February 3 Dateline

Birthdays

1525 - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition. Considered the greatest composer of liturgical music, he wove his music from the traditions of the Counter-Reformation and the Baroque. He died February 2, 1594. He had a long-lasting influence on the development of church and secular music in Europe, especially on the development of counterpoint, and his work is considered the culmination of Renaissance polyphony. His compositions included masses, lamentations, hymns, motets, litanies, and magnificats. (O Magnum Mysterium - Palestrina. YouTube, King's College Choir Cambridge, Sir Philip Ledger. Uploaded by Frank James. Accessed February 3, 2018. Sicut Cervus - Palestrina. Westminster Cathedral Choir. Martin Baker, Director. YouTube, uploaded by AAMMS1967. Accessed February 3, 2020.)

1736 - Johann Georg Albrechtsbreger, Austrian music theorist and composer, organist, and and one of the teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. He was friendly with Haydn and Mozart. His fame as a theorist attracted to him in the Austrian capital a large number of pupils, some of whom afterwards became eminent musicians. Among them were: Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ignaz Moscheles, Josef Weigl, Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson, Antonio Casimir Cartellieri, Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Reicha  and Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart. Beethoven returned to Vienna in 1792 (a year after Mozart had died) to study with Joseph Haydn, but became infuriated when his work was not being given attention or corrected. Haydn recommended his friend Albrechtsberger, with whom Beethoven then studied harmony and counterpoint. On completion of his studies, the young student noted, "Patience, diligence, persistence, and sincerity will lead to success", which reflects upon Albrechtsberger's own compositional philosophy.

1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, (born Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonies, concertos, piano music and chamber music. His best-known works include his overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the oratorio Elijah, the overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and his String Octet. The melody for the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is also his. Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions. A grandson of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn was born into a prominent Jewish family. He was brought up without religion until the age of seven, when he was baptised as a Reformed Christian. Felix was recognised early as a musical prodigy, but his parents were cautious and did not seek to capitalise on his talent. (Listen to his best-known oratorio, Elijah, Op. 70).

1874 - Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. She moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the remainder of her life. She hosted a Paris salon, where the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson and Henri Matisse, would meet. In 1933, Stein published a quasi-memoir of her Paris years, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, written in the voice of Alice B. Toklas, her life partner. The book became a literary bestseller and vaulted Stein from the relative obscurity of the cult-literature scene into the limelight of mainstream attention. Two quotes from her works have become widely known: "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose," and "there is no there there", with the latter often taken to be a reference to her childhood home of Oakland. Her books include Q.E.D., about a lesbian romantic affair involving several of Stein's friends; Fernhurst, a fictional story about a love triangle; Three Lives; and The Making of Americans.

1894 - Norman Rockwell (Norman Percevel Rockwell), American author, painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of American culture. Rockwell is most famous for the cover illustrations of everyday life he created for The Saturday Evening Post magazine over nearly five decades.

1907 - James A. Michener, American novelist of more than 40 books, most of which were fictional, lengthy family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating solid history. His numerous bestsellers include: Tales of the South Pacific for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948, Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Caribbean, Alaska, Texas, Space, and Poland.  His first book was adapted as the famous Broadway & film musical South Pacific by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.  (Writers - James Michener (1907-1997). Accessed February 3, 2020.)

1927 - Val Doonican (Michael Valentine Doonican), Irish singer and entertainer. He sang traditional pop, easy listening, and novelty songs, and was noted for his warm and relaxed style. A crooner, he had five successive Top 10 albums in the 1960s as well as several hits on the UK Singles Chart, including "If the Whole World Stopped Lovin'", "Walk Tall" and "Elusive Butterfly". The Val Doonican Show, had a long and successful run on BBC Television; he won the Variety Club of Great Britain's BBC-TV Personality of the Year award three times.

Lefties:
None known

 
More birthdays and historical events, February 3 - On This Day

 

 

Historical Events

1966 - The first soft landing of an unmanned probe on the moon, Luna 9, is done by the U.S.S.R. This Soviet success spurs the U.S. on in the race to put a man on the moon. An earlier American probe, Ranger 8, crashed into the moon in 1965. The soft landing of Luna 9 showed that one day a manned landing might be possible.

1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper currency in America.

February 2 Dateline

Birthdays

1752 - Philip Morin Freneau, American poet, nationalist, polemicist, sea captain and newspaper editor sometimes called the "Poet of the American Revolution". Through his newspaper, the National Gazette, he was a strong critic of George Washington.

