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<TITLE>RE: [Smt-talk] Music Plagiarism Cases</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>Did Puccini really win that case? The resemblance between the two is brief (just the opening eight melody notes--a scalar fragment up and down, followed by a ^5-^8 melodic cadence), and the mode is changed from minor to major as well! Jolson's song then churns this little chunk for a while, sequencing it here and there, in very predictable fashion. Puccini veers off into all kinds of new (though distantly related) developments.<BR>
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If I were the judge, I'd have thrown the case out!<BR>
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RLocke<BR>
<BR>
Ralph P. Locke<BR>
Professor of Musicology<BR>
26 Gibbs St.<BR>
Rochester NY 14604-2599 USA<BR>
Tel.: 585-274-1455<BR>
Fax: 585-274-1088 ("for R. Locke")<BR>
RLocke@esm.rochester.edu<BR>
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-----Original Message-----<BR>
From: smt-talk-bounces@societymusictheory.org on behalf of kos@panix.com<BR>
Sent: Fri 12/18/2009 8:14 AM<BR>
To: smt-talk@societymusictheory.org<BR>
Subject: Re: [Smt-talk] Music Plagiarism Cases<BR>
<BR>
On Fri, 18 Dec 2009, Richard Lewis <richardlewis@fastmail.co.uk><BR>
<BR>
> This question may be better directed at law scholars, but a colleague<BR>
> is interested in finding cases of music plagiarism which have been<BR>
> heard in court (in any country, but English or German proceedings will<BR>
> be easiest to read). Anyone know of any?<BR>
<BR>
I know that Puccini won a suit against Al Jolson in 1920 for using "E lucevan<BR>
le stelle" (from Tosca) in Jolson's song "Avalon." I would need to research<BR>
more to find the court proceedings.<BR>
<BR>
Bob Kosovsky, Ph.D. -- Curator, Rare Books and Manuscripts,<BR>
Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts<BR>
blog: <A HREF="http://www.nypl.org/blog/21">http://www.nypl.org/blog/21</A><BR>
Listowner: OPERA-L ; SMT-TALK ; SMT-ANNOUNCE ; SoundForge-users<BR>
--- My opinions do not necessarily represent those of my institutions ---<BR>
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