Mozart /
This post is based on an interesting video produced by Lady Dunn. Photography by S. Ziegler and S.A. Moy. Musical score adapted from works of Wolfgang A. Mozart. Lady Dunn narrates the documentary and is seen at the very beginning.
Featuring Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of the musical genius Wolfgang Amaadeus Mozart. The documentary describes in travelogue style sequence showing the landmarks of the
city where Mozart was born and grew up.
Lady Dunn tells us that we will be following Mozart's footsteps
and meet him in spirit at every turn. Local people in traditional dress
are seen, street scenes, markets, etc.
Mozart's birthplace is featured: we are given a little tour of his
house as Lady Dunn speaks of Mozart's childhood. We see portraits of
Mozart and his family on the walls of the house.
More travelogue style
footage of fountains, Cathedral, man playing Cathedral organ (as
Mozart's father had done), statues, squares, St Peter's cemetery,
country house of the Archbishops, ornamental gardens, St Peter's Kellar
(?), wine is drunk, toasts are made. Mirabelle Garden, the little
garden house in which Mozart wrote his last opera has been brought from
Vienna to Salzburg, we see the house, Mozart's grave, statue of Mozart,
music academy, stage settings for Mozart operas, Salzburg Marionette
Theatre putting on a performance of one of Mozart's operas. People gather
to rehearse for the Festival performances of Mozart's work. Austrian
and some other countries' flags are seen flying. Salzburg at dusk.
Video Credit:
In Mozart's Footsteps (!950-1955). YouTube, uploaded by British Pathé. Accessed January 27, 2015, the 259th birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Mozart.
(c) January 2015. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Leonard Bernstein's Candide
Classical Music Datebook: January 26
Candide is an operetta composed by Leonard Bernstein. It is based on the 1759 novella of the same name by Voltaire.
Broadway's Original Production, 1956. Candide was first performed on Broadway as a musical on December 1, 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre. The libretto was by Lillian Hellman. The primary lyricist was the Richard Wilbur. There were other contributors to the text including John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, and Leonard Bernstein himself. This premiere production was directed by Tyrone Guthrie and conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick. The sets and costumes were designed by Oliver Smith and Irene Sharaff, respectively, and choreographed by Anna Sokolow. Candide's main characters featured included: Candide (Robert Rounseville), Cunégonde (Barbara Cook), Dr. Pangloss (Max Adrian), The Old Lady (Irra Petina). The arias were: Candide: Act I. Glitter and Be Gay. This production was a box office disaster, running only two months for a total of 73 performances.
Candide Overture incorporates tunes from the songs "The Best of All Possible Worlds," "Battle Music," "Oh, Happy We," "Glitter and Be Gay" and melodies composed specifically for the overture.
New York Production, 1957. After a successful first concert performance on January 26, 1957, conducted by the composer himself with the New York Philharmonic, Candide's overture quickly became popular and has earned a place in the classical music orchestral repertoire, performed by nearly 100 other orchestras within the next two years. It has then achieved enormous popularity. In 1987, it was the most often performed piece of concert music by Bernstein.
TRIVIA:
Added, January 26, 2018. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will be performing Bernstein's Candide later this year, Saturday 29 September at 8pm and Sunday 30 September at 1pm. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. More details about this in another post --- Added, March 23, 2018. Sydney Philharmonia releases casting details for Candide. Added, Sept 30, 2018. SPC Program link: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Bernstein's Candide.
Bernstein Candide Overture. Broadway Revival Version (1974). Youtube, uploaded by nickbigd, January 26, 2015.
Leonard Bernstein "Candide." (English Subtitles). Youtube, uploaded by karlmall. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Recommended Listening:
Leonard Bernstein's "Candide - BBC 1988. Youtube, uploaded by Freiderick Wolf. Accessed July 24, 2020.
Recommended Reading:
Candide by Voltaire: Plot Overview. Spark Notes.
Candide: or, the Optimist. Part I. Leonard Bernstein at 100. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Resources:
A Guide to Leonard Bernstein's Candide. Compiled by Michael Hutchins. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Candide. Music Theatre Intl. (MTI). 1999 Version. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Candide. Leonard Bernstein Website. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Candide (Operetta). en. wikipedia.org. Accessed January 26, 2015.
(c) January 2015. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Candide is an operetta composed by Leonard Bernstein. It is based on the 1759 novella of the same name by Voltaire.
