1.
Opera
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Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. In traditional opera, singers do two types of singing, recitative, a style and arias, a more melodic style. Opera incorporates many of the elements of theatre, such as acting, scenery. The performance is given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition, in the 18th century, Italian opera continued to dominate most of Europe, attracting foreign composers such as George Frideric Handel. Opera seria was the most prestigious form of Italian opera, until Christoph Willibald Gluck reacted against its artificiality with his operas in the 1760s. The first third of the 19th century saw the point of the bel canto style, with Gioachino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti. It also saw the advent of Grand Opera typified by the works of Auber and Meyerbeer, the mid-to-late 19th century was a golden age of opera, led and dominated by Richard Wagner in Germany and Giuseppe Verdi in Italy. The popularity of opera continued through the era in Italy and contemporary French opera through to Giacomo Puccini. During the 19th century, parallel operatic traditions emerged in central and eastern Europe, the 20th century saw many experiments with modern styles, such as atonality and serialism, Neoclassicism, and Minimalism. With the rise of recording technology, singers such as Enrico Caruso, since the invention of radio and television, operas were also performed on these mediums. Beginning in 2006, a number of opera houses began to present live high-definition video transmissions of their performances in cinemas all over the world. In 2009, an opera company offered a download of a complete performance. The words of an opera are known as the libretto, some composers, notably Wagner, have written their own libretti, others have worked in close collaboration with their librettists, e. g. Mozart with Lorenzo Da Ponte. Vocal duets, trios and other ensembles often occur, and choruses are used to comment on the action, in some forms of opera, such as singspiel, opéra comique, operetta, and semi-opera, the recitative is mostly replaced by spoken dialogue. Melodic or semi-melodic passages occurring in the midst of, or instead of, the terminology of the various kinds of operatic voices is described in detail below. Over the 18th century, arias were accompanied by the orchestra. Subsequent composers have tended to follow Wagners example, though some, the changing role of the orchestra in opera is described in more detail below
2.
Paul Hindemith
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Paul Hindemith was a prolific German composer, violist, violinist, teacher and conductor. Notable compositions include his song cycle Das Marienleben, Der Schwanendreher for Viola and Orchestra, Hindemiths most popular work, both on record and in the concert hall, is likely the Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber, written in 1943. Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt am Main, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child and he entered Frankfurts Hoch’sche Konservatorium, where he studied violin with Adolf Rebner, as well as conducting and composition with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles. At first he supported himself by playing in bands and musical-comedy groups. He became deputy leader of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra in 1914 and he played second violin in the Rebner String Quartet from 1914. Hindemith was conscripted into the German army in September,1917, there he was assigned to play bass drum in the regiment band, and also formed a string quartet. In May 1918 he was deployed to the front in Flanders, after the armistice he returned to Frankfurt and the Rebner Quartet. In 1921 he founded the Amar Quartet, playing viola, in 1922, some of his pieces were played in the International Society for Contemporary Music festival at Salzburg, which first brought him to the attention of an international audience. The following year, he began to work as an organizer of the Donaueschingen Festival, in 1927 he was appointed Professor at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Hindemith wrote the music for Hans Richters 1928 avant-garde film Ghosts Before Breakfast, although the score was subsequently lost, in 1929 he played the solo part in the premiere of William Waltons Viola Concerto, after Lionel Tertis, for whom it was written, turned it down. Hindemith did not stay in Turkey as long as many other émigrés, nevertheless, he greatly influenced the developments of Turkish musical life, the Ankara State Conservatory owes much to his efforts. In fact, Hindemith was regarded as a master by young Turkish musicians and he was appreciated. Towards the end of the 1930s, he made tours in America as a viola and viola damore soloist. Hindemiths relationship to the Nazis is a complicated one, the controversy around his work continued throughout the thirties, with the composer falling in and out of favor with the Nazi hierarchy, he finally emigrated to Switzerland in 1938. This development seems to have been supported by the Nazi regime, it may have got him out of the way, yet at the same time he propagated a German view of musical history. In 1940, Hindemith emigrated to the United States, at the same time that he was codifying his musical language, his teaching and compositions began to be affected by his theories, according to critics like Ernest Ansermet. During this time he gave the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard. Hindemith had a friendship with Erich Katz, whose own compositions were influenced by him
3.
Oskar Schlemmer
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Oskar Schlemmer was a German painter, sculptor, designer and choreographer associated with the Bauhaus school. In 1923 he was hired as Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop and his most famous work is Triadisches Ballett, in which the actors are transfigured from the normal to geometrical shapes. Also in Slat Dance and Treppenwitz, the performers costumes make them into living sculpture, born in September 1888 in Stuttgart, Oskar Schlemmer was the youngest of six children. His parents, Carl Leonhard Schlemmer and Mina Neuhaus, both died around 1900 and the young Oskar lived with his sister and learned at an age to provide for himself. By 1903 he was independent and supporting himself as an apprentice in an inlay workshop. Oskar Schlemmer studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule as well as the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart under the tutelage of landscape painters Christian Landenberger, in 1910 Schlemmer moved to Berlin where he painted some of his first important works before returning to Stuttgart in 1912 as Adolf Hölzels master pupil. In 1919 Schlemmer turned to sculpture and had an exhibition of his work at the Gallery Der Sturm in Berlin and his complex ideas were influential, making him one of the most important teachers working at the school at that time. Schlemmer became known internationally with the première of his Triadisches Ballett in Stuttgart in 1922 and his work for the Bauhaus and his preoccupation with the theatre are an important factor in his work, which deals mainly with the problematic of the figure in space. People, typically stylised faceless female figures, continued to be the predominant subject in his painting, while at Bauhaus, he developed the multidisciplinary course Der Mensch. In the human form he saw a measure that could provide a foothold in the disunity of his time, Schlemmers characteristic forms can be seen in his sculptures as well as his paintings. Yet he also turned his attention to design, first getting involved with this in 1929, executing settings for the opera Nightingale. From 1928 to 1930, Schlemmer worked on nine murals for a room in the Folkwang Museum in Essen, after leaving the Bauhaus in 1929, Schlemmer took a post at the Akademie in Breslau, where he painted his most celebrated work, the Bauhaustreppe. The Schlemmers then moved to Eichberg near the Swiss border, the last ten years of his life were spent in a state of inner emigration. Max Bill, in his obituary of Schlemmer, wrote that it was as if a curtain of silence had descended over him during this time. During World War II Schlemmer worked at the Institut für Malstoffe in Wuppertal along with Willi Baumeister and Georg Muche, the factory offered Schlemmer the opportunity to paint without the fear of persecution. His series of eighteen small, mystical paintings entitled Fensterbilder were painted while looking out the window of his house and these were Schlemmers final works before his death in the hospital at Baden-Baden in 1943. Schlemmers ideas on art were complex and challenging even for the progressive Bauhaus movement and his work, nevertheless, was widely exhibited in both Germany and outside the country. His work was a rejection of pure abstraction, instead retaining a sense of the human, though not in the emotional sense and he represented bodies as architectural forms, reducing the figure to a rhythmic play between convex, concave and flat surfaces
4.
Staatstheater Stuttgart
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The Staatstheater Stuttgart are a multi-branch-theatre with the branches Oper Stuttgart, Stuttgart Ballet and Stuttgart Drama Theatre in Stuttgart, Germany. The state that its name refers to is Baden-Württemberg, in 1919 the theatres were renamed the Landestheater, and later, the Staatstheater. The house for drama theatre was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War and, today, the site is occupied by a new Kleines Haus designed by Hans Volkart, which opened in 1962. The Opera House is one of only a few German opera houses to survive the bombing of the Second World War, between 1982 and 1984, extensive renovations restored it to its original condition and it now seats 1,404. In 2001 the theatre buildings were renamed Opernhaus and Schauspielhaus, walter Erich Schäfer was managing director from 1949 to 1972. As of 2015, collectively responsible for the Staatstheater Stuttgart are three general directors Jossi Wieler, Reid Anderson and Armin Petras, and the managing director Marc-Oliver Hendriks, general directors, especially artistic directors of operas or drama theatres, are called “Intendant” in Germany. Reid Anderson is a Canadian dancer and became director of the ballet in 1996/1997, staatsoper Stuttgart Stuttgart Ballet List of opera houses Staatstheater Stuttgart official website
5.
