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Die Harmonie Der Welt
''Die Harmonie der Welt'' (''The Harmony of the World'') is an opera in five acts by Paul Hindemith. The German libretto was by the composer. The title of the opera is taken from ''Harmonices Mundi'' by the astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) who is the subject of the opera. Hindemith used the planetary system as a metaphor for his own musical arrangement of the chromatic scale. The opera was completed in May 1957. Hindemith had previously composed a symphony of the same name in 1951. Performance history It was first performed on 11 August 1957, at the Prinzregententheater, Munich, conducted by the composer. A truncated monaural recording of the opera appeared on the Stradivarius label, but a complete recording of the work had to wait until the digital era, when Marek Janowski conducted the entire opera for the Wergo label (see section Recordings). Due to Kepler's association with his home town of Linz, Austria, performances of the opera were scheduled at the Landesthea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Neue Sachlichkeit'' (new objectivity) style of music in the 1920s, with compositions such as '' Kammermusik'', including works with viola and viola d'amore as solo instruments in a neo-Bachian spirit. Other notable compositions include his song cycle ''Das Marienleben'' (1923), ''Der Schwanendreher'' for viola and orchestra (1935), the opera ''Mathis der Maler'' (1938), the '' Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber'' (1943), and the oratorio ''When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd'', a requiem based on Walt Whitman's poem (1946). Life and career Hindemith was born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, the eldest child of the painter and decorator Robert Hindemith from Lower Silesia and his wife Marie Hindemith, née Warnecke. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contralto
A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically between the F below middle C (F3 in scientific pitch notation) to the second F above middle C (F5), although, at the extremes, some voices can reach the D below middle C (D3) or the second B above middle C (B5). The contralto voice type is generally divided into the coloratura, lyric, and dramatic contralto. History "Contralto" is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, as other traditions lack a comparable system of vocal categorization. The term "contralto" is only applied to female singers; men singing in a similar range are called "countertenors". The Italian terms "contralto" and "alto" are not synonymous, "alto" technically denoting a specific vocal range in choral singing without regard to factors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dahlem (Berlin)
Dahlem ( or ) is a locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in southwestern Berlin. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a part of the former borough of Zehlendorf. It is located between the mansion settlements of Grunewald and Lichterfelde West. Dahlem is one of the most affluent parts of the city and a center for academic research. It is home to the Freie Universität Berlin, with its architecturally significant Philological Library ''("The Brain")''. Several other research institutions and museums, as well as parts of the Grunewald forest with its renaissance hunting lodge, are located in Dahlem. The U3 line of the Berlin U-Bahn system connects Dahlem to central Berlin. History The first written account of Dahlem dates to the year 1275. The history of the village is connected to the Dahlem Demesne (''Domäne Dahlem'') first mentioned in 1450. Its estates were sold to the state of Prussia in 1841 and developed by dividing it into lots for building villas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WERGO
WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by German art historian and music publisher (1903–1975) and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmeyer. Their first release, filed under "WER 60001", was Schoenberg's ''Pierrot lunaire'', conducted by Pierre Boulez. The record company is owned by Schott Music, both based in Mainz, Germany. A great number of contemporary composers have been recorded by the label. These include Louis Andriessen, George Antheil, Béla Bartók, Pierre Boulez, Earle Brown, John Cage, Elliott Carter, George Crumb, Morton Feldman, Mauricio Kagel, György Ligeti, Meredith Monk, Conlon Nancarrow, Luigi Nono, Harry Partch, Steve Reich, Wolfgang Rihm, Terry Riley, Kaija Saariaho, Giacinto Scelsi, Dieter Schnebel, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pēteris Vasks, and Walter Zimmermann. Earle Brown was repertory director of an important series of new-music recordings on the Time-Mainstream label re-issued in 2008 on Wergo. Betw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcel Cordes
Marcel Cordes (born Kurt Schumacher, 11 March 1920 – 26 November 1992) was a German baritone in opera and concert. He was regarded as a leading baritone of German origin for Italian opera in the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared at major opera houses in Europe, and made recordings of complete operas and excerpts, including in 1956 the first complete recording of Carl Orff's ''Die Kluge''. Career Born Kurt Schumacher in Stelzenberg, he studied at the conservatory in Kaiserslautern from age 16, three years later on a scholarship at the Musikhochschule Mannheim. He made his operatic debut as a tenor at the municipal theatre of Eger in 1941, in the title role Canio in the German language rendition of Leoncavallo's ''Pagliacci''—Der Bajazzo. He served as a soldier in World War II. From 1948 to 1950, he sang at the Pfalztheater in Kaiserslautern. He then moved to the Nationaltheater Mannheim. He studied baritone roles with Fritz Krauss, singing from 1951 at the Badisches Staatstheat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kieth Engen
