100 Favourite Musicians, Singers and Composers
I'm an old fogey. Not on imdb: Gwyneth Glyn, Ghazalaw, Raushan Orazbayeva
Favourite albums:
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy- Elton John
2nd Symphony- Jean Sibelius
Le Pas du Chat Noir- Anouar Brahem
Just Another Diamond Day- Vashti Bunyan
The Art of Amalia- Amalia Rodrigues
Violin Concerto- Jean Sibelius (David Oistrakh)
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady- Charles Mingus
Nocturnes- Frédéric Chopin (Maria João Pires)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John
Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen
7th Symphony- Ludwig van Beethoven
Journal for Plague Lovers- Manic Street Preachers
Worrisome Heart- Melody Gardot
Mingus Ah Um- Charles Mingus
6th Symphony- Ludwig van Beethoven
Ana Kteer- Sherine Abdel Wahab
Somethin' Else- Cannonball Adderley
Aman Iman- Tinariwen
Clarinet Concerto- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Taiji no Yume- Sai Yoshiko
Finally We are No One- Mum
The Vogue Years- Françoise Hardy
My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra- Frank Sinatra
Songs of Leonard Cohen- Leonard Cohen
Getz/Gilberto- Stan Getz & João Gilberto
Kind of Blue- Miles Davis
OK Computer- Radiohead
Classics of the Americas- Agustin Barrios
Ballads- John Coltrane quartet
Oboe Concerto- Ralph Vaughan Williams
3rd Piano Concerto- Sergei Rachmaninov
A Day in Paris- Miles Davis
Vltava- Bedrich Smetana
The Real Folk Blues- John Lee Hooker
Concierto de Aranjuez- Joaquin Rodrigo
23rd Piano Concerto- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Pithecanthropus Erectus- Charles Mingus
The Epic- Kamasi Washington
Stone Flower- Antonio Carlos Jobim
Hot Rocks, 1964-71- The Rolling Stones
1967-70: The Blue Album- The Beatles
The Astounding Eyes of Rita- Anouar Brahem
Tabula Rasa- Arvo Part
Ghazalaw- Ghazalaw
The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle- Bruce Springsteen
Tumbleweed Connection- Elton John
LP1-FKA Twigs
The Queen is Dead- The Smiths
Rattus Norvegicus- The Stranglers
Know What i Mean?- Cannonball Adderley
Songs for Swinging Lovers- Frank Sinatra
The Protecting Veil- John Tavener
L.S.T- Tokumaru Shugo
Rain Dogs- Tom Waits
15th Symphony- Dmitri Shostakovich
Savane- Ali Farka Touré
Elephant- The White Stripes
Crack up- Fleet Foxes
Have You in my Wilderness- Julia Holter
Concerto for Orchestra- Bartok Bela
Dusty in Memphis- Dusty Springfield
Infected- The The
Abbey Road- the Beatles
Back to Black- Amy Winehouse
La Boheme- Giacomo Puccini
From Kinshasa- Mbongwana Star
Rhapsody in Blue- George Gershwin
The Holy Bible- Manic Street Preachers
Aventine- Agnes Obel
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini- Rachmaninov
22 Strings - Seckou Keita
Carmen- Georges Bizet
Maiden Voyage- Herbie Hancock
The New World Symphony- Antonin Dvorak
Tchaikovsky & Verdi arias- Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Music from Big Pink- The Band
Waltz for Debby- Bill Evans
The Lark Ascending- Ralph Vaughan Williams
Com que Voz- Amalia Rodrigues
Requiem- Mozart
The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery- Wes Montgomery
Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
Asakawa Maki- Asakawa Maki
La Traviata- Giuseppe Verdi
Elwan- Tinariwen
Akku- Raushan Orazbayeva
What's Going On?- Marvin Gaye
Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)- Car Seat Headrest
Concerto for 2 Violins- Johann Sebastian Bach
Eve- Angélique Kidjo
Ambient 1: Music for Airports- Brian Eno
Luciano Pavaroti- The Essential Pavarotti
Spring Sonata- Ludwig Van Beethoven
Eastern Sounds- Yusef Lateef
Requiem- Gabriel Fauré
Takk- Sigur Ros
Unfinished Symphony- Franz Schubert
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You- Aretha Franklin
5th Symphony- Gustav Mahler
Harvest- Neil Young
Emperor Concerto- Ludwig Van Beethoven
Karelia Suite- Sibelius
Lontano- Tomasz Stanko
Violin Concerto- Mendelssohn
Bendith- Bendith
Favourite albums:
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy- Elton John
2nd Symphony- Jean Sibelius
Le Pas du Chat Noir- Anouar Brahem
Just Another Diamond Day- Vashti Bunyan
The Art of Amalia- Amalia Rodrigues
Violin Concerto- Jean Sibelius (David Oistrakh)
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady- Charles Mingus
Nocturnes- Frédéric Chopin (Maria João Pires)
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road- Elton John
Born to Run- Bruce Springsteen
7th Symphony- Ludwig van Beethoven
Journal for Plague Lovers- Manic Street Preachers
Worrisome Heart- Melody Gardot
Mingus Ah Um- Charles Mingus
6th Symphony- Ludwig van Beethoven
Ana Kteer- Sherine Abdel Wahab
Somethin' Else- Cannonball Adderley
Aman Iman- Tinariwen
Clarinet Concerto- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Taiji no Yume- Sai Yoshiko
Finally We are No One- Mum
The Vogue Years- Françoise Hardy
My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra- Frank Sinatra
Songs of Leonard Cohen- Leonard Cohen
Getz/Gilberto- Stan Getz & João Gilberto
Kind of Blue- Miles Davis
OK Computer- Radiohead
Classics of the Americas- Agustin Barrios
Ballads- John Coltrane quartet
Oboe Concerto- Ralph Vaughan Williams
3rd Piano Concerto- Sergei Rachmaninov
A Day in Paris- Miles Davis
Vltava- Bedrich Smetana
The Real Folk Blues- John Lee Hooker
Concierto de Aranjuez- Joaquin Rodrigo
23rd Piano Concerto- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Pithecanthropus Erectus- Charles Mingus
The Epic- Kamasi Washington
Stone Flower- Antonio Carlos Jobim
Hot Rocks, 1964-71- The Rolling Stones
1967-70: The Blue Album- The Beatles
The Astounding Eyes of Rita- Anouar Brahem
Tabula Rasa- Arvo Part
Ghazalaw- Ghazalaw
The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle- Bruce Springsteen
Tumbleweed Connection- Elton John
LP1-FKA Twigs
The Queen is Dead- The Smiths
Rattus Norvegicus- The Stranglers
Know What i Mean?- Cannonball Adderley
Songs for Swinging Lovers- Frank Sinatra
The Protecting Veil- John Tavener
L.S.T- Tokumaru Shugo
Rain Dogs- Tom Waits
15th Symphony- Dmitri Shostakovich
Savane- Ali Farka Touré
Elephant- The White Stripes
Crack up- Fleet Foxes
Have You in my Wilderness- Julia Holter
Concerto for Orchestra- Bartok Bela
Dusty in Memphis- Dusty Springfield
Infected- The The
Abbey Road- the Beatles
Back to Black- Amy Winehouse
La Boheme- Giacomo Puccini
From Kinshasa- Mbongwana Star
Rhapsody in Blue- George Gershwin
The Holy Bible- Manic Street Preachers
Aventine- Agnes Obel
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini- Rachmaninov
22 Strings - Seckou Keita
Carmen- Georges Bizet
Maiden Voyage- Herbie Hancock
The New World Symphony- Antonin Dvorak
Tchaikovsky & Verdi arias- Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Music from Big Pink- The Band
Waltz for Debby- Bill Evans
The Lark Ascending- Ralph Vaughan Williams
Com que Voz- Amalia Rodrigues
Requiem- Mozart
The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery- Wes Montgomery
Fleet Foxes- Fleet Foxes
Asakawa Maki- Asakawa Maki
La Traviata- Giuseppe Verdi
Elwan- Tinariwen
Akku- Raushan Orazbayeva
What's Going On?- Marvin Gaye
Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)- Car Seat Headrest
Concerto for 2 Violins- Johann Sebastian Bach
Eve- Angélique Kidjo
Ambient 1: Music for Airports- Brian Eno
Luciano Pavaroti- The Essential Pavarotti
Spring Sonata- Ludwig Van Beethoven
Eastern Sounds- Yusef Lateef
Requiem- Gabriel Fauré
Takk- Sigur Ros
Unfinished Symphony- Franz Schubert
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You- Aretha Franklin
5th Symphony- Gustav Mahler
Harvest- Neil Young
Emperor Concerto- Ludwig Van Beethoven
Karelia Suite- Sibelius
Lontano- Tomasz Stanko
Violin Concerto- Mendelssohn
Bendith- Bendith
List activity
294 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
100 people
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Cannonball Adderley was born on 15 September 1928 in Tampa, Florida, USA. He was a music artist and actor, known for The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Mindhunters (2004) and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004). He was married to Olga James. He died on 8 August 1975 in Gary, Indiana, USA.- Music Department
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Martha Argerich was born on 5 June 1941 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is an actress and composer, known for Wasabi (2001), The Tree of Life (2011) and Another Woman (1988). She has been married to Stephen Kovacevitch since 1974. They have one child. She was previously married to Charles Dutoit and Robert Chen.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685, in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany, into a large and distinguished family of professional musicians. His father, named Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a violinist and trumpeter, employed by the city of Eisenach. His uncles were church organists, court musicians and composers. His mother and father died before Bach was 10. As an orphan, he moved in with his eldest brother, J. C. Bach, an organist and composer, under whose tutelage Bach studied organ music as well as the construction and maintenance of the organ.
Education: At the age of 14, Bach received a scholarship and walked on foot 300 kilometers to the famous St. Michael's school in Luneburg, near Hamburg. There he lived and studied for 2 years from 1699-1701. It was there that he sang a Capella at the boys chorale. Bach's studies included organ, harpsichord, and singing. In addition he took the academic studies in theology, history and geography, and lessons of Latin, Italian, and French. Besides his studies of music by the local Nothern German composers, Bach had important exposure to the music of composers from other European nations; such as the French composers Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marais, and Marchand, the South German composers Johann Pachelbel and Froberger, and the Italians Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi.
Personality and character: Bach was 17 when he made a 4-month pilgrimage, walking on foot about 400 kilometers from Arnstadt to the Northern city of Lubeck. There he studied with 'Dietrich Buxtehude' and became so involved that he overstayed his leave by three months. Buxtehude being probably the best organist of his time became the living link between the founder of Baroque music Heinrich Schütz and the biggest Baroque genius, Bach. Back in Arnstadt, Bach wrote 'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor' (1702), his first masterpiece; which stemmed from his bold organ improvisations. At that time he was in love with his second cousin Maria Barbara; whom he was taking upstairs to the church organ, where her presence was inspirational for his creativity. Bach was punished for the violation of the restrictions on women's presence in the church and he was fired. However, he eventually married Maria Barbara.
Cross-cultural studies: Bach studied the orchestral music of Antonio Vivaldi and gained insight into his compositional language by arranging Vivaldi's concertos for organ. Six French suites were written for keyboard; each suite opens with 'Allemande' and consists of several pieces, including 'Courante', 'Sarabande', 'Menuet', 'Gavotte', 'Air', 'Anglaise', 'Polonaise', 'Bourree', and 'Gigue'. As suggested by their titles, the pieces were representing songs and dances from various cultures. From the music of the Italians Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, and 'Giuseppe Torelli'; Bach adopted dramatic introductions and endings as well as vivacious rhythmical dynamism and elaborate harmonization. Bach also performed the music of English, French, and Italian composers; motets of the Venetian school, and incorporated their rhythmical patterns and textural structures in the development of his own style.
Teaching: Bach selected and instructed musicians for orchestras and choirs in Weimar and Leipzig. His work as a Cantor included teaching instrumental and vocal lessons to the church musicians and later to the musicians of the court orchestra. Bach was also a teacher of his own children and of his second wife. In 1730, Bach presented his second wife with a musical notebook for studies, known as the 'Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach'. Compositions in the notebook were written in a form of minuete, polonaise, gavotte, march, rondeau, chorale, sonata, prelude, song, and aria; written mainly by Bach, as well as by his sons 'Carl Philip Emanuel Bach', Johann Christoph Bach, and composers 'Francois Couperin', Georg Bohm, and others.
Family: Bach married his second cousin, named Maria Barbara, who was the inspirational force for his early compositions. They had seven children, 4 of whom survived to adulthood. W. F. Bach, J. C. Bach, and C. P. E. Bach became composers. Maria Barbara died in 1720. On December 3, 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena (bee Wilcke), a talented soprano, who was 17 years his junior. They had thirteen children. Bach fathered a total of 20 children with his two wives. His sons 'Friedemann Bach', Johann Christoph Bach, and 'Carl Philip Emanuel Bach' became important composers in the Rococo style. The descendants of Bach are living in many countries across the world.
Social activity: Bach replaced his friend Georg Philipp Telemann as the director of the popular orchestra known as Collegium Musicum, which he led from 1729-1750. It was a private secular music society that gave concert performances twice a week at the Zimmerman's Coffeehouse near the Leipzig market square. Bach's exposure to such a secular public environment inspired him to compose numerous purely entertainment pieces for solo keyboard and several violin and harpsichord concertos.
Politics: Being the undisputed musical genius, Bach still suffered from ugly political machinations. Although the Leipzig Council had enough money, they never honored the promised salary of 1000 talers a year; promised to Bach by the Mayor of Leipzig, Gottlieb Lange, at the hiring interview. Bach worked diligently, in spite of being underpaid for 27 years until his death. On top of that local political factions in the Leipzig Council manipulated Bach's educational work as well as his compositions and public performances. They were pressuring him as the Cantor and Composer and interfering his creative efforts by imposing restrictions on his performances because of their ugly political games. Bach prevailed as he composed and played his "Mass in B Minor" to the monarch of Saxony and was appointed the Royal Court Composer of Saxony.
King Frederick the Great invited Bach to Potsdam in 1747. There the king played his own theme for Bach and challenged the composer to improvise on it. Bach used the 'royal theme' and improvised a three-part fugue on the king's piano. Later Bach upgraded the king's theme to a more sophisticated melody, and composed an array of pieces based on the improved 'royal theme', which he titled "Musical Offering" and later presented this composition to the king.
Legacy: Bach wrote over eleven hundred music compositions in all genres. In Leipzig alone he wrote a cantata for every Sunday and feast day of the year, of which 224 cantatas survive. Some of his compositions were written on the same theme at different times in his life, like choral cantatas and organ works on similar themes with significantly reworked arrangements. The complete list of Bach's works, BWV, has 1127 compositions for voice, organ, harpsichord, violin, cello, flute, chamber music for small ensembles, orchestral music, concertos for violin and orchestra, and for keyboard and orchestra. His music became the essential part of the education for every musician. Bach influenced such great composers as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev and many other prominent musicians.
Bach is by far the most performed and recorded composer in history. His 'Das Wohltemperierte Clavier' (The well-tempered keyboard, or The well-tuned piano, in modern terminology) is the definitive work for all students as well as concert musicians. Bach's 'Orgebuchlein' (The little organ book) is a staple in the repertoire of organists and pianists, and some pieces from it were arranged for ensembles. Bach's many chorales, especially the "Mass in B Minor" are considered the best works in the genre. His last work 'The Art of Fugue' is best known for it's acclaimed performance by Glenn Gould. Bach's music was used in hundreds of films, thousands of stage productions, and continues being played all over the world.
