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Medea (ballet)
''Medea'', Op. 23, (1946) is a ballet suite by American composer Samuel Barber. It was commissioned by the Ditson Fund of Columbia University for Martha Graham and was premiered on 10 May 1946, at Columbia University's McMillin Theater, New York City. The ballet was originally called ''Serpent Heart'', but the work was revised in 1947 and retitled ''Cave of the Heart''. Costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond and the set was created by Isamu Noguchi. The original cast list included Graham, Erick Hawkins, Yuriko, May O'Donnell, and other members of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Although loosely based on Euripides' play ''Medea'', neither Barber nor Graham desired to use the legend literally in the ballet. Instead, these mythical figures served rather to project psychological states of jealousy and vengeance which are timeless. The choreography and music were conceived, as it were, on two time levels, the ancient mythical and the contemporary. Medea and Jason first appear as god ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Probably no other American composer has ever enjoyed such early, such persistent and such long-lasting acclaim." Principally influenced by nine years' composition studies with Rosario Scalero at the Curtis Institute and more than 25 years' study with his uncle, the composer Sidney Homer, Barber's music usually eschewed the experimental trends of musical modernism in favor of traditional 19th-century harmonic language and formal structure embracing lyricism and emotional expression. However, he adopted elements of modernism after 1940 in some of his compositions, such as an increased use of dissonance and chromaticism in the '' Cello Concerto'' (1945) and '' Medea's Dance of Vengeance'' (1955); and the use of tonal ambiguity and a narrow use of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martha Graham
Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She was the first dancer to perform at the White House, travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and receive the highest civilian award of the US: the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the Key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said, in the 1994 documentary ''The Dancer Revealed'': "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable." Founded in 1926 (the same year as Graham's professional dance company), the Martha Graham School is the oldest school of dance in the United States. First located in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cave Of The Heart
''Cave of the Heart'' is a one-act ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to music (''Medea'' suite) by Samuel Barber.Martha Graham Dance Company Repertory http://marthagraham.org/press-presenters2/repertory It was first performed on May 10, 1946, with the title ''Serpent Heart'', at the second annual Festival of Contemporary American Music in the McMillin Theater of Columbia University. ''Serpent Heart'' was commissioned by the festival sponsor, The Alice M. Ditson Fund.John Martin, ''Ballet by Graham in World Premiere'', ''The New York Times'', May 11, 1946 http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200153626/pageturner.html Overview The piece is loosely based on Euripides' tragedy ''Medea''. The choreography is rich in Jungian symbolism, an important influence on Graham. According to the 1946 program notes, the work is “much like the myth of Jason, the warrior hero, and Medea, granddaughter of the sun…a dance of possessive and destroying love…” The four-person or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several mass-produced lamps and furniture pieces, some of which are still manufactured and sold. In 1947, Noguchi began a collaboration with the Herman Miller company, when he joined with George Nelson, Paul László and Charles Eames to produce a catalog containing what is often considered to be the most influential body of modern furniture ever produced, including the iconic Noguchi table which remains in production today. His work lives on around the world and at the Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in New York City. Biography Early life (1904–1922) Isamu Noguchi was born in Los Angeles, the son of Yone Noguchi, a Japanese poet who was acclaimed in the United States, and Léonie Gilmour, an American writer who edited much of N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erick Hawkins
Frederick "Erick" Hawkins (April 23, 1909November 23, 1994) was an American modern-dance choreographer and dancer. Early life Frederick Hawkins was born in Trinidad, Colorado, on April 23, 1909. He majored in Greek civilization at Harvard University, graduating in 1930. A performance by the German dancers Harald Kreutzberg and Yvonne Georgi so impressed him that he went to Austria to study dance with the former. Later, he studied at the School of American Ballet. Career Soon he was dancing with George Balanchine's American Ballet. In 1937, he choreographed his first dance, ''Show Piece'', which was performed by Ballet Caravan. The next year, Hawkins was the first man to dance with the company of the famous modern dancer and choreographer Martha Graham. In 1939, he officially joined her troupe, dancing male lead in a number of her works, including ''Appalachian Spring'' in 1944. They married in 1948. He left her troupe in 1951 to found his own, and they divorced in 1954. Not lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ... of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the ''Suda'' says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (''Rhesus (play), Rhesus'' is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declinedMoses Hadas, ''Ten Plays by Euripides'', Bantam Classic (2006), Introduction, p. ixhe became, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medea (play)
