1.
Orchestra
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The term orchestra derives from the Greek ὀρχήστρα, the name for the area in front of a stage in ancient Greek theatre reserved for the Greek chorus. A full-size orchestra may sometimes be called an orchestra or philharmonic orchestra. The actual number of employed in a given performance may vary from seventy to over one hundred musicians, depending on the work being played. The term chamber orchestra usually refers to smaller-sized ensembles of about fifty musicians or fewer, the typical orchestra grew in size throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, reaching a peak with the large orchestras called for in the works of Richard Wagner, and later, Gustav Mahler. Orchestras are usually led by a conductor who directs the performance with movements of the hands and arms, the conductor unifies the orchestra, sets the tempo and shapes the sound of the ensemble. The first violin, commonly called the concertmaster, also plays an important role in leading the musicians, the typical symphony orchestra consists of four groups of related musical instruments called the woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings. The orchestra, depending on the size, contains almost all of the instruments in each group. Chamber orchestra usually refers to smaller-sized ensembles, a chamber orchestra might employ as many as fifty musicians. The term concert orchestra may also be used, as in the BBC Concert Orchestra, the so-called standard complement of doubled winds and brass in the orchestra from the first half of the 19th century is generally attributed to the forces called for by Beethoven. The composers instrumentation almost always included paired flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, the exceptions to this are his Symphony No. 4, Violin Concerto, and Piano Concerto No,4, which each specify a single flute. Beethoven carefully calculated the expansion of this particular timbral palette in Symphonies 3,5,6, the third horn in the Eroica Symphony arrives to provide not only some harmonic flexibility, but also the effect of choral brass in the Trio movement. Piccolo, contrabassoon, and trombones add to the finale of his Symphony No.5. A piccolo and a pair of trombones help deliver the effect of storm and sunshine in the Sixth, for several decades after his death, symphonic instrumentation was faithful to Beethovens well-established model, with few exceptions. Apart from the core orchestral complement, various instruments are called for occasionally. These include the guitar, heckelphone, flugelhorn, cornet, harpsichord. Saxophones, for example, appear in some 19th- through 21st-century scores.6 and 9 and William Waltons Belshazzars Feast, and many other works as a member of the orchestral ensemble. The euphonium is featured in a few late Romantic and 20th-century works, usually playing parts marked tenor tuba, including Gustav Holsts The Planets, cornets appear in Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskys ballet Swan Lake, Claude Debussys La Mer, and several orchestral works by Hector Berlioz
2.
Severance Hall
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Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. The hall has been the home of the Cleveland Orchestra since its opening on February 5,1931, Severance Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Wade Park District. However, both buildings were used by groups and for a variety of different kinds of presentations. Most famously, the Orchestra twice had to arrange alternative concert locations from Grays Armory on short notice due to a conflict with a poultry exhibition. Despite the economic difficulties of the Great Depression, construction began in 1929, designed by local firm Walker and Weeks, the buildings exterior is transitional between Classical, and the late flowering of Classical style known as Art Moderne or Art Deco. New York sculptor Henry Hering created a sculpture for the pediment. Inside, Severance Hall is one of Americas greatest Art Deco interiors, as was usual with the style, Egyptian Revival mix with inspiration drawn from Greek and Roman themes. The ceiling and pillars of the auditorium glisten with Art Deco motifs in aluminum leaf, some acoustic problems were soon observed in Severance Hall shortly after its opening. In 1958, at the instigation of Music Director George Szell, to make the auditorium more resonant, the original proscenium and blue velvet drapes were removed and the placement of carpet was reduced to a minimum. On the stage a permanent acoustical shell was built, the new shell consisted of thick wooden walls surrounding the orchestra in a series of convex curves. The heavy wood walls were filled with sand to heights of up to nine feet to make them less absorbent. The result was a new, vibrant-sounding space which complemented the refined, visually, however, the severe new Modernist stage clashed with the elegant Art Deco design of the auditorium. In addition, the pipe chambers were effectively sealed off from the auditorium by the new shell. This made the organ all but non-functional, its sound being transferred into the auditorium via microphones, in 1970 the buildings drive-through street-level entrance paved with tile was closed as the use of taxis and chauffeured vehicles had declined. A dining area was set up in the resulting space, later on, one of the access corridors on the ground floor was closed off to create space for a dressing room for women orchestra members. Beginning in 1998, the Hall underwent an extensive two-year, $36 million restoration and expansion, the renovated building reopened in January 2000, winning the National Preservation Honor Award. The project architect was David M. Schwarz, Severance Hall was featured in the 1997 Harrison Ford film Air Force One. The scene during the credits shows a night-time military raid on the presidential palace of the leader of Kazakhstan
3.
Cleveland
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Cleveland is a city in the U. S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the states second most populous county. The city proper has a population of 388,072, making Cleveland the 51st largest city in the United States, Greater Cleveland ranked as the 32nd largest metropolitan area in the United States, with 2,055,612 people in 2016. The city is the center of the Cleveland–Akron–Canton Combined Statistical Area, the city is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately 60 miles west of the Pennsylvania border. Clevelands economy has diversified sectors that include manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, Cleveland is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Residents of Cleveland are called Clevelanders, Cleveland has many nicknames, the oldest of which in contemporary use being The Forest City. Cleaveland oversaw the plan for what would become the downtown area, centered on Public Square, before returning home. The first settler in Cleaveland was Lorenzo Carter, who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, the Village of Cleaveland was incorporated on December 23,1814. In spite of the swampy lowlands and harsh winters, its waterfront location proved to be an advantage. The area began rapid growth after the 1832 completion of the Ohio, growth continued with added railroad links. Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836, in 1836, the city, then located only on the eastern banks of the Cuyahoga River, nearly erupted into open warfare with neighboring Ohio City over a bridge connecting the two. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until its annexation by Cleveland in 1854, the citys prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes has played an important role in its development as a commercial center. Cleveland serves as a point for iron ore shipped from Minnesota. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, other manufacturers located in Cleveland produced steam-powered cars, which included White and Gaeth, as well as the electric car company Baker. Because of the significant growth, Cleveland was known as the Sixth City during this period, by 1920, due in large part to the citys economic prosperity, Cleveland became the nations fifth largest city. The city counted Progressive Era politicians such as the populist Mayor Tom L. Johnson among its leaders, many prominent Clevelanders from this era are buried in the historic Lake View Cemetery, including President James A. Garfield, and John D. Rockefeller. In commemoration of the centennial of Clevelands incorporation as a city, conceived as a way to energize a city after the Great Depression, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. The exposition was housed on grounds that are now used by the Great Lakes Science Center, following World War II, the city experienced a prosperous economy. In sports, the Indians won the 1948 World Series, the hockey Barons became champions of the American Hockey League, as a result, along with track and boxing champions produced, Cleveland was dubbed City of Champions in sports at this time
4.