The definitive biography of J. S. Bach was written by the Nobel Prize Laureate Albert Schweitzer.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of four Canadians and one American: Rick Danko (bass guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (keyboards, drums, lap steel guitar, vocals), Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals), and Levon Helm (drums, vocals, mandolin, guitar). The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing subsequent musicians such as the Eagles, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.
Between 1958 and 1963, the group was known as the Hawks, a backing band for rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins. In the mid-1960s, they gained recognition for backing Bob Dylan, and the 1966 concert tour was notable as Dylan's first with an electric band. After leaving Dylan and changing their name to "The Band", they released several records to critical and popular acclaim, including their debut album Music from Big Pink, in 1968. According to AllMusic, the album's influence on several generations of musicians has been substantial: musician Roger Waters called Music from Big Pink the second-most influential record in the history of rock and roll, and music journalist Al Aronowitz called it "country soul ... a sound never heard before". Their most popular songs included "The Weight","The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up on Cripple Creek".
Music critic Bruce Eder described the Band as "one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics ... as seriously as the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones." The Band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked them 50th on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time, while ranking "The Weight" 41st on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 2008, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2014, they were inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Agustín Barrios was born on 5 May 1885 in San Bautista de las Misiones, Paraguay. He was a composer, known for In Paraguay (2008), Requiem (2002) and Peter von Bagh (2016). He died on 7 August 1944 in San Salvador, El Salvador.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
The Beatles were an English rock band that became arguably the most successful act of the 20th century. They contributed to music, film, literature, art, and fashion, made a continuous impact on popular culture and the lifestyle of several generations. Their songs and images carrying powerful ideas of love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity and liberation that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking walls in the minds of millions, thus making impact on human history.
In July of 1957, in Liverpool, Paul McCartney met John Lennon. Both were teenagers. Paul impressed John with his mastery of acoustic guitar, and was invited to join Lennon's group, The Quarrymen. George Harrison joined them in February of 1958. In 1959 they played regular gigs at a club called The Casbah. They were joined by vocalist Stuart Sutcliffe, and by drummer Peter Best, whose mother owned The Casbah club. Early incarnations of the band included The Quarrymen, Johnny & the Moon Dogs, and The Silver Beetles. John Lennon dreamed up the band's final name, The Beatles, a mix of beat with beetle. In 1960 The Beatles toured in Hamburg, Germany. There they were joined by Ringo Starr, who previously played with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In Hamburg, The Beatles made their first studio work as a backing band for singer Tony Sheridan's recordings for the German Polydor label, however, in the credits the band's name was changed to The Beat Brothers. From February 1961 to August 1963, The Beatles played a regular gig at the Cavern. They were paid five pounds for their first show, rising to three hundred pounds per show in 1963. In two and a half years The Beatles gave 262 shows at the Cavern in Liverpool.
Brian Epstein was invited to be the manager of the Beatles in November 1961. His diplomatic way of dealing with the Beatles and with their previous manager resulted in a December 10, 1961, meeting, where it was decided that Epstein would manage the band. A 5-year management contract was signed by four members at then-drummer Pete Best's home on January 24, 1962. Epstein did not put his signature on it, giving the musicians the freedom of choice. At that time McCartney and Harrison were under 21, so the paper wasn't technically legal. None of them realized this and it did not matter to them. What mattered was their genuine trust in Epstein. He changed their early image for the good. Brian Epstein made them wear suits and ties, classic shoes, and newer haircuts. They were advised to update their manners on stage and quit eating and drinking in public. Brian Epstein worked hard on both the Beatles' image and public relations. He improved their image enough to make them accepted by the conservative media. Most if not all of their communication off-stage was managed by Brian Epstein.
On January 1, 1962, The Beatles came to London and recorded fifteen songs at the Decca Records. They were not hired, but the material helped them later. During the year 1962, they made several trips to London and auditioned for various labels. In May of 1962 Epstein canceled the group's contract with Tony Sheridan and the German label. Brian Epstein was persistent in trying to sign a record deal for the Beatles, even after being rejected by every major record label in UK, like Columbia, Philips, Oriole, Decca, and Pye. Epstein transferred a demo tape to disc with HMV technician Jim Foy, who liked their song and referred it to Parlophone's George Martin. On June 6, 1962, at the Abbey Road studios, they passed Martin's audition with the exception of Pete Best. George Martin liked them, but recommended the change of a drummer. Being asked by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison; Epstein fired Pete Best. After a mutual decision the band was completed with Ringo Starr, who duly became the fourth Beatle. In September of 1962 The Beatles recorded their first hit Love Me Do, which charted in UK, and reached the top of the US singles chart.
London became their new home since 1963. On February 11, 1963, The Beatles recorded the entire album 'Please, Please me' in one day, working non-stop during ten-hour studio session. In May and June, 1963, the band made a tour with Roy Orbison. In August of 1963, their single She Loves You became a super hit. Their October 1963 performance at the London Palladium made them famous in Great Britain and initiated the Beatlemania in the UK. The show at the London Palladium was broadcast live and seen by twelve million viewers. Then, in November 1962, The Beatles gave a charity concert at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London. There, performing for the rich and famous, John Lennon made his famous announcement: Would the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry.
In early performances the Beatles included popular songs from the 40s and 50s. They played rock-n-roll and R&B-based pop songs while they gradually worked on developing a style of their own. Their mixture of rock-n-roll, skiffle, blues, country, soul, and a simplified version of 1930s jazz resulted in several multi-genre and cross-style sounding songs. They admitted their interest in the music of Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Little Richard and other entertainers of the 40s, 50s and early 60s. Beatles' distinctive vocals were sometimes reminiscent of the Everly Brothers' tight harmonies. By 1965 their style absorbed ethnic music influences from India and other Oriental cultures, and later expanded into psychedelic experiments and classical-sounding compositions. Their creative search covered a range of styles from jazz and rock to a cosmopolitan cross-cultural and cross-genre compositions.
Initially the Beatles were a guitars and drums band. In the course of their career every member became a multi-instrumentalist. George Harrison played the lead guitar and also introduced such exotic instruments as ukulele, Indian sitars, flutes, tabla, darbouka, and tampur drums. John Lennon played a variety of guitars, keyboards, harmonicas and horns. Paul McCartney played bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitars, piano and keyboards, as well as over 40 other musical instruments. The Beatles were the first popular band that used a classical touch of strings and keyboard instruments; their producer George Martin scored Baroque orchestrations in several songs, such as Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, In My Life, and a full orchestra in Sgt. Pepper. John Lennon and Paul McCartney played piano in many of their songs. Their jamming on a piano together led to creation of their best-selling hit I Want to Hold Your Hand in 1963.
At first the Beatles were rejected by Dick Clark after testing a recording of their song on his show. Then Brian Epstein approached Ed Sullivan, who discussed them with Walter Cronkite after seeing them on his CBS Evening News in 1963. Brian Epstein also managed to get their music played by influential radio stations in Washington and New York. The US consumer reaction was peaking, a single 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' was released in December 1963 by the Capitol Records. Their sensational tour in the USA began with three TV shows at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, in February of 1964. After that The Beatles endured several years of extremely intensive recording, filming, and touring. They stopped public performances after 1966, but continued their recording contracts. By 1985 The Beatles had sold over one billion records. Music became their ticket to ride around the world. Beatlemania never really ended since its initiation. It still lives as a movable feast in many hearts and minds, as a sweet memory of youth, when all you need is love and a little help from a friend to be happy.
The Beatles' first two feature films, A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help (1965), were made in collaboration with an American director, Richard Lester. Their humorous, ironic, and farcical film performances are reminiscent of the Marx Brothers' comedies. Later The Beatles moved into the area of psychedelic innovations with the animated film Yellow Submarine (1966). Their surrealistic TV movie The Magical Mystery Tour (1967) became the cause for the first major criticism of their work in the British press. Their film music was also released as studio albums. Original music by The Beatles as well as re-makes of their songs has been also used, often uncredited, in music scores of feature films and documentaries. Some of The Beatles concert and studio performances were filmed on several occasions and were later edited and released after the band's dissolution. In 1999 the remastered and remixed film The Beatles Yellow Submarine Adventure (2000) delighted a younger audience with incredible animation and songs.
All four members were charismatic and individually talented artists, they sparked each other from the beginning. Eventually they made a much better group effort under the thorough management by Brian Epstein. His coaching helped consolidate their talents and mutual stimulation into beautiful teamwork. Paul McCartney had the privilege of a better musical education, having studied classical piano and guitar in his childhood. He progressed as a lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, as well as a singer-songwriter. McCartney wrote more songs for the Beatles than other members of the band. His songs Yesterday, Eleanor Rigby, Blackbird, When I'm 64, Let It Be are among the Beatles' best hits. Yesterday is considered the most-covered song in history with over three thousand versions of it recorded by various artists. McCartney accepted the agreement that was offered by John Lennon in 1957, about the 50/50 authorship of every song written by either one of them. Most of The Beatles' songs are formally credited to both names, regardless of the fact that many of the songs were written individually.
On June 25, 1967, The Beatles made history becoming the first band globally transmitted on TV to an estimated 400 million people worldwide. The Beatles were a segment in the first-ever worldwide satellite hook-up and their new song "All You Need Is Love" was broadcast live during the show. Two months later The Beatles lost their creative manager Brian Epstein, whose talent for problem-solving was unmatched. "That was it, the beginning of the end", said Lennon. Evolution of each member's creativity and musicianship also led to individual career ambitions.
John Lennon was experimenting with psychedelic poetry and art. His creativity was very unique and innovative. Lennon wrote Come Together, Girl, Revolution, Strawberry Fields and many other Beatles' hits. An out-of-context reprinting of Lennon's remarks on the Beatlemania phenomenon caused problems in the media. His comparison of Beatles' popularity to that of Jesus Christ was used to attack them publicly, causing cancellations of their performances and even burning of their records. Lennon had to apologize several times in press and on TV, including at a Chicago press conference. In 1967 John Lennon met Japanese artist Yoko Ono, whom he later married. George Harrison was the lead guitar player and also took sitar lessons from Ravi Shankar. Harrison had his own inner light of creativity and spirituality, he wrote Something, Taxman, I me mine, and other hits. Ringo Starr sang 'Yellow Submarine' and a few other songs. He has made a film career and also toured with his All Stars Band and released several solo albums. His 1973 release "Ringo" was the last album to feature all four living Beatles, although not on the same song.
The Beatles created over 240 songs, they recorded many singles and albums, made films and TV shows. Thousands of memorable pictures popularized their image. In their evolution from beginners to the leaders of entertainment, they learned from many world cultures, absorbed from various styles, and created their own. Their cross-style compositions covered a range of influences from English folk ballads to Indian raga; absorbing from Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Little Richard, and others. The songwriting and performing talents of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, fused in the Beatles' music. Lennon and McCartney initiated changes in music publishing industry by breaking the Tin Pan Alley monopoly of songwriting. Their legacy became possible due to highly professional work by Brian Epstein and George Martin. In 1994 three surviving members reunited and produced Lennon's previously unknown song 'Free as a Bird'. It was preserved by Yoko Ono on a tape recording made by Lennon in 1977. The song was re-arranged and re-mixed with the voices of three surviving members. The Beatles Anthology TV documentary was watched by 420 million people in 1995.
The Beatles represent the collective consciousness of several generations. Millions of viewers and listeners across the universe became conditioned to the sounds and images of The Beatles. Their influence on the modern world never stopped. Numbers may only show the tip of the iceberg (record sales, shows admissions, top hits, etc.). As image-makers and role models they pushed boundaries in lifestyle and business, affecting customers behavior and consumption beyond the entertainment industry by turning all life into entertainment. A brilliant blend of music and lyrics in their songs made influence on many minds by carrying messages like: give peace a chance and people working it out. A message more powerful than political control, it broke through second and third world censorship and regulations and set many millions free.
Steve Jobs, being a big fan of Paul McCartney and The Beatles, referred to them on many occasions and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. When asked about his business model, Steve Jobs replied: My model for business is The Beatles: They were four guys that kept each other's negative tendencies in check; they balanced each other. And the total was greater than the sum of the parts. Great things in business are never done by one person, they are done by a team of people.
The Beatles made impact on human history, because their influence has been liberating for generations of nowhere men living in misery beyond the Iron Curtain. Something in their songs and images appealed to everybody who wanted to become free as a bird. Their songs carrying powerful ideas of real love, peace, help, and imagination evoked creativity that outperformed the rusty Soviet propaganda and contributed to breaking chains and walls in the minds of millions. The Beatles expressed themselves in beautiful and liberating words of love, happiness, freedom, and revolution, and carried those messages to people across the universe. Their songs and images helped many freedom-loving people to come together for revolutions in Prague and Warsaw, Beijing and Bucharest, Berlin and Moscow. The Beatles has been an inspiration for those who take the long and winding road to freedom.
Even after The Beatles had gone, the individual members continued to spread their message; from the concert for Bangladesh by George Harrison and Ringo Starr in 1971, to 2003 "Back in USSR" concert by Paul McCartney on the Red Square in Moscow, and his 2004 show near the Tsar's Winter Palace in St. Petersburg where the Communist Revolution took place, just imagine.
In 2005 the Entertainment magazine poll named The Beatles the most iconic entertainers of the 20th Century. In July of 2006, the guitar on which Paul McCartney played his first chords and impressed John Lennon, was sold at an auction for over $600,000.
In July 2012, Paul McCartney rocked the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He delivered a live performance of The Beatles's timeless hit "Hey Jude" and engaged the crowd of people from all over the world to join his band in a sing along finale. The show was seen by a live audience of 80000 people at the Olympic Park Stadium in addition to an estimated TV audience of two billion people worldwide.- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Beethoven was the child of a Flamian musician family and became a member of the electoral orchestra of Bonn in 1783. In 1787 he studied at Mozart's in Vienna and in 1792 he moved all to Vienna becoming a student of Joseph Haydn. The Vienna High Society loved him as a piano player as well as as composer. In 1802 his deafness became serious making Beethoven a real eccentric until his death in 1827.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jussi Björling was born on 2 February 1911 in Stora Tuna, Dalarnas län, Sweden. He was an actor, known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), Atonement (2007) and Funny Games (2007). He was married to Anna-Lisa Berg. He died on 9 September 1960 in Siarö, Stockholms län, Sweden.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Anouar Brahem was born on 20 October 1957 in Halfaouine, Tunis, Tunisia. He is a composer, known for Der gläserne Blick (2003), Araby (2017) and The Golden Horseshoes (1989).- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 - December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer, and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honorific nicknames "Godfather of Soul", "Mr. Dynamite", and "Soul Brother No. 1". In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he influenced the development of several music genres. Brown was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986.
Brown began his career as a gospel singer in Toccoa, Georgia. He first came to national public attention in the mid-1950s as the lead singer of the Famous Flames, a then-only Rhythm and blues vocal group founded by Bobby Byrd. With the hit ballads "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me", Brown built a reputation as a dynamic live performer with the Famous Flames and his backing band, sometimes known as the James Brown Band or the James Brown Orchestra. His success peaked in the 1960s with the live album Live at the Apollo and hit singles such as "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag", "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "It's a Man's Man's Man's World".