Kieth Engen (5 April 1925 – 2 September 2004) was an American operatic bass who was a member of Munich's Bavarian State Opera for decades. Although his career was based in Munich, he appeared internationally as a guest singer at major opera houses and festivals and performed and recorded many of Bach's Passion oratorios and cantatas, primarily with the conductor Karl Richter. He was born Keith Sheldon Engen in Frazee, Minnesota, and died in Murnau am Staffelsee, Germany at the age of 79. He was given the title of Kammersänger in 1962 and was a recipient of the Bavarian Order of Merit. In the mid-1950s he also had a brief parallel career as a pop singer under the pseudonym Stan Oliver. Biography Early life Engen was born in Frazee, Minnesota. He came from a musical family and acquired his love for singing as a young boy. His grandfather had been a conductor and his mother was a singer and singing teacher. He graduated from Berkeley High School and then went to the Unive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass (voice Type)
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4).; ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'' gives E2–E4/F4 Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' ("funny" bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (low bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German ''Fach'' system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classification systems can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Charles II, Archduke of Austria, Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria (1551–1608), Maria of Bavaria. His parents were devout Catholic Church, Catholics, and, in 1590, they sent him to study at the University of Ingolstadt, Jesuits' college in Ingolstadt because they wanted to isolate him from the Lutheranism, Lutheran nobles. In July that same year (1590), when Ferdinand was 12 years old, his father died, and he inherited Inner Austria–Duchy of Styria, Styria, Duchy of Carinthia, Carinthia, Duchy of Carniola, Carniola and smaller provinces. His cousin, the childless Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was the head of the Habsburg family, appointed regents to administer these lands. Ferdinand was installed as the actual ruler of the Inner Austria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the House of Habsburg. Rudolf's legacy has traditionally been viewed in three ways:Hotson, 1999. an ineffectual ruler whose mistakes led directly to the Thirty Years' War; a great and influential patron of Northern Mannerist art; and an intellectual devotee of occult arts and learning which helped seed what would be called the Scientific Revolution. Determined to unify Christendom, he initiated the Long Turkish War (1593–1606) with the Ottoman Empire. Exhausted by war, his citizens in Hungary revolted in the Bocskai Uprising, which led to more authority given to his brother Matthias. Under his reign, there was a policy of toleration towards Judaism. Early life Rudolf was born in Vienna on 18 July 1552. He was the eldest son and successor of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josef Metternich
Josef Metternich (2 June 1915, in Cologne – 21 February 2005, in Feldafing) was a German operatic baritone. Metternich also appeared at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in ''La forza del destino'', in 1953. He joined the Munich State Opera in 1954, where he created the role of Johannes Kepler in Hindemith's ''Die Harmonie der Welt'' (1957). Metternich was a powerful singer and charismatic performer. He retired in 1971 after performing for more than three decades. Sources * ''Grove Music Online'', Noël Goodwin Trevor Noël Goodwin (25 December 1927 – 27 March 2013) was an English music critic, dance critic and author who specialized in classical music and ballet. Described as having a "rare ability to write about music and dance with equal distincti ..., May 2008. External linksObituary from Deutsche Presse-Agentur [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baritone
A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2–F4) in choral music, and from the second A below middle C to the A above middle C (A2 to A4) in operatic music, but the range can extend at either end. Subtypes of baritone include the baryton-Martin baritone (light baritone), lyric baritone, ''Kavalierbariton'', Verdi baritone, dramatic baritone, ''baryton-noble'' baritone, and the bass-baritone. History The first use of the term "baritone" emerged as ''baritonans'', late in the 15th century, usually in French sacred polyphonic music. At this early stage it was frequently used as the lowest of the voices (including the bass), but in 17th-century Italy the term was all-encompassing and used to describe the averag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Holm (tenor)
Richard Holm (3 August 1912 – 20 July 1988) was a German operatic tenor, particularly associated with Mozart, though he sang a wide range of roles. Born in Stuttgart, where he studied with Rudolf Ritter, he made his debut at the Kiel Opera House in 1937. After engagements in Nuremberg and Hamburg, he joined the Munich State Opera in 1948, where he established himself as a distinguished Mozartian singer; Belmonte, Idamante, Tito, Tamino. Other roles included; Serse, Jacquino, David, Alfredo, Rodolfo, Pinkerton. He created the role of Wallenstein in Hindemith's ''Harmonie der Welt'' in 1957. He made guest appearances at the Salzburg Festival, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He was also very active in concert and enjoyed considerable success in operetta, as well as contemporary works such as Gottfried von Einem's ''Dantons Tod'' and Benjamin Britten's ''Death in Venice''. He taught a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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