June 2 Dateline

Birthdays

1840 - Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth. Hardy was famous for his best novels: The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), and Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1891). Among those made into films include: Far from the Madding Crowd, Return of the Native, Tess, and The Mayor of Casterbridge.

1857 -  Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM GCVO, English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and classical concert repertoire.  His works in the orchestral idiom of late 19th-century Romanticism, which was characterized by bold tunes, striking colour effects, and mastery of large forms, stimulated a renaissance of English music. Famous for his Enigma Variations and the magnificent "Pomp and Circumstance", Elgar is often considered as the greatest English-born composer since Henry Purcell, two centuries ago. (Elgar's Nimrod from "Enigma Variations" with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, opening the 1997 season at Carnegie Hall, uploaded by medpiano, accessed  June 2, 2015.  Performed by the BBC Symphony Chorus and BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek. Royal Albert Hall, 8 September 2012.)

1863 -  Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg, Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Weingartner was the first conductor to make commercial recordings of all nine Beethoven symphonies, and the second (to Leopold Stokowski in Philadelphia) to record all four Brahms symphonies. In 1935 he conducted the world premiere of Georges Bizet's long-lost Symphony in C. He was more like Arturo Toscanini in insisting on playing music as written. His 1935 recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, for instance, sounds much more like Toscanini's 1936, 1938, 1939 and 1952 renditions (only the last of which was recorded in a studio rather than at a concert). He experimented with films of himself conducting (such as in his only recorded performance of Weber's overture to Der Freischütz) as a tool in "orchestral training". (Felix Weingartner - Cello Concerto in A-minor, Op. 60 (1916)  Uploaded by KuhlauDilfeng2. Accessed June 2, 2016.)

1904 - Johnny Weissmuller, Austro-Hungarian-born American competition swimmer, water polo player and actor (Star of Tarzan). He was known for playing Edgar Rice Burroughs' ape man Tarzan in films of the 1930s and 1940s and for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century.

1907 - Dorothy West, American novelist and short-story writer during the time of the Harlem Renaissance. She is best known for her novel The Living Is Easy, as well as many other short stories and essays, about the life of an upper-class black family.

1944 - Marvin Frederick Hamlisch, American composer and conductor. Hamlisch was one of only sixteen people to win Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. This collection of all four is referred to as an "EGOT". He is one of only two people (along with composer Richard Rodgers) to have won those four prizes and a Pulitzer Prize ("PEGOT"). Hamlisch's first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl  with Barbra Streisand. Then he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties. This connection led to his first film score, The Swimmer. His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady, Gypsy, West Side Story, and Bye Bye Birdie. Hamlisch attended Queens College, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. (Linda Eder - What I Did For Love (A Chorus Line) - Hallelujah Broadway. "What I Did for Love" is a popular song from the musical A Chorus Line, music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban. YouTube, Accessed June 2, 2021.)


Lefties:
None known
 

More birthdays and historical events today, 2 June - On This Day.

 

 

Featured Novel:

Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd. 

To be “far from the madding crowd” is to be removed, literally or figuratively, from the frenzied actions of any large crowd or from the hustle and bustle of civilization.  Hardy's novel is a reminder that passion and beauty can reside in unexpected and ordinary places, even in the lowliest hearts of men. But, ultimately, nature will not fail, even in the presence of flawed beings such as Bathsheba Everdeen. 

Far from the Madding Crowd is the story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene, who attracts three different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer, captivated by her fetching wilfulness; Frank Troy, a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor. This classic story of Bathsheba's choices and passions explores the nature of relationships and love, as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance. 

 

A famous quote from novel:  

Features:

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, this day, June 2, in 1953. 
"The Coronation" - HM Queen Elizabeth II. British Movietone. Accessed  June 2, 2017.

Historical Events

1793 - Jean-Paul Marat leads the expulsion of 31 Girondists from the French National convention, precipitating the Reign of Terror that sees 17,000 to 40,000 "counter revolutionaries" guillotined over the following year.    

1865 - The surrender of forces under Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith at Galveston, Texas, marks the end of the American civil War.

June 1 Dateline

Birthdays

1804 - Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, Russian composer considered the "Father of Russian music", famous for his opera A Life for the Tsar. He was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, often regarded as the fountainhead of Russian classical music. (See Glinka's featured music below.)

1926 - Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson), American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comedic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s and was emblematic of the era's changing attitudes towards sexuality. She was a top-billed actress for only a decade, but her films grossed $200 million (equivalent to $2 billion in 2019) by the time of her death in 1962. She continues to be a major popular culture icon.
   
1926 - Andy Samuel Griffith, American actor, comedian, television producer.He was also a Southern gospel singer and writer whose career spanned seven decades in music and television. Known for his southern drawl, his characters with a folksy-friendly personality, and his gruff but friendly voice, Griffith was a Tony Award nominee for two roles, and gained prominence in the starring role in the film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead roles of Andy Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show  and Ben Matlock in the legal drama Matlock.

1930 - Edward Woodward, OBE, English actor and singer. He began his career on stage after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic arts. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions in both the West End of London and on Broadway in New York City. He came to wider attention from 1967 in the title role of the British television spy drama Callan, earning him the 1970 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor.

1937 - Colleen McCullough, AO (married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson), Australian novelist, her most well-known being The Thorn Birds and The Ladies of Missalonghi, the latter of which was involved in a plagiarism controversy.

1941 - Edo de Waart, Dutch conductor. His recording catalog encompasses such labels as Philips and orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. In January 2001, he was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal "for service to Australian society and the advancement of music" and in May 2005, he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia "for service to Australia, particularly as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra". He is a knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

 
1972 -  Daniel Casey, English actor, best known for playing DS Gavin Troy, the original sidekick of DCI Tom Barnaby, for the first six seasons of the long-running television series Midsomer Murders.

1974 - Alanis Morisette, Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice, she began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with two mildly successful dance-pop albums.

Lefties:
Actress Marilyn Monroe

 

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 1 June - On This Day.
 

 

Featured Music:

Mikhail Glinka's A Life for the Tsar (Finale), with Mikhailovsky Theatre orchestra and choir, March 6, 2013, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Historical Events

1831 - James Clark Ross discovers the position of the North magnetic Pole, on the Boothia Peninsula.

1943 - Actor Leslie Howard, actor of Gone with the Wind and Brief Encounter films, is killed when a civilian flight from Lisbon to London is shot down by the Germans during World War II.