During the late 1960s, Brown moved from a continuum of blues and gospel-based forms and styles to a profoundly "Africanized" approach to music-making, emphasizing stripped-down interlocking rhythms that influenced the development of funk music. By the early 1970s, Brown had fully established the funk sound after the formation of the J.B.s with records such as "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "The Payback". He also became noted for songs of social commentary, including the 1968 hit "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud". Brown continued to perform and record until his death from pneumonia in 2006.
Brown recorded 17 singles that reached No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts. He also holds the record for the most singles listed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that did not reach No. 1. Brown was inducted into the first class of the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013 as an artist and then in 2017 as a songwriter. He also received honors from several other institutions, including inductions into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In Joel Whitburn's analysis of the Billboard R&B charts from 1942 to 2010, Brown is ranked No. 1 in The Top 500 Artists. He is ranked seventh on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.- Actress
- Music Department
- Composer
Vashti Bunyan was born in 1945 in London, England, UK. She is an actress and composer, known for Labor Day (2013), Away We Go (2009) and Babyteeth (2019).- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Kate Bush began playing piano at a young age and, by her mid-teens, had composed over 200 songs. Her talent caught the notice of David Gilmour (of Pink Floyd) who assisted in arranging her contract with EMI. The first song she released, "Wuthering Heights", soared to #1 in England in 1978. Since then, Kate has achieved a notable career as a singer and musician. Kate began producing her own albums and videos early on. Her growing interest in film was highly evident in the 1985 video for her song, "Cloudbusting", which starred Donald Sutherland, which is a mini-film in itself. Another 1985 video, "Hounds of Love", is a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock. Following the release of her 1993 album, "The Red Shoes", influenced by filmmaker Michael Powell, Kate produced the short film, The Line, the Cross & the Curve (1993), using five songs from the album as a basis for the film in a mysterious, mythical retelling of the tale of "The Red Shoes".- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Frédéric François Chopin was born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, on March 1, 1810, in Zelazowa Wola, Masovia region, Duchy of Warsaw, Poland. His father, named Mikolaj (Nicolas) Chopin, was a Frenchman who came to Poland from Lorraine, and eventually became professor at Warsaw Lyceum. His mother, named Tekla Justina Krzyzanovska, was a relative of Polish Countess Ludwika Skarbkowa, owner of the Zelazowa Wola estate.
From 1816-1822 Chopin studied piano under professional musician Wojcech Zywny. He wrote his first piano compositions at the age of 7. In 1820, then ten-year-old Chopin moved with his parents to Warsaw. There he gained a reputation as a "second Mozart" for his piano playing. From 1823-1826 Chopin studied at the Warsaw Lyceum. In 1824 he was influenced by the Jewish folklore and composed Mazurka in A minor, called "The Jewish" by Chopin himself. From 1826-1830 he studied at the Warsaw Conservatory under pianist Wilhelm Wurfel and composer Josef Elsner. In 1829 Chopin attended a performance of Niccolò Paganini in Warsaw. In the same year Chopin gave solo concerts in Vienna and premiered his Piano Concerto No.1 in F minor. In 1830 he premiered his Piano Concerto No.2 in E minor at the National Theatre in Warsaw. He visited Vienna again in November of same year and played his two piano concertos with great success. After Vienna he continued his concert tour to Munich and Stuttgart. There he learned of the invasion of the Russian Army in Poland, and composed the Etude in C minor, called Revolutionary. Chopin chose the status of a political exile and finally emigrated to Paris, France.
From 1830-1849 Chopin established himself as composer and piano player in Paris. There he changed his name into Frédéric François Chopin. In Paris he met Franz Liszt, who initiated a friendship, and they played together in several concerts, but later became rivals. Chopin formed personal friendship with composer and critic Hector Berlioz. His other personal friends were Felix Mendelssohn and Vincenzo Bellini. In 1835 he made a trip to Dresden and Karlsbad, where he visited with his relatives and accompanied them to Poland. He became seriously ill with bronchial asthma on his way back to Paris. In 1836 he proposed to a seventeen-year-old Polish girl, named Maria Wodzinska, and she accepted. Their engagement lasted for several months, but was called off in 1837 by her mother after a certain manipulative influence by George Sand.
In October of 1836, in Paris Chopin met George Sand at a party hosted by Marie d'Agoult, mistress of Franz Liszt. Initially Chopin commented on Sand: "What an antipathetic woman". In June of 1837 Sand wrote in a letter to her friend about her agenda to abandon another affair in order to start a relationship with Chopin. George Sand was strongly attracted to Chopin, she destroyed his engagement to Maria Wodzinska, and dominated his life for nine years. Chopin and Sand had a turbulent relationship. In 1839, during their first winter vacation together on Mallorca, Sand took along her children from her previous marriage. At Mallorca Chopin did not have a decent piano to practice, while he was composing his 'Raindrop' prelude. Sand witnessed the completion of Chopin's greatest masterpiece, the cycle of 24 Preludes. He had to struggle with a poor rental piano and became unhappy and fell ill, but received little help from local doctors. Later Chopin enjoyed a better environment at Sand's estate in Nohant. There his creativity flourished during the summers of 1839 until 1843. At that time Chopin composed many important works. However, Chopin and Sand were not a good match, and eventually their differences prevailed. Sand was a pipe smoker and a flamboyant party goer. Chopin suffered from bronchial asthma and tuberculosis and needed a quiet solitude for his music. In George Sand's violent quarrel with her daughter Solange, Chopin defended the daughter. Sand left Chopin.
In February of 1848 Chopin gave his last concerts in Paris. He went to England and Scotland in November of 1848, and fell ill there. He gave his last concerts in London while being severely ill. He returned to Paris, but was unable to teach or perform for several months during 1849. Shortly before he died, sensing the end was near, Chopin had requested that Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart be sung at his funeral service at the Church of the Madeleine. He also requested that his heart be removed and brought in an urn to Warsaw, Poland. Chopin died on October 17, 1849, but could not be buried for two weeks, because the church did not allow female singers for the Mozart's Requiem. At last, the church relented and the funeral was held on October 30, 1849. A crowd of four thousand attended the ceremony. Composer Berlioz, artist Delacroix, poet Adam Mickiewicz, singer Viardot, were present among many others from cultural circles - but notably absent was George Sand. Chopin's heart was dispatched in an urn to Warsaw, and his body was laid to rest in the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, France.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Leonard Cohen was born on 21 September 1934 in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He was a music artist and composer, known for Watchmen (2009), Night Magic (1985) and Natural Born Killers (1994). He died on 7 November 2016 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
John Coltrane was born on 23 September 1926 in Hamlet, North Carolina, USA. He was a music artist and composer, known for Adrift (2018), Vanilla Sky (2001) and Zodiac (2007). He was married to Alice Macleod and Juanita Grubbs. He died on 17 July 1967 in Huntington, Long Island, New York, USA.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Miles Davis, famous jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader, was born 26 May 1926 in Alton, Illinois. He moved to New York in 1944 and studied at Juilliard. He left school and entered the jazz society of New York, meeting such famous musicians as Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus. His record debut came in 1946. Miles soon became a major figure of jazz. He changed the directions of jazz several times, recording albums such as "Birth Of The Cool" (1949) which started the cool-jazz era, "Milestones" (1953), "Kind Of Blue" (1959) which was the beginning of modal jazz, orchestral jazz masterpieces such as "Porgy And Bess" (1958) and "Sketches Of Spain" (1961), "In A Silent Way" (1968) and "Bitches Brew" (1969) - the first jazz/rock fusion albums. He collaborated with famous jazz players such as: Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Philly Joe Jones, Joe Zawinul, Paul Chambers, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett and others. He retired from music in 1975 due to hip problems as well as his problems with drug addiction. He recovered and returned to music in 1980, collaborating with producer Marcus Miller and recording new, intriguing albums such as electronic-driven Tutu or Amandla, as well as Spanish-flavored music for Siesta (1987). Miles Davis is now arguably one of the greatest and most important jazz musicians of all time.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Claude Debussy was born in St. Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, France. His father was a salesman and kept a china shop. His mother was a seamstress. Some traumatizing events in his childhood caused him a depression and he never spoke about his early years. Later he could not compose without having his favorite porcelain frog.
Debussy's piano teacher, Mme. Maute, had been a student of Frédéric Chopin. She sent Debussy to the Paris Conservatory, where he studied from 1872-84 with César Franck, Ernest Guiraud and others. He lived at the castle of Nadezhda von Meck and taught her children. She was a wealthy patroness of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and eventually Debussy played all pieces by Tchaikovsky in addition to other classical repertoire. She also took Debussy on trips to Venice, Vienna and Moscow. In Vienna he heard "Tristan und Isolde" by Richard Wagner and later admitted that it had influenced him for a number of years.
Debussy won the Prix de Rome twice--in 1883 and 1884--and the money covered his studies at the Villa de Medici in Rome for the next four years. In Rome he met Franz Liszt and Giuseppe Verdi and heard more of Wagner's music, which made a strong impression on him. In 1888 and 1889 he went to listen to yet more of Wagner's music at the Bayreuth Festspiehaus. There he was very impressed by "Parsifal" and other of Wagner's works. He used the Wagnerian chromaticism for upgrades to his own tonal harmony in "Cinq poems de Baudelaire" (1889).
Debussy became influenced by the impressionist poets and artists in the circle of Stéphane Mallarmé. In 1890 he wrote his most famous music collection for piano, "Suite bergamasque", containing "Clair de Lune". His "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" (1892) continued the most productive 20-year period in his life. He composed orchestral "Nocturnes", "La Mer", "Images" (1899-1909), and the intricate ballet "Jeux" (1912) for "Ballets Russes" of Sergei Diaghilev. He was fascinated with Maurice Maeterlinck's play "Pelleas et Melisande", which inspired him to compose the eponymous symbolist opera which was praised by Paul Dukas and Maurice Ravel.
In 1908 Debussy married singer Emma Bardac after they had a daughter, Claude-Emma. Debussy called her Chou-Chou and composed for her the collection of piano pieces "Children's Corner Suite" (1909). His piano masterpiece "Preludes" were composed in 1910-1913. The twelve preludes of the first book are alluding to Frédéric Chopin, with more provocative harmonies, especially the "La Cathedrale Engloutie". In the second book of twelve preludes Debussy explored avant-garde, with deliciously dissonant harmonies and mysterious images.
The beginning of WW I and the onset of cancer depressed Debussy. He left unfinished opera, ballets and two pieces after stories by Edgar Allan Poe that later were completed by his assistants. He died on March 25, 1918, in Paris.- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Paco de Lucía was born on 21 December 1947 in Algeciras, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain. He was a composer and actor, known for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and Don Juan DeMarco (1994). He was married to Casilda Varela. He died on 25 February 2014 in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico.- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Fatoumata Diawara was born on 21 February 1982 in the Ivory Coast. She is an actress and composer, known for Sia, the Dream of the Python (2001), Morbayassa (2014) and Timbuktu (2014).- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Antonin Dvorak was a son of butcher, but he did not follow his father's trade. While assisting his father part-time, he studied music, and graduated from the Prague Organ School in 1859. He also was an accomplished violinist and violist, and joined the Bohemian Theatre Orchestra, which was under the baton of Bedrich Smetana in 1860s. For financial reasons he quit the orchestra and focused on composing and teaching. He fell in love with one of his students, but she married another guy. Her sister was available, so Dvorak married the sister, Anna, in 1873, and they had nine children.
Dvorak's early compositions were influenced by Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms, and with their promotion his music became performed in European capitals and received international acclaim. His performances in 1880s of Slavonic Dances, the Sixth Symphony and the Stabat Mater were a success in England, and Dvorak received an honorary doctorate from Cambridge. He made a successful concert tour in Russia in 1890, and became a professor at the Prauge Conservatory. In 1892 he received an invitation to America from Jeaunnette Thurber, the founder of he National Conservatory of Music in New York City. Dvorak was the Director of the National Conservatory in New York for three years (1892-95), where he also taught composition and carried on his cross-cultural studies.
Dvorak broadened his experiences through studying the music of the Native Americans and African Americans, many of whom became his students and friends. Dvorak was inspired by the originality of indigenous American music and culture, as well as by the spirituals and by the singing of his African American students. Dvorac incorporated his new ideas, blended with his Bohemian roots, into his well-known Symphony No.9 in E minor "From the New World". He worked on this symphony for most of the spring and summer of 1893, and made it's glorious premiere in Carnegie Hall in December, 1893. In America he also wrote the remarkable Cello Concerto and two string quartets, including the Quartet in F ("The American"). Dvorak was doing very well in New York financially, but his heart was in Prague and he left America for his Czech Motherland. He had a big family with his wife and nine children in Prague. He became the Director of the Prague Conservatory in 1901 and kept the position until his death in 1904.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Eurythmics is known for Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and Tron: Legacy (2010).- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Bill Evans was born on August 16, 1929 in Plainfield, New Jersey. His father was of Welsh descent, his mother was of Russian Orthodox background. His mother was an amateur pianist and gave Evans his first piano lessons at home as well as at her church. At the age of 6 he started classical piano training and later added flute and violin. At 12 he was able to fill in for his elder brother in Buddy Valentino's Jazz band. During the end of WWII and after the war, Evans played piano gigs in New York clubs. He graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University as a pianist in 1950, and later went to the Mannes College of Music, where he studied composition.
Bill Evans was hired by Miles Davis in 1958, as the only white musician in the all-star Miles Davis Sextet. It was a mutually beneficial collaboration and their album "Kind of Blue" is now one of the most referred to in Jazz. Their creative work is documented in The Miles Davis Story (2001). In 1959 Evans started his own trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian which became one of the most acclaimed trios. Four albums recorded by that trio in 1959-61 are Jazz classics. Evans' innovative "Conversations with myself" won him his first Grammy award in 1963. He recorded several albums with trios, of which a nice trio gig at the 1968 Montreux Jazz Festival with Eddie Gomez and Jack DeJohnette won a Grammy. His lyrical piano solo album "Alone" won him another Grammy in 1968.
Bill Evans' legacy includes over a hundred recorded albums and concert performances. In his improvisations Evans shines as a brilliant inventor, as well as remarkable timekeeper and polyrhythmic player. On records he plays with authoritative presence, marked with refined nuances and accentuations. His mastery of impressionistic voicings comes with supreme clarity and with definitive phrasing in many of his deliciously intertwined counterpoint lines. Evans makes the right balance in various settings; solo, in a duo, in a trio, in a small ensemble, and with a big band. His original style stands on the solid foundation of classical heritage from Sergei Rachmaninoff, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy, to Erik Satie, Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky, as he ingeniously included tiny bits of themes from these and other composers in his own improvisations.
Bill Evans' influence on modern music is growing as more musicians absorb his original ideas and study his music scores. The leading classical musicians, like Jean-Yves Thibaudet include compositions and arrangements by Bill Evans in their repertoire. Evans's inventive harmonization of all-so-familiar songs makes them sound fresh and tasty. His two recordings with Tony Bennett in 1975-77 are among the finest achievements of artistic interplay between singer and pianist, where two partners are improvising and stimulating each other's creativity and imagination. Musicians who played and recorded with Bill Evans often recognized him as the one who made the difference. His last trio recordings with the young Joe LaBarbera and Marc Johnson revealed even more of his unending creative and improvisational freedom.