Gramophone (magazine)
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Gramophone is a magazine published monthly in London devoted to classical music, particularly to reviews of recordings. It was founded in 1923 by the Scottish author Compton Mackenzie and it was acquired by Haymarket in 1999. In 2013 the Mark Allen Group became the publisher The magazine presents the Gramophone Awards each year to the recordings which it considers the finest in a variety of categories. In the title bar of its website Gramophone claims to be and this used to appear on the front cover of every issue, recent editions have changed the wording to The worlds best classical music reviews. Its circulation, including digital subscribers, was 24,380 in 2014 Apart from the annual Gramophone Awards, each month features a dozen recordings as Gramophone Editors Choice. Then, in the annual Christmas edition, there is a review of the recordings where each critic selects four or five recordings - these selections make up the Gramophone Critics Choice. In April 2012, Gramophone launched its Hall of Fame, a listing of the men and women who have contributed to the classical record industry. The first 50 were revealed in the May 2012 issue and on Gramophone’s website, glenn Gould wrote a parody review in the style of Gramophone for the liner notes to his 1968 recording of Beethovens Fifth Symphony transcribed for solo piano by Liszt. The review, which purports to be from the English magazine The Phonograph includes this passage, Unusual recordings of the Beethoven Fifth are, of course, in late 2012, Gramophone announced the launch of a new archive service
5.
Conducting
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Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. A conductors directions will almost invariably be supplemented or reinforced by verbal instructions or suggestions to their musicians in rehearsal prior to a performance. The conductor typically stands on a podium with a large music stand for the full score. Conducting while playing a piano or synthesizer may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras, communication is typically non-verbal during a performance. However, in rehearsals, frequent interruptions allow the conductor to give verbal directions as to how the music should be played or sung, Conductors act as guides to the orchestras or choirs they conduct. They choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make adjustments, work out their interpretation. They may also attend to matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions and selecting members. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles such as big bands are usually led by conductors. The principal conductor of an orchestra or opera company is referred to as a music director or chief conductor, or by the German words Kapellmeister or Dirigent. Conductors of choirs or choruses are sometimes referred to as director, chorus master, or choirmaster. Conductors of concert bands, military bands, marching bands and other bands may hold the title of director, bandmaster. Respected senior conductors are sometimes referred to by the Italian word, an early form of conducting is cheironomy, the use of hand gestures to indicate melodic shape. This has been practiced at least as far back as the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, other devices to indicate the passing of time came into use. Rolled up sheets of paper, smaller sticks and unadorned hands are all shown in pictures from this period, the large staff was responsible for the death of Jean-Baptiste Lully, who injured his foot with one while conducting a Te Deum for the Kings recovery from illness. The wound became gangrenous and Lully refused amputation, whereupon the gangrene spread to his leg, in instrumental music throughout the 18th century, a member of the ensemble usually acted as the conductor. This was sometimes the concertmaster, who could use his bow as a baton and it was common to conduct from the harpsichord in pieces that had a basso continuo part. In opera performances, there were sometimes two conductors – the keyboard player was in charge of the singers, and the principal violinist or leader was in charge of the orchestra. By the early 19th century, it became the norm to have a dedicated conductor, the size of the usual orchestra expanded during this period, and the use of a baton became more common, as it was easier to see than bare hands or rolled-up paper
6.
Radio
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When radio waves strike an electrical conductor, the oscillating fields induce an alternating current in the conductor. The information in the waves can be extracted and transformed back into its original form, Radio systems need a transmitter to modulate some property of the energy produced to impress a signal on it, for example using amplitude modulation or angle modulation. Radio systems also need an antenna to convert electric currents into radio waves, an antenna can be used for both transmitting and receiving. The electrical resonance of tuned circuits in radios allow individual stations to be selected, the electromagnetic wave is intercepted by a tuned receiving antenna. Radio frequencies occupy the range from a 3 kHz to 300 GHz, a radio communication system sends signals by radio. The term radio is derived from the Latin word radius, meaning spoke of a wheel, beam of light, however, this invention would not be widely adopted. The switch to radio in place of wireless took place slowly and unevenly in the English-speaking world, the United States Navy would also play a role. Although its translation of the 1906 Berlin Convention used the terms wireless telegraph and wireless telegram, the term started to become preferred by the general public in the 1920s with the introduction of broadcasting. Radio systems used for communication have the following elements, with more than 100 years of development, each process is implemented by a wide range of methods, specialised for different communications purposes. Each system contains a transmitter, This consists of a source of electrical energy, the transmitter contains a system to modulate some property of the energy produced to impress a signal on it. This modulation might be as simple as turning the energy on and off, or altering more subtle such as amplitude, frequency, phase. Amplitude modulation of a carrier wave works by varying the strength of the signal in proportion to the information being sent. For example, changes in the strength can be used to reflect the sounds to be reproduced by a speaker. It was the used for the first audio radio transmissions. Frequency modulation varies the frequency of the carrier, the instantaneous frequency of the carrier is directly proportional to the instantaneous value of the input signal. FM has the capture effect whereby a receiver only receives the strongest signal, Digital data can be sent by shifting the carriers frequency among a set of discrete values, a technique known as frequency-shift keying. FM is commonly used at Very high frequency radio frequencies for high-fidelity broadcasts of music, analog TV sound is also broadcast using FM. Angle modulation alters the phase of the carrier wave to transmit a signal
7.