Stuttgart
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Stuttgart is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the Stuttgart Cauldron an hour from the Swabian Jura. Stuttgarts urban area has a population of 623,738, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area. Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive Castrum near Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgarts roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia as a stud farm for his warhorses. Overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320, the fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their County, Duchy, and Kingdom from the 15th Century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the forms of the Thirty Years War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city, however, by 1952, the city had bounced back and became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing center it is today. Stuttgart is also an important transport junction, and possesses the sixth largest airport in Germany. Such companies as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, Dinkelacker, Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills, valleys and parks and this is often a source of surprise to visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the Cradle of the Automobile. The citys tourism slogan is Stuttgart offers more, under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure, the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as Das neue Herz Europas. For business, it describes itself as Where business meets the future, in July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area. Stuttgart is a city of mostly immigrants, according to Dorling Kindersley Publishings Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner. 40% of Stuttgarts residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five are of immigrant background, the reason for this being that the city was founded in 950 AD by Duke Liudolf of Swabia to breed warhorses. Originally, the most important location in the Neckar river valley as the rim of the Stuttgart basin at what is today Bad Cannstatt. As with many military installations, a settlement sprang up nearby, when they did, the town was left in the capable hands of a local brickworks that produced sophisticated architectural ceramics and pottery. When the Romans were driven back past the Rhine and Danube rivers in the 3rd Century by the Alamanni, in 700, Duke Gotfrid mentions a Chan Stada in a document regarding property
6.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
7.
Libretto
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A libretto is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term libretto is also used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass, requiem and sacred cantata. Libretto, from Italian, is the diminutive of the word libro, sometimes other language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, livret for French works and Textbuch for German. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. The relationship of the librettist to the composer in the creation of a work has varied over the centuries, as have the sources. In the context of a modern English language musical theatre piece, Libretti for operas, oratorios and cantatas in the 17th and 18th centuries generally were written by someone other than the composer, often a well-known poet. Metastasio was one of the most highly regarded librettists in Europe and his libretti were set many times by many different composers. Another noted 18th-century librettist was Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote the libretti for three of Mozarts greatest operas, as well as for other composers. Eugène Scribe was one of the most prolific librettists of the 19th century, providing the words for works by Meyerbeer, Auber, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. The French writers duo Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote a number of opera and operetta libretti for the likes of Jacques Offenbach, Jules Massenet. Arrigo Boito, who wrote libretti for, among others, Giuseppe Verdi and Amilcare Ponchielli, the libretto is not always written before the music. Some composers wrote their own libretti, Richard Wagner is perhaps most famous in this regard, with his transformations of Germanic legends and events into epic subjects for his operas and music dramas. Hector Berlioz, too, wrote the libretti for two of his works, La Damnation de Faust and Les Troyens. Alban Berg adapted Georg Büchners play Woyzeck for the libretto of Wozzeck, sometimes the libretto is written in close collaboration with the composer, this can involve adaptation, as was the case with Rimsky-Korsakov and his librettist Belsky, or an entirely original work. In the case of musicals, the music, the lyrics, thus, a musical such as Fiddler on the Roof has a composer, a lyricist and the writer of the book. In rare cases, the composer writes everything except the dance arrangements - music, lyrics and libretto, Other matters in the process of developing a libretto parallel those of spoken dramas for stage or screen. A famous case of the latter is Wagners 1861 revision of the original 1845 Dresden version of his opera Tannhäuser for Paris, since the late 19th century some opera composers have written music to prose or free verse libretti. The libretto of a musical, on the hand, is almost always written in prose
8.
Triptych
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A triptych is a work of art that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works, the middle panel is typically the largest and it is flanked by two smaller related works, although there are triptychs of equal-sized panels. The form can also be used for pendant jewelry, despite its connection to an art format, the term is sometimes used more generally to connote anything with three parts, particularly if they are integrated into a single unit. The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was a standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. Its geographical range was from the eastern Byzantine churches to the Celtic churches in the west, renaissance painters such as Hans Memling and Hieronymus Bosch used the form. Triptych forms also allow ease of transport, from the Gothic period onward, both in Europe and elsewhere, altarpieces in churches and cathedrals were often in triptych form. One such cathedral with an altarpiece triptych is Llandaff Cathedral, the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp, Belgium, contains two examples by Rubens, and Notre Dame de Paris is another example of the use of triptych in architecture. One can also see the form echoed by the structure of many stained glass windows. Although strongly identified as a form, triptychs outside that context have been created, some of the best-known examples being works by Hieronymus Bosch, Max Beckmann. The then highest price paid for an artwork at auction was $142.4 million for a 1969 triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud. The record was broken in May 2015 by $179.4 million for Pablo Picassos 1955 painting Les Femmes d’Alger, the format has migrated and been used in other religions, including Islam and Buddhism. Likewise, Tibetan Buddhists have used it in traditional altars, a photographic triptych is a common style used in modern commercial artwork. The photographs are arranged with a plain border between them. The work may consist of images that are variants on a theme
9.
Expressionism
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Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, Expressionist artists sought to express the meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality. Expressionism was developed as an avant-garde style before the First World War and it remained popular during the Weimar Republic, particularly in Berlin. The style extended to a range of the arts, including expressionist architecture, painting, literature, theatre, dance, film. The term is sometimes suggestive of angst, in a general sense, painters such as Matthias Grünewald and El Greco are sometimes termed expressionist, though in practice the term is applied mainly to 20th-century works. The Expressionist emphasis on individual perspective has been characterized as a reaction to positivism, though an alternate view is that the term was coined by the Czech art historian Antonin Matějček in 1910, as the opposite of impressionism, An Expressionist wishes, above all, to express himself. Immediate perception and builds on more complex psychic structures, in 1905, a group of four German artists, led by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, formed Die Brücke in the city of Dresden. This was arguably the founding organization for the German Expressionist movement, a few years later, in 1911, a like-minded group of young artists formed Der Blaue Reiter in Munich. The name came from Wassily Kandinskys Der Blaue Reiter painting of 1903, among their members were Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, and Auguste Macke. However, the term Expressionism did not firmly establish itself until 1913, though mainly a German artistic movement initially and most predominant in painting, poetry and the theatre between 1910–30, most precursors of the movement were not German. Expressionism is notoriously difficult to define, in part because it overlapped with other major isms of the modernist period, with Futurism, Vorticism, Cubism, Surrealism, more explicitly, that the expressionists rejected the ideology of realism. The term refers to a style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions. It is arguable that all artists are expressive but there are examples of art production in Europe from the 15th century onward which emphasize extreme emotion. Expressionism has been likened to Baroque by critics such as art historian Michel Ragon, according to Alberto Arbasino, a difference between the two is that Expressionism doesnt shun the violently unpleasant effect, while Baroque does. Expressionism throws some terrific fuck yous, Baroque doesnt, brazil, Anita Malfatti, Cândido Portinari, Di Cavalcanti, Iberê Camargo and Lasar Segall. Estonia, Konrad Mägi, Eduard Wiiralt Finland, Tyko Sallinen, Alvar Cawén, Juho Mäkelä, there were a number of groups of expressionist painters, including Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke. Der Blaue Reiter was based in Munich and Die Brücke was based originally in Dresden, Die Brücke was active for a longer period than Der Blaue Reiter, which was only together for a year. The Expressionists had many influences, among them Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh and they were also aware of the work being done by the Fauves in Paris, who influenced Expressionisms tendency toward arbitrary colours and jarring compositions
10.
Sancta Susanna
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Sancta Susanna is an early opera by Paul Hindemith in one act, with a German libretto by August Stramm. Composed over a period in January/February 1921, its premiere was on 26 March 1922. The work is his third and final in a triptych of expressionist influenced one-act operas - the previous two being Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen op. 12, and Das Nusch-Nuschi op.20 – and much like the works, scandalised Frankfurt’s concert going public, affording the young composer heightened critical attention. Sancta Susanna examines the relationship between celibacy and lust in Christianity, depicting the descent of a nunnery into sexual frenzy, thus in the libretto stage directions dominate over speech, which is highly fragmented through ellipses and incomplete phrases. Hindemith did not however, divorce himself entirely from formalism, the controversy generated by the opera upon its premiere is reflected in the difficulty Hindemith faced, getting the work performed in the first place. Among his problems was finding a competent and willing conductor, fritz Busch, who had premiered the composer’s earlier operas, and who was seen as both progressive, and a champion of Hindemith’s work, refused to offer his services on moral grounds. Even as recently as 2007, performances of the work have attracted criticism from Christian organisations, an old nun, contralto Klementia, contralto Susanna soprano The opera opens in a convent at night, the protagonist, Susanna, lying in prayer in front of an altar. She is approached by a number of figures, the most prominent of whom is Sister Clementia, who states that Susanna is sick, and ‘scarcely live on this earth any longer’. Susanna, no longer capable of abstaining, discards her veil, rips the loin cloth from the crucifix in front of her, and demands such punishment from the nuns, who have now congregated around her. Musically, this consists of a giddying sequence in woodwind and strings, abruptly cut off by a piercingly dissonant. Following this, vocal and brass forces compete – the nuns all now chanting ‘Satana’ - in what is both a deafening and densely scored series of chordal exchanges, Hindemith’s Opera Trilogy, _____ ‘Paul Hindemith’, Grove Music Online Scott, Marion. ‘Paul Hindemith, His Music and Its Characteristics’, Proceedings of the Musical Association, 56th Sess. pp. 91–108 Skelton, Geoffrey. ‘Sancta Susanna’, Grove Music Online Stramm, August, Marx, Henry, O’Brien, Edward J. ‘Sancta Susanna’, The Drama Review, TDR19, thomas, Christopher J. ‘Recordings’, Opera Quarterly 6,139
11.
Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt
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Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt is the official name of the opera and drama theatres in Frankfurt am Main. The Oper Frankfurt is one of the opera houses in Europe. The more famous historical building of the Alte Oper serves as a concert hall today, frankfurts first opera was Johann Theiles Adam und Eva, performed in 1698 by Johann Veltens touring company. The young Goethes first operas in his town of Frankfurt were productions by Theobold Marchands company. These singers were forced to leave the opera in June 1933, though the operas director Hans Meissner was able to persuade the mayor to speak up for Schramm, who had a non-Jewish wife. Other Jewish members of the company among those rounded up at 9 November 1938 at the Festhalle Frankfurt. Members of Frankfurt Opera were sent to Auschwitz and other camps where they perished, Schramm survived, living to testify against the Frankfurt Gestapo officer Heinrich Baab in 1951. The Alte Oper was damaged in an air raid in January 1944, after the war money was tight. From 1978 to 1988 Frankfurt Opera was led by Michael Gielen, operas which received their world premieres at the house were also performed again, including Franz Schrekers Die Gezeichneten. Music Director, since 2008, is Sebastian Weigle, General Manager, since 2002, weigles new productions there have included Strauss Frau ohne Schatten, Daphne and Arabella, Korngolds Die tote Stadt, Reimanns Lear and Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauß. He has also conducted performances of Mozarts Die Zauberflöte, Beethovens Fidelio, Wagners Tristan und Isolde and he performed the four parts of Wagners Der Ring des Nibelungen, staged by Vera Nemirova, finishing with Götterdämmerung in 2012. The complete cycle was performed twice in 2012, the first conductors had the title Kapellmeister. From 1924 it was Generalmusikdirektor, who also held the administrative leadership Intendant
12.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
13.
Simplicissimus
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Simplicissimus is also a name for the 1668 novel Simplicius Simplicissimus and its protagonist. Simplicissimus was a satirical German weekly magazine started by Albert Langen in April 1896 and published until 1967 and it became a biweekly in 1964. It took its name from the protagonist of Grimmelshausens 1668 novel Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch and its most reliable targets for caricature were stiff Prussian military figures, and rigid German social and class distinctions as seen from the more relaxed, liberal atmosphere of Munich. In 1898 Kaiser Wilhelms objections to being ridiculed on the cover resulted in the magazine being suppressed, Langen, the publisher, spent five years exile in Switzerland and was fined 30,000 German gold marks. A six-month prison sentence was given to the cartoonist Heine, again in 1906 the editor Ludwig Thoma was imprisoned for six months for attacking the clergy. These controversies only served to increase circulation, which peaked at about 85,000 copies, upon Germanys entry into World War I, the weekly dulled its satirical tone, began supporting the war effort and considered closing down. Thereafter, the strongest political satire expressed in graphics became the province of artists George Grosz and Käthe Kollwitz and John Heartfield. The editor Ludwig Thoma joined the army in a unit in 1917. He left the magazine in the 1920s, during the Weimar era the magazine continued to publish and took a strong stand against extremists on the left and on the right. The editor Thomas Theodor Heine, a Jew, was forced to resign, other members of the team, including Karl Arnold, Olaf Gulbransson, Edward Thöny, Erich Schilling and Wilhelm Schulz remained and toed the Nazi party line, for which they were rewarded by the Nazis. It continued publishing, in declining form, until ceasing publication in 1944. Other graphic artists associated with the magazine included Bruno Paul, Josef Benedikt Engl, Rudolf Wilke, Ferdinand von Reznicek, Joseph Sattler, and Jeanne Mammen
14.
Munich
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Munich is the capital and largest city of the German state of Bavaria, on the banks of River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, the Munich Metropolitan Region is home to 5.8 million people. According to the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute Munich is considered an alpha-world city, the name of the city is derived from the Old/Middle High German term Munichen, meaning by the monks. It derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who ran a monastery at the place that was later to become the Old Town of Munich, Munich was first mentioned in 1158. From 1255 the city was seat of the Bavarian Dukes, black and gold—the colours of the Holy Roman Empire—have been the citys official colours since the time of Ludwig the Bavarian, when it was an imperial residence. Following a final reunification of the Wittelsbachian Duchy of Bavaria, previously divided and sub-divided for more than 200 years, like wide parts of the Holy Roman Empire, the area recovered slowly economically. In 1918, during the German Revolution, the house of Wittelsbach, which governed Bavaria since 1180, was forced to abdicate in Munich. In the 1920s, Munich became home to political factions, among them the NSDAP. During World War II, Munich was heavily bombed and more than 50% of the entire city, the postwar period was characterised by American occupation until 1949 and a strong increase of population and economic power during the years of the Wirtschaftswunder after 1949. The city is home to corporations like BMW, Siemens, MAN, Linde, Allianz and MunichRE as well as many small. Munich is home to national and international authorities, major universities, major museums. Its numerous architectural attractions, international events, exhibitions and conferences. Munich is one of the most prosperous and fastest growing cities in Germany and it is a top-ranked destination for migration and expatriate location, despite being the municipality with the highest density of population in Germany. Munich nowadays hosts more than 530,000 people of foreign background, the year 1158 is assumed to be the foundation date, which is the earliest date the city is mentioned in a document. The document was signed in Augsburg, by that time the Guelph Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, had built a bridge over the river Isar next to a settlement of Benedictine monks—this was on the Old Salt Route and a toll bridge. In 1175, Munich was officially granted city status and received fortification, in 1180, with the trial of Henry the Lion, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the Bishop of Freising. In 1240, Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, Duke Louis IV, a native of Munich, was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the position by granting it the salt monopoly
15.
Die Aktion
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To begin with, Die Aktion was published weekly, after 1919 every two weeks, and only sporadically beginning from 1926. Publication of Die Aktion was resumed in 1981 by the Edition Nautilus publishing house, in 1904 Pfemfert became an editor of the anarchist magazine Der Kampf, under the direction of Senna Hoy. There he came into contact with many writers and artists. One of his collaborators was Herwarth Walden, future editor of Der Sturm. After leaving his position at Der Kampf, Pfemfert worked for the magazines Das Blaubuch, in the radical left-wing Demokrat magazine, which he co-edited with Georg Zepler, he published texts by numerous writers who would later become contributors to Die Aktion. In early 1911 Pfemferts arrangement with Zepler ended when Zepler, without consulting Pfemfert, Pfemfert decided that he needed his own magazine, thus was born Die Aktion. The first issue of Die Aktion was published 2 February 1911, with the subheading Magazine for liberal politics, in 1912 the subheading became Weekly periodical for politics, literature and art. From 1913, several issues were published which were devoted to poetry. After 1914 the rate of artwork increased — the period is noted for its especially expressive woodcuts published. In the first issue, Pfemfert outlined the aim of Die Aktion, Die Aktion speaks up for the ideas of the large German left-wing parties, without attaching itself to any particular political party. Die Aktion wants to encourage the impressive thoughts of an ‘Organizing of intelligence’, Pfemfert also used the magazine in campaigns such as the freeing of Austrian sex psychologist Otto Gross, who had been arrested and committed by his own father. The outbreak of war in 1914 worsened the situation, with stricter censorship, Pfemfert therefore decided to publish only those contributions that were purely literary in nature, in order to avoid a complete ban of the magazine. He succeeded against the odds, as Die Aktion never actually stopped the flow of anti-war messages, Pfemfert also continued to publish literary articles with veiled antimilitaristic themes, such as poems from the front. Moreover, several issues were dedicated to literature from enemy countries. From 1915 Pfemfert was involved in the clandestine Antinational Socialist Party, declaring himself disappointed with Expressionism, Pfemfert abandoned his advocacy of the movement. Even by the end of 1918, Die Aktion had published an appeal by the Spartacist League, to that end, he gave Die Aktion a new subheading, that of Weekly periodical for revolutionary socialism. When the KPD changed its policies in October 1919, and began to exclude Syndicalists, from 1920 however, he supported the Communist Workers Party of Germany, a Council Communist organization. In the mid-1920s he moved closer to the Free Workers Union of Germany, the Anarcho-Syndicalist of Rudolf Rocker, however, it had become apparent by then that the revolutionary cause had lost its momentum
16.
