Russian composer Nikolai Karlovich Medtner (or Metner) was born January 4 1880 in Moscow, to parents of German descent who had lived in Russia for several generations. The family background was musical; his mother's brother was Fedor Gedike (Theodore Goedicke), a minor Romantic composer and professional pianist. He received early piano lessons from his mother… Continue reading The Life You Give: Nikolai Medtner *1880
Day: January 4, 2022
The Life You Give: Louis Braille *1809
Louis Braille, born January 4, 1809, in Coupvray, near Paris, France, is the educator who developed a system of printing and writing, called Braille, that is extensively used by the blind.Braille was himself blinded at the age of three in an accident that occurred while he was playing with tools in his father’s harness shop.… Continue reading The Life You Give: Louis Braille *1809
The Life You Give: Grace Bumbry *1937
Grace Bumbry is a pioneering Mezzo & Soprano. Few mezzo-sopranos have successfully made the transition to becoming top sopranos. Grace Bumbry managed that. She was also a major figure in helping black singers find their rightful place on the opera stage in an era where segregation ran rampant.Born on Jan. 4, 1937, the mezzo was… Continue reading The Life You Give: Grace Bumbry *1937
An Incessant Life Surpasses Any Embroidered Requiem
The last breath will not be a question. There will be nothing to ask in the midst of such symbolic sounds implying a departure is at hand. The last breath will not inquire, for the last breath need not obey.
The Life You Give: Isaac Newton *1642
Isaac Newton, born January 4, 1643, [New Style], in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, is the physicist and mathematician, who was the culminating figure of the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. In optics, his discovery of the composition of white light integrated the phenomena of colours into the science of light and laid the foundation for… Continue reading The Life You Give: Isaac Newton *1642