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Aloys Kontarsky
Aloys (14 May 1931 – 22 August 2017) and Alfons (9 October 1932 – 5 May 2010) Kontarsky were German duo-pianist brothers who were associated with a number of important world premieres of contemporary works. They had an international reputation for performing modern music for two pianists, although they also performed the standard repertoire and they sometimes played separately. They were occasionally joined by their younger brother Bernhard in performances of pieces for three pianos. After suffering a stroke in 1983, Aloys retired from performing. Biography The Kontarsky brothers were both born in Iserlohn. Aloys received early tuition from Franz Hanemann. He later studied at Cologne and Hamburg with Else Schmitz-Gohr, and with Eduard Erdmann in Hamburg. Their first public concert was in 1949, in which they played Stravinsky's Concerto for Two Pianos. In 1955 they formed their piano duo "Klavierduo Kontarsky" and performed regularly from 1959 until Aloys became paralyzed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shiraz 37
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 people, and its built-up area with Sadra was home to almost 1,800,000 inhabitants. A census in 2021 showed an increase in the city's population to 1,995,500 people. Shiraz is located in southwestern Iran on the () seasonal river. Founded in the early Islamic period, the city has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for over a thousand years. The earliest reference to the city, as ''Tiraziš'', is on Elamite clay tablets dated to 2000 BCE. The modern city was restored or founded by the Arab Umayyad Caliphate in 693 CE and grew prominent under the successive Iranian Saffarid and Buyid dynasties in the 9th and 10th–11th centuries, respectively. In the 13th century, Shiraz became a leading center of the arts and letters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. Biography Berio was born in Oneglia (now part of Imperia), on the Ligurian coast of Italy. He was taught piano by his father and grandfather, who were both organists. During World War II, he was conscripted into the army, but on his first day, he injured his hand while learning how a gun worked and spent time in a military hospital. Following the war, Berio studied at the Milan Conservatory under Giulio Cesare Paribeni and Giorgio Federico Ghedini. He was unable to continue studying the piano because of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry & June
''Henry & June'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film directed by Philip Kaufman, and starring Fred Ward, Uma Thurman, and Maria de Medeiros. It is loosely based on the posthumously published 1986 Anaïs Nin book of the same name, and tells the story of Nin's relationship with Henry Miller and his wife, June. The film was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 63rd Academy Awards. It was the first film to be given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA. Plot In 1931 in Paris, France, Anaïs Nin is in a stable relationship with her husband Hugo, but longs for more out of life. When Nin first meets Henry Miller, he is working on his first novel. Nin is drawn to Miller and his wife June, as well as their bohemian lifestyle. Nin becomes involved in the couple's tormented relationship, having an affair with Miller and also pursuing June. Ultimately, Nin helps Miller to publish his novel ''Tropic of Cancer'', but catalyzes the Millers' separation, while she returns to Hugo. Cast * F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasia In F Minor (Schubert)
The Fantasia in F minor by Franz Schubert, D.940 ( Op. posth. 103), for piano four hands (two players at one piano), is one of Schubert's most important works for more than one pianist and one of his most important piano works altogether. He composed it in 1828, the last year of his life, and dedicated it to his pupil Caroline Esterházy. Musicologist Christopher Gibbs has described the work as "among not only his greatest but his most original" compositions for piano duet. Gibbs, p. 161 History Franz Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna. The work was completed in March of that year, and first performed in May. Schubert's friend Eduard von Bauernfeld recorded in his diary on May 9 that a memorable duet was played, by Schubert and Franz Lachner. Weekly, p. 72 The work was dedicated to Caroline Esterházy, with whom Schubert was in (unrequited) love. Gibbs, pp. 150-151 Schubert died in November 1828. After his death, his friends and family undertoo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hungarian Dances (Brahms)
The ''Hungarian Dances'' (german: Ungarische Tänze, links=no) by Johannes Brahms (WoO 1), are a set of 21 lively dance tunes based mostly on Hungarian themes, completed in 1879. They vary from about a minute to five minutes in length. They are among Brahms's most popular works and were the most profitable for him. Each dance has been arranged for a wide variety of instruments and ensembles. Brahms originally wrote the version for piano four hands (piano duet: two players using one piano) and later arranged the first ten dances for solo piano. Background In 1850 Brahms met the Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi and accompanied him in a number of recitals over the next few years. This was his introduction to "gypsy-style" music such as the '' csardas'', which was later to prove the foundation of his most lucrative and popular compositions, the two sets of ''Hungarian Dances'' (published 1869 and 1880). Only numbers 11, 14 and 16 are entirely original compositions. The better ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, violin, voice, and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. Brahms has been considered both a traditionalist and an innovator, by his contemporaries and by later writers. His music is rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. Emb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Structures (Boulez)