Tenor
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Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest of the male voice types. The tenors vocal range lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, and A4, the A above middle C, in solo work, this range extends up to C5, or tenor high C. The low extreme for tenors is roughly A♭2, at the highest extreme, some tenors can sing up to two Fs above middle C. The tenor voice type is divided into the leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor. The name tenor derives from the Latin word tenere, which means to hold, in medieval and Renaissance polyphony between about 1250 and 1500, the tenor was the structurally fundamental voice, vocal or instrumental. All other voices were normally calculated in relation to the tenor, until the late 16th century introduction of the contratenor singers, the tenor was usually the highest voice, assuming the role of providing a foundation. It was also in the 18th century that tenor came to signify the male voice that sang such parts, thus, for earlier repertoire, a line marked tenor indicated the parts role, and not the required voice type. Indeed, even as late as the century, partbooks labelled tenor might contain parts for a range of voice types. The vocal range of the tenor is one of the highest of the voice types. Within opera, the lowest note in the tenor repertoire is probably A♭2 in Rossinis rarely performed La donna del lago in the role of Rodrigo di Dhu. Within more frequently performed repertoire, Mime and Herod both call for an A2, a few tenor roles in the standard repertoire call for a tenor C. Some of the few top Cs in the operatic repertoire are either optional or interpolated by tradition. However, the highest demanded note in the standard operatic repertoire is D5. Some operatic roles for tenors require a darker timbre and fewer high notes, in the leggero repertoire, the highest note is F5, therefore, very few tenors can, given the raising of concert pitch since its composition, have this role in their repertoire without transposition. Within the tenor voice type category are seven generally recognized subcategories, leggero tenor, lyric tenor, spinto tenor, dramatic tenor, heldentenor, Mozart tenor, Also known as the tenore di grazia, the leggero tenor is essentially the male equivalent of a lyric coloratura. This voice is light, agile, and capable of executing difficult passages of fioritura, the typical leggero tenor possesses a range spanning from approximately C3 to E♭5, with a few being able to sing up to F5 or higher in full voice. In some cases, the chest register of the leggero tenor may extend below C3, voices of this type are utilized frequently in the operas of Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini and in music dating from the Baroque period. Leggero tenor roles in operas, The lyric tenor is a warm voice with a bright, full timbre that is strong but not heavy
17.
Bass (voice type)
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A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C. Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the basso cantante, basso buffo, the American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German fach system offers further distinctions, Spielbaß, Schwerer Spielbaß, Charakterbaß, rare is the performer who embodies a single fach without also touching repertoire from another category. Cultural influence and individual variation create a variation in range. Many British composers such as Benjamin Britten have written parts for bass that center far higher than the bass tessitura as implied by the clef, the Harvard Dictionary of Music defines the range as being from the E below low C to middle C. The bass has the lowest vocal range of all voice types, the low extreme for basses is generally C2. However, several extreme bass singers, referred to as basso profondos, within opera, the lowest note in the standard bass repertoire is D2, sung by the character Osmin in Mozarts Die Entführung aus dem Serail, but few roles fall below F2. The high extreme, a few roles in the standard repertoire call for a high F♯ or G. In the operatic repertoire, the highest notes are a G♯4 and, in the aria Fra lombre e glorrori in Handels serenata Aci. Basso cantante is a higher, more lyrical voice and it is produced using a more Italianate vocal production, and possesses a faster vibrato, than its closest Germanic/Anglo-Saxon equivalent, the bass-baritone. Hoher Bass or high bass or often a dramatic bass-baritone, jugendlicher Bass denotes the role of a young man sung by a bass, regardless of the age of the singer. They are usually the blustering antagonist of the hero/heroine or the fool in bel canto operas. English equivalent, dramatic bass Basso profondo is the lowest bass voice type, steane in Voices, Singers & Critics, the basso profondo voice derives from a method of tone-production that eliminates the more Italian quick vibrato. In its place is a kind of tonal solidity, a front, which may nevertheless prove susceptible to the other kind of vibrato. Dramatic basso profondo is a basso profondo voice
18.
Soprano
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A soprano is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The sopranos vocal range is from approximately middle C =261 Hz to high A =880 Hz in choral music, in four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody. The soprano voice type is divided into the coloratura, soubrette, lyric, spinto. The lyric soprano is the most common female singing voice, the word soprano comes from the Italian word sopra, as the soprano is the highest pitch human voice, often given to the leading female roles in operas. The term soprano is also based on the Latin word superius which, like soprano, the word superius was especially used in choral and other multi-part vocal music between the 13th and 16th centuries. The soprano has the highest vocal range of all voice types, a soprano and a mezzo-soprano have a similar range, but their tessituras will lie in different parts of that range. The low extreme for sopranos is roughly A3 or B♭3, within opera, the lowest demanded note for sopranos is F3. Often low notes in higher voices will project less, lack timbre, however, rarely is a soprano simply unable to sing a low note in a song within a soprano role. The high extreme, at a minimum, for non-coloratura sopranos is soprano C, a couple of roles have optional E♭6s, as well. In the coloratura repertoire several roles call for E♭6 on up to F6, in rare cases, some coloratura roles go as high as G6 or G♯6, such as Mozarts concert aria Popoli di Tessaglia. Or the title role of Jules Massenets opera Esclarmonde, while not necessarily within the tessitura, a good soprano will be able to sing her top notes full-throated, with timbre and dynamic control. In opera, the tessitura, vocal weight, and timbre of voices, a singers tessitura is where the voice has the best timbre, easy volume, and most comfort. Within the soprano voice type category are five generally recognized subcategories, coloratura soprano, soubrette, lyric soprano, spinto soprano, the coloratura soprano may be a lyric coloratura or a dramatic coloratura. The lyric coloratura soprano is a very agile light voice with a high upper extension capable of fast vocal coloratura, Light coloraturas have a range of approximately middle C to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing somewhat higher or lower. Dramatic coloraturas have a range of approximately low B to high F with some coloratura sopranos being able to sing higher or lower. In classical music and opera, a soubrette soprano refers to both a type and a particular type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, the soubrette voice is not a weak voice, for it must carry over an orchestra without a microphone like all voices in opera. The voice, however, has a lighter weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre
19.
Contralto
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A contralto is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto voice type is divided into the coloratura, lyric. Contralto is primarily meaningful only in reference to classical and operatic singing, the term contralto is only applied to female singers, men singing in a similar range are called countertenors. A true contralto is often regarded as the rarest of the female voices, some vocal theorists have found that the vocal folds are thicker than those present in other female voices. Studies have used cameras to photograph visible differences which are found in countertenors. The contralto has the lowest vocal range of the voice types. The contralto voice range is between tenor and mezzo-soprano, although tenors and baritones are usually male singers, some women can sing as low and are called female tenors or female baritones. With the exception of very rare female singers, such terms are usually informal, more formal terminology would be contralto profundo and contralto basso or oktavistka but these are not traditionally named among the fach system. Some of the rare contraltos that can sing the female equivalent of tenor and baritone include Zarah Leander, Ruby Helder, within the contralto voice type category are three generally recognized subcategories, coloratura contralto, lyric contralto, and dramatic contralto. Given its deviations from the norms, this voice type is quite rare. The lyric contralto voice is lighter than a dramatic contralto but not capable of the ornamentation and this class of contralto, lighter in timbre than the others, is the most common today and usually ranges from the E below middle C to the second G above middle C. The dramatic contralto is the deepest, darkest, and heaviest contralto voice, usually having a heavier tone, singers in this class are rare. True operatic contraltos are rare, and the operatic literature contains few roles written specifically for them, a common saying among contraltos is that they may play only witches, bitches, or britches. Examples of contralto roles in the operatic repertoire include the following. * indicates a role that may also be sung by a mezzo-soprano, category of contraltos List of operatic contraltos Fach, the German system for classifying voices Voice classification in non-classical music List of contraltos in non-classical music Coffin, Berton. Coloratura, Lyric and Dramatic Soprano, Vol.1, vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer. Media related to Contralto vocalists at Wikimedia Commons The dictionary definition of Contralto at Wiktionary
20.
