1890–1965 English pianist Hess studied at the Royal Academy under Tobias Matthay, and made her debut under Beecham in 1907. The warmth and spirituality of her playing endeared her to audiences across Europe and the US. During World War II she organized recitals at the National Gallery to boost morale. She was best known for her warm, mellow interpretations ...
His powerful tone was combined with a technique of almost nonchalant precision and brilliance. From 1962 he taught in Los Angeles. Introduction | Modern Era | Classical Personalities | Myra Hess | Modern Era | Classical ...
Triumphantly premiered in Vienna’s Burgtheater on 26 December 1767, Alceste was the second of the three collaborations between Gluck and Calzabigi. Today it is probably more famous for the reforming manifesto of its preface than for its magnificent music. Like Orfeo, Alceste cultivates Gluck’s ideal of noble simplicity, with the whole opera based essentially on a single situation ...
‘Alceste, or the Triumph of Alcide’ Composed in 1674, Lully’s Alceste, ou le triomphe d’Alcide, a tragédie lyrique with a prologue and five acts, had a double link with ancient Greek culture. The libretto, by Philippe Quinault, was based on Alcestis, a tragedy by the ancient Greek dramatist Euripides that in turn derived ...
‘The Sicilian Vespers’ Verdi inherited the libretto for Les vêpres siciliennes (‘The Sicilian Vespers’) from Le duc d’Albe (‘The Duke of Alba’), an opera left unfinished when its composer, Donizetti, died. Verdi made it a five-act work and it had its first performance at the Paris Opéra, for which it was commissioned, on 13 June 1855. It ...
Composed: 1889 Premiered: 1889, London Libretto by W. S. Gilbert Act I Marco and Giuseppe, two gondoliers of proud republican descent, choose Gianetta and Tessa as their brides. The Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro arrive in Venice with their daughter Casilda and their servant Luiz. Casilda is told that she was married when a baby to the infant ...
The most commercially successful pop band of the 1970s, ABBA rose again in the 1990s when ABBA Gold (1992) revived their peerless singles’ legacy, which has carried on ever since. ABBA were formed in 1973 in Stockholm, Sweden, by Benny Andersson (born Goran Bror Benny Andersson, 16 December 1946), Bjorn Ulvaeus (born 25 April 1945) and ...
A pivotal figure in the transition from blues to rock’n’roll, Bo Diddley was born Elias Bates in McComb, Mississippi in 1928. When he was seven, the family relocated to Chicago, where he took violin lessons before switching to guitar, inspired by John Lee Hooker. He began by playing on street corners, then in the Hipsters. ...
(Guitar, vocals, 1928–2008) Born Ellas Bates in McComb, Mississippi, Bo Diddley developed his guitar skills and stage persona in Chicago. He had his first guitar by the age of 10. By 1951, at 23, he was a regular in clubs on Chicago’s South Side. By 1955 he was signed to Checker, a spinoff of ...
One of the young gunslingers who invigorated the blues in the 1960s, Buddy Guy (b. 1936) wowed audiences with high-octane guitar histrionics and energy that were matched by a tortured vocal manner. Guy is a master of dynamics, allowing a song to drift towards oblivion before suddenly bringing it back to a crescendo of intensity. Notable fans have included ...
‘When I first heard of the electric guitar, I thought somebody was bullshittin’ me,’ says George ‘Buddy’ Guy. ‘We lived so far in the country I didn’t even know what an acoustic guitar was until my mother started getting mail-order catalogs’. In 2005, Guy, who was born in Lettsworth, Louisiana on 30 July 1936, stands ...
Charles Edward Anderson Berry, known to all as Chuck, was born in St Louis, Missouri, on 18 October 1926, at the family’s home in Goode Avenue. The local gospel choir used it for their rehearsals and there was a well-employed piano in situ. Berry began learning the guitar in his mid-teens. At 17 he was involved ...
One of the founding fathers of rock’n’roll, Charles Edward (Chuck) Berry was born in 1926 in St Louis, Missouri, to a middle-class family. His interest in the blues began in high school, where he gave his first public performance. In 1944, he was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to three years in an Intermediate Reformatory ...
(Vocals, b. 1938) Jamesetta Hawkins was born in Los Angeles, California. She moved to the San Francisco area, where she was discovered by Johnny Otis. She made her recording debut at the age of 16 for Modern, and had a number-one R&B hit with her first record, ‘The Wallflower’ (a.k.a. ‘Roll With Me Henry’). ...
(Fran-swa An-dra’ Da-ne-kan Fe-le-dôr’) 1726–95 French composer Coming from a large family of musicians associated with the French court, Philidor was a pupil of André Campra (1660–1744). He achieved international fame as a chess player and played much in England as well as in France. His main musical contribution came in his opéras comiques; he wrote more than 20, of ...
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