November 22 Dateline

Birthdays

1710 - Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German composer and organist, he second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acknowledged genius as an organist, improviser and composer, his income and employment were unstable and sadly, he died in poverty. His compositions include many church cantatas and instrumental works, of which the most notable are the fugues, polonaises and fantasias for clavier, and the duets for two flutes. He incorporated more elements of the contrapuntal style learned from his father than any of his three composer brothers, but his use of the style has an individualistic and improvisatory edge which endeared his work to musicians of the late 19th century.

1819 - George Eliot (real name: Mary Ann Evans), English novelist, poet, journalist, translator and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She was known by her pen name George Eliot. She wrote seven novels, including Adam Bede, The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda, most of which are set in provincial England and known for their realism and psychological insight. Her Middlemarch has been described by the novelists Martin Amis and Julian Bernes as the greatest novel in the English language. In using a pen name, she wanted to escape the stereotype of women's writing being limited to lighthearted romances. Another factor in her use of a pen name may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny, thus avoiding the scandal that would have arisen because of her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes. [Wiki] (George Eliot - Short Biography. Uploaded by podcasts for Curious Minds. Accessed November 22, 2019.)

1890 - Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle, French officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Republic in order to reestablish democracy in France. In 1958, he came out of retirement when appointed President of the Council of Ministers by President René Coty. He rewrote the Constitution of France and founded the Fifth Republic after approval by referendum. De Gaulle was elected President of France later that year, a position to which he was reelected in 1965 and held until his resignation in 1969. He was the dominant figure of France during the early part of the Cold War era. His memory continues to influence French politics.

1899 - Hoagy Carmichael (born Hoagland Howard Carmichael), American jazz pianist, composer, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is famous for songs "Stardust", "The Nearness of You", Heart and Soul" (in collaboration with lyricist Frank Loesser), and "Georgia on my Mind" (lyrics by Stuart Gorrell), four of the most-recorded American songs ofall time. He was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s and was among the first singer-songwriters to utilize new communication technologies, such as the TV and the use of electronic microphones and sound recordings. He collaborated with lyricist Johnny Mercer on "Lazybones" and "Skylark." Carmichael's "Ole Buttermilk Sky" was an Academy Award nominee in 1946, from Canyon Passage. "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening," with lyrics by Mercer, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1951. Carmichael also appeared as a character actor and musical performer in several films, hosted three musical-variety radio programs, performed on TV, and wrote two autobiographies.

1901 - Joaquin Rodrigo, Spanish composer and virtuoso Pianist. His music is among the most popular of the 20th century. His music is particularly written for that most of Spanish instruments, the guitar. While evoking something of the colourful Spanish landscape and character in the melodies, it also dances lightly to the rhythms of flamenco and other traditional types of Spanish song and dance. His most famous work, Concierto de Aranjuez, is considered one of the pinnacles of Spanish music and of the guitar concerto repertoire. It captures all the passion and romance of Spain, with its orchestration and evocative writing for the solo instrument.

1913 - Benjamin Britten, English composer, conductor, and pianist. (Britten's interview, 1968.) He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include: Peter Grimes, War Requiem, the orchestral showpiece The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Billy Budd. Together with Peter Pears and the librettist and producer Eric Crozier, Britten founded the annual Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, and he was responsible for the creation of Snape Maltings concert hall. In his last year, he was the first composer to be given a life peerage.

1943 - Billie Jean King, American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in women's doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. She won the singles title at the inaugural WTA Tour Championships. For three years, she was the United States' captain in the Federation Cup. King is an advocate for gender equality and a pioneer for equality and social justice. In 1973, at age 29, she won the "Batte of the Sexes" tennis match against the 55-year-old Bobby Riggs. She was the founder of the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation. Regarded by many in the sport as one of the greatest women's tennis players of all time, King was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

1961 - Stephen Hough (born Stephen Andrew Gill Hough), CBE, British-born Australian Classical pianist, composer, writer, poet and painter. Hough is a polymath. He is an Honorary Member of various distinguished institutions, including the Royal Academy of Music in London. He became the first classical music performer to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2001. In 2009 he was named by The Economist and Intelligent Life magazines as one of twenty living polymaths. In 2010 he was named Instrumentalist of the Year at the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards. As a painter, Hough had a solo exhibition of his paintings at the Broadbent Gallery in London in October 2012. (Stephen Hough Plays Brahms First Piano Concert Pt. 1, where he plays an extended excerpt from the first movement, with the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Ivan Fischer. Uploaded by MartinaSemenova. Accessed November 22, 2008.