Erich Leinsdorf
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Erich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera throughout the United States and Europe. He also published books and essays on musical matters, Leinsdorf was born to a Jewish family in Vienna, and was studying music at a local school by the age of 5. He played the cello and studied composition, in his teens, Leinsdorf worked as a piano accompanist for singers. He studied conducting at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and later at the University of Vienna, from 1934 to 1937 he worked as an assistant to the noted conductors Bruno Walter and Arturo Toscanini at the Salzburg Festival. In November 1937, Leinsdorf travelled to the United States to take up a position as assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. As it turned out, his departure from Austria came a few months ahead of the Anschluss of March 1938. With the assistance of freshman Representative from Texas Lyndon B, johnson, he was able to stay in the United States, and became a naturalized American citizen in 1942. While at the Met, Leinsdorf was particularly noted for his Wagner performances, after the death of Artur Bodanzky in 1939. Leinsdorf was the conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra from 1947 to 1955. He came to despair of what he saw as Rochesters insular musical culture, subsequently, he was briefly head of the New York City Opera, before resuming his association with the Met. In 1962 he was named director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His time in Boston produced many recordings for RCA, but was marked by controversy, as he occasionally clashed with musicians. On November 22,1963, during a Boston Symphony concert and he and the orchestra followed the news with a performance of the Funeral March from Beethovens third symphony. In 1969 Leinsdorf left the Boston post and he would continue to guest-conduct operas and orchestras around the world for the next two decades, being particularly associated with the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. He also served from 1978 to 1980 as principal conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and he died of cancer in Zürich, Switzerland, at the age of 81. Leinsdorf is also known for his arrangements of orchestral concert suites of music from major operas and they include, Claude Debussys Pelléas et Mélisande, Richard Wagners Parsifal, and Richard Strausss Die Frau ohne Schatten. Leinsdorf made numerous recordings throughout his career, including some 78-rpm discs for Columbia Records with the Cleveland Orchestra and he made a number of recordings with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Capitol and later for Sheffield Labs
8.
George Szell
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George Szell, originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born Jewish-American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the centurys greatest conductors. Szell came to Cleveland in 1946 to take over a respected if undersized orchestra, by the time of his death he was credited, to quote the critic Donal Henahan, with having built it into what many critics regarded as the worlds keenest symphonic instrument. Through his recordings, Szell has remained a presence in the music world long after his death. While on tour with the Orchestra in the late 1980s, then-Music Director Christoph von Dohnányi remarked, We give a great concert, Szell was born in Budapest but grew up in Vienna. One of Roberts other students was Rudolf Serkin, Szell and Serkin became lifelong friends, in addition to the piano, Szell studied composition with Eusebius Mandyczewski, and with Max Reger for a brief period. Although his work as a composer is unknown today, when he was fourteen Szell signed a ten-year exclusive publishing contract with Universal Edition in Vienna. In addition to writing pieces, he arranged Bedřich Smetanas String Quartet No. 1, From My Life, for orchestra, at the age of eleven, Szell began touring Europe as a pianist and composer, making his London debut at that age. Newspapers declared him the next Mozart, throughout his teenage years he performed with orchestras in this dual role, eventually making appearances as composer, pianist and conductor, as he did with the Berlin Philharmonic at age seventeen. Szell quickly realized that he was never going to make an out of being a composer or pianist. He made an unplanned public conducting debut when he was seventeen, the Vienna Symphonys conductor had injured his arm, and Szell was asked to substitute. Szell quickly turned to conducting full-time, though he abandoned composing, throughout the rest of his life he occasionally played the piano with chamber ensembles and as an accompanist. Despite his rare appearances as a pianist after his teens, he remained in good form, during his Cleveland years he occasionally would demonstrate to guest pianists how he thought they should play a certain passage. In 1915, at the age of 18, Szell won an appointment with Berlins Royal Court Opera, there, he was befriended by its Music Director, Richard Strauss. Strauss instantly recognized Szells talent and was impressed with how well the teenager conducted Strausss music. Strauss once said that he could die a happy man knowing that there was someone who performed his music so perfectly, in fact, Szell ended up conducting part of the world premiere recording of Don Juan for Strauss. The composer had arranged for Szell to rehearse the orchestra for him, since the recording session was already paid for, and only Szell was there, Szell conducted the first half of the recording
9.
James Levine
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James Lawrence Levine is an American conductor and pianist. He is primarily known for his tenure as Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera and he has made numerous recordings, as well as television and radio broadcasts, with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Levine has also held positions with the Ravinia Festival, the Munich Philharmonic. In 1980, he started the Lindemann Young Artists Development Program and often works to train promising singers, conductors, after suffering severe health problems, Levine took a hiatus from conducting for almost two years. He returned to conducting in 2013 and he stepped down as the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera at the end of the 2015-2016 season to assume the new position of Music Director Emeritus. James Levine was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to a family, his maternal grandfather was a cantor in a synagogue, his father was a violinist who led a dance band. He began to play the piano as a small child, at the age of 10, he made his concert debut as soloist in Felix Mendelssohns Piano Concerto No.2 at a youth concert of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. Levine subsequently studied music with Walter Levin, first violinist in the LaSalle Quartet, in 1956 he took piano lessons with Rudolf Serkin at the Marlboro Music School, Vermont. In the following year he began studies with Rosina Lhévinne at the Aspen Music School and he graduated from the Juilliard School in 1964 and joined the American Conductors project connected with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. From 1964 to 1965, Levine served as an apprentice to George Szell with the Cleveland Orchestra and that year, he also made debuts as guest conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra at its summer home at Robin Hood Dell, the Welsh National Opera, and the San Francisco Opera. This concert began an association with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1990, at the request of Roy E. Disney, he arranged the music and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in the soundtrack of Fantasia 2000, from 1974 to 1978, Levine served as music director of the Cincinnati May Festival. Levine made his Metropolitan Opera debut in June 1971, leading a June Festival performance of Tosca, following further appearances with the company, he was named principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in February 1972. He became the Mets music director in 1976, in 1983, he served as conductor and musical director for the Franco Zeffirelli screen adaptation of La Traviata, which featured the Met orchestra and chorus members. He became the companys first artistic director in 1986, and relinquished the title in 2004, Levine has led the Metropolitan Opera on many domestic and international tours. For the 25th anniversary of his Met debut, Levine conducted the premiere of John Harbisons The Great Gatsby. On his appointment as General Manager of the Met, Peter Gelb emphasized that James Levine was welcome to remain as long as he wanted to direct music there. Following a series of injuries that began with a fall in Boston, following a May 2011 performance of Die Walküre, Levine formally withdrew from all conducting engagements at the Metropolitan Opera
10.
