Breathing Curiosity
Ray Shulman, born Raymond 8 December 1949) is the multi-instrumentalist, and the youngest of three brothers in progressive rock band Gentle Giant. Formed at the dawn of the progressive rock era, Gentle Giant seemed poised for a time in the mid-'70s to break out of their cult-band status, but they somehow never made the jump.… Continue reading Ray Schulman *XII 8 1949 — The Life You Give
Jim Morrison, born James Douglas Morrison, December 8, 1943, in Melbourne, Florida, U.S.A., is the singer and songwriter who was the charismatic front man of the psychedelic rock group the Doors.Morrison’s father was a naval officer (ultimately an admiral), and the family moved frequently, though it settled down in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Alexandria,… Continue reading Jim Morrison *XII 8 1943 — The Life You Give
Jean Sibelius was born in Hämeenlinna, Finland, on 8th December 1865, the second of three children. His father died when ‘Janne’ was only two. Although the language spoken at home was Swedish, Janne attended Hämeenlinna’s pioneering Finnish-speaking grammar school. Music was encouraged at home, and before long Janne was improvising and composing pieces of his… Continue reading The Life You Give: Jean Sibelius *1865
Tom Waits, born Thomas Alan Waits, December 7, 1949, in Pomona, California, U.S.A., is the singer-songwriter and actor whose gritty, sometimes romantic depictions of the lives of the urban underclass won him a loyal if limited following and the admiration of critics and prominent musicians who performed and recorded his songs.Born into a middle-class California… Continue reading Tom Waits *XII 7 1949 — The Life You Give
Padrón No. 90 maduro
Anton Webern, born Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern, December 3, 1883, Vienna, Austria, is the composer of the 12-tone Viennese school. He is known especially for his passacaglia for orchestra, his chamber music, and various songs (Lieder).Webern’s father, a mining engineer, rose to the highest rank of his profession, becoming chief of mining in the… Continue reading Anton Webern *XII 3 1883 — The Life You Give
Ozzy Osbourne, born John Michael Osbourne, December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England, is the musician who gained a loyal following as the vocalist for the heavy metal group Black Sabbath before embarking on a successful solo career.Raised in a working-class family, Osbourne dropped out of school at age 15 and held several low-paying jobs. He… Continue reading Ozzy Osborne *XII 3 1948 — The Life You Give
Maria Callas, born Maria Cecilia Sophia Anna Kalogeropoulos, December 2, 1923, in New York, New York, U.S.A., is the operatic soprano who revived classical coloratura roles in the mid-20th century with her lyrical and dramatic versatility.Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants and early developed an interest in singing. Accompanied by her mother, she left… Continue reading María Callas *XII 2 1923 — The Life You Give
Take a moment, hook in your best pair of headphones, maybe even close your eyes, and listen to the first haunting bars of Franz Schubert’s “Unfinished” Eighth Symphony. It begins with a single, hushed melodic line in the low strings which quickly gives way to shivering violins and darkly pulsating bass pizzicati. Then, a lamenting… Continue reading Interrupted/Innerupted: Symphony No. 8, Franz Schubert
Gaetano Donizetti, born on Nov. 29, 1797, in Bergamo, Cisalpine Republic, was an Italian opera composer whose numerous operas in both Italian and French represent a transitional stage in operatic development between Rossini and Verdi. Among his major works are Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), La fille du régiment (1840), and La favorite (1840). In his… Continue reading Gaetano Donizetti *XI 29 1797 — The Life You Give
Stefan Zweig, born November 28, 1881, Vienna, Austro-Hungarian Empire [now in Austria], is the writer who achieved distinction in several genres—poetry, essays, short stories, and dramas—most notably in his interpretations of imaginary and historical characters.Zweig was raised in Vienna. His first book, a volume of poetry, was published in 1901. He received a doctorate from… Continue reading Stefan Zweig *XI 28 1881 — The Life You Give
