Mozart
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Schönbrunn Palace
Andre Previn
Classical Music Datebook: April 6
Andre Previn, Conductor, Pianist, Composer
Andre Previn, KBE, is a German-born American conductor, pianist and composer, is born April 6, 1929 (or 1930). He is a versatile musician of the 20th century. Previn is one of the most versatile musicians and winner of Academy Awards for his film work. He has also won many Grammy Awards for his recordings.
Previn, a distant relative of the composer Gustav Mahler, was born in Berlin, Germany, to a Russian Jewish family. er. The exact year of his birth is ambiguous, as it is not absolutely certain whether the year was 1929 or 1930. The Previn family emigrated to the United States in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime in Germany.
André Previn became a naturalised citizen of the United States in 1943, and grew up in Los Angeles. His elder brother was director Steve Previn. He first came to prominence by arranging and composing Hollywood film scores in 1948.
Previn has been married five times. His third marriage, to actress Mia Farrow, got him in the public eye. He is the adoptive father of Soon-Yi Previn. After his fourth marriage to Heather Sneddon in 1982 ended in 2002, Previn wed the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. They divorced in 2006, but continue to work together in concerts.
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Composer Frank Bridge
Classical Music Dateline, February 26.
Frank Bridge, English composer, conductor and teacher was born in Brighton, February 26, 1879. He studied at London’s Royal College of Music (RCM) from 1899 to 1903 under prominent composer Charles Villiers Stanford.
Bridge played the viola and conducted before devoting himself to composition where he received the patronage of Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge.
He was a teacher of his most famous pupil, Benjamin Britten, who paid tribute by creating Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge in 1937.
None of his most adventurous music was much acknowledged until the 1970s. His fame mainly rests on his being Britten’s teacher. Frank Bridge died in Eastbourne, January 10, 1941.
Source:
The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, New Upgrade Edition, Edited by Stanley Sadie. MacMillan, 1994.
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Felix Mendelssohn, Romantic Composer
Classical Music Dateline, February 3
Birthday of Felix Mendelssohn, German Romantic Composer, Pianist and Conductor
There have been articles written about Felix Mendelssohn. This piece compliments his life, music and musical style, and influence in the Romantic Era.
Mendelssohn’s compositions have the beauty of Classical music applied to Romantic themes. Unlike many of his contemporaries or predecessors, Felix Mendelssohn based most of his works on personal experiences rather than from inspired literature or drawn out imagination.
Continue reading … Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Biography
Thanks to YouTube, for those interested, here’s one of Mendelssohn’s famous music, Song without Words, Op. 19,1, (Lieder ohne Worte). I’m sorry, I have no idea who the performer is. Enjoy the lovely piece.
Video credit: YouTube.com
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Conductor Georg Solti
Classical Music Dateline: October 21
Featuring Conductor Georg Solti (1912-1997)
Georg Solti, KBE, was born today October 21 (1912). He was a Hungarian-born British conductor, both in orchestral and operatic music.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, Georg Solti holds the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, winning 31, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
From YouTube – Hosted by NaxosUSA
Solti Conducts the Chicago Symphony
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