He suffered from a drug addiction since his stint with the Miles Davis sextet in 1950s. He also suffered from hepatitis and had a perforated ulcer of the stomach. He died on September 15, 1980 in New York. Bill Evans is now considered one of the most influential pianists in the history of Jazz.- Actress
- Composer
- Director
FKA twigs was born on 16 January 1988 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK. She is an actress and composer, known for Honey Boy (2019), FKA Twigs: Pendulum (2015) and The King's Man (2021).- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Melody Gardot was born on 2 February 1985 in New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for 360 (2011), The Line (2009) and The Starling (2021).- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Jivan Gasparyan was born on 12 October 1928 in Solag, Armenian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, USSR [now Armenia]. He was a composer, known for The Siege (1998), Blood Diamond (2006) and Syriana (2005). He died on 6 July 2021 in Armenia.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
João Gilberto was born on 10 June 1931 in Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil. He was a music artist and composer, known for V for Vendetta (2005), A Good Day to Die Hard (2013) and Murder Mystery (2019). He was married to Maria do Céu, Claudia Faissol, Miúcha and Astrud Gilberto. He died on 6 July 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Meredith Godreau is known for Death to the Tinman (2007), Your Friend, Memphis (2022) and Cinch Marks (2011).- Actress
- Composer
- Writer
Françoise Hardy was born on 17 January 1944 in Paris, France. She is an actress and composer, known for The Dreamers (2003), The Boat That Rocked (2009) and 8 Women (2002). She has been married to Jacques Dutronc since 30 March 1981. They have one child.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actress
Billie Holiday was a true artist of her day and rose as a social phenomenon in the 1950s. Her soulful, unique singing voice and her ability to boldly turn any material that she confronted into her own music made her a superstar of her time. Today, Holiday is remembered for her masterpieces, creativity and vivacity, as many of Holiday's songs are as well known today as they were decades ago. Holiday's poignant voice is still considered to be one of the greatest jazz voices of all time.
At the age of 18 and after gaining more experience than most adult musicians can claim, Holiday was spotted by John Hammond and cut her first record as part of a studio group led by Benny Goodman, who was then just on the verge of public prominence. In 1935 Holiday's career got a big push when she recorded four sides that went on to become hits, including "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown to You." This landed her a recording contract of her own, and then, until 1942, she recorded a number of master tracks that would ultimately become an important building block of early American jazz music.
Holiday recorded about 100 new recordings on another label, Verve, from 1952 to 1959. Her voice became more rugged and vulnerable on these tracks than earlier in her career. During this period, she toured Europe, and made her final studio recordings for the MGM label in March of 1959. Billie Holiday, a musical legend still popular today, died an untimely death at the age of 44. Her emotive voice, innovative techniques and touching songs will forever be remembered and enjoyed- Composer
- Actress
- Music Department
Julia Holter was born on 18 December 1984 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. She is a composer and actress, known for Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020), Bleed for This (2016) and Own Worst Enemy (2012).- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
John Lee Hooker was born on 22 August 1917 in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Blues Brothers (1980), The Colony (2013) and Kiss the Girls (1997). He was married to Maude Mathis, Alma Hopes and Sarah Jones. He died on 21 June 2001 in Los Altos, California, USA.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Antonio Carlos Jobim was born on 25 January 1927 in Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a composer and actor, known for V for Vendetta (2005), Deep Rising (1998) and Out of Sight (1998). He was married to Ana Lontra Jobim and Thereza Hermanny. He died on 8 December 1994 in New York City, New York, USA.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Sir Elton John is one of pop music's great survivors. Born 25 March, 1947, as Reginald Kenneth Dwight, he started to play the piano at the early age of four. At the age of 11, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. His first band was called Bluesology. He later auditioned (unsuccessfully) as lead singer for the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Gentle Giant. Dwight teamed up with lyricist Bernie Taupin and changed his name to Elton John (merging the names of saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry). The duo wrote songs for Lulu and Roger Cook. In the early 1970s, he recorded the concept album "Tumbleweed Connection." He became the most successful pop artist of the 1970s, and he has survived many different pop fads including punk, the New Romantics and Britpop to remain one of Britain's most internationally acclaimed musicians.
Elton John announced he was a bisexual in 1976, and in 1984, he married Renate Blauel. The marriage lasted four years before he finally came to terms with the fact that he was actually homosexual. In the 1970s and 1980s, he suffered from drug and alcohol addiction and bulimia but came through it. He is well known as a campaigner for AIDS research and he keeps his finger on the pulse of modern music, enjoying artists such as Eminem, Radiohead, Coldplay and Robbie Williams. He was knighted in 1997.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Tom Jones was born Thomas Jones Woodward in Pontypridd, South Wales, to a traditional coal-mining family, the son of Freda (Jones) and Thomas Woodward. His father was of English descent and his mother was of Welsh and English ancestry. He began singing at an early age in church and in the school choir. Left school at 16 and was married, having a son a year later. He brought in money for his family from an assortment of jobs, singing in pubs at night. By 1963, he was playing regularly with his own group in the demanding atmosphere of working mens clubs. Gordon Mills, a performer who had branched out into songwriting and management went to see him. He became his manager and landed him a record contract in 1964. They made a great team and had huge international success with their second single, a song penned by Mr Mills -- "It's Not Unusual." An avalanche of gold singles and albums followed. Mr Jones, a vocal powerhouse, has sustained his popularity for over three decades, and his recordings have spanned the spectrum of musical styles.- Composer
Seckou Keita is known for Charlotte (2015), Journey Man (2002) and Omar Sosa's 88 Well-Tuned Drums (2022).- Dmitri Hvorostovsky was born on 16 October 1962 in Krasnoyarsk, Russian SFSR, USSR [now Russia]. He was an actor, known for The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (2006), La Traviata (2004) and The Queen of Spades (1999). He was married to Florence Illi and Svetlana Khvorostovskaya. He died on 22 November 2017 in London, England, UK.
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actress
Angélique Kidjo was born on 14 July 1960 in Ouidah, Benin. She is a music artist and actress, known for The Woman King (2022), The CEO (2016) and Street Fighter (1994). She has been married to Jean Hebrail since 1983. They have one child.- Music Department
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Carlos Kleiber was born on 3 July 1930 in Berlin, Germany. He was an actor, known for Minority Report (2002), The Intouchables (2011) and Apt Pupil (1998). He was married to Stanka Brezovar. He died on 13 July 2004 in Konjusica, Slovenia.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Fela Kuti was born on 15 October 1938 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. He was a composer and writer, known for The Harder They Fall (2021), Queen & Slim (2019) and Run Fatboy Run (2007). He died on 2 August 1997 in Lagos, Nigeria.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Yusef Lateef was born on 9 October 1920 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. He was a composer, known for Selma (2014), Lenny Cooke (2013) and Constellation (2005). He was married to Tahira Simpson, Ayesha, Saeed Lateef and Sadie. He died on 23 December 2013 in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, USA.- Actress
- Composer
- Music Department
Miriam Makeba was born on 4 March 1932 in Prospect Township, near Johannesburg, South Africa. She was an actress and composer, known for Transamerica (2005), Sarafina! (1992) and Bobby (2006). She was married to Stokely Carmichael, Hugh Masekela and Sonny Pilay. She died on 10 November 2008 in Castel Volturno, Campania, Italy.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Manic Street Preachers is known for Sweet Sixteen (2002), Dirty Weekend (1993) and Anatomy 2 (2003).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Mariza was born on 16 December 1973 in Mozambique. She is an actress, known for Orphan Black (2013), Mulheres (2014) and Alguém Como Eu (2017). She was previously married to João Pedro Ruela.- Music Artist
- Soundtrack
- Soundtrack
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
Freddie Mercury was born on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar. His parents, Bomi and Jer Bulsara, sent him off to a private school in India, from 1955 til 1963. In 1964, he and his family flew to England. In 1966 he started his education at the Ealing College of Art, where he graduated in 1969. He loved art, and because of that, he often went along with his friend Tim Staffell, who played in a band called Smile. Also in this band where Brian May and Roger Taylor.
When Staffell left the band in 1970, Mercury became their new singer. He changed the band's name into Queen, and they took on a new bass-player in February 1971, called John Deacon. Their first album, "Queen", came out in 1973. But their real breakthrough was "Killer Queen", on the album "Sheer Heart Attack", which was released in 1974. They became immortal with the single "Bohemian Rhapsody", on the 1975 album "A Night At The Opera".
After their biggest hit in the USA in 1980 with "Another One Bites The Dust", they had a bad period. Their album "Flash Gordon" went down the drain, because the movie Flash Gordon (1980) flunked. Their next, the disco-oriented "Hot Space", was hated not only by rock critics but also by many hardcore fans. Only the song "Under Pressure", which they sang together with David Bowie, made a difference. In 1983, they took a year off. But, in 1984 they came back with their new album called "The Works". The singles "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want to Break Free" did very well in the UK but a controversy over the video of the latter in the USA meant it got little exposure and flopped. Plans to tour the USA were cancelled and the band would not recover their popularity there during Mercury's lifetime.
In April 1985, Mercury released his first solo album, the less rock-oriented and more dance-oriented "Mr. Bad Guy". The album is often considered now to have been a flop, but it actually wasn't. It peaked at number six in the UK and stayed on the chart for 23 weeks, making it the most successful Queen solo project. The band got back together again after their barnstorming performance at Live Aid (1985) in July 1985. At the end of the year, they started working on their new album, "A Kind Of Magic". They also held their biggest ever world tour, the "Magic Tour". They played Wembley Stadium twice and held their very last concert in Knebworth, in front of 125.000 people.
After 1986, it went silent around Queen. In 1987, he was diagnosed with AIDS but he kept working at a pace. He released a cover of the 1950s song "The Great Pretender", which went into the UK top ten. After that, he flew to Spain, where he made the magnificent album "Barcelona", together with Montserrat Caballé, whom he saw performing in 1983. Because Mercury loved opera, he became a huge fan of her. For him, this album was like a dream becoming reality. The single "Barcelona" went huge, and was also used as a theme song for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
After "Barcelona", he started working with the band again. They made "The Miracle", which was released in early 1989. It was another success, with hits such as "Breakthru", "I Want It All", "The Invisible Man" and the title track. At this point, Mercury told the band he had AIDS, meaning that a tour of the album was out of the question. After Mercury told the band, he refused to talk about it anymore. He was afraid that people would buy their records out of pity. He said he wanted to keep making music as long as possible. And he did. After "The Miracle", Mercury's health got worse. They wanted to do one more album, called "Innuendo." They worked on it in 1990 and early 1991. Every time when Mercury would feel well, he came over to the studio and sang. After "Innuendo" was released in January 1991, they made two video clips. The first one was the video clip of "I'm Going Slightly Mad", shot in March 1991. Because Mercury was very thin, and had little wounds all over his body, they used a lot of make-up. He wore a wig, and the clip was shot in black and white.
Mercury's final video clip was released in June 1991. The clip, "These Are The Days Of Our Lives", later turned out to be his goodbye song, the last time he appeared on film. You could clearly see he was ill, but he still hadn't told the world about his disease. Rumours went around that he some kind of terrible disease. This rumor was confirmed by Mercury himself, one day before he passed on. His death was seen as a great loss for the world of popular music.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Charles Mingus is an American jazz double bassist, pianist, composer and bandleader.
A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and composers in history, with a career spanning three decades and collaborations with other jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dannie Richmond, and Herbie Hancock.
Mingus' compositions continue to be played by contemporary musicians ranging from the repertory bands Mingus Big Band, Mingus Dynasty, and Mingus Orchestra, to the high school students who play the charts and compete in the Charles Mingus High School Competition.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart grew up in Salzburg under the regulation of his strict father Leopold who also was a famous composer of his time. His abilities in music were obvious even when Mozart was still young so that in 1762 at the age of six, his father took him with his elder sister on a concert tour to Munich and Vienna and a second one from 1763-66 through the south of Germany, Paris and London. Mozart was celebrated as a wonder child everywhere because of his excellent piano playing and his improvisations.
In 1769 he became the concertmaster of the Archbishop and was knighted by the Pope in Rome. Working in Salzburg he nevertheless travelled around Europe to meet other composers and orchestras. But in 1781 after a dispute with the Archbishop he left Salzburg and went to Vienna where he married Constanze Weber from Mannheim. In Vienna he also started his friendship with Joseph Haydn and a time of many work pieces. In the last year of his life, for example, he wrote one of his masterpieces, "Die Zauberflöte". Although some of his operas were successful he could not make money from this and died in poverty at the age of 36, having even on his last day worked on a "Requiem". He was buried in a communal grave which could not be precisely identified years later.- Composer
- Actress
- Music Department
Agnes Obel was born on 28 October 1980 in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is a composer and actress, known for Thelma (2017), Submarino (2010) and Dark (2017).- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Ocean was born in Long Beach, California. When he was around 5 years old, he and his family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana. He grew up around its local jazz scene and listened to his mother's CDs on her car stereo, including albums by Céline Dion, Anita Baker, and "The Phantom of the Opera" soundtrack. As a teenager, he did neighborhood chores and saved up money to rent studio time. He enrolled in the University of New Orleans and moved into its dormitory in 2005.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit Ocean's hometown of New Orleans and his recording facility, which was looted and destroyed by floodwater. To continue recording music, he moved to Los Angeles and intended to stay for six weeks. However, after acclimating himself with music industry circles, Ocean planned to stay longer and develop his music career. He recorded demos at a friend's studio and shopped them around Los Angeles. After getting a songwriting deal, he started working with other record producers and writing songs for artists such as Justin Bieber, John Legend, Damienn Jones and Brandy Norwood.
After meeting them in 2009 through networking, Ocean joined the Los Angeles-based hip hop collective OFWGKTA, also known as Odd Future. His friendship with Odd Future member 'Tyler The Creator' reinvigorated Ocean's songwriting. In late 2009, he met Christopher Stewart, who helped him sign a contract with Def Jam Recordings as a solo artist, though he was initially unable to build a relationship with the company. In 2010, through a legal website, he changed his name from Christopher Breaux to Christopher Francis William Ocean, which was inspired partly by the 1960 film Ocean's Eleven (1960).
On February 18, 2011, Ocean released his first mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, to critical acclaim. The mixtape focuses on interpersonal relationships, personal reflection and social commentary. In April 2011, Ocean stated that his relationship with Def Jam strengthened since the release of the mixtape.
Ocean first appeared in the 'Tyler The Creator' music video for the single "She", from Tyler's second studio album Goblin. His first performance was in collaboration with Odd Future at the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where he later joined them for their first tour across the east coast of the United States. On May 19, 2011 Ocean's record label Def Jam announced its plans to re-release Nostalgia, Ultra as an EP. The single "Novacane" was released to iTunes in May 2011, and the EP originally was set to be released the next month, but was delayed. In June 2011, Ocean revealed that he would be working on the upcoming Ye and Jay-Z collaborative album, Watch the Throne. Ocean co-wrote and featured on two tracks: "No Church in the Wild" and "Made in America".
On July 28, 2011, a song titled "Thinkin About You", leaked on the internet. It was later revealed the song was a reference track, written by Ocean, for Roc Nation artist Bridget Kelly's debut studio album. Kelly renamed the song "Thinking About Forever". In September 2011, a music video directed by High5Collective for Ocean's version was released, yet the song still appeared on Kelly's debut EP Every Girl. In March 2012, a re-mastered version of "Thinkin About You" leaked, intended to be a single. Ocean released the cover art for his debut studio album's lead single, titled "Thinkin Bout You", revealing the song would be released to digital retailers on April 10.
