There is a fun bit of silliness in speeding through a list of fifty names at breakneck speed and still keep a straight tongue. I can’t recall how many years had passed since I had first heard Danny Kaye sing it and when I finally found a recording of it.

Tchaikovsky (And other Russian) as sung by Danny Kaye is a treat. Mandy Patinkin comes close.

While studying Russian at the local university, and wanting something different than Patinkin’s “Dress Casual” cassette, I decided to indulge in a collection of new composers. The wonderful thing about university bookstores were the sale prices on cassettes. Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Glinka, Borodin, Stravinsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninoff found places in the classical collection. They all helped me get through those particular years of study.

Sometimes it is the silliest of things that leads to a greater discovery.