Words of wisdom.

The greatest precept is continual awareness.
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From France 24 :

French jihadists carrying out suicide bombings in Syria and Iraq

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From France 24 : innocent, casualties of the Brotherhood of terrorists

Hundreds of Europe-bound migrants drown off Libya

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From NPR News: he’s we just had roads and bridges…

Cheap Oil Fuels Global Growth. Now If We Just Had Roads And Bridges http://n.pr/1J03Duz

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From NPR News: why the FDA has never looked at some of the additives in Our food

Why The FDA Has Never Looked At Some Of The Additives In Our Food http://n.pr/1IZQqBO

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From BBC news : Erdogan condemns Pope over ‘genocide’

Erdogan condemns Pope over ‘genocide’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32309044

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From BBC w Obama and Congress reach Iran deal

Obama and Congress reach Iran deal http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-32311789

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From BBC news : Houthis condemn UN arms embargo

Houthis condemn UN arms embargo http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-32311809

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From BBC news : US to take Cuba off terror list

US to take Cuba off terror list http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32312008

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Best Classical Music Series: Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 21, K.467 / Yeol Eum Son,

Mozart – Piano Concerto No. 21, K.467 / Yeol Eum Son

alddo3

Published on Dec 18, 2014

2011 Tchaikovsky Competition – Piano Round II, Phase II

Mozart – Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 21 in C major, K.467

Yeol Eum Son (South Korea)
***************************************************************

Structure

The concerto has three movements:

1. Allegro maestoso; in common time. The tempo marking is in Mozart’s catalog of his own works, but not in the autograph manuscript.^[3]
2. Andante in F major. In both the autograph score and in his personal catalog, Mozart notated the meter as Alla breve. ^[4]
3. Allegro vivace assai

The opening movement begins quietly with a march figure, but quickly moves to a more lyrical melody interspersed with a fanfare in the winds. The music grows abruptly in volume, with the violins taking up the principal melody over the march theme, which is now played by the brass. This uplifting theme transitions to a brief, quieter interlude distinguished by a sighing motif in the brass. The march returns, eventually transitioning to the entrance of the soloist. The soloist plays a brief Eingang (a type of abbreviated Cadenza) before resolving to a trill on the dominant G while the strings play the march in C major. The piano then introduces new material in C major and begins transitioning to the dominant key of G major. Immediately after an orchestral cadence finally announces the arrival of the dominant, the music abruptly shifts to G minor in a passage that is reminiscent of the main theme of the Symphony No. 40 in that key.^[5] A series of rising and falling chromatic scales then transition the music to the true second theme of the piece, an ebullient G major theme which Mozart had previously used in his Third Horn Concerto. The usual development and recapitulation follow. There is a cadenza at the end of the movement, although Mozart’s original has been lost.

The famous Andante is in three parts. The opening section is for orchestra only and features muted strings. The first violins play with a dreamlike melody over an accompaniment consisting of second violins and violas playing repeated-note triplets and the cellos and bass playing pizzicato arpeggios. All of the major melodic material of the movement is contained in this orchestral introduction, in either F major or F minor. The second section introduces the solo piano and starts off in F major. It is not a literal repeat, though, as after the first few phrases, new material is interjected which ventures off into different keys. When familiar material returns, the music is now in the dominant keys of C minor and C major. More new material in distant keys is added, which transitions to the third section of the movement. The third section begins with the dreamlike melody again, but this time in A-flat major. Over the course of this final section, the music makes it way back to the tonic keys of F minor and then F major and a short coda concludes the movement.

The final rondo movement begins with the full orchestra espousing a joyous “jumping” theme. After a short cadenza, the piano joins in and further elaborates. A “call and response” style is apparent, with the piano and ensemble exchanging parts fluidly. The soloist gets scale and arpeggio figurations that enhance the themes, as well as a short cadenza that leads right back to the main theme. The main theme appears one final time, leading to an upward rush of scales that ends on a triumphant note.

Recordings

This work has been recorded numerous times by many famous pianists including Géza Anda, Piotr Anderszewski, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Malcolm Bilson, Alfred Brendel, Robert Casadesus, Ivan Drenikov, Annie Fischer, Walter Gieseking, Friedrich Gulda, Stephen Hough, Keith Jarrett, Wilhelm Kempff, Walter Klien, Alicia de Larrocha, Giorgi Latsabidze, Rosina Lhevinne, Dinu Lipatti, Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia, Maria João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Arthur Rubinstein, Fazil Say, András Schiff, Artur Schnabel, Rudolf Serkin, Howard Shelley, Mitsuko Uchida, and Christian Zacharias.

Cultural references

The second movement was featured in the 1967 Swedish film Elvira Madigan.^[1][6] This has led to an anachronistic nickname of Elvira Madigan for the concerto.^[7][8][9]

Neil Diamond’s 1972 song “Song Sung Blue” was based on a theme from the andante movement of the concerto.^[10]

An electronic arrangement of the concerto’s first movement was used as the main theme of the TV series Whiz Kids.

Gioachino Rossini – La Cenerentola (Cinderella) – Ouverture (Alberto Zedda)

Gioachino Rossini – La Cenerentola – Ouverture (Alberto Zedda)

LindoroRossini

Uploaded on Nov 16, 2008

It has been a while since I’ve replenished my current collection of Rossini’s comical music, so I decided to return to it with my personal favorite excepts from the maestro’s version of the archetypal story of a young woman living through impossible torment before being rewarded for constance: Cinderella.

“La Cenerentola”, premiered in 1817, was almost immediately (after an initially lukewarm first night, though) a popular success and, moreover, never entirely passed out of the operatic repertoire during the time when operas of Rossini’s period were out of favor, reaffirming its’ charm over audiences of both centuries. It still remains one of Rossini’s best known works and for good reason: the piece provides us with tauntingly realistic treatment of the original story made only more stunning by some of Rossini’s most lyrical passages and explosive comical moments.

Interestingly enough, the work strays as far away from the original prototypical story: don’t expect fairy godmothers and glass slippers here (the slipper is replaced by a bracelet (in order to comply with current moral standards and not show the ankle), by which the Prince recognizes Cinderella at the end of the opera); Perrault’s famous fairy tale is stripped of virtually all supernatural characters and events in this very loose adaptation of it, making for a much more down-to-earth but nonetheless rewarding story of how “goodness triumphs”. On a side note, the replacement “fairy godmother” – Alindoro – actually seems to be a sort of an echo of the original supernatural calling forth, in Act Two, a storm that forces Ramiro to seek shelter in the castle of Don Magnifico, so the question of just how much is the story “realistic” remains very much alive. Still, we are faced by a much more truthful reexamination that only serves to highlight the sheer immorality of what Cinderella has to suffer through. The original story itself is no piece of Christmas pie: the heroine (or to cite her proper name as used in the work, Angelina) suffers continuous indignities from her relatives (here, her father and two stepsisters) during the whole work, only being acknowledged, rather unsatisfyingly, at the very end when her family has no other options. But Rossini’s adaptation uses an even more heart-breaking story: the gorgeous Act One quintet has Don Magnifico, Angelina’s own father, swearing, right before his daughter, that she is dead. We are not shown how Cinderella’s life was before the beginning of action but this episode alone paints such a deeply moving tragedy: the young woman simply wants acceptance, nothing more, and her final triumph is rather enigmatic, what will come of her relationship with her family? Still, Rossini’s music, in spite of this, paints a story that one believes from the beginning to the end, one truly hopes, by the very final coda, that all will end in happiness.

I’m going for a recording that is perhaps not as common as, for example, renditions centered on the heroines of Berganza, Baltsa, Larmore or Bartoli: a 2004 live recording under the leadership of the Rossini trouper, Alberto Zedda. Featuring good sound and clear orchestration, as well as a balanced ensemble, it remains my personal favorite, in spite of all the other renditions available. As I’m trying to concentrate on relatively obscure pieces or, at the very least, on the pieces not as often cited as the “hits” :), the selections include the following: the overture (to set up a suitable opening for the other pieces), the superb Quartet/Quintet and the magnificent Finale from Act One; Don Magnifico’s third aria and, finally, the first movement of the penultimate Sextet. Let us press on forward to the first piece.

The overture, like several other famous orchestral piece by Rossini (including the seemingly hand-in-glove “Il Barbiere” opening), includes material recycled from earlier operas – in this case “La gazzetta”, “Il turco in Italia” (which I will post after I’ve finished posting all the pieces from the present work) and “La pietra del paragone”. But it doesn’t really matter. The result is a thoroughly enjoyable confection that seems fully appropriate for this slightly sentimental, slightly comical opera. The overture falls into the usual Rossini shape with a slow introduction followed by a little symphonic allegro that, though lacking a development section, is loaded with surprises, including an extended crescendo that serves as the closing theme, an opening theme that proceeds stagily in fits and starts and a delightful turn on the piccolo in the recapitulation of the second theme.

Best Classical Music Series: Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 in E Minor “From the New World” By Von Karajan

Antonín Dvořák – Symphony No. 9 in E Minor “From the New World” By Von Karajan

ClassicalMusicTVHD

Published on Apr 28, 2012

Antonín Leopold Dvořák The Symphony No. 9 in E Minor “From the New World”, Op. 95, B. 178 Conduct Herbert von Karajan Full HD (Czech: Symfonie č. 9 e moll „Z nového světa”), popularly known as the New World Symphony, was composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1893 during his visit to the United States from 1892 to 1895. It is by far his most popular symphony, and one of the most popular in the modern repertoire. In older literature and recordings this symphony is often indicated as Symphony No. 5.
Instrumentation
This symphony is scored for an orchestra of the following:
2 flutes (one doubling piccolo)
2 oboes (one doubling on English horn)
2 clarinets in A and B♭ (B♭ in movement 2)
2 bassoons
4 horns in E, C and F
2 trumpets in E, C and E♭
2 tenor trombones
bass trombone
tuba (second movement only)
timpani
triangle (third movement only)
cymbals (fourth movement only)
strings
Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák)
Movements:
The piece has four movements:
Adagio, 4/8 — Allegro molto, 2/4, E minor
Largo, common time, D-flat major, then later C-sharp minor
Scherzo: Molto vivace — Poco sostenuto, 3/4, E minor
Allegro con fuoco, common time, E minor, ends in E major
Sinfonia n.º 9 (Dvořák)
A Sinfonia Nº. 9 em Mi menor Op. 95 Sinfonia do Novo Mundo
Symfonie č. 9 (Dvořák), Symfonie č.9, e-moll, op. 95 Antonína Dvořáka

historic musical bits: Arthur Rubinstein – Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat minor, Op 23 , great compositions/performance

Arthur Rubinstein – Tchaikovsky – Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat minor, Op 23

Opus 21

Published on Jun 8, 2014

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Piano Concerto No 1 in B-flat minor, Op 23

00:00 Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso
19:15 Andantino semplice
26:26 Allegro con fuoco

Arthur Rubinstein, piano

Philharmonia Orchestra
Carlo Maria Giulini, conductor

London, May 1961

Nathan Milstein – Saint-Saëns – Violin Concerto No 3 in B minor, Op 61

Classical Vault 2

Published on Oct 22, 2013

Camille Saint-Saëns
Violin Concerto No 3 in B minor, Op 61

00:00 Allegro non troppo
08:44 Andantino
17:12 Molto moderato

Nathan Milstein, violin

Philharmonia Orchestra
Anatole Fistoulari, conductor

Live recording. June 1963

Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 , great compositions/performances

Felix Mendelssohn – Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49

QuareoInvenietis

Published on Apr 15, 2012

Felix Mendelssohn
(1809-1847)

Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49
in D minor / D-moll / en ré mineur
(1839)

Klaviertrio Amsterdam
Klara Würtz, Piano
Joan Berkhemer, Violin
Nadia David, Cello

• Music

  • “Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 49: II. Andante con moto tranquillo” by Klavier Trio Amsterdam (Google Play • AmazonMP3 • eMusic • iTunes)

Itzhak Perlman – Beethoven Violin Concerto – Daniel Barenboim , great compositions/performances

Itzhak Perlman – Beethoven Violin Concerto – Daniel Barenboim

My Violin Channel

Ludwig van Beethoven – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

I. Allegro ma non troppo (00:00)
II. Larghetto (24:37)
III. Rondo. Allegro (33:33)

Itzhak Perlman, violin
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Berlin Philharmonic

Saint of the Day for Tuesday, April 14th, 2015: St. Lydwine

Saint of the Day for Tuesday, April 14th, 2015

St. Lydwine

St. Lydwine is the patroness of sickness Lydwine of Schiedam was born at Schiedam, Holland, one of nine children of a working man. After an injury in her youth, she became bedridden and suffered the … continue reading

More Saints of the Day

St. Lydwine St. Abundius St. Ardalion St. Benezet St. Domnina of Terni St. Lambert of Lyon

Bl. Peter Gonzales St. Peter Gonzalez St. Tassach St. Thomais St. Tiburtius

Today In History. What Happened This Day In History

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

April 14

1471		The Earl of Warwick, who fought on both sides in the War of the Roses, is killed at the Battle of Barnet with the defeat of the Lancastrians.
1543		Bartoleme Ferrelo returns to Spain after discovering a large bay in the New World (San Francisco).
1775		The first abolitionist society in United States is organized in Philadelphia.
1793		A royalist rebellion in Santo Domingo is crushed by French republican troops.
1828		The first edition of Noah Webster’s dictionary is published.
1860		The first Pony Express rider arrives in San Francisco with mail originating in St. Joseph, Missouri.
1865		President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth.
1894		Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope is shown to the public for the first time.
1900		The World Exposition opens in Paris.
1912		The passenger liner Titanic–deemed unsinkable–strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and begins to sink. The ship will go under the next day with a loss of 1,500 lives.
1931		King Alfonso XIII of Spain is overthrown.
1945		American B-29 bombers’s damage the Imperial Palace during firebombing raid over Tokyo.
1953		The Viet Minh invade Laos with 40,00 troops in their war against French colonial forces.
1959		The Taft Memorial Bell Tower is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
1961		The first live broadcast is televised from the Soviet Union.
1969		The first major league baseball game is played in Montreal, Canada.
1981		America’s first space shuttle, Columbia, returns to Earth.
Born on April 14
1578		Philip III, king of Spain and Portugal (1598-1621).
1629		Christian Huygens, Dutch astronomer.
1866		Anne Mansfield Sullivan, teacher who educated Helen Keller.
1889		Arnold Toynbee, English historian.
1898		Harold Black, electrical engineer.
1904		Sir John Gielgud, British actor.