On June 8, 2012, a single from the album Channel Orange, entitled "Pyramids", was made available for download on Ocean's Tumblr blog. On July 4, 2012, Ocean published an open letter on his Tumblr blog recounting unrequited feelings he had for another young man when he was 19 years old, citing it as his first true love. He used the blog to thank the man for his influence, and also thanked his mother and other friends. Members of the hip hop industry generally responded positively to the announcement. On July 10, 2012, Ocean made his debut television performance with "Bad Religion" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009). The same day, Ocean released his album one week ahead of schedule for digital download on iTunes and free streaming on his Tumblr blog. All other forms of distribution for the album were available on July 17, 2012. On September 6, 2012, Frank Ocean performed an acoustic version of his Channel Orange single, "Thinkin Bout You", at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards (2012) which was held at the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles. _2014 Frank Ocean Co-produced and wrote "Cinderella" a song for recording artist Damienn Jones.- David Oistrakh was born on 30 September 1908 in Odessa, Kherson Governorate, Russian Empire [now Ukraine]. He was married to Tamara Rotarewa. He died on 24 October 1974 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 - December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as operatic, earning him the nicknames "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O." Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers chose to project masculinity. He performed while standing motionless and wearing black clothes to match his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses, which he wore to counter his shyness and stage fright.- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Luciano Pavarotti was a best-selling classical singer and humanitarian known for his most original and popular performances with the 'Three Tenors' and 'Pavarotti & Friends'.
He was born on October 12, 1935, in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy. He was the first child and only son of two children in the family of a baker. His father, Fernando Pavarotti, was a gifted amateur tenor, who instilled a love for music and singing in young Luciano. His mother, Adele Venturi, worked at the local cigar factory. Young Pavarotti showed many talents. He first sang with his father in the Corale Rossi, a male choir in Modena, and won the first prize in an international choir competition in Wales, UK. He also played soccer as a goalkeeper for his town's junior team.
In 1954, at the age of 19, Pavarotti decided to make a career as a professional opera singer. He took serious study with professional tenor Arrio Pola, who discovered that Pavarotti had perfect pitch, and offered to teach him for free. After six years of studies, he had only a few performances in small towns without pay. At that time Pavarotti supported himself working as a part-time school teacher and later an insurance salesman. In 1961 he married his girlfriend, singer Adua Veroni, and the couple had three daughters.
Pavarotti made his operatic debut on April 29, 1961, as Rodolfo in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. In the following years he relied on the professional advise from tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano, who prevented Pavarotti from appearances when his voice was not ready yet. Eventually Pavarotti stepped in for Di Stefano in 1963, at the Royal Opera House in London as 'Rodolfo' in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, making his international debut. That same year he met soprano Joan Sutherland and the two began one of the most legendary partnerships in vocal history; Pavarotti made his American debut opposite Sutherland in February of 1965, at the Miami Opera.
Pavarotti was blessed with a voice of rare range, beauty and clarity, which was best during the 60s, 70s and 80s. In 1966 he became the first opera tenor to hit all nine "high C's" with his full voice in the aria 'Quel destin' in 'La Fille du Regiment' (aka.. The Daughter of the Regiment) by Gaetano Donizetti. He repeated this feat in his legendary 1972 Met performance and was nicknamed "King of the High C's" in rave reviews. Pavarotti's popularity was arguably bigger than that of any other living tenor in the world. His 1993 live performance in New York's Central Park was attended by 500,000 fans while millions watched it on television. During the 1990s and 2000s Pavarotti was still showing the ability to deliver his clear ringing tone in the higher register, albeit in fewer performances.
Luciano Pavarotti was also known for his humanitarian work. He was the founder and host of the 'Pavarotti & Friends' annual charity concerts and related activities in Modena, Italy. There he sang with international stars of all styles to raise funds for several worthy UN causes. Pavarotti sang with Bono and U2 in the 1995 song Miss Sarajevo and raised $1,500,000 in his charity project 'Concert for Bosnia'. He also established and financed the Pavarotti Music Center in Bosnia, and raised funds in charity concerts for refugees from Afghanistan and Kosovo. Pavarotti made two Guinness World Records: one was for receiving the most curtain calls at 165; and the other was for the best selling classical album of 'The Three Tenors in Concert' with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.
In March 2004 Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's 'Tosca' at the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 2005 Luciano Pavarotti started a 40 city farewell tour. He sang his signature aria 'Nessun Dorma' from 'Turandot' by Giacomo Puccini, at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy, on February 10, 2006. Pavarotti survived an emergency surgery for pancreatic cancer. His remaining appearances for 2006 had to be canceled. However, his management anticipated that his farewell tour would resume in 2007.
Luciano Pavarotti died of kidney failure on September 6, 2007, at his home in Modena, Italy, surrounded by his family. He was laid to rest with his parents in the family tomb in Montale Rangone cemetery near Modena. His funeral ceremony was an international event attended by celebrities and over fifty thousand music lovers from all over the world.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Charles Christopher Parker Jr. was born on August 29, 1920, in a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, to Charles Parker Sr. and his 18-year-old wife Addie. His father ran out on the family when Charlie was just a little boy. When he was 11 his mother bought him an alto saxophone for his birthday. By the time he was 15 Charlie was working as a musician in the flourishing Kansas City jazz scene. He also began drinking heavily and using drugs, which were also a part of the KC jazz scene, as were illegal after-hours gambling casinos.
Charlie became more experienced by playing with various bands, including those of Lawrence Keyes and Harlan Leonard, before joining Jay McShann's band in 1940. The band was widely heard on radio across the country, so Charlie's saxophone playing became well known, even though people didn't know his name, so he became known as the Yardbird, or just The Bird. While still in Kansas City, Charlie reached a breakthrough: tired of playing solo with the same scales, he discovered that if he used a higher interval of the chords from a popular song or melody line, with a pianist or guitarist adding the appropriate new chords, he finally could play the sound he always had been hearing in his head. Essentially turning the melody line inside out, he began experimenting with this new style, which became known as "bebop".
Charlie played with McShann in New York City until 1942, when he left for brief stints with the bands of pianist Earl 'Fatha' Hines and singer Billy Eckstine. The association with the Hines Orchestra was a significant one because of the other musicians, who included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. By 1945 Charlie was back in New York and leading his own small groups. He got married, but continued to live like a nomad, traveling from place to place and spending almost every other night in a hotel or boarding house. He also became a drug addict, and as his addiction increased so did his appetite, and he began putting on weight.
Charlie took part in the first bebop recording session in 1945. With Gillespie and Miles Davis, he recorded songs like "Billie's Bounce" and "Koko" for Savoy Records. Not long afterward, he recorded such classic songs as "A Night in Tunisia" and "Yardbird Suite" for another small label, Dial Records. In the late 1940s Charlie toured Europe, where he was received like visiting royalty. He made several tours of Cuba, where he began experimenting with large string sections and Afro-Cuban rhythms. After a few years of relative stability, however, Charlie began a downward slide. He got hooked back on drugs again (heroin was his favorite), he began nodding out on bandstands, getting into fistfights and pawning his saxophones for drug money. Aware of the effects of drug use, he chastised younger sax players who emulated his heroin use.
By the early 1950s Charlie's drinking and drug use made him gray and prematurely lined. His self-abuse began to infringe on his musical ability. During this time, Charlie was befriended by a wealthy European baroness who was living in New York, loved his jazz music and helped him out when he needed it. In early 1955, on his way to a gig in Boston, Charlie stopped by her apartment for a visit. Alarmed by his obvious ill health, she had her personal doctor examine him, which revealed that he had stomach ulcers and many other health problems, the result of his years of drinking and drug use. The doctor recommended hospitalization, but the stubborn Charlie refused to consider it. The baroness got him to rest at her place for a few days.
On March 12, 1955, the baroness found Charlie Parker dead, slumped over in an easy chair in front of the TV set in her apartment. He was 34 years old. An autopsy revealed such damage to the inside of his body that the doctor who performed the autopsy thought Charlie was a man at least 50 years old. Charlie Parker's legend grew even larger after his death. Fans scrawled "Bird Lives!" on walls of jazz clubs from New York, to Los Angeles, to Paris, France. To this day, more than 40 years after his death, Bird remains jazz's single most venerated figure.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Oscar Peterson, the famous jazz musician, started his recording career in the mid 40s with records for RCA. As member of the group "Jazz at the Philharmonic" he started touring in the 50s and continued until late in the 60s. During this time he made also numerous recordings for various labels. He has recorded with the great jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Music Department
Maria João Pires was born on 23 July 1944 in Lisbon, Portugal. She is a music artist and actress, known for Revolver (2005), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Butler (2013).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Lucia Popp was born on 12 November 1939 in Uhorska Ves, Slovakia. She was an actress, known for Bicentennial Man (1999), Philadelphia (1993) and The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). She was married to Peter Seiffert and Gyorgy Fischer. She died on 15 November 1993 in Munich, Bavaria.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Margaret Price was born on 13 April 1941 in Blackwood, Wales, UK. She was an actress, known for Aida (1981), God's Comedy (1995) and Verdi: Requiem (2009). She died on 28 January 2011 in Moyle Grove, Wales, UK.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Italian composer, one of the greatest exponents of operatic realism, who virtually brought the history of Italian opera to an end. His mature operas include "La Bohème" (1896), "Tosca" (1900), "Madama Butterfly" (1904), and "Turandot" left incomplete.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Sergei Rachmaninoff (also spelled Rachmaninov) was a legendary Russian-American composer and pianist who fled Russia after the Communist revolution of 1917, and became one of the highest paid concert stars of his time, and one of the most influential pianists of the 20th century.
He was born Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov on April 2, 1873, on a large estate near Novgorod, Russia. He was the fourth of six children born to a noble family, and lived in a family estate, where he enjoyed a happy childhood. Rachmaninoff studied music with his mother from age 4; continued at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and continued at the Moscow Conservatory with professors Arensky, Taneyev and Tchaikovsky. He graduated in 1892, winning the Great Gold Medal for his new opera "Aleko."
He was highly praised by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , who promoted Rachmaninov's opera to the Bolshoi Theater in 1893. But the disastrous premiere of his 1st Symphony, poorly conducted by A. Glazunov, coupled with his distress over the Russian Orthodox Church's pressure against his marriage, caused him to suffer from depression, which interrupted his career for three years until he sought medical help in 1900. He had a three-month treatment by hypnotherapist, Dr. Dahl, aimed at overcoming his writer's block. Upon his recovery, Rachmaninov composed his brilliant 2nd Piano Concerto, and made a comeback with successful concert performances. From 1904 to 1906 he was a conductor at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. From 1906 to 1909, Rachmaninoff lived and worked in Dresden, Germany. There he composed his 2nd Symphony.
In 1909, Sergei Rachmaninoff made his first tour of the United States having composed the 3rd Piano Concerto as a calling card. He appeared as a soloist with Gustav Mahler conducting the New York Philharmonic. His further work on merging Russian music with English literature culminated in his adaptation of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe into choral symphony, "The Bells," which Rachmaninov considered to be among the best of his works. In 1915 he wrote the choral masterpiece: "All-Night Vigil" (also known as the Vespres), fifteen anthems expressing a plea for peace at a time of war. The terror of Russian Revolution and the destruction of his estate forced him to emigrate. On December 23, 1917, Rachmaninov left Russia on an open sledge carrying only a few books of sheet music.
As a pianist, Sergei Rachmaninov made over a hundred recordings and gave over one thousand concerts in America alone between 1918 and 1943. His concert performances were legendary, and he was highly regarded as a virtuoso pianist with unmatched power and expressiveness. Rachmaninoff's technical perfection was legendary. His large hands were able to span a twelfth, that is an octave and a half or, for example, a stretch from middle C to high G. Rachmaninoff was highly regarded for accuracy on the piano keyboard, which he achieved through arduous practice by repeating difficult passages many times in a very slow tempo. In many of his original compositions, Sergei Rachmaninoff used musical allusions ranging from folk songs to oriental music and jazz. Unusually wide chords and deeply romantic melody lines were characteristic of his compositions. Besides his own music, he often performed pieces by Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin , Franz Liszt and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
In 1931, Rachmaninov signed a letter condemning the Soviet regime, that was published in the New York Times. There was retaliation immediately, and his music was condemned by the Soviets as "representative of decadent art." However, the official censorship in the Soviet Union could not stop the popularity of Rachmaninov's music in the rest of the world. During the 1930s and 1940s, he remained one of the highest paid concert stars.
During the 1930s, Rachmaninoff shared his time between Europe and America, because he was booked for numerous live performances in major cultural centers on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1932, Rachmaninoff with his family moved to his newly built Villa 'Senar' on Lake Luzern. There he replicated the layout of his estate that was destroyed by Russian revolution of 1917. The villa became a new home for the family and a center of cultural life, as Rachmaninoff was visited by notable musicians, such as Horowitz, writers, such as Bunin, and even Maharaja with family from India. For his guests, Rachmaninoff often played his music on the new concert grand piano that was presented to him by Hamburg Steinway company. Using that piano, Rachmaninoff composed his famous Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini in 1934. In 1939, with the onset of World War 2, Rachmaninoff left Europe and moved to America for good.
At his home on Elm Drive in Beverly Hills, Rachmaninoff had two Steinway pianos which he played together with Vladimir Horowitz and other entertainers. His love of fast cars was second to music, and led him to occasional fines for exceeding the speed limit. Since he bought his first car in 1914, Rachmaninov acquired a taste for fast cars, buying himself a new car every year. His generosity was legendary. He gave away 5000 dollars to Igor Sikorsky to start an American helicopter industry. He paid for Vladimir Nabokov and his family relocation from Paris to New York. He sponsored Michael Chekhov and introduced him to Hollywood.
Sergei Rachmaninoff gave numerous charitable performances, and donated large sums of money to fighting against the Nazis during WWII. He became a US citizen in 1943, just a few weeks before his death. In his last recital, in February, 1943, Rachmaninov played Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, featuring the famous "Funeral march." The New York Times obituary of March 28, 1943, stated that Sergei V. Rachmaninoff, pianist, composer and conductor, who for fifty years had been a leader in the music world on two continents, died today at his Beverly Hills home of complications resulting from pneumonia and pleurisy, which twice had caused him to cancel recitals here this month.