Pierre Boulez
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Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez CBE was a French composer, conductor, writer and organiser of institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of the classical music world. Born in Montbrison in the Loire district of France, the son of an engineer, Boulez studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Olivier Messiaen and he began his professional career in the late 1940s as Music Director of the Renaud-Barrault theatre company in Paris. As a young composer in the 1950s he quickly became a figure in avant-garde music, playing an important role in the development of integral serialism. From the 1970s onwards he pioneered the transformation of instrumental music in real time. In parallel with his activities as a composer Boulez became one of the most prominent conductors of his generation and he made frequent guest appearances with many of the worlds other great orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. His recorded legacy is extensive and he received 26 Grammy Awards, Pierre Boulez died at his home in Baden-Baden on 5 January 2016, aged 90. Pierre Boulez was born on 26 March 1925, in Montbrison and he was the third of four children, an older sister, Jeanne and younger brother, Roger were preceded by a first child, also called Pierre, who died in infancy. By the age of fifteen he was sceptical about religion, what struck me most was that it was so mechanical, as a child he took piano lessons, played chamber music with local amateurs and sang in the school choir. After completing the first part of his baccalaureate a year early he spent the year of 1940–41 at the Pensionnat St. Louis. The following year he took courses in advanced mathematics at the University of Lyon which his father hoped would prepare him for a career in engineering and he was in Lyon when the Vichy government fell and the Germans took over. It was not a time, and nothing to eat. It was in Lyon that he first heard an orchestra, saw his first operas and met the well-known soprano Ninon Vallin, impressed by his ability, she persuaded Léon to allow his son to apply to the Conservatoire in Lyon, but the selection board rejected him. Boulez was determined to pursue a career in music, the following year, with his sisters support in the face of opposition from his father, he studied the piano and harmony privately with Lionel de Pachmann. Our parents were strong, but finally we were stronger than they, in fact, when he moved to Paris in the autumn of 1943, Léon accompanied him, helped him to find a room and subsidised him until he could earn a living. In late 1943 he entered the preparatory class of Georges Dandelot at the Paris Conservatoire. There he was introduced to Andrée Vaurabourg, wife of the composer Arthur Honegger and he greatly enjoyed working with her and she remembered him as an exceptional student, using his exercises as models in advanced counterpoint until the end of her teaching career. He also studied the piano privately in the hope of entering Jean Doyens class, but he was unsuccessful
11.
Lorin Maazel
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Lorin Varencove Maazel was an American conductor, violinist and composer. S. Maazel was well-regarded in baton technique and possessed a photographic memory for scores, described as mercurial and forbidding in rehearsal, he mellowed in old age. His father, Lincoln Maazel, was a singer, teacher of voice and piano, and an actor and his grandfather Isaac was a violinist in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for twenty years. Both Lincoln and Marie gave interviews for the Oral History Collection at the University of Pittsburgh, Lincolns in 1994, Maazel was a child prodigy, taking his first conducting lesson at age seven with Vladimir Bakaleinikov and making his debut at age eight. At the age of eleven, he guest-conducted the NBC Symphony Orchestra on the radio, at twelve he toured the United States of America to conduct major orchestras. He made his debut at the age of fifteen. He attended the Fanny Edel Falk Laboratory School at the University of Pittsburgh as a child, followed by Peabody High School, Maazel studied briefly with Pierre Monteux in 1945. In the early 1950s, Maazel toured as the conductor with the Gershwin Concert Orchestra, the orchestra consisted of 25 members and a noted array of soloists. The orchestra was organized in cooperation with Ira Gershwin, to give the public a comprehensive Gershwin program, the list of soloists included George Gershwins friend, Jesús Maria Sanromá, Carolyn Long and Theodor Uppman. In 1960, Maazel became the first American to conduct at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus and he was chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1965 to 1971 and the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 1964 to 1975. In 1972, Maazel began his tenure as director at the Cleveland Orchestra. Maazels emotional, rich interpretation of music greatly differed from Szells characteristic crisp, a notable achievement during this time was the first complete recording of George Gershwins Porgy and Bess, using an all-African American cast. Maazel held the post until 1982 and he never returned to the Cleveland Orchestra after his departure, although a scheduled engagement in 2006 did not occur because of illness. In 1977, he became director of the Orchestre National de France in Paris. From 1982 to 1984, Maazel served at the Vienna State Opera as general manager, in 1980, he succeeded Willi Boskovsky as conductor at the Vienna New Years Concert and he led this televised annual event each year, until 1986. He returned to it four times, in 1994,1996,1999 and 2005, from 1984 to 1988, Maazel was the music consultant to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and its music director from 1988 to 1996. From 1993 until 2002, he was conductor of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich. He claimed that his decision was because he was concerned for the orchestras well-being and this engagement led to his appointment in January 2001 as the orchestras next music director, starting in 2002, succeeding Kurt Masur
12.
Vladimir Ashkenazy
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Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He is originally from Russia and has held Icelandic citizenship since 1972 and he has lived in Switzerland since 1978. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists, in addition, he has recorded a large storehouse of classical and romantic works. His recordings have earned him five Grammy awards plus Icelands Order of the Falcon, Ashkenazy was born in Gorky, Soviet Union, to the pianist and composer David Ashkenazi and to the actress Yevstolia Grigorievna, born Plotnova. His father was Jewish and his mother was the daughter of a family of Russian Orthodox peasants and he began playing piano at the age of six. He was accepted to the Central Music School at age eight studying with Anaida Sumbatyan, Ashkenazy attended the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Lev Oborin and Boris Zemliansky. He won second prize in the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1955 and he shared the first prize in the 1962 International Tchaikovsky Competition with British pianist John Ogdon. As a student, like many in period, he was harassed by the KGB to become an informer. He did not really cooperate, despite pressures from the authorities, in 1961 he married the Iceland-born Þórunn Jóhannsdóttir, who studied piano at the Moscow Conservatoire. To marry Ashkenazy, Þórunn was forced to give up her Icelandic citizenship, in his memoirs, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev recollects that Ashkenazy had married an Englishwoman and on a visit to London refused to go back to the Soviet Union. Khrushchev mentions that Ashkenazy then went to the Soviet Embassy in London and asked what to do, Khrushchev claims to have been of the opinion that to require Ashkenazy to return to the USSR would have made him an Anti-Soviet. He further claims that this was a example of an artist being able to come and go in and out of the USSR freely. In 1963 Ashkenazy decided to leave the USSR permanently, establishing residence in London where his wifes parents lived, the couple moved to Iceland in 1968 where, in 1972, Ashkenazy became an Icelandic citizen. In 1970 he helped to found the Reykjavík Arts Festival, of which he remains Honorary President, in 1978 the couple and their four children moved to Lucerne, Switzerland. Their fifth child, Alexandra Inga, was born in 1979, as of 1989, Ashkenazy resides in Meggen. His eldest son Vladimir, who uses his nickname Vovka as a name, is a pianist, as well as a teacher at the Imola International Piano Academy. Ashkenazy has recorded a range of piano repertoire, both solo works and concerti. He has also performed and recorded chamber music, midway through his pianistic career, Ashkenazy branched into conducting
13.