Slapstick comedy
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Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity which exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. The term arises from a device developed during the broad, physical comedy style known as Commedia dellarte in 16th Century Italy, the physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show. The name slapstick originates from the Italian language word batacchio or bataccio — called the stick in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in commedia dellarte. When struck, the batacchio produces a loud smacking noise, though little force transfers from the object to the person being struck, actors may thus hit one another repeatedly with great audible effect while causing very little actual physical damage. Along with the bladder, it was among the earliest special effects. Slapstick comedys history is measured in centuries, shakespeare incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies, such as in his play The Comedy of Errors. In Punch and Judy shows, a large slapstick is wielded by Punch against the other characters, british comedians who honed their skills at pantomime and music hall sketches include Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laurel, George Formby and Dan Leno. American producer Hal Roach described Fred Karno as not only a genius and we in Hollywood owe much to him. Slapstick is also common in Disneys Goofy shorts, MGMs Tom and Jerry, silent slapstick comedy was also popular in early French films and included films by Max Linder and Charles Prince. In England, slapstick was an element of the Monty Python comedy troupe and in television series such as Fawlty Towers. Slapstick has remained an art form to the present day. Laughter List of slapstick comedy topics Slapstick film Comedy film Physical comedy Stage combat Schadenfreude
21.
Commedia dell'arte
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Commedia dellarte translates to theatre of the professional and is known as the first form of professional theatre. Commedia dellarte also is considered commedia alla maschera, commedia improvviso, a commedia, such as The Tooth Puller, is both scripted and improvised. Characters entrances and exits are scripted, a special characteristic of commedia dellarte are the lazzi. A lazzo is a joke or something foolish or witty, another characteristic of commedia dellarte is pantomime, which is mostly used by the character Arlecchino. The characters of the commedia usually represent fixed social types, stock characters, such as old men, devious servants. The main categories of characters include servants, old men, lovers. The characters are exaggerated real characters, such as a know it all doctor called Il Dottore, many troupes were formed to perform commedia dellarte, including I Gelosi, Confidenti Troupe, Desioi Troupe, and Fedeli Troupe. Commedia dellarte was often performed outside on platforms or in areas such as a piazza. The form of theatre originated in Italy, but travelled throughout Europe, the commedia genesis may be related to carnival in Venice, where by 1570 the author/actor Andrea Calmo had created the character Il Magnifico, the precursor to the vecchio Pantalone. In the Flaminio Scala scenario for example, Il Magnifico persists and is interchangeable with Pantalone, while Calmos characters were not masked, it is uncertain at what point the characters donned the mask. However, the connection to carnival would suggest that masking was a convention of carnival and was applied at some point, the tradition in Northern Italy is centered in Mantua, Florence, and Venice, where the major companies came under the aegis of the various dukes. Concomitantly, a Neapolitan tradition emerged in the south and featured the prominent stage figure Pulcinella, Pulcinella has been long associated with Naples, and derived into various types elsewhere—the most famous as the puppet character Punch in England. Although commedia dellarte flourished in Italy during the Mannerist period, there has been a tradition of trying to establish historical antecedents in antiquity. While we can detect formal similarities between the commedia dellarte and earlier theatrical traditions, there is no way to establish certainty of origin, some date the origins to the period of the Roman Republic or the Empire. The Atellan Farces of the Roman Empire featured crude types wearing masks with grossly exaggerated features, some historians argue that Atellan stock characters, Pappus, Maccus+Buccus, and Manducus, are the primitive versions of the Commedia characters Pantalone, Pulcinella, and il Capitano. More recent accounts establish links to the medieval jongleurs, and prototypes from medieval moralities, the first recorded commedia dellarte performances came from Rome as early as 1551. This view may be somewhat romanticized since records describe the Gelosi performing Tassos Aminta, for example, by the mid-16th century, specific troupes of commedia performers began to coalesce, and by 1568 the Gelosi became a distinct company. In keeping with the tradition of the Italian Academies, I Gelosi adapted as their impress the two-faced Roman god Janus, Janus symbolized both the comings and goings of this traveling troupe, and the dual nature of the actor who impersonates the other
22.
Tristan and Iseult
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It has become an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with many variations. The tragic story is of the love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult. While the details of the story differ from one author to another, there are two main traditions of the Tristan legend. The early tradition comprised the French romances of two poets from the half of the twelfth century, Thomas of Britain and Béroul. Later traditions come from the Prose Tristan, which was different from the earlier tales written by Thomas. The Prose Tristan became the medieval tale of Tristan and Iseult that would provide the background for the writings of Sir Thomas Malory, the English author. The story and character of Tristan vary from poet to poet, even the spelling of his name varies a great deal, although Tristan is the most popular spelling. Most versions of the Tristan story follow the general outline. After defeating the Irish knight Morholt, Tristan goes to Ireland to bring back the fair Iseult for his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, along the way, they ingest a love potion which causes the pair to fall madly in love. In the courtly version, the effects last a lifetime, in the common versions. In some versions, they ingest the potion accidentally, in others, the potions maker instructs Iseult to share it with Mark, although Iseult marries Mark, she and Tristan are forced by the potion to seek one another as lovers. While the typical noble Arthurian character would be shamed by such an act, the kings advisors repeatedly endeavour to have the pair tried for adultery, but the couple continually use trickery to preserve their façade of innocence. In Bérouls version, the love potion eventually wears off, as with the Arthur-Lancelot-Guinevere love triangle, Tristan, King Mark, and Iseult all hold love for each other. Tristan honors, respects, and loves King Mark as his mentor and adopted father, Iseult is grateful that Mark is kind to her, but every night, each has horrible dreams about the future. Tristans uncle eventually learns of the affair and seeks to entrap his nephew, also present is the endangerment of a fragile kingdom, the cessation of war between Ireland and Cornwall. Mark acquires what seems proof of their guilt and resolves to punish them, Tristan by hanging and Iseult by burning at the stake, Tristan escapes on his way to the gallows. He makes a leap from a chapel and rescues Iseult. The lovers escape into the forest of Morrois and take shelter there until discovered by Mark and they make peace with Mark after Tristans agreement to return Iseult to Mark and leave the country
23.
Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks
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Till Eulenspiegels Merry Pranks, Op.28, is a tone poem written in 1894–95 by Richard Strauss. It chronicles the misadventures and pranks of the German peasant folk hero Till Eulenspiegel, the first, played by the horn, is a lilting melody that reaches a peak, falls downward, and ends in three long, loud notes, each progressively lower. The second, for D clarinet, is crafty and wheedling, suggesting a trickster doing what he does best, the work opens with a Once upon a time theme, as a solo horn bursts in with two repetitions of the first Till theme. The theme is taken by the rest of the orchestra in a form. The clarinet theme is heard next, suggesting Tills laughter as he plots his next prank, the music suggesting a horse ride returns again, with the first theme restated all over the orchestra. The climax abruptly changes to a funeral march, Till has been captured by the authorities, and is sentenced to death for blasphemy. The funeral march of the headsman begins a dialogue with the desperate Till, unfortunately, he has no effect on the stony executioner, who hangs him. The progress of Till being hauled up the gallows is graphically painted by the D clarinet, 2Strauss indicates four and three extra horns and trumpets respectively to be added ad libitum. The parts are to be played by players from the original four horns. There also exists a version for piano four-hands, which has been recorded by Percy Grainger, the work was also presented as a ballet with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky in 1916. Concert Program for November 28 and 29,2008 Strauss, R – Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, paul Serotsky, Music Web Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Symphonic Poem, Op.28
24.
Celesta
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The celesta /sᵻˈlɛstə/ or celeste /sᵻˈlɛst/ is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to a piano, albeit with smaller keys. The keys connect to hammers that strike a set of metal plates or bars suspended over wooden resonators. Four- or five-octave models usually have a pedal that sustains or damps the sound. The three-octave instruments do not have a pedal because of their small table-top design, one of the best-known works that uses the celesta is Tchaikovskys Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker. The sound of the celesta is similar to that of the glockenspiel and this quality gave the instrument its name, celeste meaning heavenly in French. The celesta is used to enhance a melody line played by another instrument or section. The delicate, bell-like sound is not loud enough to be used in full ensemble sections, as well, the celesta is a transposing instrument, it sounds one octave higher than the written pitch. Its sounding range is considered to be C4 to C8. The original French instrument had a range, but because the lowest octave was considered somewhat unsatisfactory. The standard French four-octave instrument is now gradually being replaced in symphony orchestras by a larger, although it is a member of the percussion family, in orchestral terms it is more properly considered a member of the keyboard section and usually played by a keyboardist. The celesta part is written on two braced staves, called a grand staff. The celesta was invented in 1886 by Parisian harmonium builder Auguste Mustel and his father, Victor Mustel, had developed the forerunner of the celesta, the typophone, in 1860. This instrument produced sound by striking tuning forks instead of the plates that would be used in the celesta. The dulcitone functioned identically to the typophone and was developed concurrently in Scotland, the typophone/dulcitones uses were limited by its low volume, too quiet to be heard in a full orchestra. Pyotr Tchaikovsky is usually cited as the first major composer to use this instrument in a work for symphony orchestra. He first used it in his symphonic poem The Voyevoda, Op. posth. The following year, he used the celesta in passages in his ballet The Nutcracker, most notably in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, which also appears in the derived Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a
25.
