celebration
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Days with David Bowie — film: Baal
David Bowie in Alan Clarke’s ‘Baal’ (1982) Alan Clarke’s films generally go straight into the ‘once seen, never forgotten’ file – including David Bowie’s remarkable turn as Baal, Bertolt Brecht’s anti-hero, adapted by Clarke and John Willett from the 1918 play. Though it wasn’t exactly a frequently-performed work, British theatre audiences were treated to a…
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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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Days with David Bowie: “The Man Who Fell To Earth”
Celebrating the life of David Bowie (*January 8 1947), we are spending a few days considering his life and work in music, art, and cinema. The focus of this Clubhouse celebration is on three works for the screen which display most of the key performances he gave as an actor, next to his musical mind…
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Louis Braille *I 4 1809 — The Life You Give
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…
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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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Maurice and Robin Gibb *XII 22 1949 — The Life You Give
The Bee Gees, is the English-Australian pop-rock band that embodied the disco era of the late 1970s. In becoming one of the best-selling recording acts of all time, the Bee Gees (short for the Brothers Gibb) adapted to changing musical styles while maintaining the high harmonies, elaborate melodies, and ornate orchestrations that were their trademark.…
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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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Ludwig van Beethoven *XII 17 1770 — The Life You Give
Ludwig van Beethoven, born on December 17, 1770, in Bonn, Germany, was a composer, and the 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…
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Olivier Messiaen *XII 10 1908 — The Life You Give
Olivier Messiaen, born Olivier-Eugène-Prosper-Charles Messiaen, Dec. 10, 1908, Avignon, France, is the influential composer, organist, and teacher noted for his use of mystical and religious themes. As a composer he developed a highly personal style noted for its rhythmic complexity, rich tonal colour, and unique harmonic language. Messiaen was the son of Pierre Messiaen, who…
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Hector Berlioz *XII 11 1803 — The Life You Give
Hector Berlioz, born December 11, 1803, in La Côte-Saint-André, France, was a composer, critic, and conductor of the Romantic period, known largely for his Symphonie fantastique (1830), the choral symphony Roméo et Juliette (1839), and the dramatic piece La Damnation de Faust (1846). His last years were marked by fame abroad and hostility at home.…
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Tina Turner *XI 26 1939 / The Life You Give
Tina Turner, original name Anna Mae Bullock, (born November 26, 1939, Brownsville, Tennessee, U.S.), American-born singer who found success in the rhythm-and-blues, soul, and rock genres in a career that spanned five decades. Turner was born into a sharecropping family in rural Tennessee. She began singing as a teenager and, after moving to St. Louis,…
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Manuel de Falla *XI 23 1876 / La Vida Que Das
Manuel de Falla Matheu, nacido en Cádiz, el 23 de Noviembre del 1876, es el compositor y la figura musical más trascendente de todo el siglo xx español, tanto por la importancia de sus obras como por las secuelas que su trabajo ha creado en generaciones posteriores. Es el representante más importante de la llamada…
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Benjamin Britten *XI 22 1913 — 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…
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Björk *XI 21 1965 — 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…
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Meredith Monk *XI 20 1942 — 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.…
Sila Blume 