Oliver Knussen
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Oliver Knussen CBE is a Scottish composer and conductor. Oliver Knussen was born in Glasgow, Scotland and his father, Stuart Knussen, was principal double bass of the London Symphony Orchestra, and also participated in a number of premieres of Benjamin Brittens music. Oliver Knussen studied composition with John Lambert between 1963 and 1969, and also received encouragement from Britten and he spent several summers studying with Gunther Schuller at Tanglewood in Massachusetts and in Boston. He later became the head of music activities at Tanglewood. She ran the Los Angeles Philharmonics education department in the late 1990s, oliver and Sue Knussen had a daughter, Sonya, who is a mezzo-soprano. Sue Knussen died of an infection in London in 2003. The Sue Knussen Composers Fund honours her memory and professional legacy. and. commissions works from emerging composers to be performed by music ensembles worldwide. Knussen lives in Snape, Suffolk, Benjamin Brittens base during one of his most creative periods, Snape Maltings concert hall is the home of the Aldeburgh Festival. Aged 15, Knussen stepped in to conduct his symphonys première at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on 7 April 1968, after his debut, Daniel Barenboim asked him to conduct the works first two movements in New York a week later. It was as early as the Second Symphony, in the words of Julian Anderson, in 2005 Knussen was the music director of the Ojai Music Festival. Since September 2006, Knussen has been artist-in-association to the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and his major works from the 1980s are his two childrens operas, Where the Wild Things Are and Higglety Pigglety Pop. both libretti by Maurice Sendak – and based on Sendaks own eponymous childrens books. Where the Wild Things Are received its New York premiere in November 1986 by New York City Opera and its not a huge work - about 13 minutes - but its a big piece emotionally. As of fall 2012, Knussen was writing a symphonic adagio for the Philadelphia Orchestra and he was also planning to finish two concertos that he has worked on for several years, one for piano and one for cello. His recordings as a conductor include works by Ruth Crawford Seeger, Elliott Carter, Igor Stravinsky, Colin Matthews, Alexander Goehr, Robin Holloway, Knussens works include the following, Symphony No. 1, Op.1, for orchestra Processionals, Op.2, for chamber ensemble Masks, Op.3, for solo flute and glass chimes ad lib
14.
Kurt Sanderling
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Kurt Sanderling, CBE was a German conductor. Sanderling was born in Arys, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire and he then left for the Soviet Union in 1936, where he worked with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1939, he became conductor of the Kharkiv Philharmonic Orchestra, during the siege of Leningrad, he worked in Novosibirsk, Siberia. From 1942 to 1960, he was joint principal conductor with Yevgeny Mravinsky of the Leningrad Philharmonic, around 1942-1943, Sanderling first met Dmitri Shostakovich, which marked the start of their professional working relationship and personal friendship. In 1960, Sanderling returned to East Germany to take up the conductorship of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. From 1964 to 1967, he was conductor of the Dresden Staatskapelle. He made his British debut in 1970 and his first guest-conducting appearance with the Philharmonia Orchestra was in 1972, as a substitute for Otto Klemperer. The Philharmonia appointed Sanderling its Conductor Emeritus in 1996 and he was also Emeritus Conductor of the Madrid Symphony Orchestra. In the USA, he worked with frequency as a guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Sanderling announced his retirement from conducting in May 2002, in September 2002, Sanderling was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and awarded the Ernst Reuter Plaque of Berlin, the citys highest honour. He was among the first conductors to perform and record Deryck Cookes completion of Gustav Mahlers 10th symphony, Sanderling died on 18 September 2011, one day before his 99th birthday in Berlin. His first marriage to Nina Bobath was in 1941, and produced a son, Thomas Sanderling and his first marriage ended in divorce after his return to East Germany. His second wife was the former Barbara Wagner, a double bassist in the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and they married in 1963, and their marriage produced two sons, the conductor Stefan Sanderling, and the cellist/conductor Michael Sanderling. His second wife and his three sons survive him,2002, Kurt Sanderling & Ulrich Roloff-Momin, Andere machen Geschichte, ich machte Musik. Parthas, Berlin 2002,431 pp. ill, discographie, ISBN 3-932529-35-9, Seine Liebe zu Brahms. A film by Norbert Beilharz, First transmission,2, november 2003, Inhaltsangabe des SWR Erik Eriksson
15.
Riccardo Chailly
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Riccardo Chailly, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. He started his career as a conductor and gradually extended his repertoire to encompass symphonic music. Chailly was born in Milan into a family of Romagnol. He studied composition with his father, Luciano Chailly and his sister is harpist Cecilia Chailly. Chailly studied at the conservatories in Perugia and Milan. He later studied conducting with Franco Ferrara, in his youth, Chailly also played the drums in a rhythm-and-blues band. At age 20, Chailly became assistant conductor to Claudio Abbado at La Scala, from 1982 to 1988, Chailly was chief conductor of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and from 1983 to 1986 principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1986 to 1993, he led the Teatro Comunale of Bologna, Chailly made his debut with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam in 1985. Among notable projects, Chailly led the 1995 Mahler Festival that celebrated the 100th anniversary of Mahlers first concert at the Concertgebouw. One report stated that Chailly decided in 2002 to leave the RCO when, at his last contract negotiations, in 1986, Chailly conducted the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig for the first time, at the Salzburg Festival, after Herbert von Karajan had introduced Chailly to the orchestra. His next guest-conducting appearance with the Leipzig orchestra was in 2001, in August 2005, he officially became the chief conductor of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and general music director of Oper Leipzig. His initial Leipzig contract was to run through to 2010, in May 2008, he extended his contract with the Gewandhausorchester to 2015. However, he resigned as GMD of the Oper Leipzig. In June 2013, the Gewandhausorchester and Chailly agreed on an extension of his contract through 2020. His projects in Leipzig have included an international Mahler festival in May 2011, Chailly became the first music director of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in 1999, and held the post until 2005. He now has the title of Conductor Laureate with La Verdi, in December 2013, La Scala announced the appointment of Chailly as its next music director, effective 1 January 2017 through 31 December 2022. Chailly is scheduled to take the title of conductor of La Scala as of 1 January 2015. In August 2015, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra announced the appointment of Chailly as its music director, effective with the 2016 Lucerne Festival
16.