Mandolin
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A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family and is usually plucked with a plectrum or pick. It commonly has four courses of doubled metal strings tuned in unison, although five, the courses are normally tuned in a succession of perfect fifths. It is the member of a family that includes the mandola, octave mandolin, mandocello. There are many styles of mandolin, but three are common, the Neapolitan or round-backed mandolin, the mandolin and the flat-backed mandolin. The round-back has a bottom, constructed of strips of wood. The carved-top or arch-top mandolin has a shallower, arched back. The flat-backed mandolin uses thin sheets of wood for the body, each style of instrument has its own sound quality and is associated with particular forms of music. Neapolitan mandolins feature prominently in European classical music and traditional music, carved-top instruments are common in American folk music and bluegrass music. Flat-backed instruments are used in Irish, British and Brazilian folk music. Some modern Brazilian instruments feature a fifth course tuned a fifth lower than the standard fourth course. There has also been a type and an instrument with sixteen-strings. Much of mandolin development revolved around the soundboard, pre-mandolin instruments were quiet instruments, strung with as many as six courses of gut strings, and were plucked with the fingers or with a quill. However, modern instruments are louder—using four courses of metal strings, the modern soundboard is designed to withstand the pressure of metal strings that would break earlier instruments. The soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections, there is usually one or more sound holes in the soundboard, either round, oval, or shaped like a calligraphic f. A round or oval sound hole may be covered or bordered with decorative rosettes or purfling, Mandolins evolved from the lute family in Italy during the 17th and 18th centuries, and the deep bowled mandolin, produced particularly in Naples, became common in the 19th century. Dating to around c.13,000 BC, a painting in the Trois Frères cave in France depicts what some believe is a musical bow. From the musical bow, families of stringed instruments developed, since each string played a note, adding strings added new notes, creating bow harps, harps. In turn, this led to being able to play dyads and chords, another innovation occurred when the bow harp was straightened out and a bridge used to lift the strings off the stick-neck, creating the lute
26.
Harp
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The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard, which are plucked with the fingers. Harps have been known since antiquity in Asia, Africa and Europe, Harps vary globally in many ways. In terms of size, many smaller harps can be played on the lap, whereas larger harps are quite heavy, different harps may use strings of catgut or nylon, or of metal, or some combination. While all harps have a neck, resonator, and strings, frame harps have a pillar at their end to support the strings, while open harps, such as arch or bow harps. Modern harps also vary in techniques used to extend the range and chromaticity of the strings, the earliest harps and lyres were found in Sumer,3500 BC, and several harps were found in burial pits and royal tombs in Ur. The oldest depictions of harps without a forepillar can be adjacent to the Near East, in the wall paintings of ancient Egyptian tombs in the Nile Valley. These murals show an instrument that resembles the hunters bow. The chang flourished in Persia in many forms from its introduction, about 3000 BC, around 1900 BC arched harps in the Iraq–Iran region were replaced by angular harps with vertical or horizontal sound boxes. By the start of the Common Era, robust, vertical, angular harps, in the last century of the Sasanian period, angular harps were redesigned to make them as light as possible, while they became more elegant, they lost their structural rigidity. At the height of the Persian tradition of illustrated book production, such light harps were still frequently depicted, the works of the Tamil Sangam literature describe the harp and its variants, as early as 200 BC. Variants were described ranging from 14 to 17 strings, and the instrument used by wandering minstrels for accompaniment, another early South Asian harp was the ancient veena, unlike the modern instrument of the same name, the ancient veena was a harp vice the modern lute-type instrument. Some Samudragupta gold coins show of the mid-4th century AD show the king Samudragupta himself playing the instrument, the ancient veena survives today in Burma, in the form of the saung harp still played there. The harp was popular in ancient China and neighboring regions, though harps are largely extinct in East Asia in the modern day, the Chinese konghou harp is documented as early as the Spring and Autumn period, and became extinct during the Ming Dynasty. A similar harp, the gonghu was played in ancient Korea, Harps are essentially triangular in shape, and are made primarily of wood. Harp strings are made of gut or metal, the top end of each string is secured on the crossbar or neck of the instrument, where each will have a tuning peg or similar device to adjust the pitch of that string. It is the distance between the tuning peg and the soundboard, as well as the tension and weight of the string, the body is hollow and when a taut string is plucked, the body resonates, projecting sound. The longest side of the harp is called the column or pillar, though some earlier harps, such as a bow harp, on most harps, the sole purpose of the pillar is to hold up the neck against the great strain of the strings. On harps which have pedals, the pillar is a column and encloses the rods which adjust the pitch of strings
27.
Cor anglais
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The cor anglais or English horn in North America, is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, the cor anglais is a transposing instrument pitched in F, a perfect fifth lower than the oboe. This means that music for the cor anglais is written a fifth higher than the instrument actually sounds. The fingering and playing technique used for the cor anglais are essentially the same as those of the oboe, the cor anglais normally lacks the lowest B♭ key found on most oboes and so its sounding range stretches from E3 below middle C to C6 two octaves above middle C. The pear-shaped bell of the cor anglais gives it a more covered timbre than the oboe, the cor anglais is perceived to have a more mellow and plaintive tone than the oboe. Its appearance differs from the oboe in that the reed is attached to a bent metal tube called the bocal, or crook. The cor anglais is usually notated in the treble clef, a fifth higher than sounding. Some composers notated it in the bass clef, when the register was persistently used. Alto clef written at sounding pitch is used, even by as late a composer as Sergei Prokofiev. In late-18th- and early-19th-century Italy, where the instrument was played by bassoonists instead of oboists. French operatic composers up to Fromental Halévy notated the instrument at sounding pitch in the mezzo-soprano clef, although the instrument usually descends only to low B♮, continental instruments with an extension to low B♭ have existed since early in the 19th century. Examples of works requiring this note include Arnold Schoenbergs Gurre-Lieder and Gustav Mahlers Das Lied von der Erde, antonín Dvořák, in his Scherzo Capriccioso, even writes for the cor anglais down to low A, though it seems unlikely that such an extension ever existed. Reeds used to play the cor anglais are similar to those used for an oboe, consisting of a piece of cane folded in two. While the cane on a reed is mounted on a small metal tube partially covered in cork, there is no such cork on a cor anglais reed. The cane part of the reed is wider and longer than that of the oboe, unlike American style oboe reeds, cor anglais reeds typically have wire at the base, approximately 5 mm from the top of the string used to attach the cane to the staple. This wire serves to hold the two blades of cane together and stabilize tone and pitch. Perhaps the best-known makers of modern cors anglais are the French firms of F. Lorée, Marigaux and Rigoutat, the British firm of T. W. Howarth, instruments from smaller makers, such as A. Laubin, are also sought after. Fox has recently made some instruments in plastic resin and in maple, the instrument originated in Silesia about 1720, when a bulb bell was fitted to a curved oboe da caccia-type body by the Weigel family of Breslau
28.
