Originally posted by gryphon:
As no one is likely to get my last one, it is Lionel Hampton. Okay, back to less obscure musicians.

My father disliked anything musical. He considered music-loving a sign of weakness! My mother helped me smuggle a small piano into the attic, and I pretty much taught myself, covering the strings with pieces of cloth so my father wouldn't hear me practicing. At eleven I played so well I was offered to study in Italy, but my father was outraged and canceled the plans. He wanted me to be a lawyer. His influence was so strong even five years after his death that I entered the university as a law student.

Who am I? [/b]

Originally posted by gryphon:
mdp1w is right! It was George Frederic Handel. You guys are good.[/b]

Originally posted by JBryan:
He smuggled a small piano into the attic? Doesn't that seem a bit improbable given the period? [/b]

Originally posted by gryphon:
Mark is right, Heitor Villa-Lobos.

I had a number of bad habits. One of my worst was showing up late (or not at all). My band members would always look for me before a performance, only to find me asleep in the oddest places. Once I was playing a series of concerts at one theater and, determined not to miss the next night's show, I told everyone I was going to spend the night in the theater to make sure I was there on time. But when the next day's rehearsal came around, I was no where to be found. They rehearsed without me and eventually had to begin the show without me. After the curtain came down and they were packing up, they discovered that I had been asleep under the bandstand throughout the entire rehearsal and performance!

Who am I? [/b]