July 16 Dateline

Birthdays

1858 - Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, conductor, and composer. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". He came from a background of "artisans", though a large part of his family played instruments. Ysaÿe was a friend of Claude Debussy and they corresponded by letter. Ysaÿe was a significant supporter of the younger composer's early career. Debussy dedicated his only string quartet to the violinist, who studied the score with great care. (Hilary Hahn performs Ysaye Sonata No. 5 "Danse Rustique" (Better Quality). YouTube, uploaded by The Violin Netwok. July 16, 2020.)

1872 - Roald Amundsen (born Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen), Norwegian explorer of polar regions and a key figure of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He led the first expedition to traverse the Northwest Passage by sea, from 1903 to 1906, and the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911. He led the first expedition proven to have reached the North Pole in a dirigible in 1926. He disappeared in 1928 while taking part in a rescue mission for the airship Italia. 

1901 - Fritz Mahler, Austrian-American conductor, whose father was a cousin of the composer Gustav Mahler. In Europe he became a leading conductor with the Berlin Radio Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Danish State Symphony. He fled Europe in 1936 for the United States. He taught at the Juilliard School in New York for many years (advanced conducting, director of the opera department). F. Mahler was music director of the Erie Philharmonic from 1947 to 1953 and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra from 1953 to 1962. (Fritz Mahler conducts Gustav Mahler Symphony No.5 - Rai Roma (1958). YouTube, uploaded by goodmanmusica. Orchestra Sinfonica della Rai di Roma (16.07.58). Accessed July 16, 2020. 

1911 - Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath), American actress, dancer and singer during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and is often considered an American icon. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Kitty Foyle (1940), but is best remembered for performing during the 1930s in RKO's musical films with Fred Astaire. Her career continued on stage, radio and television throughout much of the 20th century.  

 1948 - Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Zukerman is on the faculty at the Manhattan School of Music and is the founder of the Zukerman Performance Program at the school. In 1999 he founded the National Arts Centre Young Artists Programme, which counts young musicians. Zukerman plays the "Dushkin" Guarnerius del Gesù violin of 1742. His honours include the King Solomon Award, the National Medal of Arts (presented by President Reagan in 1983), the Isaac Stern Award for Artistic Excellence, and an honorary doctorate from Brown University. (Pinchas Zukerman: Mozart - Violin Concerto No. 4 in D, K218. YouTube, uploaded by allegrofilms. Accessed July 16, 2019. Zukerman is both conductor and soloist. Live recording from Munich Hercules Hall, Germany (1973).


Lefties:

Actress Ginger Rogers (1911)  

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 16 July - On This Day.

Historical Events

1212 - Spanish King Alphonso VIII leads soldiers from several Christian nations against a Moorish army and defeats them at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This starts the retreat of the Moors from Spain. 

1782 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera  Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) premieres.

July 15 Dateline

Birthdays

1606 - Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Dutch draughtsman, painter and printmaker. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in Dutch art history. He was influenced by Caravaggio, Titian, Hercules Seghers and Hendrick ter Brugghen. His paintings are full of drama, contrasts between light and dark and experimental brushwork, and are famous all over the world. 

 
1915 - Gavin Maxwell, FRSL, FIAL, FZS (Sc.), FRGS, Scottish naturalist and author. Best known for his non-fiction writing and his work with otters. He wrote the book Ring of Bright Water, about how he brought an otter back from Iraq and raised it in Scotland.

1919 - Dame Jean Iris Murdoch, Irish and British writer & philosopher  (Iris Murdoch on Philosophy and Literature. YouTube, Uploaded by flame0430. Accessed July 15, 2009.) A 2001 biographical drama film has been adapted on the life of Iris Murdoch entitled Iris, that tells the story of Irish-born British novelist Dame Iris Murdoch and her relationship with John Bayley. It stars Dame Judi Dench (Iris Murdoch), Kate Winslet (young Iris), and Jim Broadband and Hugh Bonneville (young John). Official film trailer, uploaded by Miramax. Accessed July 15, 2017.)

1930 - Jacques Derrida (born Jackie Élie Derrida), Algerian-born French philosopher. Best known for developing a form of semiotic analysis known as deconstruction, which he discussed in numerous texts, and developed in the context of phenomenology.

1933 - Julian Alexander Bream, CBE, English virtuoso classical guitarist. One of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perception of the classical guitar as a respectable instrument. 

 
1934 - Sir Harrison Paul Birtwistle, CH, British composer. Leading European figure in contemporary music. His works combine modernist aesthetic, and his orchestral works of recent decades include Panic composed for the Last Night of the BBC Proms, The Shadow of Night commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra and concertos for violinist Christian Tetzlaff and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. His stageworks include The Last Supper for Glyndebourne, The Minotaur for The Royal Opera, The Io Passion, The Corridor and The Cure.

1946 - Linda Maria Ronstadt, retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres. She has earned 10 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award. Many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. Ronstadt was among the five honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements, in Washington, D.C., at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Lefties:
None known

 

More birthdays and historical events today, 15 July - On This Day.

Featured Artist:  Julian Bream, Virtuoso Guitarist

Julian Bream performs works by Bach, Villa-Lobos, Albeniz and Britten at Old Wardour Castle. Julian Bream Concert 1978.(YouTube, uploaded by RareGuitarVC. Accessed 15th July 2018.)

Historical Events

This day is also known as "St. Swithin's Day." Swithun (old English name or Swithunus in Latin) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester, subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. When his bones were moved to a shrine in Winchester Cathedral on this day in 971 AD, it rained for the next 40 days.  

1799 - Captain Pierre-Francois Bouchard, a soldier in Napoleon's army, finds the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian village of Rosetta near Alexandria. the stone proves to be key to deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphics.