

Early life

Conway was born in Willoughby, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland to an Irish father and a Romanian mother, and grew up in nearby Chagrin Falls. He attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, majoring in speech and radio, and was an active member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. After graduating, he joined the Army, and thereafter took a job answering mail for a Cleveland radio station, where he became a writer in the promotional department. Conway later changed his first name to "Tim" to avoid confusion with actor Tom Conway.

Career

''Ghoulardi''

Conway later moved back to Cleveland to work with the late television broadcasting legend Ernie Anderson on KYW-TV, an NBC affiliate, in 1958 and 1959 and later, from 1960 to 1962, on WJW TV, (then the CBS affiliate) on the weekday morning movie (under the ''Ernie's Place'' banner) where he also wrote material for the comedic skits shown in between movie intermissions. Conway also recorded a comedy album with Anderson.

However, WJW would dismiss Conway, in part because he (and Anderson) misled station management into thinking he was a director, whereas they found out he really wasn't able to do so. Because of this move, which deprived Anderson of his co-host and comic foil, the station asked Anderson if he could host a B-grade (and lower) horror movie show on Friday nights instead. Conway would continue to make many appearances alongside Anderson's massively popular alter ego ''Ghoulardi'', alongside "Big Chuck" Schodowski, a station engineer whom Anderson tapped to assume much of Conway's sidekick status (and who would ultimately succeed Anderson as co-host of the horror movie program).

After he became famous, Conway would later resurface periodically on Cleveland television TV through the years on the ''Hoolihan and Big Chuck'' and ''Big Chuck and Lil' John'' shows on WJW-TV in guest spots, and occasional skits. Conway has since made regular guest appearances at numerous ''"Ghoulardifest"'' functions held by WJW over the years, (along with former Cleveland TV personality Bob "Hoolihan" Wells) in tribute to Anderson, who died in 1997.

''The Steve Allen Show''

Comedic actress Rose Marie visited WJW in 1961, as part of CBS' practice of sending their major show stars directly to local affiliates for promotional purposes, in this case, it was for The Dick Van Dyke Show. She viewed film of some of Anderson and Conway's skits, proceeded to take Conway under her wing. Following his departure from WJW, Conway moved to New York City, where upon Marie's urging, he auditioned for, and gained a spot on ABC's ''The Steve Allen Show'' as a regular player. Conway (who by this point officially changed his first name to Tim) continued on the show for two seasons.

''McHale's Navy''

Conway gained a national following from his role as the bumbling, naive Ensign Charles Parker, Executive Officer of the PT-73 in the 1960s sitcom ''McHale's Navy'' with actors Ernest Borgnine, and the late Joe Flynn. In addition to Flynn, he also got along well with series' lead, Ernest Borgnine, and had a wonderful on- and off-screen chemistry. As of 2011, Conway is still best friends with Borgnine, in fact, Conway mentioned in an interview that he lives not too far away from his mentor.

Afterwards, he starred in a string of short-lived TV series, starting with 1967's ''Rango'' which starred Conway as an incompetent Texas Ranger.

''Turn-On''

Conway was part of one of the most infamous network TV flops ever: ''Turn-On'', a counter-cultural sketch comedy show on ABC derided as a ripoff of NBC's ''Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In''. Even though he was only listed as a guest star on the pilot, which ABC broadcast on February 5, 1969, it was the only episode that ever aired.

''Turn-On'' received such negative reaction that several ABC affiliates. TV station WEWS, in Conway's hometown Cleveland, refused to return to the program after the first commercial break, and WEWS management sent a angrily worded telegram to the network's headquarters. Many West Coast affiliates received advanced warning and refused to air it. Conway remarked that the show's premiere party he attended also marked the program's cancellation, however, ABC held off on officially canceling the program for several days.

''The Tim Conway Show''

In the 1970s, ''The Tim Conway Show'' paired Tim with Joe Flynn of ''McHale's Navy'' in a sitcom as owners-pilots of a one-plane airline operated by the pair (a Beechcraft 18). Having "nowhere to run", this pressurized situation was ideal for the fast repartee of the lead actors. Tim got his own hour-long variety show, oddly named "The Tim Conway Razzle Dazzle Hour," which, as his other series had, folded quickly. Typical of his self-effacing humor, he ordered his car's license plate to reflect the usual duration of a Conway TV series: "13 WEEKS."

