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Sinfonia Antartica
''Sinfonia antartica'' ("Antarctic Symphony") is the Italian title given by Ralph Vaughan Williams to his seventh symphony, first performed in 1953. It drew on incidental music the composer had written for the 1948 film ''Scott of the Antarctic''. Background and first performances By the mid-1940s, Vaughan Williams had written five symphonies of widely varying characters, from the choral ''Sea Symphony'' (1909) to the turbulent and discordant Fourth (1934) and the serene Fifth (1943), which some took to be the septuagenarian composer's symphonic swan song. In the event there were four more symphonies to come; his Sixth was premiered in 1948. After completing it, Vaughan Williams undertook a substantial film score to accompany ''Scott of the Antarctic'' produced by Michael Balcon and directed by Charles Frend. The composer became deeply interested in and moved by the story of the disastrous polar expedition of Robert Falcon Scott and his companions, and music suggested by ice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarctic
The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate or south of the Antarctic Convergence. The Antarctic region includes the ice shelves, waters, and all the island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence, a zone approximately wide varying in latitude seasonally. The region covers some 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere, of which 5.5 percent (14 million km2) is the surface area of the Antarctica continent itself. All of the land and ice shelves south of 60°S latitude are administered under the Antarctic Treaty System. Biogeographically, the Antarctic realm is one of eight biogeographic realms of Earth's land surface. Geography As defined by the Antarctic Treaty System, the Antarctic r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernest Irving
Kelville Ernest Irving (6 November 1878 – 24 October 1953) was an English music director, conductor and composer, primarily remembered as a theatre musician in London between the wars, and for his key contributions to British film music as music director at Ealing Studios from the 1930s to the 1950s. Early life Irving was born in Godalming, Surrey, and from the age of seven sang in the choir at Godalming Parish Church. He attended Charterhouse School.Lamb, Andrew'Irving, (Kelville) Ernest'in ''The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004) Other than that he was self-taught, and began his career applying for music director jobs advertised in ''The Stage''. His first professional job conducting an orchestra was for the musical burlesque ''Villiano the Vicious'' at the Theatre Royal, Maidenhead in 1895. He then spent the next two decades learning his trade by touring with productions (of variable quality) all around the UK - in his own words conducting "third rate opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher. This has given rise to the name ottavino (), by which the instrument is called in Italian and thus also in scores of Italian composers. Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle and brilliance to the overall sound because of the aforementioned one-octave transposition upwards. The piccolo is a standard member in orchestras, marching bands, and wind ensembles. History Since the Middle Ages, evidence indicates the use of octave transverse flutes as military instruments, as their penetrating sound was audible above battles. In cultured music, however, the first piccolos were used in some of Jean Philippe Rameau's works in the first half of the 18th century. Sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Concert Flute
The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in American English), or simply a flute player. This type of flute is used in many ensembles, including concert bands, military bands, marching bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, the alto flute, and the bass flute. A large repertory of works has been composed for flute. Predecessors The flute is one of the oldest and most widely used wind instruments. The precursors of the modern concert flute were keyless wooden transverse flutes similar to modern fifes. These were later modified to include between one and eight keys for chromatic notes. "Six-finger" D is the most common pitch for keyless wooden transverse flutes, which continue to be used to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugene Aynsley Goossens
Sir Eugene Aynsley Goossens (; 26 May 189313 June 1962) was an English conducting, conductor and composer. Biography He was born in Camden Town, London, the son of the Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens, fils, Eugène Goossens (''fils'', 1867–1958) and Annie Cook, a Carl Rosa Opera Company singer. He was the grandson of the conductor Eugène Goossens, père, Eugène Goossens (''père'', 1845–1906; his father and grandfather spelled Eugène with a grave accent; he himself did not). He studied music at the age of ten in Bruges, three years later at Liverpool College of Music, and in 1907 in London on a scholarship at the Royal College of Music under composer Charles Villiers Stanford and the violinist Achille Rivarde among others. He won the silver medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians and was made associate of the Royal College of Music.Banfield, Stephen'Goossens, Sir (Aynsley) Eugene' in Grove Music Online, 2001 He was a first violin in Henry Wood's Qu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and first woman in the role. Venues and programming The Sydney Symphony performs around 150 concerts a year to a combined annual audience of more than 350,000. The regular subscription concert series are mostly performed at the Sydney Opera House, but other venues around Sydney are used as well, including the City Recital Hall at Angel Place and the Sydney Town Hall. The Town Hall was the home of the orchestra until the opening of the Opera House in 1973. Since then, most concerts have been taking place in the Opera House's Concert Hall (capacity: 2,679 seats). A major annual event for the orchestra is Symphony in the Domain, a free evening outdoor picnic concert held in the summer month of January in the large city park known as The Domain. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 19. Having managed to maintain a career in Czechoslovakia under the Nazi occupation, he refused to work under what he considered a "second tyranny" after the Communist Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948, and took refuge in Britain. He became a Swiss citizen in 1967. Kubelík was music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1950–53), musical director of The Royal Opera, Covent Garden (1955–58). In 1957, he conducted and recorded the Wold premiere Berlioz's ''Les Troyens.'' During (1961- 79), he was music director of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1961–79), and was a frequent guest conductor for leading orchestras in Europe and America. As a composer, Kubelík wrote in a neo-romantic idiom. His works include five operas, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure in 2010. The CSO is one of five American orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". History In 1890, Charles Norman Fay, a Chicago businessman, invited Theodore Thomas to establish an orchestra in Chicago. Under the name "Chicago Orchestra," the orchestra played its first concert October 16, 1891 at the Auditorium Theater. It is one of the oldest orchestras in the United States, along with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. Orchestra Hall, now a component of the Symphony Center complex, was designed by Chicago architect Daniel H. Burnham and completed in 1904. Maestro Thomas served as music director for thirteen years until his death shortly after the orchestra' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I listed building, the first post-war building to become so protected (in 1981). The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the London Sinfonietta, Chineke! and Aurora are resident orchestras at Southbank Centre. The hall was built as part of the Festival of Britain for London County Council, and was officially opened on 3 May 1951. When the LCC's successor, the Greater London Council, was abolished in 1986, the Festival Hall was taken over by the Arts Council, and managed together with the Queen Elizabeth Hall and Purcell Room (opened 1967) and the Hayward Gallery (1968), eventually becoming an independent arts organisation, now known as the Southbank Centre, in April 1998. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Ritchie (soprano)
Margaret Ritchie (1903 – 1969) was an English soprano who sang opera, oratorio and song. She created a number of operatic roles. In 1946 she was the first Lucia in ''The Rape of Lucretia'' by Benjamin Britten, and in 1947 she was the first Miss Wordsworth in the same composer's ''Albert Herring''. She was one of four singers, together with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Oda Slobodskaya and Tatiana Makushina, to record a selection of Nikolai Medtner's songs accompanied by the composer: theirs was the premier recording of the ''Sonata-Vocalise'' Op. 41 No. 1, which is introduced by a setting of the poem "Geweihter Platz" by Goethe. Her discography includes, in addition to the two Britten operas mentioned above, Elmira in George Frideric Handel's ''Sosarme'' conducted by Anthony Lewis (1954) and Galatea in Handel's '' Acis and Galatea'' conducted by Walter Goehr (1951). She recorded two solo recitals, both accompanied by George Malcolm on piano/harpsichord: one on the Nixa label incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hallé Choir
The Hallé Choir is a large symphonic chorus of around 170 singers based in Manchester, England. It was founded as ''Manchester Choral Society'' alongside the Hallé Orchestra in 1858 by Sir Charles Hallé. The choir gives around ten concerts a year with The Hallé at The Bridgewater Hall and other venues across the UK. Appearing with international conductors and soloists in concert and recordings, the choir performs a repertoire of major choral and operatic works ranging from mainstream pieces to more esoteric pieces and commissions. Recent Hallé Choir Directors have included James Burton, Frances Cooke and Madeleine Venner. The current Hallé Choir Director is Matthew Hamilton. Conductors * 2015 to present - Matthew Hamilton * 2012 to 2015 - Madeline Venner * 2002 to 2009 - James Burton Notable recordings Since the launch of the Hallé record label in 2003 the choir has appeared on a number of recordings including Holst's '' Hymn of Jesus'' (Hallé, 2013), Delius' '' Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hallé
The Hallé is an English symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It supports a choir, youth choir, youth training choir, children's choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI. Since 1996 the orchestra has been resident at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. History In May 1857 the pianist and conductor Charles Hallé set up an orchestra to perform at the Manchester Art Treasures Exhibition, which it did until October. Hallé decided to continue working with the orchestra as a formal organisation, and it gave its first concert under those auspices on 30 January 1858. The orchestra's first home was the Free Trade Hall. By 1861 the orchestra was in financial trouble, and it performed only two concerts that year. In 1888 German violinist Willy Hess become leader of The Hallé, a role he held until 1895. From its opening in 1893 he was also the principal pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
