Birthdays
1563 - John Dowland (b. Jan 2?), English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", "Come again", "Flow my tears", "I saw my Lady weepe" and "In darkness let me dwell", but his instrumental music has undergone a major revival, and with the 20th century's early music revival, has been a continuing source of repertoire for lutenists and classical guitarists. (Barbara Bonney "Come again, sweet love doth now invite". Uploaded by acatalano2641. Accessed April 26, 2020.)
1837 - Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev, Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, member of The Five, a group of Russian composers. He is known for his work promoting musical nationalism and his encouragement of more famous Russian composers, notably Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He began his career as a pivotal figure, extending the fusion of traditional folk music and experimental classical music practices begun by composer Mikhail Glinka. Early in the 1860s Balakirev brought together the composers now known as The Five (a.k.a., The Mighty Handful) – the others were Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. As a composer, Balakirev finished major works many years after he had started them; he began his First Symphony in 1864 but completed it in 1897. The exception was his oriental fantasy Islamey for solo piano, which he composed quickly and remains popular among virtuosos. (Balakirev's Symphony No. 1 in C-major, in four movements. Performed by the Russian State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Igor Golovschin. Uploaded by KuhlauDelfing2. Accessed January 2, 2014.)
1905 - Sir Michael (Kemp) Tippett OM CH CBE, English composer who rose to prominence during and immediately after the Second World War. In his lifetime he was sometimes ranked with his contemporary Benjamin Britten as one of the leading British composers of the 20th century. His compositional career extended over eight decades, from juvenilia and unpublished works written in the 1920s to his final works of the 1990s. He composed across many genres, from large-scale orchestral works and full-length operas to solo songs and brass band fanfares. From the mid-1930s his music began to be published and performed publicly. (Michael Tippett: Composer of our Time. Note: This was originally Aired Sunday 11:30 AM Feb 23, 1975 on CBS. Uploaded by John Randolph. Accessed January 2, 2017.)
1920 - Isaac Asimov, American writer and professor of biochemistry. He was prolific in writing science fiction and popular science. Although born in Russia, he went to the US with his family when he was three becoming a citizen at the age of eight. His first novel, Pebble in the Sky, was published when he was 30. In the same year he published I, Robot, a collection of his famous robot stories. Asimov's knowledge of science allowed him to write science fiction stories that seemed realistic and possible.
1961 - Todd Haynes, Film director and producer, pioneer of New Queer Cinema movement of film-making in the early 1990s. His films span four decades with consistent themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurring gender roles.
1968 - Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor. He appeared in A Few Good Men, Outbreak, and Jerry Maguire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and What Dreams May Come. His other notable films include As Good as It Gets, the ensemble farce Rat Race, Radio, American Gangster (2007), Lee Daniels' The Butler, and Selma, playing civil rights attorney Fred Gray. In 2016, he portrayed O.J. Simpson in the FX drama series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, and co-starred in the sixth season of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, subtitled Roanoke.
1970 - Eric Whitacre (born Eric Edward Whitacre), American composer, conductor, and speaker known for his choral, orchestral, and wind ensemble music. In March 2016, he was appointed as Los Angeles Master Chorale's first artist-in-residence at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.(Eric Whitacre's The Seal Lullaby (Album version with lyrics.). Uploaded by AluminumHaste. Accessed January 2, 2015. Eric Whitacre: "When David Heard" performed by BYU Singers, from the album Water Night. Uploaded by Frank Halcomb. Accessed January 2, 2018. Glow - Eric Whitacre. YouTube, uploaded by BlueBass2. Accessed January 2, 2021.)
Lefties:
None known
Featuring Balakirev's piano fantasy Islamey, interpreted by pianist Nicholas King.
1757 - During the Seven Years' War, Robert Clive, better known as Clive of India, captures Calcutta from the Nawab of Bengal, avenging the deaths of those who perished in the Black Hole.
1843 - Richard Wagner conducts the first performance of his opera Der fliegende Hollander, in Dresden.
1867 - On board ship, American writer Mark Twain writes in his notebook: "Passengers growl less this trip than any I ever saw, but they will growl some on all trips, no matter how favorable everything is."
1941 - The Andrews Sisters - LaVerne, Maxene and Patty - record "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on Decca Records.
1959 - Luna 1 which is launched by USSR in the direction of the Moon, is the first artificial object to reach the escape velocity of the Earth.
1968 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the second successful heart transplant into a human.
1987 - The publishers of Enid Blyton's Noddy books agree to transform Golliwogs into inoffensive gnomes.
2002 - The Euro was introduced as a common currency between 17 European nations. It was technially released on January 1, 1999, but it became official in 2002.
Video Credit:
Historical Events
1757 - During the Seven Years' War, Robert Clive, better known as Clive of India, captures Calcutta from the Nawab of Bengal, avenging the deaths of those who perished in the Black Hole.
1843 - Richard Wagner conducts the first performance of his opera Der fliegende Hollander, in Dresden.
1867 - On board ship, American writer Mark Twain writes in his notebook: "Passengers growl less this trip than any I ever saw, but they will growl some on all trips, no matter how favorable everything is."
1941 - The Andrews Sisters - LaVerne, Maxene and Patty - record "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" on Decca Records.
1959 - Luna 1 which is launched by USSR in the direction of the Moon, is the first artificial object to reach the escape velocity of the Earth.
1968 - Dr. Christiaan Barnard performs the second successful heart transplant into a human.
1987 - The publishers of Enid Blyton's Noddy books agree to transform Golliwogs into inoffensive gnomes.
2002 - The Euro was introduced as a common currency between 17 European nations. It was technially released on January 1, 1999, but it became official in 2002.
Video Credit:
Nicholas King: Balakirev: Islamey - Oriental Fantasy. Youtube, uploaded by Nicholas King. Accessed January 2, 2018.
Resources:
1. Asiado, Tel. The World's Movers and Shapers. New Hampshire: Ore Mountain Publishing House (2005)
2. Britannica. www.britannica.com
2. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
3. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
4. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
5. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
2. Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 19th Ed. London: Chambers Harrap, 2011
3. Dateline. Sydney: Millennium House, (2006)
4. Grun, Bernard. The Timetables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon & Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
5. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org
(c) June 2007. Updated January 2, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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