Clubhouse Events
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Waltraud Meier *I 9 1956 — The Life You Give
Though she has achieved much acclaim for her Wagnerian roles — and rightly so, mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier possesses a vast repertory — not to mention a consummate skill — in Italian, French, and even Russian opera, from Bizet’s Carmen and Tchaikovsky’s Jeanne d’Arc to Verdi’s Azucena (Il Trovatore) and Saint-Saëns’ Dalila (Samson and Dalila). She…
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Giacinto Scelsi *I 8 1905 — The Life You Give
Giacinto Scelsi was born on January 8th, 1905 to an aristocratic family living on an old estate in the country surrounding Naples in southern Italy. Though he had little formal musical training, he is now recognized as one of the most creative composers of our century. Scelsi’s mature music is marked by a supreme concentration…
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David Bowie *I 8 1947 — The Life You Give
David Bowie, born David Jones on January 8 1947, in London, England, is the singer, songwriter, and actor who was most prominent in the 1970s and best known for his shifting personae and musical genre hopping. To call Bowie a transitional figure in rock history is less a judgment than a job description. Every niche…
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Aleksandr Scriabin *I 6 1871 — The Life You Give
Aleksandr Scriabin, born Aleksandr Nikolayevich Scriabin, on Jan. 6, 1872, in Moscow, Russia, was a composer of piano and orchestral music noted for its unusual harmonies through which the composer sought to explore musical symbolism. Scriabin was trained as a soldier at the Moscow Cadet School from 1882 to 1889 but studied music at the…
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Alfred Brendel *I 5 1931 — The Life You Give
Alfred Brendel, born January 5, 1931, in Wiesenberg, Czechoslovakia [now Loučná nad Desnou, Czech Republic], is a pianist and writer whose recordings and international concert appearances secured his reputation. He is best known for his interpretations of Ludwig van Beethoven’s music, recording several cycles of the composer’s piano sonatas and concertos. Brendel studied the piano…
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J. R. R. Tolkien *I 3 1892 — The Life You Give
J. R. R. Tolkien, born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, is the writer and scholar who achieved fame with his children’s book The Hobbit (1937) and his richly inventive epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). At age four, Tolkien, with his mother and younger brother, settled near…
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Pablo Casals *XII 29 1876 — The Life You Give / La Vida Que Das
Pablo Casals, born Pau Casals i Defilló, on December 29, 1876, in Vendrell, Spain, was cellist and conductor, known for his virtuosic technique, skilled interpretation, and consummate musicianship. Biografía en español después de la foto Casals made his debut in Barcelona in 1891 after early training in composition, cello, and piano. After further study in…
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Mauricio Kagel *XII 24 1931 — The Life You Give
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Kagel proved to be one of the most versatile, creative, and witty composers to come of age in the second half of the twentieth century. He studied piano, theory, violoncello, organ, singing, and conducting, and was self-taught as a composer. Kagel also studied philosophy and literature extensively during his college…
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Edita Gruberova *XII 23 1946 — The Life You Give
Edita Gruberova, born December 23, 1946, in Bratislava, was a Slovak soprano and one of the most acclaimed coloraturas of recent decades. She is noted for her great tonal clarity, agility, and ability to sing high notes with great power, making her an ideal Queen of the Night in her early years. In recent years,…
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Giacomo Puccini *XII 22 1858 — The Life You Give
Giacomo Puccini, born Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini, December 22, 1858, in Lucca, Tuscany [Italy], is the composer, and one of the greatest exponents of operatic realism, who virtually brought the history of Italian opera to an end. His mature operas included La Bohème (1896), Tosca (1900), Madama Butterfly (1904), and Turandot (left…
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Edgard Varèse *XII 22 1883 — The Life You Give
Edgard Varèse, born Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse on December 22 1883, in Paris, France, is the composer and innovator in 20th-century techniques of sound production. Varèse spent his boyhood in Paris, Burgundy, and Turin, Italy. After composing without formal instruction as a youth, he later studied under Vincent d’Indy, Albert Roussel, and Charles Widor…
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Frank Zappa *XII 21 1940 — The Life You Give
Frank Zappa, born Frank Vincent Zappa on December 21, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., was composer, guitarist, and satirist of the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s. Zappa was, in no apparent order, a first-rate cultural gadfly dedicated to upsetting American suburban complacency and puncturing the hypocrisy and pretensions of both the U.S. political establishment and the…
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András Schiff *XII 21 1953 — The Life You Give
András Schiff is among the most prominent members of a generation of Hungarian pianists born in the years following World War II, along with such artists as Zoltán Kocsis, Dezso Ránki, and Jenö Jandó. Of this remarkable group, Schiff has achieved the strongest international reputation, due not only to his decision to pursue his career…
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Édith Piaf *XII 19 1915 — The Life You Give
Edith Piaf, born Edith Giovanna Gassion, on December 19, 1915, in Paris, France, is the singer and actress whose interpretation of the chanson, or French ballad, made her internationally famous. Among her trademark songs were “Non, je ne regrette rien” (“No, I Don’t Regret Anything”) and “La Vie en rose” (literally “Life in Pink”. Piaf’s…
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Ludwig van Beethoven *XII 17 1770 — The Life You Give
Ludwig van Beethoven, born on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany, is the composer, and predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. Widely regarded as the greatest composer who ever lived, Ludwig van Beethoven dominates a period of musical history as no one else before or since. Rooted in…
Sila Blume 