b. 1942 Israeli conductor and pianist Barenboim studied in Salzburg and Rome, and under Nadia Boulanger in Paris. He made his UK debut as a pianist in 1956, but turned to conducting in the 1960s with the English Chamber Orchestra. He was music director of the Orchestre de Paris 1975–89 and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 1991–2006, in both ...
(Dan-yel’ Fran-swa Es-pre’ O-bâr’) 1782–1871 French composer Auber is renowned for his operas and was the leading composer of opéras comiques in nineteenth-century France. He studied with Cherubini in Paris, writing concertos and vocal music before turning his attention to operas. His most important work is La muette de Portici (1828), one of many collaborations with the librettist Eugène Scribe ...
(Bandleader, 1890–1969) W. Lee O’Daniel rose to fame as the leader and announcer of The Light Crust Doughboys. President of the band’s sponsor Burrus Mill, he disliked their music and had little respect for the musicians, but he was ambitious – and used the band as a tool for self-promotion. After being fired by Burrus, he formed ...
(Vocals, guitar, fiddle, b. 1936) Daniels was a North Carolina rock’n’roller who had a song cut by Elvis Presley and who played on Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. Daniels formed his own band in 1972, modelled on the southern rock of The Allman Brothers Band, and had a hit with the 1973 tall tale, ‘Uneasy Rider’ ...
(Vocals, b. 1961) Irish-born O’Donnell has gained a large UK audience through his easy listening-styled covers of sentimental pop standards, Irish favourites and country ballads, since signing with Irish label Ritz Records in 1986. In 1991, his albums held six of the top seven positions in the UK country chart, and his albums and singles have ...
1782–1871, French The French composer Daniel Auber made a favourable impression on his teacher, Luigi Cherubini (1760–1842) with his first opera, L’erreur du moment (‘The Mistake of the Moment’, 1805). However, he had to wait 15 years for popular appreciation until he established himself with two works: La bergère châtelaine (‘The Lady Shepherdess’, 1820) and Emma (1821). ...
(Singer-songwriter, b. 1976) Mainstream in every sense of the word, be-hatted Canadian Powter has really made a career from the success of one, admittedly enormous, single. ‘Bad Day’ (2005) was initially supposed to soundtrack a Coca Cola advert, but was subsequently a test for American Idol entrants – as big a fast-track to recognition as is ...
1933–2014 Italian conductor Abbado studied in Milan and Vienna. He first conducted at La Scala, Milan in 1960 and held a number of posts there 1969–86. He was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra 1979–96, music director of the Vienna State Opera 1986–91, and principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 1990–2002. A renowned interpreter of Verdi ...
(Do-ma’-ne-ko Che-ma-rô’-za) 1749–1801 Italian composer Trained in Naples, Cimarosa quickly launched himself on an operatic career with successes in Naples, Rome and Venice. In 1787 he was invited to St Petersburg. On the way home he paused at Vienna, where his Il matrimonio segreto (‘The Secret Marriage’) had a huge success in 1792 – uniquely, the entire opera ...
(Ve’-told Loo-to-slwaf’-ske) 1913–94 Polish composer A talented violinist and pianist, Lutosławski studied composition with Witold Maliszewski (1873–1939). Early works (such as the Little Suite, 1950) demonstrate his interest in folk sources, a preoccupation that became all but obligatory with the advent of socialist realism in Poland in the late 1940s. But while publicly he followed the party line ...
The late Baroque era (1700–50) was a time of major political change throughout Europe, involving a shift in the balance of power between sovereign states. Across the continent it was a period of almost continuous warfare, the effects of which were later felt in other parts of the world as a result of conflicting ambitions among the various trading ...
By the beginning of the eighteenth century, opera was established in some form in most major European centres. The basic types of serious and comic opera in both Italian and French traditions shared similarities, although the content and style of an operatic entertainment could vary according to whether it was intended to flatter a private patron, resound with ...
The Opéra-Comique company was established in 1714 to offer French opera as an alternative to the Italian opera that dominated the continent at the time. After several misadventures, which included a bankruptcy, the Opéra-Comique settled at the Salle Feydeau in 1805. Here, its essentially radical approach to opera soon became clear. At this time, composers such as ...
The Académie Royale de Musique (now known as the Paris Académie de Musique or the Paris Opéra), has had many homes. The Académie opened in 1671, and from 1672–87 was largely controlled by Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632–87). In 1763, the building was destroyed by fire, as was the next building in 1781. The Opéra moved to rue de Richelieu ...
Following the social and political upheaval of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Europe enjoyed a short period of relative stability with Napoleon’s exile, the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in France and the establishment of the Vienna Peace Settlement in 1815. However, in the early 1820s a number of minor revolts broke out in Naples and ...
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