''Structures I'' (1952) and ''Structures II'' (1961) are two related works for two pianos, composed by the French composer Pierre Boulez. History The first book of ''Structures'' was begun in early 1951, as Boulez was completing his orchestral work ''Polyphonie X'', and finished in 1952. It consists of three movements, or "chapters", labelled ''Ia'', ''Ib'', and ''Ic'', composed in the order ''a'', ''c'', ''b''. The first of the second book's two "chapters" was composed in 1956, but chapter2 was not written until 1961. The second chapter includes three sets of variable elements, which are to be arranged to make a performing version. A partial premiere of book2 was performed by the composer and Yvonne Loriod at the Wigmore Hall, London, in March 1957. This was Boulez's first appearance in the UK as a performer. The same performers gave the premiere of the complete second book, with two different versions of chapter2, in a chamber-music concert of the Donaueschinger Musiktage on S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mantra (Stockhausen)
''Mantra'' is a composition by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was composed in 1970 and premiered in autumn of the same year at the Donaueschingen Festival. The work is scored for two ring-modulated pianos; each player is also equipped with a chromatic set of crotales (antique cymbals) and a wood block, and one player is equipped with a short-wave radio producing morse code or a magnetic tape recording of morse code. In his catalogue of works, the composer designated it as work number 32. History Stockhausen had been interested for several years in writing something for the Kontarsky piano duo, and by early 1969 he had become determined to do so.) On a flight from the Northeastern United States to Los Angeles in September 1969 or shortly before, he had sketched "a kind of theater piece for two pianos" titled ''Vision'', and in March 1970 began to work out a score, but broke off after just three pages. During an automobile trip from Madison, Connecticut to Boston, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sonata For Two Pianos And Percussion
The Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110, BB 115, is a musical piece written by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók in 1937. The sonata was premiered by Bartók and his second wife, Ditta Pásztory-Bartók, with the percussionists Fritz Schiesser and Philipp Rühlig at the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) anniversary concert of 16 January 1938 in Basel, Switzerland,Kárpáti, János; MacNicol, Fred; Steiner, Maria (1994). , pp. 393–432 () contains material relevant to this article. where it received enthusiastic reviews. Bartók and his wife also played the piano parts for the American premiere which took place in New York City's Town Hall in 1940, with the percussionists Saul Goodman and Henry Deneke. It has since become one of Bartók's most performed works. The score requires four performers: two pianists and two percussionists, who play seven instruments between them: timpani, bass drum (gran cassa), cymbals, triangle, snare drum (both on- and off- sn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernd Alois Zimmermann
Bernd Alois Zimmermann (20 March 1918 – 10 August 1970) was a German composer. He is perhaps best known for his opera ''Die Soldaten'', which is regarded as one of the most important German operas of the 20th century, after those of Berg. As a result of his individual style, it is hard to label his music as avant-garde, serial or postmodern. His music employs a wide range of methods including the twelve-tone row and musical quotation. Life Zimmermann was born in Bliesheim (now part of Erftstadt) near Cologne. He grew up in a rural Catholic community in western Germany. His father worked for the German Reichsbahn (Imperial Railway) and was also a farmer. In 1929, Zimmermann began attending a private Catholic school, where he had his first real encounter with music. After the National Socialists (or Nazis) closed all private schools, he switched to a public Catholic school in Cologne where, in 1937, he received his Abitur, the German equivalent of a high school diploma. In the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luis De Pablo
Luis de Pablo Costales (28 January 1930 – 10 October 2021) was a Spanish composer belonging to the generation that Cristóbal Halffter named ''the Generación del 51''. Mostly self-taught as a composer and influenced by Maurice Ohana and Max Deutsch, he co-founded ensembles for contemporary music, and organised concert series for it in Madrid. He published translations of notable texts about composers of the Second Viennese School, such as Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt's biography of Arnold Schoenberg and the publications of Anton Webern. He wrote music in many genres, including film scores such as Erice's ''The Spirit of the Beehive'', and operas including ''La señorita Cristina''. He taught composition not only in Spain, but also in the U.S. and Canada. Among his awards is the Premio Nacional de Música. Life Luis de Pablo was born in Bilbao. After losing his father in the Spanish Civil War, he went with his mother and siblings to live in Madrid from age six. Although he start ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henri Pousseur
Henri Léon Marie-Thérèse Pousseur (23 June 1929 – 6 March 2009) was a Belgian classical composer, teacher, and music theorist. Biography Pousseur was born in Malmedy and studied at the Academies of Music in Liège and in Brussels from 1947 to 1952, where he joined the group called Variations associated with Pierre Froidebise. It was in this group that he first became familiar with the music of Anton Webern and other 20th-century composers. During his period of military service in 1952–53 at Malines, he maintained close contact with André Souris. He encountered Pierre Boulez in 1951 at Royaumont, and this contact inspired his ''Trois chants sacrés'', composed that same year. In 1953, he met Karlheinz Stockhausen, and in 1956 Luciano Berio. A less-well-known influence from his early years was the powerful impression of listening to the music of Anton Bruckner, and he maintained a lifelong interest in medieval and Renaissance music, as well as in extra-European music and their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
