Passing of a generous man...

Posted at 8:21 AM on August 17, 2006 by John Zech
Filed under: The blog

The pianist and arranger Milton Kaye died Monday in New York at the age of 97. This morning when I read his obituary in the New York Times, I was amazed to find out he toured with Heifetz, composed music for the TV show "Concentration," was a regular in Toscanini's NBC Symphony, and he was a classical broadcaster to boot! (Former MPR classical host, Dennis Rooney, something of an authority on Milton Kaye, is also quoted in the piece.)

He was a great talent who never called attention to himself, apparently. A rarity in much of today's world.

One of his last appearances was in a beret, holding hands with his wife...they were the romantic elderly couple looked at fondly by the young lovers in the De Beers diamond commercial.