Rachmaninoff was survived by his wife and two daughters who arranged for his burial in Kensico Cemetery, New York. Over the years, Soviet and Russian authorities made numerous claims to re-bury the composer in Moscow, Russia, but the Rachmaninoff family successfully opposed due to the fact that Sergei Rachmaninoff made his choice to be a citizen of the United States.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Radiohead is an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. After signing to EMI in 1991, Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992. It became a worldwide hit after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993). Their popularity and critical standing rose in the United Kingdom with the release of their second album, The Bends (1995). Radiohead's third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to international fame.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Maurice Ravel was born on 7 March 1875 in Ciboure, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. He was a composer, known for Rashomon (1950), Basic (2003) and Stalker (1979). He died on 28 December 1937 in Paris, France.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actress
Elis Regina was born on 17 March 1945 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She was a music artist and actress, known for Talk to Her (2002), Be Cool (2005) and Addicted to Love (1997). She was married to César Camargo Mariano and Ronaldo Boscoli. She died on 19 January 1982 in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Django Reinhardt was born on 23 January 1910 in Liberchies, Wallonia, Belgium. He was a composer and actor, known for The Matrix (1999), Gattaca (1997) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003). He was married to Sophie Ziegler. He died on 16 May 1953 in Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, France.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Music Department
Amália Rodrigues was born in Lisbon, Portugal July 23rd, 1920 to a poor and numerous family. Since her childhood she showed a talent for singing although she debuted formally in 1939 at 19 years old, becoming a great popular success. During World War II she carried out long tours for Spain and Brazil and she obtained in 1945 her first great musical success with the song "Ai Mouraria". In 1947 she debuted as an actress in the Portuguese movie "Capas Negras" (with Alberto Ribeiro) and it became the best movie of the year in Portugal and Amália became a great international celebrity and the most admired and loved star of Portugal. During the 50 and 60's Amália become the maximum exponent of Portugal's popular music and so, their main ambassador for her very successful movies (including "Sangue Toureiro", by the way, the first Portuguese movie filmed in color) as well as for her LPs. Among her well-known songs are: "Lisboa Antiga", "Foi Deus", "Coimbra" (also known as "April in Portugal"), "Barco Negro", "Canção do Mar", "Nem as Paredes Confesso", "Lisboa, Não Sejas Francesa", "Arranjuez, mon amour" (French version of "Concierto de Aranjuez" of Joaquín Rodrigo), "Vou Dar de Beber à Dor" and "Com que Voz", among many others. She also sang poems turned music of several Portuguese poets and, in fact, Variety's magazine chose her in 1959 as one of the four best female singers in history. When the "Revolução Dos Cravos" ("Carnation's Revolution") happened on April 25th, 1974 which finished 48 years of Fascist government in Portugal, rumors arose that Amália collaborated with the deposed government. Her fame was seriously affected and she decided to retire from show business for not entering in polemic (although soon, after its death, it was discovered that she collaborated privately with the Communist Party of Portugal) but one year after, she acted in the Coliseu Theater of Lisbon where 5,000 people applauded her on foot, demonstrating with this that her public never released her. After that, Amália continued her career as if nothing happened and in 1980 she debuted as composer. In April 19th, 1985 Amália presented her show in the Coliseu dos Recreios of Lisbon, being her first solo concert in Portugal after 10 years and she obtained a record of attendance. In 1989, for her 50 years of artistic career, the President of Portugal Mário Soares honored her and the Pope John Paul II in Rome, Italy received her in private audience. During her last years, Amália received countless tributes inside and outside of Portugal and suddenly died while she slept in her house of Lisbon on October 6th, 1999. She was buried in an impressive funeral ceremony with the massive attendance of her fans.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Music Department
The Rolling Stones are the legendary British rock band known for many popular hits, such as Paint it Black, Lady Jane, Ruby Tuesday, and (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction. Almost everyone who attended their shows is quick to comment on their ability to start you up and shake your hips. Their song "Satisfaction" (1965) was composed by Keith Richards in his sleep, and with the addition of provocative lyrics by Mick Jagger it became the greatest hit and their calling card on each and every show.
In 1966, after The Beatles stopped giving live performances, The Rolling Stones took over as the unofficial "biggest touring band in the world" for the next few years. During 1966-1969 they toured the world, and constantly updated their song-list with many great hits like "Lets Spend the night together" (1967), "Sympathy for the Devil" (1968) and "Honky tonk woman" (1969). The incredible international success of the Stones came with a sad side, caused by Brian's drug and alcohol abuse that impaired his speech and appearance, so the band-mates had to replace him. In July 1969, Brian Jones died of drowning in his swimming pool while having signs of drug overdose. Upon Richards's and Jagger's approval, guitarist Mick Taylor took Brian's place. Brian's death at age 27 made him one of the first members of the infamous "27 Club" of rock stars who died at that age. Although Brian's estrangement from his band-mates, and his numerous arrests were caused by his personal problems with drugs, both Richards and Jagger were blamed at the time for Brian's death. The loss of one of their founding members was a painful moment for the Stones. However, at the end of the 1960s their creativity reached the new highs. Their albums "Beggars Banquet" (1968) and "Sticky Fingers" (1971) were among the most popular albums they ever made, having such hits as "Wild Horses" and "Brown Sugar."
During the 1970s The Rolling Stones remained the biggest band in the world, albeit they were rivaled by the Led Zeppelin. The Stones made thousands of live performances and multi-million record sales with hits like "Angie" (1973), "It's Only Rock and Roll" (1974), "Hot Stuff" (1976) and "Respectable" (1978). At that time both Keith Richards and Mick Jagger had individual ambitions, and applied their untamed creativity in various projects outside the Stones. Keith released his own single. In 1974 Ron Wood had replaced Mick Taylor on guitar and Keith and Ron both played lead guitars. During the decade Keith Richards had a family crisis on his hands, and suffered through emotional pain and drug abuse, albeit it didn't stop him from being himself. In 1980 the group released "Emotional Rescue" which Keith Richards didn't care for, and the group didn't even tour to promote the album. In 1981 with the release of 'Tattoo You', the group went on a major world tour filling stadiums in the US and in Europe. In 1983 the Stones recorded the album "Undercover" at the Compass Point in Nassau and during this time Mick and Keith were having arguments over rights of the group. After having created tens of albums and over a hundred popular songs together, their legendary song-writing partnership was undergoing the most painful test: the bitter rivalry between two enormously talented and equally ambitious superstars.
Mick Jagger is the heart of "The Stones" and Keith Richards - the soul. The two had carried on their early image of unkempt youth, had survived ups and downs in their careers and personal lives, and remained the core of the band since they shared a flat with the late Brian Jones in London in 1962. Two other remaining members are drummer Charlie Watts and guitarist Ron Wood. "The Stones" were part of the "British Invasion" in international culture during the 1960s, and has been extremely popular and famous for their 60s craze, hot stuff and sex drive. Since the 1970s they remained one of the biggest entertainment acts touring the world with a retinue of jet-set hangers-on. Their inimitable shows, no matter the best, or the worst, has been played with fire and emotion, giving their audiences the kind of music they do best - it's only rock'n roll.
Mick Jagger dropped out of college and his every move on-stage and off-stage seemed to signal a challenge to "respectable" standards. He never received a formal musical education, and even could not read music. However, he worked hard and emerged as the lead singer and songwriter in partnership with Richards, following the example of John Lennon and Paul McCartney's songwriting for The Beatles. Outside of the Rolling Stones, Jagger released solo albums with his original songs, as well as his versions of such hits as 'Use Me' by songwriter Bill Withers. Jagger also starred in several films, such as Freejack (1992), Bent (1997), and The Man from Elysian Fields (2001). Mick Jagger fathered seven children from four women, donated to numerous school and charities, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in 2003.
Keith Richards, was a schoolmate of Mick Jagger since the primary school. In 1960 they contemplated starting up a band together. Since the formation of the Rolling Stones in 1962, Richards has been the principal songwriting partner with Jagger, and most of the songs on all Rolling Stones albums are credited to Jagger/Richards. Outside of the Rolling Stones, Richards toured with The New Barbarians, and also was the front-man of the X-pensive Winos in the 1980s. Besides his music career, Richards made a cameo appearance as the father of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) filmed by his friend, director Gore Verbinski.
Other members of The Rolling Stones has been also enjoying their individual careers outside of the band. Multi-instrumentalist Ronnie Wood collaborated with such performers as Prince, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, and Aretha Franklin, among others. His collaboration with Rod Stewart resulted in a hit album. Wood is also an accomplished artist who sold about $10 million worth of his artworks. Drummer Charlie Watts, who has been ever faithful to his one and only wife, Shirley, is known for his consistency in refusing sexual favors from groupies. He is also a jazz band-leader, and commercial artist, who had solo shows and successfully auctioned his artworks.
The Rolling Stones have released 55 albums of original work and compilations, and sold over 200 million records word-wide during their career spanning over 45 years. "The Stones" played in all kinds of spaces from small clubs to big stadium arenas. In 2007 they even rocked the Tsar's Winter Palace with fifty thousand fans in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the communist revolution took place. They gave more large-scale shows internationally than any other existing band in the world, culminating in their 2005-2007 "A Bigger Band" tour with 147 concerts, the highest grossing tour of all time with $559 million earned.
Come on, Stones, give us more of your respectable shows, get us rocking, we can make it if we try.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Schubert was musically educated at the "Hofkapelle" in Vienna where he sang as a boy but then had to quit in order to help his father at school. Four years later, he became an independent composer and was destined to live in poverty from then onwards. Having an introverted personality, Schubert played his songs mostly amongst a couple of friends who shared his romantic passion. Within his short life Schubert composed many pieces of music, including eight symphonies.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Ravi Shankar was a world-renowned musician, composer, performer, and scholar of classical Indian music. He was one of the leading cultural figures of the twentieth century whose accomplishments placed him as the leading figure of an important musical tradition. His long and distinguished musical career included numerous recordings, performances at all the world's leading venues, and a series of unprecedented collaborations with other leading musicians. Although he is well known because of his interaction with the popular music world, it is important to underscore that Shankar is considered the leading international figure in a very elevated art form, Hindustani music. Shankar was born on April 7, 1920, in Varanasi, India. He moved to Paris in 1930, and received most of his education there. From the age of 12, he performed as a musician and dancer on tour in Europe and America with his brother Uday Shankar, and in 1939 had his first concert as soloist at a music conference in Allahabad. By 1945 Shankar's reputation as the leading performer of traditional Hindustani music on the sitar had coalesced. He began to branch out as a composer, writing music for ballet and for important films such as such as Dharti Ke Lal and Neecha Nagar. He also composed the song Sare Jahan Se Accha, which is one of the most widely known piece of music in India. In 1949, Shankar became Music Director of All-India Radio at Delhi, and founded the Vadya Vrinda Chamber Orchestra. During the years 1950-55 Shankar composed some of his most famous music, most notably in the internationally-acclaimed film studios of Calcutta, where he scored The Ray Triology. For his outstanding contribution to Indian music and culture, he received his first of five Presidential Awards in 1962, India's highest honor in the arts. In the mid-1960s, his preeminence as one of the world's leading serious musicians was augmented with wide popular success. George Harrison of The Beatles developed a deep, abiding interest in Hindustani music, and began to study with Shankar. One influence of this study can be heard in his song Within You, Without You. Shankar died in San Diego, California in 2012 at the age of 92.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Dmitri Shostakovich, one of Russian culture's most acclaimed intellectuals who was censored under the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, was an internationally recognized composer whose music was in over 100 films.
He was born Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich on September 25, 1906, in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the second of three children of Dmitri Boleslavovich Shostakovich, a chemical engineer, and Sofia Kokaoulina, a pianist. Young Shostakovich studied piano under his mother tutelage and at a private school in St. Petersburg. His greatest influences were Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven and Modest Mussorgsky. From 1919-1925 he studied piano and composition at St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Conservatory. He wrote his First "Classical" symphony as his graduation piece. In 1927 he won an "honorable mention diploma" at the 1st International Piano Competition in Warsaw. In 1929 he collaborated with writer Vladimir Mayakovsky, artist Alexander Rodchenko and director Vsevolod Meyerhold.
In 1934 Shostakovich collaborated with Aleksei Dikij on the legendary opera Katerina Izmailova" (aka Lady Makbeth of Mtsensk). Dikij's production of "Katerina Izmailova" had over 100 performances in Leningrad and Moscow, and was considered a highlight in his directing career. However, in 1936, the opera was severely criticized by some critics on the Pravda, the Communist Party's official newspaper, and accused of formalism and intellectualism.
In the summer of 1941 Nazi Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union, and German and Finnish forces and encircled Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Defenders and civilians in besieged Leningrad were doomed, because the besieging forces cut supplies of food and energy to the surrounded city. It wasn't long before the city's population of birds, pets and even rats were eaten, and not long after there were reports of cannibalism brought about by starvation. The siege of Leningrad was so impenetrable that by December of that year an average of 4000 to 6000 residents a day were dying of starvation, disease, shellfire, bombardment and a variety of other causes.
During the first months of the siege Shostakovich was in Leningrad. He survived the first bombardments and joined the "night watch" patrol, helping to put out fires during massive German air bombardments. Shostakovich personally neutralized several incendiary bombs and was actively involved in firefighting. After aerial and artillery bombardments, during the rare quiet moments, Shostakovich was back to his piano composing new music. He was evacuated from the besieged city in the end of 1941.
The Seventh "Leningrad" Symphony, which Shostakovich started composing during the Nazi aerial and artillery attacks during the siege, was the masterpiece that won him national and international recognition. His music helped lift the spirits of Leningrad citizens in a time when they were struggling to survive.
On August 9, 1942, Karl Eliasberg gave a premiere performance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony in Leningrad. That famous concert was made possible because Eliasberg specially created an orchestra of survivors who were still able to perform in spite of starvation and dystrophy.
Eliasberg, who was also extremely emaciated, spent some time in the hospital in the Astoria hotel and came to the rehearsals straight from the sick ward. On the score of one of the musicians of that legendary orchestra you can still see a drawing showing hollow-cheeked Eliasberg conducting his orchestra sitting on a chair. The legendary performance was broadcast live from the Radio Hall in Leningrad, so millions of civilians and defenders of the besieged city were able to hear the powerful music. The symphony written in the conventional four movements is Shostakovich's longest, and one of the longest in the repertoire, with performances taking approximately one hour and fifteen minutes. The scale and scope of the work is consistent with Shostakovich's other symphonies as well as with those of composers considered to be his strongest influences, including Bruckner, Gustav Mahler and Igor Stravinsky.
Before they tackled Shostakovich's work, Eliasberg had the players go through pieces from the standard repertoire - Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov - which they also performed for broadcast. Because the city was still blockaded at the time, the score was flown by night in early July for rehearsal. The concert was given on 9 August 1942. Whether this date was chosen intentionally, it was the day Hitler had chosen previously to celebrate the fall of Leningrad with a lavish reception for the top Nazi commanders. But instead of Hitler's plan, all loudspeakers delivered the live broadcast of the symphony performance throughout the city as well as to the German forces in a move of psychological warfare. The Russian commander of the Leningrad front, General Govorov, ordered a bombardment of German artillery positions in advance of the broadcast to ensure their silence during the performance of the symphony; a special operation, code-named "Squall," was executed for precisely this purpose. Three thousand high-caliber shells were lobbed onto the enemy. Then the music of Shostakovich came out of the speakers all over the siege perimeter, so the Nazis had to face the music. The music of Shostakovich brought the much needed support and catharsis to survivors who loved the symphony and applauded to Eliasberg and his orchestra. General Govorov with his staff came backstage to thank Eliasberg and his musicians for their art and courage.
The news about Dmitry Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony premiere in besieged Leningrad spread all over the world. It was an important message to all nations that Hitler's attack on Leningrad failed. Shostakovich who began to write his famous symphony before evacuation from besieged Leningrad in 1941, could not go back to attend its premier performance in 1942. The composer sent the conductor and the musicians who performed his work in the besieged city a telegram with words of gratitude.
After WWII Shostakovich was again accused of formalism in 1948. At that time, Shostakovich gained international recognition in the free world, and received several invitations to participate in music festivals and other cultural events. He was awarded the International Peace Prize (1954), State Prize five times (in 1941-1952), State Prizes of Russia and the USSR, and was designated People's Artist of the USSR. From 1957-1975 he was secretary of the Union of Composers of Russia and the USSR. He taught and promoted many talented musicians, such as Andrey Petrov, Georgi Sviridov, Karen Khachaturyan, and Boris Tishchenko among others.