One of the most stylistic, professional and refined tenors of the century, Spanish tenor Alfredo Kraus passed away recently in Madrid after a long and outstanding career in the world of opera. The Kraus personality gravitated between two poles. On one side the tenor of Mozart and on the other side the lyrical tenor of… Continue reading Alfredo Kraus *XI 24 1927 — The Life You Give
Alfred Schnittke, born Nov. 24, 1934, Engels, Volga German Autonomous S.S.R. [now in Saratov oblast, Russia], is the postmodernist Russian composer who created serious, dark-toned musical works characterized by abrupt juxtapositions of radically different, often contradictory, styles, an approach that came to be known as “polystylism.”Schnittke’s father was a Jewish journalist who had been born… Continue reading Alfred Schnittke *XI 24 1934 — The Life you Give
One of the first bassists to merge funk with punk/alternative music was the Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth. Born on November 22, 1950, in Coronado, CA, Weymouth's family moved quite a bit early on, as her father served in the Navy. Although Weymouth first picked up a guitar at the age of 14, she failed to… Continue reading Tina Weymouth *XI 22 1950 — The Life You Give
Benjamin Britten, born Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten Of Aldeburgh, November 22, 1913, in Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, is the composer of the mid-20th century, whose operas were considered the finest English operas since those of Henry Purcell in the 17th century. He was also an outstanding pianist and conductor.Britten composed as a child and at… Continue reading Benjamin Britten *XI 22 1913 — The Life You Give
Björk, born Björk Gudmundsdottir, November 21, 1965, in Reykjavík, Iceland, is the singer-songwriter and actress best known for her solo work covering a wide variety of music styles. Integrating electronic and organic sounds, her music frequently explored the relationship between nature and technology.Björk recorded her first solo album, a collection of cover versions of popular… Continue reading Björk *XI 21 1965 — The Life You Give
Meredith Monk, born Meredith Jane Monk, November 20, 1942, New York City, New York, U.S.A., is the performance artist, a pioneer in the avant-garde, whose work skillfully integrated diverse performance disciplines and media.Monk studied piano and eurythmics from an early age. She earned a B.A. in 1964 from Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York. From… Continue reading Meredith Monk *XI 20 1942 — The Life You Give
Paul Hindemith, born November 16, 1895, in Hanau, near Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is the one of the principal German composers of the first half of the 20th century and a leading musical theorist. He sought to revitalize tonality—the traditional harmonic system that was being challenged by many other composers—and also pioneered in the writing… Continue reading Paul Hindemith *XI 16 1895 — The Life You Give
Fanny Mendelssohn, born Fanny (Cäcilie) Mendelssohn (-Bartholdy, married name Fanny Hensel), on November 14, 1805, Hamburg [Germany], is the pianist and composer, the eldest sister and confidante of the composer Felix Mendelssohn.Fanny is said to have been as talented musically as her brother, and the two children were given the same music teachers. Felix readily… Continue reading Fanny Mendelssohn *XI 14 1805 — The Life You Give
Fyodor Dostoyevsky, born Fyodor Mikhaylovich Dostoyevsky, Dostoyevsky also spelled Dostoevsky, on November 11 [October 30, Old Style], 1821, Moscow, Russia, is the novelist and short-story writer whose psychological penetration into the darkest recesses of the human heart, together with his unsurpassed moments of illumination, had an immense influence on 20th-century fiction.Dostoyevsky is usually regarded as… Continue reading Fyodor Dostoyevsky *XI 11 1821 — The Life You Give
As a singer and instrumentalist, Greg Lake had his greatest success and influence in the progressive rock outfit Emerson, Lake & Palmer and, before that, as a founding member of the original King Crimson. He was also reasonably popular as a solo artist working in more of a hard rock idiom. As a boy, growing… Continue reading Greg Lake *XI 10 1947 — The Life You Give
Sila Blume 