Voltaire's Candide (Book), briefly. In the German town of
Westphalia, Candide, a young man, lives in the castle of Baron of
Thunder-ten-tronckh. A noted philosopher, Doctor Pangloss, tutors the
baron on philosophical optimism, the idea that "all is for the best . . .
in this best of all worlds." Candide, a simple man, first accepts this
philosophy, but as he experiences poverty, the horrors of war, the
maliciousness of man, and the hypocrisy of the church, he begins to
doubt the voracity of philosopher Pangloss's theory. Voltaire's Candide satirical book focuses on philosophical optimism. Anti-war and anti-church sentiments also
run throughout the novel.
Broadway's Original Production, 1956. Candide was first performed on Broadway as a musical on December 1, 1956 at the Martin Beck Theatre. The libretto was by Lillian Hellman. The primary lyricist was the Richard Wilbur. There were other contributors to the text including John Latouche, Dorothy Parker, Lillian Hellman, Stephen Sondheim, and Leonard Bernstein himself. This premiere production was directed by Tyrone Guthrie and conducted by Samuel Krachmalnick. The sets and costumes were designed by Oliver Smith and Irene Sharaff, respectively, and choreographed by Anna Sokolow. Candide's main characters featured included: Candide (Robert Rounseville), Cunégonde (Barbara Cook), Dr. Pangloss (Max Adrian), The Old Lady (Irra Petina). The arias were: Candide: Act I. Glitter and Be Gay. This production was a box office disaster, running only two months for a total of 73 performances.
Candide Overture incorporates tunes from the songs "The Best of All Possible Worlds," "Battle Music," "Oh, Happy We," "Glitter and Be Gay" and melodies composed specifically for the overture.
New York Production, 1957. After a successful first concert performance on January 26, 1957, conducted by the composer himself with the New York Philharmonic, Candide's overture quickly became popular and has earned a place in the classical music orchestral repertoire, performed by nearly 100 other orchestras within the next two years. It has then achieved enormous popularity. In 1987, it was the most often performed piece of concert music by Bernstein.
TRIVIA:
Added, January 26, 2018. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs will be performing Bernstein's Candide later this year, Saturday 29 September at 8pm and Sunday 30 September at 1pm. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. More details about this in another post --- Added, March 23, 2018. Sydney Philharmonia releases casting details for Candide. Added, Sept 30, 2018. SPC Program link: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs - Bernstein's Candide.
Video Credit:
Bernstein Candide Overture. Broadway Revival Version (1974). Youtube, uploaded by nickbigd, January 26, 2015.
Leonard Bernstein "Candide." (English Subtitles). Youtube, uploaded by karlmall. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Recommended Listening:
Leonard Bernstein's "Candide - BBC 1988. Youtube, uploaded by Freiderick Wolf. Accessed July 24, 2020.
Recommended Reading:
Candide by Voltaire: Plot Overview. Spark Notes.
Candide: or, the Optimist. Part I. Leonard Bernstein at 100. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Resources:
A Guide to Leonard Bernstein's Candide. Compiled by Michael Hutchins. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Candide. Music Theatre Intl. (MTI). 1999 Version. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Candide. Leonard Bernstein Website. Accessed January 26, 2015.
Candide (Operetta). en. wikipedia.org. Accessed January 26, 2015.
(c) January 2015. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Nicolaus Copernicus
Science / Scientist Datebook.
Nicolaus Copernicus, polish astronomer and mathematician, and known for the 'Copernican Model' of a sun-centered solar system, was a forerunner of scientific and religious revolution. His treatise "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies" (1543) brought a profound shift in religious and scientific thinking that changed man's view of the universe.
Early Life of Copernicus
Born in Poland and graduate of Cracow University, Copernicus (1473-1543) studied Greek philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy and theology before becoming a canon of the cathedral of Frauenberg, where he settled. Inventor of modern astronomy, Copernicus did more to revolutionize man's conception of himself and his place in the universe than perhaps any other thinker in his time.
Ptolemaic System (Earth-Centered)
Following Aristotle and Ptolemy, and before Copernicus, astronomers favoured the view that the earth was the centre of the universe, with the stars, sun, and the moon revolving about it. This is known as the Ptolemaic system, which is in keeping with many theological teachings in which the universe is seen to be created by God for the express purpose of man. The effect of Copernicus's work turned all this around.
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