Michael Tilson Thomas
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Michael Tilson Thomas is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is currently director of the San Francisco Symphony, and artistic director of The New World Symphony is an American orchestral academy based in Miami Beach. Tilson Thomas was born in Los Angeles, California, to Ted and Roberta Thomas, a Broadway stage manager and he is the grandson of noted Yiddish theater stars Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, who performed in the Yiddish Theater District in Manhattan. He was a child and a prodigy. Tilson Thomas studied piano with John Crown and composition and conducting under Ingolf Dahl at the University of Southern California, as a student of Friedelind Wagner, Tilson Thomas was a Musical Assistant and Assistant Conductor at the Bayreuth Festival. Tilson Thomas is openly gay and lives in San Francisco with his partner of thirty years and they married on November 2,2014. Tilson Thomas has conducted a variety of music and is a particular champion of modern American works. He is also renowned for his interpretation of the works of Gustav Mahler, he has recorded all nine Mahler symphonies and these recordings have been released on the high-resolution audio format Super Audio CD on the San Francisco Symphonys own recording label. Tilson Thomas is also known as an interpreter of the works of Aaron Copland, Charles Ives. A sampling of Tilson Thomass own compositions include From the Diary of Anne Frank, Shówa/Shoáh, Poems of Emily Dickinson, Tilson Thomas has also been devoted to music education. Tilson Thomas also founded the New World Symphony in Miami in 1987, most recently, Tilson Thomas has led two incarnations of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, which brings young musicians from around the world together for a week of music making and learning. Presently, Tilson Thomas is connecting tangibly with his past and he is president of the Tomashefsky Project, a $2 million undertaking formed last June that will record and preserve his grandparents theatrical achievements. There are 2,000 to 3,000 documents out there on Boris and Bessie and Yiddish theater says Linda Steinberg, in the New York Public Library alone there are 700 - and nobodys looked at them. Other major collections are in the library of Congress and the University of California at Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford, after winning the Koussevitzky Prize at Tanglewood in 1969, Tilson Thomas was named Assistant Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. That same year, he made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, replacing an unwell William Steinberg mid-concert. He stayed with the Boston ensemble as an assistant conductor until 1974 and made recordings with the orchestra for Deutsche Grammophon. He was music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979 and he made recordings for Columbia Records in Buffalo. Between 1971 and 1977, he conducted the series of Young Peoples Concerts with the New York Philharmonic
17.
Ernest M. Skinner
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Ernest Martin Skinner was one of the most successful American pipe organ builders of the early 20th century. His electro-pneumatic switching systems advanced the technology of building in the first part of the 20th century. Skinner was born in Clarion, Pennsylvania, in 1866, to the touring concert singers Washington and his father organized a music company in Taunton, and his son attended rehearsals and performances of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, which stimulated his interest in music. When he was a teenager, the moved to West Somerville, Massachusetts. It was during this time that Ernest saw his first pipe organ and he also repaired his first organ at this early stage of life. He became a boy for George H. Ryder, a small organ builder located in Reading. It was here that Ernests interest in the organ began to take shape. After four years here, he was fired one morning. Skinner made the first of two trips to England, crossing the Atlantic on a cattle steamer in 1898. Skinner was exposed to the work of Father Henry Willis, the celebrated London builder whose high-pressure chorus reeds, Skinner then crossed the English Channel to visit France where he met Louis Vierne, the famed blind organist at Notre-Dame in Paris. Upon his return to Boston, Skinner made his first Pedal Trombone modeled after the work of Father Willis for the 1900 Hutchings organ installed at Boston Music Hall. In 1901, Skinner decided to out on his own. In 1902, Skinner entered into a partnership to form the Skinner & Cole Company, by 1904 the partnership had dissolved, and the Ernest M. Skinner & Company purchased the Skinner and Cole assets. Skinner was one of the first organ builders to try to establish a method for providing fixed dimensions in his organ consoles. Skinner consoles also had fully adjustable combination pistons and combination actions, the numbered rows of buttons, located between the keyboards of a Skinner instrument, access these preset combinations. Skinner also developed and perfected numerous automatic Player mechanisms, which allowed an individual to operate a large pipe organ in a manner similar to a player piano. This was a lifelong interest of Skinner, and he worked in secret. The Toledo Museum of Art contains a fully restored Skinner instrument, in 1916, Skinner created and patented the Orchestrator, Player-Relay mechanism, which stands directly as one of the fore-runners of the modern computer
18.
Manual (music)
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A manual is a musical keyboard designed to be played with the hands, on an instrument such as a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term manual is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard and it is proper to use manual rather than keyboard, then, when referring to the hand keyboards on any instrument that has a pedalboard. Music written to be played only on the manuals can be designated by manualiter, organs and synthesizers can, and usually do, have more than one manual, most home instruments have two manuals, while most larger organs have two or three. Elaborate pipe and theater organs can have four or more manuals, the manuals are set into the organ console. A typical, full-size organ manual consists of five octaves, or 61 keys, some smaller electronic organs may have manuals of four octaves or less. On smaller electronic organs and synthesizers, the manuals may span fewer octaves and this arrangement encourages the organist to play the melody line on the upper manual as he plays the harmony line or chords on the lower manual. On pipe organs each manual plays a specific subset of the organs stops, synthesizers can program separate manuals to emulate sounds of various orchestral sections or instruments. On such instruments a performer can produce the sounds of an entire orchestra through his or her use of all available manuals in conjunction with the pedalboard, despite the superficial resemblance to piano keyboards, organ manuals require a very different style of playing. Organ keys often require less force to depress than piano keys, when depressed, an organ key continues to sound its note at the same volume until the organist releases the key, unlike a piano key, whose note gradually fades away. Another difference is that of dynamic control, while the piano note, then, can only decay, the organ note may increase in volume or undergo other dynamic changes. All of these mean that both the technique of organ playing and the resulting music are quite different from those of the piano. Nevertheless, the trained pianist may play a basic organ repertoire with little difficulty, although more advanced organ music will require specialized training, theatre pipe organs use the nomenclature Great, Accompaniment, Solo, Bombarde, and Orchestral. Devices known as couplers are available to link the manuals
19.