Max Reger
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Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger, commonly known as Max Reger, was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. Reger first composed mainly Lieder, chamber music, choral music and works for piano and he later turned to orchestral compositions, such as the popular Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart, and to works for choir and orchestra such as Gesang der Verklärten, Der 100. Psalm, Der Einsiedler and the Hebbel Requiem, born in Brand, Bavaria, Reger studied music theory in Sondershausen, then piano and theory in Wiesbaden. The first compositions to which he assigned numbers were chamber music. A concert pianist himself, he composed works for piano and organ. His first work for choir and piano to which he assigned a number was Drei Chöre. Reger returned to his home in 1898, where he composed his first work for choir and orchestra, Hymne an den Gesang. From 1899, he courted Elsa von Bercken who first rejected him and he composed many songs such as Sechs Lieder, Op.35, on love poems by five authors. Reger moved to Munich in September 1901, where he obtained concert offers, during his first Munich season, Reger appeared in ten concerts as an organist, chamber pianist and accompanist. Income from publishers, concerts and private teaching enabled him to marry in 1902, because his wife Elsa was a divorced Protestant, he was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He continued to compose without interruption, for example Gesang der Verklärten, in 1907, Reger was appointed musical director at the Leipzig University Church, a position he held until 1908, and professor at the Royal Conservatory in Leipzig. In 1908 he began to compose Der 100, Psalm, Op.106, a setting of Psalm 100 for mixed choir and orchestra, for the 350th anniversary of Jena University. Part I was premiered on 31 July that year, Reger completed the composition in 1909, premiered in 1910 simultaneously in both Chemnitz and Breslau. In 1911 Reger was appointed Hofkapellmeister at the court of Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen and he retained his master class at the Leipzig conservatory. In 1913 he composed four poems on paintings by Arnold Böcklin, including Die Toteninsel. He gave up the position in 1914 for health reasons. In response to World War I, he thought in 1914 already to compose a work to commemorate the fallen of the war. He began to set the Latin Requiem but abandoned the work as a fragment and he composed eight motets forming Acht geistliche Gesänge für gemischten Chor, Op.138, as a master of new simplicity
29.
Fritz Busch
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Fritz Busch was a German conductor. Busch was born on March 13,1890 in Siegen, Province of Westphalia, the son of a former itinerant musician. His brothers were also musicians, the violinist Adolf Busch and the cellist Hermann Busch and he attended the Cologne Conservatory in 1906 where he studied conducting with Fritz Steinbach. He served as conductor at Deutsches Theater, Riga in 1909, Busch was hired as the music director by the city of Aachen in 1912, and worked there until the beginning of World War I, when he enlisted. At the end of the war, he returned to Aachen where he conducted the Aachen Municipal Opera, however six weeks later, he was appointed music director of the Stuttgart Opera. There he became known for his efforts to increase the breadth of the repertoire including featuring new composers, such as Paul Hindemith and his performances, including modern stagings and set designs by Adolphe Appia for Richard Wagners Ring Cycle operas, led to his increasing renown. In 1922 he was appointed the director of the Dresden State Opera. During his tenure of 11 years he kept the opera at the highest level, combining innovative, provocative stagings, with prominent artists engaged to design costumes and he premiered works by Richard Strauss, Ferruccio Busoni, Hindemith, and Kurt Weill. In 1924 he made his appearance at the Bayreuth Festival conducting Die Meistersinger. Upon arrival, he decided to attend a rehearsal that was in progress. His 1932 Salzburg Festival production of Mozarts Die Entführung aus dem Serail, five weeks after Hitler came to power in 1933, Busch was removed from his post at the Dresden State Opera in a politically motivated dismissal. The March 1933 dismissal was humiliating, Nazis in the front rows shouted Out with Busch at the beginning a performance of Rigoletto, leading to his replacement as conductor by Kurt Striegler. The Nazis charged that despite his high salary, Busch had taken frequent leaves from the opera to take up guest conducting jobs elsewhere, not himself Jewish, he counted many Jews among his friends and was opposed to dictatorship. He went on to several tours of South America before becoming the music director of Glyndebourne Festival Opera in England in 1934. He remained at Glyndebourne until the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and he focused on work at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (1934–36 and and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and from 1934 at the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. He conducted the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra from 1937 until 40, despite assistance from the German writer Thomas Mann, he was unsuccessful in getting Swiss citizenship, but in 1936 succeeded in obtaining Argentinian papers. He also conducted at the Met in New York from 1945 to 1949, post-war he also returned to work in Copenhagen and Stockholm. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, a professional music fraternity
30.
JSTOR
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JSTOR is a digital library founded in 1995. Originally containing digitized back issues of journals, it now also includes books and primary sources. It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals, more than 8,000 institutions in more than 160 countries have access to JSTOR, most access is by subscription, but some older public domain content is freely available to anyone. William G. Bowen, president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988, JSTOR originally was conceived as a solution to one of the problems faced by libraries, especially research and university libraries, due to the increasing number of academic journals in existence. Most libraries found it prohibitively expensive in terms of cost and space to maintain a collection of journals. By digitizing many journal titles, JSTOR allowed libraries to outsource the storage of journals with the confidence that they would remain available long-term, online access and full-text search ability improved access dramatically. Bowen initially considered using CD-ROMs for distribution, JSTOR was initiated in 1995 at seven different library sites, and originally encompassed ten economics and history journals. JSTOR access improved based on feedback from its sites. Special software was put in place to make pictures and graphs clear, with the success of this limited project, Bowen and Kevin Guthrie, then-president of JSTOR, wanted to expand the number of participating journals. They met with representatives of the Royal Society of London and an agreement was made to digitize the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society dating from its beginning in 1665, the work of adding these volumes to JSTOR was completed by December 2000. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded JSTOR initially, until January 2009 JSTOR operated as an independent, self-sustaining nonprofit organization with offices in New York City and in Ann Arbor, Michigan. JSTOR content is provided by more than 900 publishers, the database contains more than 1,900 journal titles, in more than 50 disciplines. Each object is identified by an integer value, starting at 1. In addition to the site, the JSTOR labs group operates an open service that allows access to the contents of the archives for the purposes of corpus analysis at its Data for Research service. This site offers a facility with graphical indication of the article coverage. Users may create focused sets of articles and then request a dataset containing word and n-gram frequencies and they are notified when the dataset is ready and may download it in either XML or CSV formats. The service does not offer full-text, although academics may request that from JSTOR, JSTOR Plant Science is available in addition to the main site. The materials on JSTOR Plant Science are contributed through the Global Plants Initiative and are only to JSTOR
31.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
32.
Schott Music
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Schott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, the company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770. Schott Music is one of the leading music publishers. It represents many of the greatest composers of the 20th and 21st centuries, the repertoire ranges from complete editions, stage and concert works to general educational literature, fine sheet music editions and multimedia products. The Schott publishing house was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz in 1770, the building, dated and now under a preservation order, is still the company’s head office. At the time of the foundation of the house, Mainz boasted a flourishing cultural life. In 1780, Bernhard Schott was awarded the ’privilegium exclusivum’ together with the title of ’Court music engraver’ and this meant that within the boundaries of the electorate of Mainz no third party was allowed to re-engrave or sell the works produced by him. Schott was one of the first publishers to use the technique of lithography. During the French years of Mainz, the publisher suffered from high taxes, as a later consequence, the publishing house rapidly became established beyond the national borders of Germany. As early as 1823, Schott founded a branch in Antwerp, followed by Brussels in 1839, from the very beginning, it was its commitment to contemporary music that earned the publishing house its international reputation. Initially, the programme included works by composers from the Mannheim School such as Carl Stamitz and Georg Joseph Vogler. The publication of the scores and first editions of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni. They were soon followed by major late works of Ludwig van Beethoven, including the Ninth Symphony, the Missa Solemnis, in the first decades, Schott felt committed to the French tradition popular at that time. The catalogue therefore included names such as Adolphe Adam and Daniel Auber as well as Gaetano Donizetti, Ignaz Pleyel, since there were no descendants, the Schott family appointed the privy councillor Dr. Ludwig Strecker as their successor in 1874. His sons, Dr. Ludwig Strecker and Willi Strecker, continued to run the publishing house and they were succeeded by Heinz Schneider-Schott. Schott also published several major scores of Arnold Schoenberg, including Moses und Aron and Von Heute auf Morgen, hans Werner Henze, for example, joined Schott at the age of twenty, his considerable oeuvre being published exclusively by them for over 55 years. Sir Michael Tippett’s lifelong relationship with Schott began in March 1939 when Willy Strecker visited London for the first performance in England of Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler. Shortly after war had been declared, he heard through their London office that Schott would like to publish his Concerto for Double String Orchestra, being a born internationalist I thoroughly enjoyed this outcome and thought it a good omen
33.