Beginning in 1975 Conway was often paired with fellow funnyman Don Knotts in family films from Disney, including the popular ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' and its 1979 sequel, ''The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again''. They also starred in two independent films, a boxing comedy called ''The Prize Fighter'' in 1979, and a comedy/mystery movie in 1981 called ''The Private Eyes''. In 1983, he starred in ''Ace Crawford, Private Eye'', a parody of detective shows; it only lasted five episodes.

''The Carol Burnett Show''

Conway is probably best known for his work on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' where his unscripted antics often caused his fellow players to fall out of character by bursting out in laughter. For example, in a sketch where Conway and Harvey Korman are having a sword fight duel in medieval garb, Korman appears to run him through. Conway pulls the thin sword "out", looks at it as if it were a dipstick, and remarks, "Hmm... down a quart!" causing Korman to convulse. Such guffaws became so common that whenever Conway did a sketch with Korman, cast members would place bets on how long it would take for Korman to break up.

On many episodes of the show, Conway would have Ernie Anderson (who served as the show's announcer from 1974 to 1978) in the audience and Carol would ask him to stand up and take a bow, without explanation, as if he were a famous celebrity beyond his Cleveland bailiwick.

Conway's work on the show earned him five Emmy Awards. Two of Conway's memorable characters on the Burnett Show were:

"The Old Man," whose shaggy white hair, slow speech, and shuffling gait ran counter to the much needed energy levels of the various occupations he was usually found in. His comic inability to get said jobs done — usually with slapstick results to himself, and with many an ad-lib — would both frustrate and 'break up' his fellow sketch performers.

"Mr. Tudball," a Swedish-American businessman whose intentions of running a 'ship-shape' office were usually sunk by the bored indifference of his secretary, "Mrs. Wiggins" (Burnett). Conway's stereotypical Swedish accent (especially when frustrated) added to the humor; for example, his attempts to pronounce his secretary's name came out as "Mrs. Ah-huh-wiggins". He would also use this accent for other characters, such as an inept dentist.

Conway could also get results with no dialogue, as in a sketch in which he played a tired businessman seeking restful sleep in his hotel — and pestered by a housefly, created only by a sound effect and Conway's gazing after it. After much struggle, he manages to get the fly out of the room through the window; after returning to bed, he hears a persistent knock on his door, gets up to answer it, and opens the door, letting the fly (who was doing the knocking) back in.

Another well-remembered skit, also without a word from Conway, featured him playing Simba, a lion raised by humans then released to the wild (based on the lioness Elsa in the film ''Born Free''). Conway, told of the upcoming eviction from the comfortable home, caused Burnett and Korman to break up with an interminable process of packing to leave.

A prime example of his ability to make his co-stars laugh uncontrollably involved Lyle Waggoner as a captured American airman, with Conway as a stereotypical blond-haired Gestapo agent charged with his interrogation. Stating that "the Fuhrer" had taken particular interest, Conway produces a small Hitler hand puppet. With Conway providing a falsetto voice, the puppet suggests that singing might relax Waggoner's character to the point he is willing to talk. In a long, drawn-out fashion, the Hitler puppet sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad", and with each passing verse, Waggoner loses more of his composure, finally laughing hysterically when puppet-Hitler screeches, "FEE-FI-Fiddely-I-O!"

Dorf

Conway's more recent work includes a series of satirical how-to videos in which he plays a diminutive, dark-haired Scandinavian known as Dorf (a variation on "dwarf"), reprising his goofy Mr. Tudball accent. The Dorf character first appeared in the 1987 film ''Dorf on Golf'' and has since appeared in eight other films on a variety of sports from baseball to auto racing. ''Dorf on Golf'' was remastered for DVD in 2007. In 2010, all of the Dorf films were remastered on a DVD Collection featuring all eight films, a behind the scenes with Dorf, and a commentary track by Tim Conway on "The Legend of the Paddle: The Oldie Hollis Story." Since 2009 Tim Conway's Dorf character has started "helping" Santa Claus on the family friendly website iSpotSanta, created by comedy filmmaker Pasquale Murena and Anything Goes Productions. Each year Dorf has three sketches, in 2009 he tried to give Santa his Christmas list failing and accidentally hitting Santa with a golf ball. Then in 2010 he tried to give all of the world's letters to Santa directly using jet rockets to fly to his sleigh, cannon balls and more.