Organ stop
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An organ stop is a component of a pipe organ that admits pressurized air to a set of organ pipes. Its name comes from the fact that stops can be used selectively by the organist, some can be on, the term can also refer to the control that operates this mechanism, commonly called a stop tab, stop knob, or drawknob. On electric or electronic organs that imitate a pipe organ, the terms are often used, with the exception of the Hammond organ and clonewheel organs. The term is sometimes used as a synonym for register. Registration is the art of combining stops, the phrase pull out all the stops has entered general usage, for deploying all available means to pursue a goal. Organ pipes are organized within the organ according to note and timbre. A set of pipes producing the same timbre for each note is called a rank, while each key on a pipe organ controls a note which may be sounded by different ranks of pipes, alone or in combination. The use of stops enables the organist to selectively turn off certain ranks in order to produce different combinations of sounds, a stop may be linked to a single rank, or to multiple ranks. While nowadays one speaks of drawing a stop to select a particular rank or set of ranks, when the organist desires a rank to sound, he or she operates the corresponding control at the console, allowing wind to flow to the pipes. Likewise, the organist can deny wind to the pipes by operating the control in the opposite direction. Common stop controls include stop knobs, which move in and out of the console, and stop tabs, some organs, particularly smaller historical organs from England or Spain, feature divided registers, in which there are two stop knobs for certain ranks. One stop knob will control the upper portion of the keyboard, over the course of the history of the pipe organ, there have been several different designs by which stops are actuated. In the longest-standing design, known as the slider chest, there is a strip of material called a slider which fits underneath a given rank of pipes, the slider has small holes drilled in it, one for each pipe in the rank. When the stop is set such that pipes are inactive, the holes are misaligned with the pipes, when the stop is set such that the pipes are active, the slider moves over, aligning the holes with the pipes, allowing air to reach them. Because the slider chest was developed before the advent of electricity, many organs originally built with mechanical actuators have been retrofitted with electric actuators. Other common designs include the spring chest, the valve chest. The term unification refers to the practice of expanding the resources of an organ without adding extra pipes by making notes available to different stops from the same rank of pipes. For example, an 8′ Gedeckt may also be available as a 4′ Gedeckt
20.
Blossom Music Center
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Blossom Music Center is an amphitheatre located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The pavilion seats 5,700 people, with space for about 13,500 more on the lawn and it is the summer home of the Cleveland Orchestra, which performs its annual Blossom Festival there. The venue is also host to a summer schedule of popular music acts. It is owned by the Musical Arts Association, the orchestras non-profit parent organization, Blossom Music Center is named after the family of Dudley S. Blossom, who served as president of the Cleveland Orchestra from 1936 to 1938. The sites natural parabolic setting, the pavilions sloping slate roof, there are currently plans to sell 580 acres of Blossoms undeveloped acreage to the National Park Service to add to the park. As of March 2011,233 acres have been purchased by the National Park Service for US $4 million and this would financially benefit the owners and serve to protect the natural setting of Blossom. In 2003, the venue underwent a $17 million renovation, the annual Carnival of Horrors has been held every October since 2003. The amphitheatre has played host to music festivals, including All That. Music and More Festival, Buzzard Festival, Country Throwdown Tour, Crüe Fest, Crüe Fest 2, Curiosa Festival, EndFest, Furthur Festival, H. O. R. D. E. Festival, Honda Civic Tour, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Mayhem Festival, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution, Uproar Festival and Vans Warped Tour. The Michael Stanley Band, intensely popular in Northeast Ohio, but virtually unknown elsewhere, set a record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26. List of contemporary amphitheatres Blossom Music Center on Live Nation Blossom Music Center Blossom Music Center Seating Chart Carnival of Horrors Haunted House
21.
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
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Cuyahoga Falls is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 49,652 and it is the second-largest city in Summit County and part of the Akron Metropolitan Statistical Area and of the Cleveland-Akron-Elyria Combined Statistical Area. The city was founded in 1812 by William Wetmore and was originally named Manchester, Cuyahoga Falls is named after the Cuyahoga River and the series of waterfalls that run along the southern boundary of the city. Cuyahoga Falls is bordered by Akron to the south and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park to the northwest, Cuyahoga Falls was formed in 1812 near the junction of what was then Northampton, Stow, Tallmadge, and Portage townships. The focus was the series of Cuyahoga River waterfalls that provided power for manufacturing, in 1812, Kelsey and Wilcox built a dam on the Cuyahoga River at a place where a railroad bridge crossed it in 1876. They then built a mill, an oil mill. This led to the construction of a number of houses and this area was known as the old village. Development moved downstream, though, when the power was discovered to be better there, the old village was eventually destroyed in 1826, when a dam built by William Wetmore flooded the dam at the old village and its mills were torn down. The earliest settler of Cuyahoga Falls included Joshua Stow and William Wetmore, in 1815, a saw mill was operating near Gaylords Grove, using power generated by a dam on the Cuyahoga River there. The town was initially called Manchester, but was renamed Cuyahoga Falls at the request of the Post Office since several other Manchesters were already in Ohio, the village proper was first laid out in 1826 by Judge Richardson. The town was incorporated in 1836, occupying 240 rods from Stow, in 1853, seeing that the village and township of Cuyahoga Falls occupied the same territory, the village council disbanded and the community was only a township until 1868. In 1841, the Summit County Board of Commissioners named Cuyahoga Falls the county seat, the state legislature then intervened and put the location of the county seat up to a popular vote. Akron won and has been the county ever since. In spite of being named the county seat, Cuyahoga Falls never really functioned as such, in March 1851, the township of Cuyahoga Falls was created out of the village limits. They covered the territory, so the village council voted to adjourn sine die, letting the village be run under township jurisdiction until June 3,1868. On July 3,1940, the Doodlebug Disaster train wreck killed 43 people, in 1985, a referendum of merger between the city and neighboring Northampton Township was approved by local voters. In 1986, Cuyahoga Falls merged with Northampton Township, the first merger of a city, Cuyahoga Falls had been founded as an industrial city, taking advantage of the river power. By the 1970s, though, it had become a residential community and this changed when Don Robart became mayor
22.