Shostakovich and Yevgeniy Yevtushenko worked together on the famous Symphony No. 13 titled "Babi Yar", a vocal setting of poems by Yevtushenko. It was first performed in Moscow on December 18, 1962 under the baton of Kirill Kondrashin. Yevtushenko and Shostakovich toured many countries with the performances of "Babi Yar", and made several recordings of the Symphony No. 13. Among Shostakovich's best known film scores are 'Suite from The Gadfly' from The Gadfly (1955), and the score for director Grigoriy Kozintsev's acclaimed film Hamlet (1964) starring Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy.
In 1965 Shostakovich raised his voice in defense of poet Joseph Brodsky, who was sentenced to five years of exile and hard labor. Shostakovich co-signed protests together with such prominent figures as Korney Ivanovich Chukovskiy, Anna Akhmatova, Samuil Marshak, Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, and the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. After the protests his sentence was commuted, and Brodsky returned to Leningrad. At that time, Shostakovich joined the group of 25 distinguished intellectuals in signing the letter to Leonid Brezhnev asking not to rehabilitate Joseph Stalin.
Dmitri Shostakovich was a towering figure in Russian music of the 20th century along with 'Sergei Prokofiev (I)' and Aram Khachaturyan. He wrote 15 symphonies, of which the Fifth (1937), the Sevenths "Leningrad" (1942), and the Thurteenth "Baby Yar" (1968) are the best known. His other compositions include cantatas and oratorios, seven operas and operettas, four ballets, twelve musical comedies and other music for stage plays, 36 original motion picture scores, fifteen quartets and other chamber music for, piano, violin, and cello. Shostakovich, who was an awarded pianist himself, had composed outstanding works for piano, such as his Piano concertos No1 and No2. His 24 Preludes and Fugues for piano received numerous awards and recognitions, and were recorded in critically acclaimed performance by Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Shostakovich died of a heart attack on august 9, 1975, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in Novodevichi Convent Cemetery in Moscow, Russia. His legacy is continued by his son, conductor Maxim Shostakovich, and his grandson, pianist Dmitri Shostakovich Jr.- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish classical composer, one of the last composers of the Romantic-era (c. 1800-1910) in classical music. His works were often inspired by nature, by Nordic mythology, and by the Finnish epic poem "Kalevala" (1849). Sibelius completed most of his major works between the 1890s and 1926. He lived in semi-retirement from 1926 to his death in 1957, only completing a few works during these 30 years. Having completed 7 notable symphonies, Sibelius spend nearly 15 years working on an unfinished 8th symphony, He abandoned this effort in 1938, and only short manuscript sketches have survived from this work.
In December 1865, Sibelius was born in the city of Hameenlinna. The city is named after Hame Castle, which is located there. At the time of Sibelius' birth, the city was part of the Grand Duchy of Finland, an autonomous region of the Russian Empire. His parents were the physician Christian Gustaf Sibelius and his wife Maria Charlotta Sibelius Borg. The family name Sibelius derived from the Sibbe estate in Eastern Uusimaa, which belonged to his paternal ancestors.
In 1868, Christian Sibelius died due to typhoid fever. He left substantial debts to his family. His widow sold their property, and then started living with her own widowed mother, Katarina Borg. Sibelius was primarily raised by his mother and his maternal grandfather, having few contacts with male relatives. The exception was his uncle Pehr Ferdinand Sibelius, an amateur violinist. Pehr encouraged his nephew's interest in music, and served as a surrogate father to him. In 1875, Pehr brought a violin as a gift for his nephew.
Sibelius received piano lessons from an aunt during his childhood, but preferred to play the violin. During his childhood and adolescence, Sibelius performed in various musical trios and quartets with his siblings and a number of neighbors. In 1881, Sibelius composed one of his earliest works, the short pizzicato piece "Vattendroppar" (Water Drops) for violin and cello. That same year, he started receiving violin lessons from the local bandmaster Gustaf Levander.
Sibelius graduated from a secondary school in 1885, after repeating a year due to poor grades. He was thought to be an absent-minded pupil, whose only notable skills were in the subjects of mathematics and botany. Following his graduation, Sibelius briefly studied law at the Imperial Alexander University in Finland. He was more interested in a music education, so he soon transferred to the Helsinki Music Institute (which was later renamed to the Sibelius Academy in his honor).
In the Institute, Sibelius received his first formal lessons in composition. He befriended his young teacher Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924) and several of his classmates. He also befriended Aino Jarnefelt (1871-1969), the sister of a classmate. He soon started courting Aino, and they eventually married each other in 1892.
Sibelius graduated from the Institute in 1889, and then continued his musical studies in Berlin and Vienna. While living in Vienna, Sibelius started working on the symphonic poem "Kullervo " (1892). It was an adaptation of a section of the "Kalevala", about a suicidal tragic hero, and his failed efforts at seeking redemption for a crime. The completed poem was the breakthrough hit in Sibelius' career. Sibelius was praised by critics for the "confidence and inventiveness of his writing", and for successfully evoking "the melody and rhythm of Finnic rune singing".
From 1892 onward, Sibelius was primarily interested in composing orchestral music. His next popular work was the choral composition "Vainamoinen's Boat Ride" (April 1893). Between 1893 and 1895, Sibelius' works were frequently presented in Helsinki's concert halls. During this period, he supplemented his income by working as a music teacher at various music schools. In 1898, Sibelius was awarded a substantial annual grant. The grant was initially supposed to financially support him for a decade, but was later extended to a permanent annual grant.
In 1899, Sibelius completed his First Symphony. At about the same timer, he completed the Finnish patriotic song "Song of the Athenians". It became a symbol of Finnish nationalism. Sibelius' tone poem "Finlandia" (1900) was inspired by the national struggle of the Finnish people, and was in part used to protest against Russian repression. It became one of his most popular works.
In 1900, Sibelius went on an international tour, which introduced his works to audiences in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Berlin, and Paris. He received critical praise, and gained international fame. He completed his Second Symphony in 1902, which was met with enthusiasm by the Finnish public. By that time, Sibelius' works were also regularly performed in Germany. In 1903, Sibelius composed incidental music for the play "Kuolema" (Death), written by his brother-in-law Arvid Jarnefelt. The music turned out to be more popular than the play, particularly the play's opening number, "Valse triste" (Sad Waltz).
In November 1903, Sibelius started the construction of his new home: Ainola (Aino's Place). It was named in honor of his wife Aino, and located near Lake Tuusula. Sibelius financed the house's construction with the profits from his series of concerts in Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. The house was completed by September 1904, when Sibelius and his family moved in. He soon befriended a number of painters and writers who lived in the area.
During the 1900s, Sibelius had a reputation of overspending on luxury foods and alcoholic drinks. In 1907, he resolved to give up drinking. His wife was ill at the time and recovering in a sanatorium, so he had to devote more time to his family and its needs. Later that year, Sibelius himself underwent an operation for suspected throat cancer. He was still in poor health for much of 1908, and he had a second operation on his throat. He was convinced that he had to quit both smoking and drinking to survive. Due to his poor health during 1908, Sibelius had to cancel his scheduled concerts in Rome, Warsaw, and Berlin.
In 1909, Sibelius had mostly recovered from his health problems, and he resumed traveling abroad. He was met with enthusiastic audiences in the United Kingdom, where his previous tours had received lukewarm responses. In 1910, he introduced his newest works to audiences in the city of Kristiania, Norway (later renamed to Oslo). In early 1911, Sibelius went on a concert tour in Sweden. Later that year, he completed his Fourth Symphony. It received mixed reviews in Finland, it was met with enthusiasm by British music lovers, and was openly ridiculed by American audiences in New York City. In 1914, Sibelius' sea music composition "The Oceanides" was met with far more enthusiasm at the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, in Norfolk, Connecticut.
World War I (1914-1918) had an adverse effect on Sibelius' finances, as his royalties from abroad were interrupted. He continued working anyway. In December 1915, Sibelius completed his Fifth Symphony. He conducted its premiere on 8 December, the date of his 50th birthday. He worked for most of 1916 on a revised version of the Symphony, in part due to his own perfectionist tendencies. He was perceiving flaws even on his praised works.
During the Finnish Civil War (1918), Sibelius supported the anti-communist "Whites" but took no part in the armed conflict. His house was twice searched for weapons by the communist Red Guard, but they failed to find any weapon. Red Guard fighters escorted Sibelius and his family to Helsinki, as their commander-in-chief had guaranteed Sibelius' safety in a diplomatic agreement.
In 1919, Sibelius presented his Second Symphony at a concern in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was his first concert outside the borders of Finland since 1915. By the end of the year, he had completed his final revision of the Fifth Symphony and had started work on his Sixth Symphony. In 1920, he started struggling with a hand tremor, but still managed to complete more works, In that year, Sibelius received a donation of 63,000 marks from Finnish businesses. This allowed him to pay part of his debts from previous years,.
In the early 1920s, Sibelius entered negotiations with the American businessman and philanthropist George Eastman (1854 -1932). Eastman wanted Sibelius to accept a teaching position at the Eastman School of Music which he had founded, and was willing to pay handsomely. Sibelius eventually turned down the offer, because he was reluctant to move to New York.
In 1921, Sibelius had a series of successful concerts in England and Norway. But he was increasingly feeling fatigued. In 1922, he started using spectacles for the first time. He was having headaches when he tried to read without them. In February 1923, Sibelius completed his Sixth Symphony. His concerts of that year were met with enthusiasm in Sweden, but they were poorly received in Italy. By that time, Sibelius had started overindulging in alcoholic drinks. He seemed intoxicated during a public appearance in Gothenburg.
In early 1924, Sibelius completed his Seventh Symphony. It was received more positively in Denmark, rather than in Finland. In Denmark that year, Sibelius was honored with the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog. This Danish chivalric order is typically awarded for contribution to the arts and sciences. In 1925, the Royal Danish Theatre asked Sibelius to compose incidental music for the play "The Tempest" (1610/1611) by William Shakespeare. This composition premiered in March 1926. By that time, Sibelius was struggling with "essential tremor" (a muscle disorder) and was self-medicating with alcohol.
In 1926, Sibelius entered his semi-retirement. He rarely completed new works, and mostly avoided any interviews and public appearances. He spend years working on his unfinished Eighth Symphony, before giving up. In the Summer of 1941, Sibelius and his family moved back to Ainola after an absence of several years. He spend much of the rest of his life there, rarely bothering to visit Helsinki. He received visitors there, and his various grandchildren and great-grandchildren spend their holidays at Ainola with him.
In 1955, Sibelius' 90th birthday was celebrated with special performances of his works by both the Philadelphia Orchestra and the (British) Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In September 1957, Sibelius died due to a brain hemorrhage (bleeding within the skull). He was 91-years-old at the time of his death. His death was honored with a moment of silence at the United Nations General Assembly.
Sibelius was honored with a state funeral in Finland. He was buried in the garden of his residence at Ainola. His widow Aino continued living at Ainola until her own death in 1969. She was buried beside him at the garden. In 1972, Sibelius' last surviving daughters sold Ainola to the Finnish state. In 1974, Ainola was turned into a museum. Sibelius has repeatedly been memorialized in Finnish art, stamps, and currency since his death.- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Sigur Rós is known for Vanilla Sky (2001), Aquaman (2018) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004).- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Italian immigrants Natalina Della (Garaventa), from Northern Italy, and Saverio Antonino Martino Sinatra, a Sicilian boxer, fireman, and bar owner. Growing up on the gritty streets of Hoboken made Sinatra determined to work hard to get ahead. Starting out as a saloon singer in musty little dives (he carried his own P.A. system), he eventually got work as a band singer, first with The Hoboken Four, then with Harry James and then Tommy Dorsey. With the help of George Evans (Sinatra's genius press agent), his image was shaped into that of a street thug and punk who was saved by his first wife, Nancy Barbato Sinatra. In 1942 he started his solo career, instantly finding fame as the king of the bobbysoxers--the young women and girls who were his fans--and becoming the most popular singer of the era among teenage music fans. About that time his film career was also starting in earnest, and after appearances in a few small films, he struck box-office gold with a lead role in Anchors Aweigh (1945) with Gene Kelly, a Best Picture nominee at the 1946 Academy Awards. Sinatra was awarded a special Oscar for his part in a short film that spoke out against intolerance, The House I Live In (1945). His career on a high, Sinatra went from strength to strength on record, stage and screen, peaking in 1949, once again with Gene Kelly, in the MGM musical On the Town (1949) and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949). A controversial public affair with screen siren Ava Gardner broke up his marriage to Nancy Barbato Sinatra and did his career little good, and his record sales dwindled. He continued to act, although in lesser films such as Meet Danny Wilson (1952), and a vocal cord hemorrhage all but ended his career. He fought back, though, finally securing a role he desperately wanted--Maggio in From Here to Eternity (1953). He won an Oscar for best supporting actor and followed this with a scintillating performance as a cold-blooded assassin hired to kill the US President in Suddenly (1954). Arguably a career-best performance--garnering him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor--was his role as a pathetic heroin addict in the powerful drama The Man with the Golden Arm (1955).
Known as "One-Take Charlie" for his approach to acting that strove for spontaneity and energy, rather than perfection, Sinatra was an instinctive actor who was best at playing parts that mirrored his own personality. He continued to give strong and memorable performances in such films as Guys and Dolls (1955), The Joker Is Wild (1957) and Some Came Running (1958). In the late 1950s and 1960s Sinatra became somewhat prolific as a producer, turning out such films as A Hole in the Head (1959), Sergeants 3 (1962) and the very successful Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964). Lighter roles alongside "Rat Pack" buddies Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. were lucrative, especially the famed Ocean's Eleven (1960). On the other hand, he alternated such projects with much more serious offerings, such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962), regarded by many critics as Sinatra's finest picture. He made his directorial debut with the World War II picture None But the Brave (1965), which was the first Japanese/American co-production. That same year Von Ryan's Express (1965) was a box office sensation. In 1967 Sinatra returned to familiar territory in Sidney J. Furie's The Naked Runner (1967), once again playing as assassin in his only film to be shot in the U.K. and Germany. That same year he starred as a private investigator in Tony Rome (1967), a role he reprised in the sequel, Lady in Cement (1968). He also starred with Lee Remick in The Detective (1968), a film daring for its time with its theme of murders involving rich and powerful homosexual men, and it was a major box-office success.