1785 - Isabella Angela Colbran (known in her native country as Isabel Colbrandt), Spanish opera singer,  and wife of composer G. Rossini. Many sources note her as a dramatic coloratura soprano but some believe that she was a mezzo-soprano with a high extension, a soprano sfogato. She collaborated with opera composer Gioachino Rossini in the creation of a number of roles that remain in the repertory to this day; they were married on 22 March 1822. She was the composer of four collections of songs.

1875 - Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-born violinist and composer. One of the most noted violin masters of his day, and regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time, he was known for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound which was immediately recognizable as his own. Although it derived in many respects from the Franco-Belgian school, his style is nonetheless reminiscent of the gemütlich (cozy) lifestyle of pre-war Vienna. (Videos below.)

1882 - James Joyce, Irish writer, poet, teacher and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde and is regarded as one of the most influential and important authors of the 20th century. Famous for Ulysses, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Finnegans Wake. He also wrote the well-known short-story collection Dubliners.  (The World of James Joyce: His Life and Work Documentary (1986). Uploaded by Manufacturing Intellect. Accessed February 2, 2020.)

1901 - Jascha Heifetz ([O.S. January 20]), Russian-American violinist, widely regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time. Born in Vilnius, Lituania, he was recognized as a child prodigy, trained in the Russian classical violin style in St. Petersburg. A virtuoso, his Carnegie Hall debut was rapturously received. He wrote songs under the name 'JH or Jim Hoyl'. After an injury to his right (bowing) arm, he switched his focus to teaching. Late in life, Heifetz became a dedicated teacher and a champion of socio-political causes. He advocated to establish 911 as an emergency phone number, and crusaded for clean air. (J. Heifetz - Portrait of an Artist (1953), uploaded by A/Veeks. Accessed Feb 2, 2021.  Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D interpreted by Jascha Heifetz. Youtube uploaded by shellac 1925. Accessed February 2, 2021. Heifetz plays Ponce's Estrellita (read brief note below). Uploaded by Grandesmusicos. Accessed September 11, 2024.) 

 

1905 - Ayn Rand, Russian-American author, essayist and philosopher. She is best-known for her two best-selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system she named "Objectivism". Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. She had a play produced on Broadway. After her two best-selling novels, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and collections of essays until her death in 1982. Rand advocated reason as the only means of acquiring knowledge and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism and rejected altruism.

1947 - Farrah Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett), American actress, fashion model and artist. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played a starring role in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels (1976–1977). She appeared in numerous television series, including recurring roles on Harry O, and The Six Million Dollar Man with her then-husband, film and television star Lee Majors. Fawcett's breakthrough role was that of private investigator Jill Munroe in Charlie's Angels, which co-starred Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith. The show propelled all three actresses to stardom.

1954 - Christie Brinkley (born Christie Lee Hudson), American model, actress, and entrepreneur. She gained worldwide fame with her appearances in the late 1970s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues, ultimately appearing on an unprecedented three consecutive covers starting in 1979. She spent 25 years as the face of CoverGirl, has appeared on over 500 magazine covers, and has signed contracts with major brands—both fashion and non-fashion. 

Leftie:
None known

More birthdays and historical events, February 2 - On This Day

 

 

Below are Kreisler's two popular short pieces: "Liebesleid" (love's sorrow) and "Liebesfreud" (love's joy). 

(The video below is an excerpt from the film, "They Shall Have Music"). Jascha Heifetz plays Manuel Ponce's "Estrellita" (English: Little Star), a beautiful Mexican Serenade written by the Mexican composer Manuel Ponce in 1912. The story goes: The lovely melody was arranged by violinist Jascha Heifetz in 1923. As a young man Heifetz first heard this popular song while dining in a cafe in Mexico City the day before his first concert in Mexico. He loved the song so much he spent all that night arranging it for violin and piano to perform at his debut in honor of his host country. It became a world famous hit, and has remained a favorite encore piece to this day. "Estrellita" has totally a place in my heart. I was named after it, "Star", though not "Little Star". 

 

 

Historical Events

1933 - Just two days after becoming Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler dissolves the German Parliament. 

1943 - The last German forces surrender to the Soviets after the Battle of Stalingrad after months of some of the most vicious fighting of the Second World War.