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.) Note: One of Elgar's most popular works is his Variations on an original theme "Enigma". Each variation depicts a close friend of the composer. Musicologists and scholars continue to debate the meaning of the "enigma" - whether it be a hidden melody, a former lover, or a mathematical equation. (In recent times, as a chorister, Elgar's Dream of Gerontius has had a haunting effect on me.) Elgar's other best known favourite works also include "Salut d'Amour", "Serenade for Strings" and the concert overture Cockaigne.
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
Featured Novel:
Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.
(Video: uploaded by Odette Engman, accessed June 2, 2018. Paloma Baeza stars as Bathsheba Everdene.) 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.
Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd.
(Video: uploaded by Odette Engman, accessed June 2, 2018. Paloma Baeza stars as Bathsheba Everdene.) 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.
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.
1896 - Giglielmo Marconi receives a patent for the radio.
1924 - Jean Cocteau's musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is performed at the Theatre de la Cigale in Paris.
1953 - The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II is held in London; it is the first to be televised. The City of London came to a standstill on this day as Queen Elizabeth II is crowned in Westminster Abbey. The Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya when her father, King George VI, died on February 6, 1952. The young princess flew home immediately and was proclaimed Queen shortly afterward. Her dress was woven from silk grown in Britain and embroidered with motifs from around the Commonwealth. The coronation ceremony was televised and watched by millions of Britons, then quickly relayed to more than 100 million international viewers. A great, great granddaughter of Queen Victoria, she has a direct royal line back to William the Conqueror. (Last Night Proms 2011. Jerusalem, God Save the Queen, and Auld Lang Syne. Uploaded by RupertJones. Accessed June 2, 2013. Last of the Proms 2012. Elgar's Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 (Land of Hope and Glory). Uploaded by Mandetriens. Accessed June 2, 2015.)
1966 - Surveyor 1 touches down on the surface of the Moon - the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land outside Earth.
1979 - Pope John Paul II visits his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
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 Timestables of History, New 3rd Revised Ed. Simon and Schuster/Touchstone (1991)
6. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.
(c) June 2007. Updated June 2, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
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