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/today-in-history#sthash.Im9sHjIN.dpuf

today’s picture: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On the evening of Good Friday, April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by his wife and a young couple, went to Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., to see a popular play, Our American Cousin. Just after 10 p.m., actor and Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth burst into the presidential box and shot Lincoln behind the ear. Booth leaped to the stage, breaking his left leg on impact, and escaped through a side door. Lincoln was carried to a nearby house where he remained unconscious until his death at 7:22 the following morning. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who had kept vigil at Lincoln’s bedside, said, ‘Now he belongs to the ages.’

Image: Library of Congress

– See more at: http://www.historynet.com/picture-of-the-day#sthash.iLrCLcXk.dpuf

today’s holiday: Pan American Day

Pan American Day

The International Union of American Republics (now called the Pan American Union)—general secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS)—designated April 14 as Pan American Day in 1930. Although each member country holds its own celebration, it is at the Pan American Union building in Washington, DC, that one of the largest observances takes place. Students from all over the Western Hemisphere travel to Washington where, against a backdrop of flags in the courtyard of the House of the Americas, they perform folk songs and dances. More… Discuss

quotation: “Look now how mortals are blaming the gods,…”) Homer (900 BC-800 BC)

Look now how mortals are blaming the gods, for they say that evils come from us, but in fact they themselves have woes beyond their share because of their own follies.

Homer (900 BC-800 BC) Discuss

today’s birthday: Frank Serpico (1936)

Frank Serpico (1936)

Serpico is a retired New York City police officer who is most famous for being the first officer in US history to testify about widespread police corruption. Just months before he testified in 1971, he was shot in the face during a drug bust under suspicious circumstances, leading some to believe that corrupt officers had set him up. Shortly thereafter, Serpico, a film based on his life and starring Al Pacino, was released. When asked why he testified, what did Serpico respond? More… Discuss

this day in the yesteryear: Public Kinetoscope Parlor Opens in New York (1894)

Public Kinetoscope Parlor Opens in New York (1894)

The kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device that creates the illusion of movement by conveying a filmstrip of sequential images over a light source with a high-speed shutter. The first public kinetoscope parlor was opened in New York City in 1894 and introduced the basic approach that would become the standard for all cinematic projection before the advent of video. The venue had 10 machines, each showing a different short movie. How much did it cost to view all 10 films? More… Discuss

The Apgar Score

The Apgar Score is a system of evaluating a newborn’s physical condition, generally done at one and five minutes after birth, where a value from 0 to 2 is assigned to each of five criteria: heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, response to stimuli, and skin color. The values are summed up and the resulting score ranges from 0 to 10. Scores below 3 are generally regarded as critically low, with 4 to 7 fairly low, and over 7 generally normal. What does the acronym APGAR stand for? More… Discuss

word: gallimaufry

gallimaufry

Definition:	(noun) A jumble; a hodgepodge.
Synonyms:	patchwork, melange, ragbag
Usage:	Inside the chest, he found a gaudy gallimaufry of old dresses, feathers, and sequins. Discuss.

Foreign ministers demand fighting end in east Ukraine

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Fight against IS group to dominate talks between US and Iraq

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Nazi code breaker Alan Turing’s notes fetch $1mn at auction

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Internet firms slam French online snooping bill

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Breath test for stomach cancer risk

Breath test for stomach cancer risk http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-32284633

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Phishing hits victims ‘in minutes’

Phishing hits victims ‘in minutes’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32285433

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Sharp creates 4K smartphone screen

Sharp creates 4K smartphone screen http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32298504

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Garmin unveils two HD action cameras

Garmin unveils two HD action cameras http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-32300305

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Turing’s notebook sells for $1m

Turing’s notebook sells for $1m http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-32294655

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Oklahoma officer charged over death

Oklahoma officer charged over death http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32295325

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Japan court blocks nuclear restart

Japan court blocks nuclear restart http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-32297366

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