From the archives.  This week's contestant is Sarah Painting from South Hadley, Massachusetts. I got the hidden song pretty quickly, which is a good thing because it gets pretty well-hidden further on.  As for the composer style, I could make out a particular quote but just couldn't put the name to the music -- which is a shame because he was the first name I came up with and then veered away to someone else.  Silly me.

Randy Rainbow has a new song parody, and it's a good one.  The song is based on one from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, which only adds to the whimsy of the number.  And not only is the song itself fun, it's a very enjoyable production, as well.
​

We have a new one this week.  And…and YIPES!, two weeks in a row, we have another first.  Last week, the first was a contestant for the Piano Puzzler being someone who is a reader of this website and wrote here to say she was going to be a contestant and was anxious to see what I thought about how she did.  This week, the first is arguably even more remarkable –
 
The contestant this week is Charles Schlotter from Bradenton, Florida.  I saw that and quickly sat up.  Because I actually know a Charles Schlotter.  And I wondered if it was the same guy.  But I thought it pretty likely.  That’s because Charlie is a member of the Writers Guild, and we were friendly.  But he moved away several decades ago, and we lost touch.  I don’t recall where…but I think it was to Florida.  And even more evidence is that he was a major fan of opera, having encyclopedic knowledge of the field.  So, I thought it was very likely the Charles Schlotter I know, but I wondered if I’d be able to recognize his voice and confirm the matter. After all, it’s been a long time since we’ve spoken, maybe 20-25 years.  And after the first word, I shouted out, “That’s Charlie!!”  And as his conversation with host Fred Child continued, there was absolutely zero question that it was him.  Further, they talk about him growing up in Pittsburgh, and…again, bingo, I remember Charlie talking about being from Pittsburgh.  
 
And, man, was he given a difficult one.  The composer style was one of those I’m generally lost in.  But I thought it was between two possibilities – and guessed the wrong one.  Happily, Charlie guess right!  As for the hidden tun, I could hear what I thought was the tune, but couldn’t place it.  So, I stopped the recording and repeated it.  And sort of hear the tune better, and had a guess, but without any certainty.  Charlie couldn’t hear it either, so pianist Bruce Adolph repeated it, emphasizing the tune…slightly.  I had a different guess this time, but also without any certainty.  And Charlie was pretty stumped, but with a few clues, did eventually get it, And it’s really well-hidden.  (Oddly, when I first heard it played here, I sort of, kind of had an vague idea of who t thought that the composer of the hidden tune might remotely, maybe be, who it turned out did write it.  But I didn’t recognize nearly enough to stick with that thought, and so moved on to completely different guesses.)

Welcome to Fine Arts Corner, a service provided by Elisberg Industries in our proprietor's ongoing, uphill effort to make it seem like, on occasion -- and on the surface -- that, in addition to our regular yammering, we supposedly have good taste.

It’s unclear, but possible that this video will only be available through May 10, so I figured it was posting something this gorgeous now or never.  And even though most people won’t  watch all of it, some may watch at least part of it – if only because it’s great music to work to.
 
It’s video from 2010 of a Great Performances episode on PBS of when Pierre Boulez conducted the Chicago  Symphony in Mahler’s epic 7th Symphony.  (In fairness, pretty much every Mahler Symphony is "epic"…)  Boulez had been the principal guest conductor of the orchestra, and this video is posted online in honor of this being the 100th anniversary of his birth.
 
Here’s what they write on the CSO website --
 
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra joins the music world in celebrating the centennial of Pierre Boulez (1925–2016), one of history’s most consequential composers and conductors and a beloved member of the CSO family. As principal guest conductor — and later Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus — Boulez worked with the Orchestra and Chorus across many decades, leading them both at home and on tour and making a number of landmark recordings, including several Grammy Award winners.
 
As we remember Boulez’s legacy, enjoy an encore presentation of Mahler’s enigmatic Seventh Symphony performed by the CSO under his baton — recorded in Orchestra Hall in October 2010 and featured on a PBS Great Performances telecast. The concert is available exclusively on CSOtv through May 10.

A month ago, my pal Mark Evanier wrote about a debate online about whether a video of the very old Jimmy Durante TV show from 1956 featured a very young Mary Tyler Moore, who began her career as a dancer.  You can read about it and see the video here.

(I'm a bit late writing about this here.  I did write to Mark, but the time needed to prepare the material for a column was interrupted by the trip to Chicago.)

As I love Jimmy Durante, and was intrigued by the mention of Mary Tyler Moore, like Mark I wasn't sure about what I saw in the video.  Though I leaned towards, “Hmm, maybe it is.”  So, I decided to do some research, which was very tough going.
 
But uphill as the effort was, after honing in on things to look for I did find on the iMDB database that the very next year, in 1957, Durante was in an episode of a variety show called Club Oasis.  And in the cast that night, Mary Tyler Moore is listed as “Chorus Girl.”
 
That isn’t proof, of course, that she’s in that video on his show – but enough evidence to make me keep looking.
 