Cardillac
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Cardillac is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on the short story Das Fräulein von Scuderi by E. T. A, the first performance was at the Staatsoper, Dresden on 9 November 1926. It was promptly performed throughout Germany, Hindemith revised both the score and the text, for the reason that, according to Ian Kemp, the musical idiom seemed crude and undisciplined. This second version was first performed at the Zurich Stadttheater on 20 June 1952, hans-Ludwig Schilling has published a comparison of the two versions. After 1953, Hindemith sanctioned only the 1952 revised version for theatrical performances, however, after the composers death in 1963, the original version became available again for production. The operas Italian premiere took place in 1948 at the Venice Biennale as part of the Venice Festival of Contemporary Music XI, the American premiere took place at The Santa Fe Opera in 1967 using a staging by director Bodo Igesz. The New Opera Company presented the first staged UK performances in March 1970 at Sadlers Wells, the setting is Paris in the 17th century. Scene 1 The crowd is agitated about a series of recent mysterious murders, the goldsmith Cardillac enters the scene and the atmosphere becomes hushed. The Lady asks the Cavalier about the goldsmith Cardillac, and the Cavalier tells of the goldsmith, the Lady promises the Cavalier a tryst that evening if he can bring her Cardillacs most beautiful work. Scene 2 The Lady and the Cavalier enjoy their tryst and the Cavalier delivers one of Cardillacs belts, a masked figure steals into the bedroom and fatally stabs the Cavalier. The Lady faints and the mysterious figure leaves with the belt, the Gold Merchant mentions to Cardillac the latest murder that involved the theft of a recent work of Cardillac. The Gold Merchant has his suspicions about the identity of the murderer, Cardillac orders his daughter to watch over his work. She does so and awaits her lover, the Officer, Cardillac returns, and it becomes clear that he values the articles he has crafted more than he does his daughter. He then meets the King and offers to create his greatest work of art for him, the Officer enters to ask Cardillac for his daughters hand in marriage, and Cardillac consents. Though the Officer realizes how much Cardillac values his creations over his own daughter, after the Officer leaves, Cardillac indicates that he himself is the murderer. In a tavern, the Officer wears the chain, presenting himself as a target for the murderer, Cardillac enters and wounds the Officer, but the Officer beats back the attack and holds on to the chain. The Gold Merchant then brings on a crowd and accuses Cardillac of the murders, Cardillac is brought in, followed by his daughter. The Officer defends Cardillac, rebuts the Gold Merchants accusation, in the ensuing ensemble, Cardillacs daughter realizes her father is the murderer
34.
Neues vom Tage
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Neues vom Tage is a comic opera in three parts by Paul Hindemith, with a German libretto by Marcellus Schiffer. The opera is a satire of life, celebrity and marriage. The opera became notorious for a scene with a soprano singing in the bath about the wonders of modern plumbing. It was first performed on 8 June 1929, at the Kroll Opera House, Berlin, Hindemith revised the opera, changing the text and adding a little new music, for the Teatro San Carlo, Naples on 7 April 1954. The United States premiere of the work was at the Santa Fe Opera in 1961, stanley Sadie ISBN 0-333-73432-7 Page about the Aachen production in 2000
35.
Mathis der Maler (opera)
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Mathis der Maler is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The operas genesis lay in Hindemiths interest in the Reformation, Hindemith considered commissioning author Gottfried Benn to write the libretto, but wound up doing it himself. Hindemith completed the opera in 1935, by that time, however, the rise of Nazism prevented Hindemith from securing a performance in Germany, despite three years efforts. The operas obvious political message did not escape the governments notice and it was first performed on 28 May 1938 in Zurich, conducted by Robert Denzler. On 9 and 11 March in 1939 the Opera Mathis der Maler was performed in Amsterdam, conducted by Karl Schmid-Blosz, at the same time the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam made a documentary exhibition of the painting The Small Crucifixion and two drawings by Mathias Grunewald owned by Franz Koenigs. The British premiere was in Edinburgh on 29 August 1952, and it was first given in the United States on 17 February 1956, at Boston University, in contrast to the popular Symphony, Mathis der Maler, the large-scale opera itself is only occasionally staged. A notable US production was that of the New York City Opera in 1995, Hamburg State Opera staged the work in 2005. It was being performed at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona when the building was destroyed by a fire in January 1994, in a cloister courtyard Mathis musings and doubts about his vocation are interrupted by the peasant leader Schwalb and his child Regina. Moved by the plight, he offers his horse and stays to face the pursuing Sylvester who dares not arrest the cardinals favorite painter. Mathis, reunited with Reidingers daughter Ursula, is recognized by Sylvester, realizing he cannot change his friends mind, Albrecht grants him safe passage to join their cause. Mathis arrives to bid farewell and insists she cannot follow him to the war, when her father returns she gives her consent to the plan. At the end of scene 3, all men chant a paean to God, their religion, asked for their demands, one of the peasants replies, amongst others, that they do not accept any ruler save the emperor Mathis remonstrates and is beaten down. The federal army arrives and the disheartened peasants prepare for battle but are overrun, Schwalb is killed. He flees with the orphaned Regina, Albrecht discusses his debts and Luthers challenge with Capito and agrees to interview a rich bride. He is astonished when Ursula enters and, dubious of her avowals and she admits that she is motivated not by love but by her faith to attempt his conversion, and in turn reproaches him for his vacillations and his lack of vision. He appears to be moved by her plea, but when the others are called in he announces that he will reform his ways by striving to return to his vows. In the Odenwald forest Mathis lulls the haunted Regina to sleep with a description of a concert of angels, the chorus unite in an enactment of the temptation scene of the Isenheim Altarpiece before the scene suddenly changes to that of Anthonys visit to Saint Paul. Paul/Albrecht consoles Anthony/Mathis and calls him to his duty, go forth, Ursula cares for the dying Regina, who confuses Mathis painting of the dying Christ with her father
36.
Die Harmonie der Welt
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Die Harmonie der Welt is an opera in five acts by Paul Hindemith. The German libretto was by the composer, the title of the opera is taken from Harmonices Mundi by the astronomer Johannes Kepler who is the subject of the opera. Hindemith used the system as a metaphor for his own musical arrangement of the chromatic scale. It was first performed on 11 August 1957, at the Prinzregententheater, Munich, Hindemith proponent Yan Pascal Tortelier has also openly expressed an interest in conducting a recording of the opera. The Bruckner Orchestra Linz will be conducted by Gerrit Prießnitz, set in the 17th century, the opera is the story of the search for universal harmony by the astronomer Johannes Kepler. In 2002 WERGO released the premiere recording as part of their Paul Hindemith Edition
37.
The Long Christmas Dinner (opera)
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The Long Christmas Dinner is an opera in one act by Paul Hindemith, with an English libretto by Thornton Wilder based on his play of the same name. Wilder collaborated with the composer in order to make the text work effectively with the music and it was arranged for chamber orchestra and used a harpsichord. It was first performed on 13 March 1963, at the Juilliard School of Music, a digital recording of the work on the Wergo label was performed in the German language, Hindemith himself provided the translation of the English libretto into German. A commercial recording in English has yet to be made, the opera depicts 90 years in the history of the mid-western Bayard family. The opera opens with Lucia, wife of Roderick Bayard, setting the table for Christmas dinner, having finished, she calls down her husband and his mother, who is joining them in their first Christmas dinner in their new house. She goes on to discuss the importance of remembering the names of one’s ancestors, the opera moves forward to another Christmas dinner between Roderick, Lucia, and Mother Bayard, this time joined by Roderick’s cousin Brandon, who is back from his time spent in Alaska. As they eat, Brandon asks Mother Bayard how the two are related, as the years go on, Mother Bayard dies, leaving Lucia, Roderick, and Brandon. All three wonder aloud how long they’ve resided in the Bayard house, remarking on how quickly the time flies, soon after Mother Bayard dies, Lucia’s and Roderick’s son Charles is born. Not long after the birth of their son, another baby arrives, Genevieve, again, the action moves forward in time to a later Christmas dinner which is joined by a grown-up Charles and Genevieve, Roderick, Lucia, and Brandon have all aged significantly. The men give a toast to the firm owned and run by the Bayard family, Roderick dies shortly after this point in time, leaving behind a devastated Lucia. She, Brandon, Genevieve, and Charles reflect on past Christmas dinners, after a quick change in subject, Genevieve announces to her mother that Charles is engaged to be married, adding that she herself will never marry, so that she may always remain with her mother. The scene shifts briefly to show the marriage of Charles and his wife, the newlyweds join Lucia, Brandon, and Genevieve for Christmas dinner. Not long after Charles and Leonora marry, the birth a baby—however. Brandon dies, and is followed by Lucia. The death of Lucia greatly devastates Genevieve, who is wondering what to do with her life. On the tail end of Lucias death is the birth of Leonoras fraternal twins, Sam, not long afterward, Roderick Brandon Bayard II is also born. Leonora and Charles write to the latter’s cousin Ermengarde, asking her to stay with them, during dinner one Christmas, Ermengarde and Charles discuss their relations and reminisce about their ancestors. Sam, on leave from the military, joins the family for Christmas dinner along with his twin sister
