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Symphony No. 3 (Martinů)
The Symphony No. 3, H. 299, is an orchestral composition by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů. History Martinů composed his Third Symphony during a summer retreat in Ridgefield, Connecticut from 2 May to 14 June 1944. The composition was not the result of a commission, but rather was a spontaneous gesture, and is dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, on the twentieth anniversary of their association. It was premiered in Boston, Massachusetts on 12 October 1945 by the dedicatees. The second movement is dated 26 May 1944, and so it is very probable that he was working on the finale when news was received of the Allied landing in Normandy on 6 June. Although this has sometimes been interpreted as an influence on the joyful turn taken in this movement, it is also possible that the overall design of the symphony had been established much earlier. The second movement contains thematic and harmonic material identical to the slow movement of the Piano Q ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and briefly studied under Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk. After leaving Czechoslovakia in 1923 for Paris, Martinů deliberately withdrew from the Romantic style in which he had been trained. During the 1920s he experimented with modern French stylistic developments, exemplified by his orchestral works ''Half-time'' and ''La Bagarre''. He also adopted jazz idioms, for instance in his '' Kitchen Revue'' (''Kuchyňská revue''). In the early 1930s he found his main fount for compositional style: neoclassicism, creating textures far denser than those found in composers treating Stravinsky as a model. He was prolific, quickly composing chamber, orchestral, choral and instrumenta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serge Koussevitzky
Sergei Alexandrovich KoussevitzkyKoussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling " Serge", using it in his signature. (SeThe Koussevitzky Music Foundations official web site Retrieved 5 November 2009.) His surname can be transliterated variously as "Koussevitzky", "Koussevitsky", "Kussevitzky", "Kusevitsky", or, into Polish, as "Kusewicki"; however, he himself chose to use "Koussevitzky". (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Кусеви́цкий, links=no; ''Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky''; 4 June 1951) was a Russian-born conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949. Biography Early career Koussevitzky was born into a Jewish family of professional musicians in Vyshny Volochyok, Tver Governorate (present-day Tver Oblast), about 250 km northwest of Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, the BSO performs most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at Tanglewood. Since its founding, the orchestra has had 17 music directors, including George Henschel, Serge Koussevitzky, Henri Rabaud, Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, Erich Leinsdorf, William Steinberg and James Levine. Andris Nelsons is the current music director of the BSO. Seiji Ozawa has the title of BSO music director laureate. Bernard Haitink had held the title of principal guest conductor of the BSO from 1995 to 2004, then conductor emeritus until his death in 2021. The orchestra has made gramophone recordings since 1917 and has occasionally played on soundtrack recordings for films, including '' Schindler's List''. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Normandy Landings
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days each month w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czech Philharmonic
The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orchestra of the Prague National Theatre. It played its first concert under its current name on January 4, 1896 when Antonín Dvořák conducted his own compositions, but it did not become fully independent from the opera until 1901. The first representative concert took place on October 15, 1901 conducted by Ludvík Čelanský, the first artistic director of the orchestra. In 1908, Gustav Mahler led the orchestra in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 7. The orchestra first became internationally known during the principal conductorship of Václav Talich, who held the post from 1919 to 1931, and again from 1933 to 1941. In 1941, Talich and the orchestra made a controversial journey to Germany, where they performed Bedřich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karel Šejna
Karel Šejna (1 November 1896, Zálezly – 17 December 1982, Prague) was a Czech double bassist and conductor, the principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950. Life and career Šejna's musical studies were at the Prague Conservatory under Professor Černý (double-bass, 1914–20) and later with K. B. Jirák (composition). As a young man he gave several concerts in Egypt, and on his return to Czechoslovakia in 1921 he was appointed the first double-bassist of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and shortly after (on 25 July 1922) also conducted the orchestra at a concert in Žofín Palace in Prague. Some compositions including a song-cycle and a string quartet date from this time. He began to conduct on recommendation of the principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic of that time, Václav Talich. Talich gradually entrusted him with more difficult tasks, and later recommended him to the post of conductor of the Czechoslovak Railway Workers Symphony ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brno Philharmonic Orchestra
