October 25 Dateline

Birthdays

1825 - Johann Strauss II (Jr.), Austrian composer, famous for "The Blue Danube Waltz" and Die Fledermaus ("The Bat"). He's the eldest son of composer and orchestra leader Johann Strauss I. Johann strauss II is known as "The Waltz King", with his waltzes melodic and charming. He wasn't also limited to dances, as he composed a series of brilliant operettas. His music exudes the same love of melody and graceful Viennese mood.

1838 - Georges Bizet (born Alexandre César Léopold Bizet) French composer of the Romantic era, famous for opera Carmen, the tragic tale of a Spanish gypsy girl, is one of the most popular and frequently performed operas ever written. During his brilliant student career at the Conservatoire de Paris, Bizet won many prizes, including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857. His two other works are Symphony in C and Les Pecheurs de perles (The Pearl Fishers). (Bizet - Symphony in C 1/4, Avi Ostrowsky, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra. Uploaded by avihu4. Accessed October 25, 2015. Note: I've enabled the autoplay at Youtube so the next three movements will play until 4/4.)

1881 - Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer. Regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is known for co-founding the Cubist movement, the invention of constructed sculpture, the co-invention of collage, and for the wide variety of styles that he helped develop and explore. Among his most famous works are the proto-Cubist Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), and Guernica (1937), a dramatic portrayal of the bombing of Guernica by the German and Italian airforces during the Spanish Civil War. He spent most of his adult life in France.  (Pablo Picasso - Complete Documentary. Uploaded by Star Arts. Accessed October 25, 2015.) 

1923 - Don Oscar Banks, Australian composer of concert, jazz, and commercial music. Jazz was Banks' earliest and strongest musical influence. He studied composition privately with Matyas Seiber, who was himself much interested in jazz. He became a friend and associate of Gunther Schuller and was much involved with Tubby Hayes, writing several compositions for him. Banks's best-known works include Nexus, his major 'Third Stream' composition, the Sonata da Camera for flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, violin, viola, and cello (1961 - dedicated to Matyas Seiber); a Horn Concerto (1965); a Trio for horn, violin, and piano (1962); and a Violin Concerto (1968).

1928 - Marion Eileen Ross, American retired actress. Her best-known role is that of Marion Cunningham on the ABC television sitcom Happy Days, on which she starred from 1974 to 1984 and received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Before her success on Happy Days, Ross appeared in a variety of film roles, appearing in The Glenn Miller Story, Sabrina, Lust for Life, Teacher's Pet, Some Came Running, Operation Petticoat, and Honky, as well as several minor television roles, one of which was on television’s The Lone Ranger. Ross also starred in The Evening Star, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Since the 1990s, Ross has been known for voice-over work on animated television series.

1942 - Helen Maxine Reddy, Australian-American singer, songwriter, author, actress, and activist. She moved to Chicago, and subsequently, Los Angeles, where she made her debut singles "One Way Ticket" and "I Believe in Music". The B-side of the latter single, "I Don't Know How to Love Him", reached number eight on the pop chart of Canadian magazine RPM. She was signed to Capitol Records a year later. Reddy's song "I Am Woman" played a significant role in popular culture, becoming an anthem for second-wave feminism. She came to be known as a "feminist poster girl" or a "feminist icon". In 2011, Billboard named her the number-28 adult contemporary artist of all time (number-9 woman). In 2013, the Chicago Tribune dubbed her as the "Queen of '70s Pop" (Helen Reddy - I don't know how to love Him [Andrew Lloyd Webber]  - "The Queen of Pops 70s. ReddyRockedThe70s. Accessed October 25, 2020.) 

 
Leftie:
Artist Pablo Picasso

 

More birthdays and historical events, October 25 - On This Day

 

Historical Events

1415 - Henry V of England defeats the French at the Battle of Agincourt in northern France.

1823 - Carl Maria von Weber's opera Euryanthe stars Henrietta Sontag at its premiere, in Vienna.

1854 - The British Light Brigade is overcome by Russian fire in the Battle of Balaclave in the Crimean War.

1875 - Piotr I. Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 receives if first performance in Boston, with Hans von Bulow, soloist.

1885 - Johannes Brahms conducts the premiere of his symphony No. 4, at Meiningen, Germany.

1962 - This day it is announced that the Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to John Steinbeck.

1983 - U.S. forces invade Caribbean island Grenada, restoring democratic rule after 4 years pf Marxist Government.

2003 - The Cedar Fire becomes the largest wildfire in Californian history.

2004 - President Fidel Castro of Cuba announces the ban of the U.S. dollar, which comes into effect on November 8. 

 

Video Credit: 

 

Johann Strauss II The Blue Danube Waltz Vienna Philharmonic Vals del Danubio Azul. (An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314.)  Conductor: Carlos Kleiber. Wiener Philharmoniker. YouTube, uploaded by saola88. Accessed 25 October 2022. 

 

Resources:

1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com

3. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
4. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
5. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org



(c) June 2007. Updated October 25, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.