After appearing in the poorly received comic western Dirty Dingus Magee (1970), Sinatra didn't act again for seven years, returning with a made-for-TV cops-and-mob-guys thriller Contract on Cherry Street (1977), which he also produced. Based on the novel by William Rosenberg, this fable of fed-up cops turning vigilante against the mob boasted a stellar cast and was a ratings success. Sinatra returned to the big screen in The First Deadly Sin (1980), once again playing a New York detective, in a moving and understated performance that was a fitting coda to his career as a leading man. He made one more appearance on the big screen with a cameo in Cannonball Run II (1984) and a final acting performance in Magnum, P.I. (1980), in 1987, as a retired police detective seeking vengeance on the killers of his granddaughter, in an episode entitled Laura (1987).- Actress
- Composer
- Writer
Patti Smith was born on 30 December 1946 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for Noah (2014), Song to Song (2017) and Barb Wire (1996). She was previously married to Fred 'Sonic' Smith.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
The Smiths is known for Bumblebee (2018), 500 Days of Summer (2009) and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).- Music Artist
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dusty Springfield has been acknowledged around the world as the best female soul singer that Britain ever produced. With her oddly erotic, throaty voice, she racked up a string of hits from the 1960s onwards. Born in London to Irish parents, Dusty grew up in and around London. Her early work included an all-girl trio, "The Lana Sisters" and, then, with her brother Tom Springfield (Dion O'Brien), The Springfields. Inspired by Phil Spector's "wall of sound", Dusty recorded her first pop song "I Only Want to Be with You" in 1963. It reached No. 4 in the charts and was the first song played on the new BBC TV pop show Top of the Pops (1964). The sixties brought a steady succession of top-ten hits and a lifestyle to match. However, Dusty used to campaign to get the little-known American soul singers a better audience in the United Kingdom which led to her own show The Sound of Motown (1965). In 1970, she moved to America and, although she attempted a few come-back tours, they never really worked. However, time in the studio did produce the seminal album, "Dusty in Memphis". A downward spiral of drugs and drink followed for most of the latter seventies but then she overcame these problems and, helped by lifelong fans "The Pet Shop Boys", came back with songs such as "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" and the album "Reputation". Cancer was diagnosed in 1994 and, although it was kept at bay for quite a while, it finally got her.- Music Artist
- Composer
- Actor
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen was born September 23, 1949 in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA. His father, Douglas Frederick Springsteen, worked as a bus driver, and was of Irish and Dutch ancestry. His mother, Adele Ann (Zerilli), worked as a legal secretary, and was of Italian descent. He has an older sister, Virginia, and a younger sister Pamela Springsteen. Bruce was raised as a Catholic. He was inspired to take up music when he, at the age of seven, saw Elvis Presley on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948). When he was thirteen he bought his first guitar for 18 dollars. His mother took out a loan when Bruce was 16 and bought him a Kent guitar for 60 dollars.
In 1965, he became the lead guitarist in the band "The Castiles", he would later become lead singer in the band. The Castiles recorded two original songs at a public recording studio in Brick Township, New Jersey. From 1969 to 1971 he performed with Steven Van Zandt, Danny Federici and Vini "Mad Dog" Lopez in a band called "Child", that was renamed later to "Steel Mill" when guitarist Robbin Thompson joined the band.
In 1972, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records and released his debut album, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.", with his New Jersey-based colleagues, who would later be called "The E Street Band", In January, 1973. The album had critical success and so did their second album, "The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle", released in September, 1973, but had little commercial success. In 1975, after more than 14 month of recording, their third album was released, "Born to Run", which had both critical and commercial success for Springsteen and the band.
In 1977, he returned to the studio, after a two-year legal battle with former manager Mike Appel, and produced the album, "Darkness on the Edge of Town", released in 1978 and became a turning point musically for his career. In 1980 came the release of "The River", the album sold well and he followed up with the album "Nebraska" which had critical success but had little commercial success. Springsteen came back with a bang with the release of the album "Born in the U.S.A." in 1984, which sold 15 million copies in the U.S. alone and had seven top ten singles. It became one of the best-selling albums of all time.
After the huge success of the "Born in the U.S.A." album he released a more calm and sedate album in 1987, "Tunnel of Love", which included songs about love lost and the challenges of love, after the break-up with first wife, Julianne Phillips. The albums released in 1992, "Lucky Town" and "Human Touch" were also popular, Human Touch being the most popular of the two, hitting the number one spot of the best-selling albums in the UK. In 1994 he won an academy award for the song "Streets of Philadelphia" featured in the film Philadelphia (1993).
In 1995, he released the album "The Ghost of Tom Joad", which was mostly a solo guitar album and was inspired by "Journey to Nowhere: The Saga of the New Underclass," a book by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Dale Maharidge. After being apart from the E Street Band for several years they reunited with a successful tour which ended in Madison Square Garden in New York in the year 2000. In 2002 he released the first studio album with the full band in over 18 years, "The Rising", and it became a critical and commercial success. In 2005 he released his third folk album (after "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad"), "Devils & Dust" It was followed by "We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions" in 2006 and "Magic" in 2007. His 16th album will be released on January 27, 2009 and is called "Working on a Dream".
He married for the first time at the age of 35 to actress Julianne Phillips. The marriage helped boost her acting career, but his traveling took it's toll on the marriage and the final blow came when she found out his affair with the American singer/songwriter/guitarist Patti Scialfa. Their marriage ended in 1989. He then married Patti Scialfa on June 8th, 1991, They had lived together since the separation between him and his first wife and they had a child before they married. They have three children together: Evan James Springsteen (born July 25, 1990), Jessica Rae (born December 30, 1991) and Sam Ryan Springsteen (born January 5, 1994).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Tomasz Stanko was born on 11 July 1942 in Rzeszów, Podkarpackie, Poland. He was a composer and actor, known for Pozegnanie z Maria (1993), Egzekutor (1999) and Lózko Wierszynina (1997). He was married to Joanna. He died on 29 July 2018 in Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland.- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Composer
Sufjan Stevens was born on 1 July 1975 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a music artist and composer, known for Call Me by Your Name (2017), Jessabelle (2014) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Renata Tebaldi was and is surely one of the best Spinto soprano voices that any century has ever heard. She made her operatic debut, through bombed streets in 1944 in Mefistofele, as Elena. Then was hand picked for the reopening of La Scala, 46 by Toscanini. It was there that the legendary "Voice of an Angel" started. He put Tebaldi upon a podium, well above the choir, and said "I want your voice to sound as though an angel is coming from Heaven." That is how it all started.
Her career began to grow at the same time as Maria Callas, though, actually, if one delves into their respective careers, they were so different, performing only three or four roles at the same time. In 1950 Tebaldi was selected by both esteemed conductors, Toscanini and De Sabata, for their versions of the Verdi Requium. These recordings exist today, and one can see how her vocal splendor was soon to become an international phenomenon. Her operatic debut in the United States, was AIDA in '50 in SF. She was booked just opon hearing a few of her recordings.
Tebaldi was so lucky, as she began her career just as the recording industry was beginning to record complete operas on LP. Decca/London quickly signed this promising new talent, and she continued to record for the label until 1974. She often recorded her repertoire twice, one in mono, then in Stereo, as her vocal and dramatic prowess only increased with time. Her legendary Decca recordings are mostly still in print, Aida, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, La Fanciulla del West, Otello (in which she was unsurpassed as Desdemona), Andrea Chenier, Adrianna, La Wally, La Gioconda, Manon Lescaut, and Tosca. These are all available, on many labels, as live recordings as well.
Tebaldi's operatic career took one's breath away, just looking at the theatres she performed in, The Met, War Memorial, Covent Garden, San Carlos, Paris, Russia, Chicago Lyric, to name only a very few.
Her complete operas on video only give testament to her greatness, her absolutely gorgeous voice. Tosca '61 Stuttgart is now on DVD, along with her Andrea Chenier, with the wonderful and her recording partner, Mario del Monaco, Japan '61, Forza del Destino '58 with Corelli and Bastianini is also on DVD.
Her voice has been praised by Beverly Sills, Martina Arroyo, Joan Sutherland, and the great Caballe, who saw her as a youngster, and wanted to be like her. Also the many tenors who worked with her, Del Monaco, Di Stefano, Bjorling, Morell, and Richard Tucker, always praised her in every way possible. So did Franco Corelli, whom, both tall and good-looking, often left audiences spellbound, with their looks and singing.
To this day, she still is in great health, and loves to hear from her fans. She does consider them as family, as she feels she sacrificed a family for a career, way before it was acceptable for a woman to do so. But her fan base only grows. All you have to do is put on just one track of a Tebaldi CD, or record, to know why.- Pham Duc Thanh is known for Vietnam: The Country of Dreams (2007).
- Composer
- Soundtrack
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Ali Farka Touré was born on 31 October 1939 in Gourmararusse, Timbuktu, Mali. He was a composer, known for Unfaithful (2002), The Spanish Apartment (2002) and The Nanny Diaries (2007). He was married to Fatouma. He died on 6 March 2006 in Bamako, Mali.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Chavela Vargas was born on 17 April 1919 in San Joaquin de Flores, Costa Rica. She was an actress, known for Frida (2002), Julieta (2016) and A Bigger Splash (2015). She died on 5 August 2012 in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.- Music Department
- Composer
- Actor
Dr. Ralph Vaughan Williams was perhaps the most important English composer of the 20th Century. His influence on the development of 20th Century music was immense. Benjamin Britten and numerous film composers (Jerry Goldsmith, etc.) owe a lot to him. He created a truly contemporary idiom whose roots reached back to Tudor times and folk music.
He first made a name as one of the leading collector/researcher of traditional English folk music at the turn of the century. He worked also as organist, conductor, lecturer, teacher, editor and writer. He studied under Sir Hubert Parry, Max Bruch and Maurice Ravel. He had a life-long friendship with Gustav Holst, and if one listens carefully one can hear crossover 'hommages' in their works. His professional career spanned more than six decades, with nine Symphonies, several concertos, a ballet, a few operas and countless choral works. The latter are often performed in church services, not bad for an agnostic composer. In 1941, at an age most people have retired (almost 70), he entered the movies with the score to Michael Powell's '49th Parallel'. He composed 11 motion picture scores. Out of his score to 'Scott of the Antarctic' he developed his majestic 7th Symphony.- Music Department
- Composer
- Writer
Giuseppe Verdi was born Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi on October 10, 1813, in Le Roncole di Busseto, Parma, Italy. His parents were landowners and innkeepers. Young Verdi received his first organ lessons at the age of 7. He studied composition privately with Ferdinando Provesi in Busseto. At age 20 he moved to Milan to continue his studies, but the Conservatory of Music rejected him. Verdi took private lessons and associated with Milan's cultural milieu in his pursuit of a musical career. He was patronized by Antonio Barezzi, a merchant, whose daughter, Margherita, was Verdi's student and later became his wife.
His first opera, Oberto (1839), was a successful production by Milan's Theatro La Scala. While Verdi continued working on his second opera, his wife and two children died. The second opera failed, and he suffered a depression and vowed to quit musical career. La Scala impresario, Merelli, persuaded him to write a third opera. Nabucco (1842) made Verdi famous. He followed the Bel Canto style of Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. Verdi's best operas were based on plays by Victor Hugo, such as 'Ernani' (1844) and 'Rigoletto' (1851). In 1853 Verdi 's masterpiece 'La Traviata' was produced in Venice. It was based on 'The Lady of the Camelias', a play by Alexandre Dumas, fils. At that time Verdi became familiar with the music of Russian composer Mikhail Glinka who was popularized in Europe by Franz Liszt. The music of Mikhail Glinka had certain influence on Verdi's later operas.
In 1861 Verdi wrote 'La forza del destino' commissioned by the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, upon the recommendations by Aleksandr Borodin. It was performed with great success in 1862, and became part of a standard operatic repertoire ever since. His grand-opera 'Aida' (1871) was premiered in Cairo as part of the celebrations of the opening of the Suez Canal, and became an instant success. In his later operas Verdi turned from the style of Bel Canto to more expressive music and orchestration, like in 'Otello' (1887), based on the eponymous play by Shakespeare. Verdi's last and musically most brilliant, rich and expressive opera, 'Falstaff' (1893), was based on the Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor" in the adaptation of Victor Hugo.
Verdi's musical success coincided with the political events of Italian unification during the Austrian occupation. The 'Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves' from his opera 'Nabucco' (1842), became a popular song among supporters of Italian unification. Many of his opera performances were used by the supporters of Victor Emmanuel to shout "Viva Verdi" as a code name for a secret unification message. The name Verdi was used as acronym for "Vittorio Emanuele Re D'Italia" - Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy. Such a code enabled clandestine partisans of Victor Emmanuel, then the King of Sardinia, to gain more supporters in Milan which eventually led to the unification of Italy. Verdi was aware that his popular operas and his name was used as a political tool. Austrian censorship was powerless.
In 1861 Victor Emmanuel became the King of Italy in Turin. From 1861-1865 Giuseppe Verdi was elected representative of Busseto in the newly formed Italian parliament. After Garibaldi's military campaign the capital was moved to Florence, then to Rome, and Verdi returned from politics to music. He lived in Milan during the last years of his life. He was revered and honoured all over the world, and was much visited by his admirers. He died on January 27, 1901, in Milan, and was laid to rest at the Casa di Riposo, a retirement home for elderly musicians that was established by Verdi himself.
Verdi's music was used in hundreds of film scores. His operas has been the staples of operatic repertoire. His canzonas "La donna è mobile" from opera 'Rigoletto' (1851) and "Libiamo ne'lieti calici" (Drinking song) from 'La Traviata' (1853) has been popular concert numbers in performances by the three tenors: Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras.- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Frederica von Stade was born on 1 June 1945 in Somerville, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress, known for The Marriage of Figaro (1974), Les noces de Figaro (1980) and La Cenerentola (1982).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her career began early in 2000 with the song "Ah Ya Leil" but they were not the first songs where he appeared with the singer "Mohamed Mohy" in duet titled "You love of eye and the heart" of this before you share with Tamer Hosni, as a representative cinemas with "Ahmed Helmy" it resulted in a film "Mido Mashkel", the Free Music company owner "Nasr Mahrous" first to produce her "Ghairana" Album and after some differences between the two she terminate the contract between them. Shirin was married to composer and distributor "Muhammad Mustafa" and have two daughters "Marem" and "Hana" , but they broke up after the marriage lasted for five years.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Thomas Alan Waits was born in Pomona, California, to schoolteachers Alma Fern (Johnson) and Jesse Frank Waits. Described as one of the last beatniks of the contemporary music, Waits in fact has two separate careers. From 1973 (LP "Closing Time") to 1983 ("One From The Heart" soundtrack), he recorded nine LPs for Asylum Records, writing songs mainly in the manner of Tin Pan Alley, mixing them with jazz and blues. Extraordinarily, he never produced a hit, but he earned a cult following all over the world. In 1983 he signed with Island Records, and released a series of albums that stunned the music world. Beginning with "Swordfishtrombones", he introduced a whole new orchestration, which included some of the instruments invented by Harry Partch. He found a new ground for his innovations, searching in sound fields that never before were searched. This second part of his career coincided with his marriage to Kathleen Brennan, a former writer for Francis Ford Coppola (Zoetrope (1999)). His LPs "Rain Dogs" (1985), "Big Time" (soundtrack) and "The Black Rider" are today what Kurt Weill's music was once. "The Black Rider" brings music written for the show directed by Bob Wilson and staged in Germany.- Composer
- Actor
- Writer
Kamasi Washington is known for As Told To G/D Thyself (2019), Becoming (2020) and The Voyeurs (2021).- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
- Music Department
Grace Williams was born on 19 February 1906 in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK. She was a composer, known for Blue Scar (1949), A Story of Achievement (1951) and David (1952). She died on 10 February 1977 in Barry, Glamorgan, Wales, UK.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Neil Young is one of the most respected and prolific rock/folk guitarists of the late 20th century. Raised in Canada, he first became well-known as a guitarist and occasional vocalist for the band Buffalo Springfield. After the band's breakup, Young became a solo performer. However, he also has spent more than 30 years performing with the super-group Crosby Stills Nash & Young, as well as with the band Crazy Horse. He also recorded an album with the grunge band Pearl Jam in 1995. Besides his work as a musician, he has also been active in film. Young has produced and/or performed in such concert films as Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Year of the Horse (1997) and many more. He has also been involved with non-musical films, including Human Highway (1982) and Made in Heaven (1987).- Composer
- Actor
- Music Department
Atahualpa Yupanqui was born on 31 January 1908 in J. de la Peña, Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was a composer and actor, known for La edad del sol (1999), Torrente indiano (1954) and Horizontes de piedra (1956). He was married to Nenette Pepin Fitzpatrick and María Alicia Martínez. He died on 23 May 1992 in Nimes, France.