Other roles

Conway has guest starred such programs as ABC's ''Coach'' and ''Channing'', the latter a drama about college life in the early 1960s. He starred in such films as ''The Apple Dumpling Gang'' (1975) as Gangster Amos Tucker. Conway continues to appear in movies and has cameo appearances in TV series; most of these appearances showcase his comedic talent. Currently, Tim voices the character "Barnacle Boy" in a recurring role on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon sictom ''SpongeBob SquarePants''; in this role, he is once again paired up as the sidekick to his old ''McHale's Navy'' series' star, Ernest Borgnine (who voices Mermaid Man, the "mentor" of Barnacle Boy). He appeared several times on the sitcom ''Married... With Children'' portraying Ephraim Wanker, the hillbilly father of Peg Bundy. Conway has also guest starred occasionally on the CBS sitcom ''Yes Dear'', playing Tom Warner, the father of Anthony Clark's stuffy character, Greg, with Conway's old ''Carol Burnett Show'' co-star Vicki Lawrence playing his wife, Greg's overbearing mother. Conway appeared in animated form in a guest shot in the October 6, 1973 episode of ''The New Scooby Doo Movies'', "The Spirited Spooked Sports Show." In 2003, he returned to television on the short-lived WB Network comedy, ''On The Spot''. For Max Lucado's animated cartoon ''Hermie and Friends'' he provides the voice of the title character in all eight episodes so far. He has also appeared in ''The Simpsons''. He also did several voices on ''Hercules'', ''The Wild Thornberrys'', ''Cybill'', ''What's New, Scooby-Doo?'', ''The Proud Family'', ''Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy!'', ''Caillou'', and ''What's with Andy?''.

He also narrated ''The Secret Shortcut'' in ''Reading Rainbow'' and hosted ''The Flintstones' 25th Anniversary Celebration''.

During The Biography Channel's biography of Conway, Borgnine referred to Conway as "a credit to his profession" and Burnett said words to the effect that Conway's talent for comedy was only outstripped by his genuine kindness and good nature.

A fan of thoroughbred horse racing, and an occasional racehorse owner, Tim Conway is a co-founder, Vice President, and member of the Board of Directors of the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund.

In 1996 Conway won an Emmy for his guest role as Kenny Montague on the sitcom ''Coach'' episode ''The Gardener''

In 1997, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman appeared in a Diagnosis Murder episode called "Comedy is Murder", playing former comedy partners called Tim Conrad and Harvey Huckaby. A clip of the well-known dentist sketch from The Carol Burnett Show was used to illustrate "Huckaby and Conrad"s former television partnership.

Conway and Harvey Korman created a Collector's Edition DVD of new comedy sketches, titled ''Together Again''; it is available on Conway's official website.

Conway won another Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Bucky Bright in the ''30 Rock'' episode "Subway Hero", which initially aired on April 17, 2008.

He voiced Freddy Frog and other characters in ''Garfield's Fun Fest''.

On his 75th birthday, Conway was interviewed as a guest on ''The Bonnie Hunt Show'' and given a surprise cake by Bob Newhart.

On February 1, 2010, Conway was awarded the PTC Integrity in Entertainment Award, which says that "recognizes those individuals and corporations who have demonstrated a longstanding commitment to creating, distributing and sponsoring quality entertainment that is free from graphic and gratuitous sex, violence and profanity."

On July 28, 2010, Tim appeared in an episode of ''Hot in Cleveland'' on TV Land.

In April 15, 2011, Tim guest-starred in an episode of ''Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', where he voiced the Weeper, a washed up former supervillain idolized by the Joker.

Tim played Cragmont in the ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' episode ''Justin's Back In''.

From 2003 through the present, Conway teamed up with good friend Don Knotts again to provide voices for the direct-to-video children's series, Hermie and Friends which would continue until Knotts death. Conway continues to do the series.

Personal life

Conway has been married twice. He was married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 until 1978. They had six children together. He has been married to Charlene Fusco since May 18, 1984. Among Tim Conway's children is the radio host Tim Conway Jr.

Charitable endeavors

On June 6, 7 and 8, 2010, Tim came back to his hometown of Chagrin Falls to put on a fund-raising performance at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre to help kick off their capital campaign.

Tim is a spokesperson for the United Leukodystrophy Foundation.

References

External links

Interview, Archive of American Television, 20 April 2004 on Google Video

Disney Legends profile

Two takes on "The Elephant Story"

Q&A with Tim Conway

Category:1933 births Category:Living people Category:People from Willoughby, Ohio Category:Actors from Ohio Category:American comedians Category:American film actors Category:American racehorse owners and breeders Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Romanian descent Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Bowling Green State University alumni Category:Emmy Award winners Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area

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