celebration
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Louise Bourgeois *XII 25 1911 — The Life You Give
Louise Bourgeois, born December 25, 1911, in Paris, France, is the sculptor known for her monumental abstract and often biomorphic works that deal with the relationships of men and women. Born to a family of tapestry weavers, Bourgeois made her first drawings to assist her parents in their restoration of ancient tapestries. She attended the…
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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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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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Teresa Carreño *XII 22 1853 — The Life You Give
Teresa Carreño, born María Teresa Gertrudis de Jesús Carreño García on December 22, 1853 in Caracas, is the celebrated Venezuelan pianist of great power and spirit, who was known to her public as the “Valkyrie of the piano.” She was given her first piano lessons by her father, Manuel Antonio Carreño, a politician and talented…
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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. One of the great polymaths of the rock era who, arguably, possessed a broader range of skills and interests than any of his peers, Zappa was an instinctive postmodernist who demolished the…
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Paco de Lucía *XII 21 1947 — The Life You Give
The role of the flamenco guitar evolved considerably through the playing of Paco de Lucia (born Francisco Sanchez Gomez). The son of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sanchez and the brother of a flamenco guitarist, Ramón de Algeciras, and flamenco singer, Pepe de Lucia, Paco de Lucia extended the former accompaniment-only tradition of flamenco guitar to include…
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Cause for celebration
It is said that each day, every single one of those which any given individual may call for a gesture or merely the thought of appreciation. I like it more demonstrative. I call for celebration.Every single day which any individual may see in its beginning and it becoming the past, is to suffice for a…
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Jean Genet *XII 19 1910 — The Life You Give
Jean Genet, born Dec. 19, 1910, in Paris, France, was a criminal and social outcast turned writer who, as a novelist, transformed erotic and often obscene subject matter into a poetic vision of the universe and, as a dramatist, became a leading figure in the avant-garde theatre, especially the Theatre of the Absurd. Genet, an…
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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…
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Antoni Tàpies *XII 13 1923 — The Life You Give
Antoni Tàpies, born Antoni Tàpies Puig, marqués de Tàpies), December 13, 1923, in Barcelona, Spain, was a Catalan artist, credited with introducing contemporary abstract painting into Spain. He began as a Surrealist but developed into an abstract artist under the influence of French painting and achieved an international reputation. In 1943 Tàpies began studying for…
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Hector Berlioz *XII 11 1803 — The Life You Give
Hector Berlioz, born Louis-Hector Berlioz on December 11, 1803, in La Côte-Saint-André, France, is the 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…
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Olivier Messiaen *XII 10 1908 — The Life You Give
Olivier Messiaen, born Olivier-Eugène-Prosper-Charles Messiaen, December 10, 1908, in 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,…
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Rainer Maria Rilke *XII 4 1875 — The Life You Give
Rainer Maria Rilke, born December 4 1875, in Prague, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary [now in Czech Republic] was the poet who became internationally famous with such works as Duino Elegies and Sonnets to Orpheus. Rilke was the only son of a not-too-happy marriage. His father, Josef, a civil servant, was a man frustrated in his career; his…
Sila Blume 