''Medea'' ( grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'') is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides, based upon the myth of Jason and Medea and first produced in 431 BC. The plot centers on the actions of Medea, a former princess of the kingdom of Colchis, and the wife of Jason; she finds her position in the Greek world threatened as Jason leaves her for a Greek princess of Corinth. Medea takes vengeance on Jason by murdering his new wife as well as her own two sons, after which she escapes to Athens to start a new life. Euripides' play has been explored and interpreted by playwrights across the centuries and the world in a variety of ways, offering political, psychoanalytical, feminist, among many other original readings of Medea, Jason and the core themes of the play. ''Medea'', along with three other plays, earned Euripides third prize in the City Dionysia. Some believe that this indicates a poor reception, but "the competition that year was extraordinarily keen"; Sophocles, often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medea
In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, appearing in Hesiod's ''Theogony'' around 700 BCE, but best known from Euripides's tragedy ''Medea'' and Apollonius of Rhodes's epic ''Argonautica''. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress and is often depicted as a priestess of the goddess Hecate. Medea plays the archetypal role of helper-maiden, aiding Jason in his search for the Golden Fleece by using her magic to save his life out of love. Once he finished his quest, she abandons her native home of Colchis, and flees westwards with Jason, where they eventually settle in Corinth and get married. Euripides's 5th-century BCE tragedy ''Medea'', depicts the ending of her union with Jason, when after ten years of marriage, Jason abandons her to wed King Creon's daugh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was also the great-grandson of the messenger god Hermes, through his mother's side. Jason appeared in various literary works in the classical world of Greece and Rome, including the epic poem ''Argonautica'' and the tragedy ''Medea''. In the modern world, Jason has emerged as a character in various adaptations of his myths, such as the 1963 film '' Jason and the Argonauts'' and the 2000 TV miniseries of the same name. Persecution by Pelias Pelias (Aeson's half-brother) was power-hungry and sought to gain dominion over all of Thessaly. Pelias was the progeny of a union between their shared mother, Tyro ("high born Tyro"), the daughter of Salmoneus, and the sea god Poseidon. In a bitter feud, he overthrew Aeson (the rightful king), kill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, numbering over 130 annually, in Verizon Hall. From its founding until 2001, the Philadelphia Orchestra gave its concerts at the Academy of Music. The orchestra continues to own the Academy, and returns there one week per year for the Academy of Music's annual gala concert and concerts for school children. The Philadelphia Orchestra's summer home is the Mann Center for the Performing Arts. It also has summer residencies at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, and since July 2007 at the Bravo! Vail Valley Festival in Vail, Colorado. The orchestra also performs an annual series of concerts at Carnegie Hall. From its earliest days the orchestra has been active in the recording studio, making extensive numbers of recordings, primar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugene Ormandy
Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with the orchestra is one of the longest enjoyed by any conductor with any American orchestra. Ormandy made numerous recordings with the orchestra, and as guest conductor with European orchestras, and achieved three gold records and two Grammy Awards. His reputation was as a skilled technician and expert orchestral builder. Early life Ormandy was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, as Jenő Blau, the son of Jewish parents Benjamin Blau, a dentist and amateur violinist, and Rozália Berger.Birth Record of Jenő Blau (translated). Budapest, Kerület VII, Születtek, 1899, No. 3873: Reported November 22, 1899, born November 18, 1899, Jenő, male, Israelite, son of Benjamin Blau, Israelite, 29, occupation fogmüves (dentist), b. Pósaháza (Bereg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medea's Dance Of Vengeance
''Medea's Dance of Vengeance'' is a composition (1955, Op. 23a) by the American composer Samuel Barber, derived from his earlier ballet suite ''Medea'' and loosely based on the play ''Medea'' by Euripides. Barber first created a seven-movement concert suite from this ballet (''Medea'', Op. 23), and five years later reduced this concert suite down to a single-movement concert piece using what he felt to be the strongest portions of the work. He originally titled it ''Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance'', but shortly before his death, he changed the title to simply ''Medea's Dance of Vengeance''. Instrumentation ''Dance of Vengeance'' is scored for a larger orchestra than either preceding version (ballet or concert suite), being made up of the following: Woodwinds *3 Flutes (3rd doubling Piccolo) *2 Oboes *English Horn * Clarinet in E♭ *2 Clarinets in Bb (and A) *Bass Clarinet *2 Bassoons *Contrabassoon Brass *4 Horns in F *3 Trumpets in C *3 Trombones *Tuba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