1967 - Boris Franz Becker, Former world No. 1 German professional tennis player. He won the first of his six major singles titles at age 17. His Grand Slam singles titles included three Wimbledons, two Australian Opens and one US Open. He also won three year-end championships, 13 Masters Series titles and an Olympic gold medal in doubles. In 1989, he was voted the Player of the Year by both the ATP and the ITF. Since his playing career ended, he has engaged in numerous ventures, including coaching Novak Djokovic for three years, and working in the field of poker.

1984 - Scarlett Johansson, American actress and singer. The world's highest-paid actress since 2018, she has made multiple appearances in the Forbes Celebrity 100. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Tony Award and a BAFTA Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. She shifted to adult roles in 2003 with her performances in Lost in Translation, which won her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and Girl with a Pearl Earring. She was nominated for Golden Globe Awards for these films, and for playing an estranged teenager in the drama A Love Song for Bobby Long, and a seductress in the psychological thriller Match Point. She debuted on Broadway in a revival of A View from the Bridge, which won her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress. She received critical acclaim and two Academy Award nominations for playing an actress going through a divorce in the drama Marriage Story and a single mother in Nazi Germany in the satire Jojo Rabbit. Her films have grossed over $14.3 billion worldwide, making Johansson the ninth-highest-grossing box office star of all time.

 
Leftie:
Actress Scarlett Johansson

More birthdays and historical events, November 22 - On This Day
 

 

In memory of birthday celebrants, composers Joaquin Rodrigo and Benjamin Britten. Below, enjoy videos of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez, performed by Petrit Ceku (guitar) - Parkening Competition 2012 Finals and Britten's Violin Concerto.  A later interpretation of Britten's Violin Concerto was performed by the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra, with Giulio Plotino (violin), conducted by Simone Young. - Here.    

Historical Events

St. Cecilia's Feast Day - celebrated this day, November 22, to honour the patroness of Musicians.

Saint Cecilia (Latin: Sancta Caecilia). It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord".  Her feast day is celebrated in the Latin Catholic, Eastern Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and in some churches of the Anglican Communion on November 22. She is one of seven women, in addition to the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass in the Roman Catholic Church. While the details of her story may be apocryphal, her existence and martyrdom are considered a historical fact. She is said to have been beheaded with a sword. An early church, Santa Cecilia, was founded in the 3rd century by Pope Urban I in the Trastevere section of Rome, reputedly on the site of the house in which she lived. A number of musical compositions are dedicated to her, and her feast day has become the occasion for concerts and musical festivals. [Wiki]

1739 - G. F. Handel's Ode for St. Cecilia's Day is first performed, in London. (G.F. HÄNDEL: Ode for St. Cecilia's Day HWV 76, I Barocchisti, conducted by Diego Fasolis. Uploaded by Ispirazione Barocca. Accessed November 22, 2018. Here's also Henry Purcell's Ode to St. Cecilia (Z 328): I-II. Uploaded by SimplyBaroque. Accessed November 22, 2018.) 

1906 - The International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin adopted "SOS" ("Save Our Souls") as the international distress call.

1956 - The 16th Olympic Games open in Melbourne, Australia, the first time they are held in the Southern Hemisphere.

1963 - U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie when he was fatally shot by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald firing in ambush from a nearby building. Governor Connally was seriously wounded in the attack. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where President Kennedy was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting; Connally recovered. On January 14, 1964, Mozart's Requiem was performed during a memorial mass in which marked the first time in U.S. history that this work had been celebrated as a liturgy. (Mozart's Requiem: Consolation in Camelot. Article written by Sherry Davis, accessed Nov 22, 2018.)

1995 - Pixar Films releases Toy Story, the first computer-animated feature-length film. Pixar started in 1979 as the Graphics Group, which is part of the Computer Division of Lucas film before it was acquired by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. In 2006, Pixar was bought by The Walt Disney Company at a valuation of $7.4 billion, making Steve Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney.

2005 - Angela Merkel comes into power as the chancellor of Germany. She is the first woman to do so.


Video Credit:
Janine Jansen - Britten, Violin Concerto, Op.15. Uploaded by Classical Vault 1.  Accessed November 22, 2016.

Concierto De Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo, performed by Petrit Ceku. Uploaded by Petrit Ceku. Accessed November 22, 2016.


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


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