Does life begin at 90? I don’t know about that, but in today’s classical music world, it’s probably safe to say that 90 is the new 70. Two days after the 90th birthday of composer Carlisle Floyd, whose opera “Prince of Players” was given its premiere by Houston Grand Opera in March, I stumbled across this piece on classical-music.com:

http://www.classical-music.com/article/does-life-begin-90

Curiously the impetus was Queen Elizabeth II, rather than Floyd, whose birthday fell on the very day the article was posted. The composer is conspicuously absent from the list. You can read more about Floyd in my June 11 Facebook entry, which wasn’t ready until Saturday evening and therefore may have escaped your attention.

Sadly, Phyllis Curtin, who created the title role of Floyd’s “Susannah” in 1956, propelling the 29 year-old composer to fame, died on June 5 at the age of 94.

And then there’s this guy:

The oldest active conductor in America

As Arthur Fiedler always said, “To rest is to rot.”

PHOTO: “Listen, Pappy, you’re 99 years-old. You can’t be going out every night. You got to save your youth for your old age. ”