At the Music Hall: Billy Mayerl's Marigold, 1927

Billy Mayerl
Image from "The Billy Mayerl Society"

“Marigold” is perhaps the best known composition of celebrated English pianist and composer Billy Mayerl (1902-1959). Mayerl was the “Master of Light Music” and rose to great popularity on the boards of the English Music Halls and musical theatres. His syncopated novelty piano pieces (over three hundred which he wrote himself) were often named for and inspired by flowers and trees. Though he’s famous for these piano pieces, he also composed a variety of more substantial works for piano and orchestra. Mayerl also founded and operated the “School of Syncopation” which offered instruction in modern musical techniques such as ragtime. This led to his long-running correspondence course, “How to Play Like Billy Mayerl.”

These two videos are quite enjoyable. The first is a recent performance of “Marigold” and the second is a rare film of Billy Joseph Mayerl himself playing the piece.