What I next found was a customer review on Amazon of a DVD documentary about Jimmy Durante, where the person comments that Mary Tyler Moore is sitting next to Durante during an early production number.  Now, that, of course, isn’t proof either.  So, I went on YouTube to see if someone had posted the video of the DVD.  And…someone did.  So, I started scrolling through it…
 
And at the 10:40 mark, I found the scene that the guy was referring to.  And having watched it just once (let alone repeated viewings and pausing)…there is no question in my mind that it’s Mary Tyler Moore.  She’s sitting next to him for two minutes, so it’s not a case of a quick glance as she dances by.  It’s absolutely her, compounded by all those other “hints.”
 
Here’s the link – jump to the 10:40 mark and watch for the next two minutes.
​

So, did anyone have trouble picking out the woman here who looks exactly like Mary Tyler Moore?
​
​That’s pretty compelling, I think.  But when you see the scene in action for two minutes -- with her moving, thinking, smiling, turning and even a close-up for almost half a minute of just her and Durante, as she reacts to him, not merely a still photo -- it’s even more clear.

I understand why there is a debate from that video making its way around the Internet.  But given that there is documented evidence that it's on the record that she began her career as a dancer, and that she actually did really appear with Jimmy Durante the next year after that video and is listed as "Chorus Girl" and this video evidence, whether on his show or on the Club Oasis show the next year -- I can only state that I am not only positive that that is Mary Tyler Moore on Jimmy Durante's show...but I'm on the edge of bewildered why there is still any uncertainty.

And as long was we're talking about not just Mary Tyler Moore, but also Jimmy Durante, who as I said I love, I thought I'd give him his due and post one of my favorite numbers he did.  I know it was a staple for his act, and did it on TV several times, and that this isn't the best version -- but it's still a very good version, and the only one I could find.  It comes from April 4, 1970, and is the last original episode of a TV program, Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters Hour.  This is his bit -- "A Piano is a Delicate Thing."

And yes, for anyone unsure, I'll end the debate here:  that is​ Jimmy Durante.

​We have a new one this week.  And a first after years of posting these “Piano Puzzlers”.  This week’s contestant is Finn Mikeal calling from Euless, Texas.  And the reason it’s a first here is that a few weeks back I received an email from Ms. Mikeal to say – well, let her explain herself.  She wrote:
 
“hi, i was the contestant for the piano puzzler from 3/19/2025 and i would love to see if you would be interested in covering it since i know you post mini reviews of the puzzlers!! i’m a big fan of reading them along with when i play and would love to know what you thought because i had a lot of fun. thanks!”
 
Well, of course I would not only be interested in covering it, but I always do and will – and am.  I’ll get to what I thought in a moment, but first (for added perspective) some words on how I did.
 
When I saw this episode was 13 minutes, I thought I might be in trouble, and she, as well, since that’s a long one, which means there were likely some replays of the tune and extra discussion.  And when the song began, I didn’t have a clue about any of it – but after about 20 seconds, the hidden song kicked in and I got it almost immediately.  Because, well, I’m me with my knowledge of such obscurities.  But I knew not everyone would, since it is not a well-known song at all, though there is something about its – well, let’s call it its “provenance” (so as not to give anything away) – that is well-known.  As for the composer style, it wasn’t my area of expertise, and there are usually only two composers with that style that I reasonably know.  I thought it might possibly be one of those, and almost guessed it.  However, there’s a third composer who is similar, but I don’t know well at all, and usually never guess.  But on a whim, I thought I would this time, since it didn’t strike me as exactly the person I was going to guess.  And…I was wrong – it was the person I was going to guess!
 
As for how Ms. Mikeal did – for starters, her interview was charming and even a bit funny, when talking about the pressure her family put on her for her appearance.  I was impressed by her guess for the composer style – it wasn’t right, but it was “right next-adjacent,” for reasons I knew immediately, and which pianist Bruce explains.  Personally, I didn’t hear the connection she did – but that’s all the more to her credit, given how incredibly “adjacent” her guess was.  And so, when told how close she had been and why, she got it on her follow-up guess.  As for the hidden song, when she didn’t get it right away I knew she’d be in trouble with it.  In fact, host Fred Childe didn’t know it either.  That’s how little known it is.  But after getting a bunch of clues, she impressively did guess it.  So, even though it took the clues, given the song’s relative obscurity (though not its “provenance”…), she gets major points for figuring it out.  And so, overall, did very well.
 
I will add just one additional comment.  And I say this quip completely with my tongue-in-cheek.  But my only other comment is that I believe Ms. Mikeal’s keyboard has a broken Caps Lock…

ADDENDUM:  After writing this, I sent an advance copy of the text to Ms. Mikeal, rather than unnecessarily make her wait weeks.  And among her thoughtful and charming responses was noting at the very end -- "Also fun fact, my laptop keyboard was in fact broken at the time of my initial email haha!"

So, I was right!!