Lucerne
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Lucerne is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of about 81,057 people, Lucerne is the most populous town in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of economics, transportation, culture, and media of this region. The citys urban area consists of 17 municipalities and towns located in three different cantons with a population of about 250,000 people. Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne and its outflow, one of the citys famous landmarks is the Chapel Bridge, a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century. The official language of Lucerne is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. After the fall of the Roman Empire beginning in the 6th century, in 1178 Lucerne acquired its independence from the jurisdiction of Murbach Abbey, and the founding of the city proper probably occurred that same year. The city gained importance as a strategically located gateway for the commerce from the Gotthard trade route. By 1290 Lucerne had become a self-sufficient city of size with about 3000 inhabitants. About this time King Rudolph I von Habsburg gained authority over the Monastery of St. Leodegar and its lands, the populace was not content with the increasing Habsburg influence, and Lucerne allied with neighboring towns to seek independence from their rule. Along with Lucerne, the three other forest cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden formed the eternal Swiss Confederacy, known as the Eidgenossenschaft, later the cities of Zürich, Zug and Bern joined the alliance. With the help of these additions, the rule of Austria over the area came to an end, the issue was settled by Lucerne’s victory over the Habsburgs in the Battle of Sempach in 1386. For Lucerne this victory ignited an era of expansion, the city shortly granted many rights to itself, rights which had been withheld by the Habsburgs until then. By this time the borders of Lucerne were approximately those of today, in 1415 Lucerne gained Reichsfreiheit from Emperor Sigismund and became a strong member of the Swiss confederacy. The city developed its infrastructure, raised taxes, and appointed its own local officials, the city’s population of 3000 dropped about 40% due to the Black Plague and several wars around 1350. In 1419 town records show the first witch trial against a male person, among the growing towns of the confederacy, Lucerne was especially popular in attracting new residents. As the confederacy broke up during Reformation after 1520, most cities became Protestant, after the victory of the Catholics over the Protestants in the Battle at Kappel in 1531, the Catholic towns dominated the confederacy. The future, however, belonged to the Protestant cities like Zürich, Bern and Basel, the former prominent position of Lucerne in the confederacy was lost forever
23.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
24.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
25.
Miami, Florida
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Miami is a seaport city at the southeastern corner of the U. S. state of Florida and its Atlantic coast. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Miamis metro area is the eighth-most populous, Miami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities Study Groups inventory, in 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked 33rd among global cities, in 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami Americas Cleanest City, for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets, and citywide recycling programs. According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, Miami is nicknamed the Capital of Latin America and is the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality. Miami has the third tallest skyline in the U. S. with over 300 high-rises, Downtown Miami is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and many large national and international companies. The Civic Center is a center for hospitals, research institutes, medical centers. For more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the Cruise Capital of the World, has been the number one cruise port in the world. It accommodates some of the worlds largest cruise ships and operations, Metropolitan Miami is the major tourism hub in the American South, number two in the U. S. after New York City and number 13 in the world, including the popular destination of Miami Beach. The Miami area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Native American tribes, the Tequestas occupied the area for a thousand years before encountering Europeans. An Indian village of hundreds of people dating to 500–600 B. C. was located at the mouth of the Miami River, in 1566 the explorer, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, claimed it for Spain. A Spanish mission was constructed one year later in 1567, Spain and Great Britain successively controlled Florida, and Spain ceded it to the United States in 1821. In 1836, the US built Fort Dallas as part of its development of the Florida Territory and attempt to suppress, the Miami area subsequently became a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. Miami is noted as the major city in the United States conceived by a woman, Julia Tuttle, a local citrus grower. The Miami area was known as Biscayne Bay Country in the early years of its growth. In the late 19th century, reports described the area as a promising wilderness, the area was also characterized as one of the finest building sites in Florida. The Great Freeze of 1894–95 hastened Miamis growth, as the crops of the Miami area were the ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railway to the region
26.
Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra
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The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra is a group of 100 young musicians, selected from over 45 cities across Ohio and Pennsylvania, operated under the discipline of a professional orchestra. The members rehearse weekly at Severance Hall and are coached by members of the Cleveland Orchestra. The orchestras Music Director is currently Brett Mitchell, associate conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, COYO also has the opportunity to work with many of the famous guest conductors that visit to work with the Cleveland Orchestra. COYO performs three concerts per season at Severance Hall. Additionally, they perform at least three concerts, performances in the greater Cleveland area. One of COYOs subscription performances includes a performance with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Chorus, COYO participates in an education event annually, where members of the Cleveland Orchestra play a concert with COYO. COYO is in its 27th season since it began in 1986 under the direction of Music Director Jahja Ling, in 1998, COYO participated in the second National Youth Orchestra Festival sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League. COYO was one of five youth orchestras that were selected to participate out of a pool of orchestras across the nation, COYO is in its 31st season. It typically performs three concerts each season. Subscription concerts are held at Severance Hall. COYO also plays community outreach concerts, in which the group travels to a venue to perform. Many of these concerts are held at schools and universities. Additionally, COYO performs at the annual MLK Community Open House at Severance Hall, the Open House is a day of concerts in remembrance of Martin Luther King. COYO has had the opportunity to host world premieres of several works throughout the years and has commissioned pieces. The most recent piece commissioned is Roger Briggs Fountain of Youth, in the past, the group has performed pieces by Stravinsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák, Shostakovich, Sibelius, Wagner, Mozart, and many others. COYO is a symphonic orchestra ensemble. The group typically consists of violins, violas, cellos, string bass, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, French horns, trumpets, trombones, tuba, auxiliary instruments are used according to the instrumentation of the concert repertoire. Common auxiliary instruments are harp, piccolo, E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet, English horn, COYO has participated in tours, extending their outreach from the greater Cleveland area to the world
27.
Cleveland Chamber Symphony
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The Cleveland Chamber Symphony is an American chamber orchestra based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is dedicated to the performance of classical music, and has presented over 200 performance premieres. The Cleveland Chamber Symphony was founded in 1980 by composer Edwin London as an ensemble in residence at Cleveland State University to perform new. Through the vision and expertise of Dr, at the peak of its activity, CCS presented a concert series of eight programs and numerous recording sessions in each season under the direction of Edwin London. In addition, the ensemble offered encore performances in communities adjacent to Cuyahoga County, composers in Cleveland and around the world began to see the Cleveland Chamber Symphony as an important resource for their work and the work of their younger students. Composers of national and international stature whose works were being commissioned and performed by CCS were drawn to Cleveland as guest conductors, a hallmark of the ensemble was the close collaborative relationship it shared with many composers. In many ways, CCS set the standard for the performance of orchestral music. A critically acclaimed performance of Bernard Rands Canti Trilogy led to a tour culminating in a memorable performance in Paine Hall at Harvard University. This concert, a staple of the Chamber Symphony‘s programming since its founding in 1980, represents the best in a tradition of collegiality, apprenticeship. 67 Messiaen, Oiseaux Exotiques - Angelin Chang - piano Ligeti, Chamber Concerto for 13 Instrumentalists Shostakovich, Concerto no.1 for Piano and Orchestra, Op