The Brno Philharmonic (Czech: ''Filharmonie Brno'') is a Czech orchestra based in Brno, the Czech Republic. Its principal concert venue in Brno is the ''Besední dům''. The orchestra also performs regularly in the Janáček Opera House in Brno. The orchestra receives state support from the city of Brno, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and the South Moravian Region (''Jihomoravský kraj''). The orchestra's current ''Intendantin'' is Marie Kučerová. The precursor ensemble to the orchestra, the Czech Symphony Orchestra, began its existence in the 1870s and was resident at the ''Besední dům''. The orchestra had to vacate the ''Besední dům'' during the time of 1953-1957. During this period, the current Brno Philharmonic was formed in 1956 with the merger of the Radio Orchestra and the Brno Region Symphony Orchestra. Břetislav Bakala served as the newly formed orchestra's first principal conductor orchestra, from 1956 to 1958. The orchestra again vacated t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Břetislav Bakala
Břetislav Bakala (February 12, 1897 in Fryšták – April 1, 1958 in Brno) was a Czech conductor, pianist, and composer. His career was centred on Brno and he was particularly associated with the music of Leoš Janáček. Life and career Bakala was born at Fryšták, Moravia. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neumann, and composition with Leoš Janáček at the organ school. In 1922 he continued his studies at the Master school at the Conservatory with Vilém Kurz. From 1920 to 1925 and from 1929 to 1931 he worked as a conductor of the National Theatre in Brno, making his conducting debut in ''Orfeo ed Euridice''. Bakala discovered Janáček '' The Diary of One Who Disappeared'' in the composer's trunk in 1921 and first performed it (taking the piano part) in April that year.Lambert, P. In the shadow of Talich. ''International Classical Record Collector'', Summer 1996, Vol 2, 5, p16-18. On 31 January 1925 he conducted the premiere of Bohus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Václav Neumann
Václav Neumann (29 October 1920 – 2 September 1995) was a Czech conductor, violinist, violist, and opera director. Life and career Neumann was born in Prague, where he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Micka (violin), and Pavel Dědeček and Metod Doležil ( conducting) from 1940 through 1945. He co-founded the Smetana Quartet, playing 1st violin and then viola. Neumann made his debut as a conductor with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1948; remaining as a conductor with that ensemble through 1950. In 1951 he became principal conductor of the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra. He left that post in 1954 to become principal conductor of the Brno Symphony Orchestra (SOKB). In 1956, he began to conduct at the Komische Oper in Berlin; beginning with a celebrated production of Janáček’s ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' on 30 May 1956. He toured with that production to Paris and Weisbaden; conducting a total of 215 performance between the three cities. He remaine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others. Early in his career, he held posts with the Estonian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn. In 1971 he won first prize in the International Conductors Competition at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Järvi emigrated to the United States in 1980 with his family. He became an American citizen in 1985. Career In 1982, he became the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and held the post for 22 years, the longest-serving principal conductor in the orchestra's history. During his Gothenburg tenure, the recording profile and reputation of the orchestra greatly increased. He also helped to secure corpora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Orchestra has played an essential part in Scotland’s musical life, including performing at the opening ceremony of the Scottish Parliament building in 2004. Its music centre and rehearsal studios are directly connected to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The RSNO performs throughout Scotland, at such venues as Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Usher Hall, Caird Hall, Aberdeen Music Hall, Perth Concert Hall and Eden Court Theatre. Thomas Søndergård is the orchestra's current music director, since 2018. History The precursor ensemble to the RSNO was established in 1843 to accompany the Glasgow Choral Union (today known as the RSNO Chorus). In 1891, the orchestra was recognised formally as the ''Scottish Orchestra'', with George Henschel as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Classical Recordings Quarterly
''Classical Recordings Quarterly'' (formerly ''Classic Record Collector'') was a quarterly British magazine devoted to vintage recordings of classical music, across the range of instrumental recordings, chamber music, orchestral, vocal and opera. Background Based in London, the magazine was founded (as ''International Classical Record Collector'') in 1995. The magazine contains articles about artists and their recordings from the start of recording history through to the 1960s. There is also a letters page, reviews of new DVD and CD issues of pre-digital material, new LP and 78rpm repressings and books. The ''International Opera Collector'' was another quarterly supplement published at the same time. Content Extended articles on the Kingsway Hall and on William Barrington-Coupe's record labels appeared, as well as features on a wide range of artists such as Louis Cahuzac, Tancredi Pasero, Montserrat Caballé, the Ballets Russes, the Griller Quartet, Albert Spalding and Oskar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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