Breathing Curiosity
Harry Partch, born June 24, 1901, in Oakland, Calif., U.S.A., is the visionary and eclectic composer and instrument builder, largely self-taught, whose compositions are remarkable for the complexity of their scores (each instrument has its own characteristic notation, often involving 43 tones to each octave) and their employment of unique instruments of his invention. Partch’s… Continue reading The Life You Give: Harry Partch *VI 24 1901
Bartolomeo Cristofori, born Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori, May 4, 1655, in Padua, Republic of Venice, Italy, is the harpsichord maker generally credited with the invention of the piano, called in his time gravicembalo col piano e forte, or “harpsichord that plays soft and loud.” The name refers to the piano’s ability to change loudness according… Continue reading The Life You Give: Bartolomeo Cristofori *1655
Antoine-Joseph Sax was born on this day in 1814, in Dinant (Netherlands, today Belgium) to Charles-Joseph Sax, and Marie-Joseph Masson, both instrument designers of traditional instruments. Adolphe, as he was called, began making his own instruments, entering two flutes and a clarinet into a competition by the age of 15. Subsequently he studied both instruments,… Continue reading The little ghost who gifted Coltrane, Parker, Getz, Coleman, and Rollins
Sila Blume 