Celebration Day
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To my Father, and Johann Sebastian Bach — especially
On a day like today, some significant humans arrived planet earth. 1685 Johann Sebastian Bach, the incomparable German composer and musician, in Eisenach, Germany. 1856 Henry Ossian Flipper, the USAmerican soldier who was the first US African American to graduate from West Point, after having been a slave, born in Thomasville, Georgia. 1931 Rolando Eliezer,…
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Sviatoslav Richter *III 20 1915 / The Life You Give
Sviatoslav Richter, born Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, on March 7 [March 20, New Style], 1915, Zhitomir, Ukraine, Russian Empire [now Zhytomyr, Ukraine], is the pianist whose technical virtuosity combined with subtle introspection, made him one of the preeminent pianists of the 20th century. Though his repertoire was enormous, he was especially praised for his interpretations of…
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Bernd Alois Zimmermann *III 20 1918 — The Life You Give
One of the most important German composers to emerge during the post-World War II era, Bernd Alois Zimmermann was born in the outskirts of Cologne in 1918. His schooling at the Cologne Musikhochschule was interrupted when he was drafted for military service in the early days of the Second World War. Discharged in 1942, Zimmermann…
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Nat King Cole *III 17 1919 / The Life You Give
Nat King Cole, born Nathaniel Adams Cole, on March 17 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.A., is the musician hailed as one of the best and most influential pianists and small-group leaders of the swing era. Cole attained his greatest commercial success, however, as a vocalist specializing in warm ballads and light swing. Cole grew up…
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Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre *III 17 1665 / The Life You Give
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, also known as Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre or Elisabeth Jacquet, Elisabeth also spelled Élisabeth, (baptized March 17, 1665) in Paris, France, is the composer, harpsichordist, and organist, who was the first woman to compose an opera in France. Elisabeth Jacquet was born into a family of artisans that included…
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Christa Ludwig *III 16 1928 — The Life You Give
Christa Ludwig was one of the most admired mezzo-sopranos of her generation, with a wide repertoire of both lieder and opera. She brought a fine sense of musicianship as well as drama to her performances. Her roles ranged from Dorabella in Così fan Tutte to Brangane in Tristan und Isolde and Clytemnestra in Elektra, and…
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Rosalind Elias *III 13 1931 / The Life You Give
Mezzo-soprano Rosalind Elias had a long, leading career in opera on the international scene. She was most often heard at the Metropolitan Opera, where she spent more than 40 years as part of its company. There, and elsewhere, she performed in many American and world premieres. Elias was born on March 13, 1931, in Lowell,…
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James Taylor *III 12 1948 / The Life You Give
James Taylor, born March 12 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., is the singer, songwriter, and guitarist who defined the singer-songwriter movement of the 1970s. Bob Dylan brought confessional poetry to folk rock, but Taylor became the epitome of the troubadour whose life was the subject of his songs. Among the experiences that shaped Taylor, who…
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Henry Cowell *III 11 1897 / The Life You Give
Of all the early twentieth century American musical revolutionaries, perhaps composer Henry Cowell wielded the most vivid and far-reaching influence. Born in 1897 to a rural California family, Cowell began to study the violin at age five, though his parents’ hopes of creating a prodigy on the instrument remained unfulfilled when the lessons had to…
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Arthur Honegger *III 10 1892 / The Life You Give
Born in France to Swiss parents, Arthur Honegger was a major twentieth century composer whose musical style was more cosmopolitan than either French or Swiss. An almost exact contemporary of Prokofiev (1891-1953), he rivaled Poulenc as the most successful member of Les Six and was without doubt among the greatest French composers of his day.…
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Samuel Barber *III 9 1910 — The Life You Give
Early years Barber was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, the son of Marguerite McLeod (née Beatty) and Samuel LeRoy Barber. At a very early age, Barber became profoundly interested in music, and it was apparent that he had great musical talent and ability. At the age of nine he wrote to his mother: Dear Mother:…
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Ornette Coleman *III 9 1930 — The Life You Give
Ornette Coleman, born Randolph Denard Ornette Coleman, on March 9, 1930, in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A., is the jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader who was the principal initiator and leading exponent of free jazz in the late 1950s. Coleman began playing alto, then tenor saxophone as a teenager and soon became a working musician in…
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Anselm Kiefer *III 8 1945 / The Life You Give
Anselm Kiefer, born March 8, 1945, in Donaueschingen, Germany, is the painter who became one of the most prominent figures in the Neo-Expressionist art movement of the late 20th century.Kiefer abandoned his law studies at the University of Freiburg in 1966 to pursue art. He subsequently studied at art academies in Freiburg, Karlsruhe, and Dusseldorf.…
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Antonio Vivaldi *III 4 1678 / The Life You Give
Antonio Vivaldi, born Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, on March 4 1678, in Venice, Republic of Venice [Italy], is the composer and violinist who left a decisive mark on the form of the concerto and the style of late Baroque instrumental music. Vivaldi’s main teacher was probably his father, Giovanni Battista, who in 1685 was admitted as…
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Bedřich Smetana *III 2 1824 — The Life You Give
Bedřich Smetana, born March 2, 1824, in Leitomischl, Bohemia, Austrian Empire [now Litomyšl, Czech Republic], was composer of operas and symphonic poems, and founder of the Czech national school of music. He was the first truly important Bohemian nationalist composer. Smetana studied music under his father, an amateur violinist. He early took up piano under…
Sila Blume 