MARK TWAIN MUSIC

Submitted by ub on

Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, Samuel L. Clemens was best know as Mark Twain. He went on to write well known novels, including two major American classics, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He worked as a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor.

Mark Twain was also passionate about music. During an upcoming concert in New Rochelle, NY, the Rosewood Chamber Ensemble will chronicle his life and musical interests from his early days in the South to his final days in Connecticut including stories and quotes from Twain. The Melodies of Mark Twain Concert will take place this
Sunday, May 17th, 3:00 pm

Twain was drawn to spirituals that he heard as a boy, loved Scottish and Irish songs, enjoyed the popular music of his day and later came to appreciate some of the classical composers of the Romantic era.

The former AP correspondent became somewhat bitter in his later years, even while projecting an amiable persona to his public. In private he demonstrated a stunning insensitivity to friends and loved ones. "Much of the last decade of his life, he lived in hell," wrote Hamlin Hill. He wrote a fair amount but was unable to finish most of his projects. His memory faltered. He had volcanic rages and nasty bouts of paranoia, and he experienced many periods of depressed indolence, which he tried to assuage by smoking cigars, reading in bed and playing endless hours of billiards and cards.

Samuel Clemens died on April 21, 1910, at the age of 74, at his country home in Redding, Connecticut. He was buried in Elmira, New York.