Chopin, daguerreotype by Bisson, c. 1849Frédéric François Chopin(UK: /ˈʃɒpæ̃/, US: /ʃoʊˈpæn/,[1][2]French: [ʃɔpɛ̃], Polish: [ˈʂɔpɛn]; 1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose “poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation.”[3]
Chopin was born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin in the Duchy of Warsaw and grew up in Warsaw, which in 1815 became part of Congress Poland. A child prodigy, he completed his musical education and composed his earlier works in Warsaw before leaving Poland at the age of 20, less than a month before the outbreak of the November 1830 Uprising. At 21, he settled in Paris. Thereafter—in the last 18 years of his life—he gave only 30 public performances, preferring the more intimate atmosphere of the salon. He supported himself by selling his compositions and by giving piano lessons, for which he was in high demand. Chopin formed a friendship with Franz Liszt and was admired by many of his other musical contemporaries (including Robert Schumann).
After a failed engagement to Maria Wodzińska from 1836 to 1837, he maintained an often troubled relationship with the French writer Amantine Dupin (known by her pen name, George Sand). A brief and unhappy visit to Majorca with Sand in 1838–39 would prove one of his most productive periods of composition. In his final years, he was supported financially by his admirer Jane Stirling, who also arranged for him to visit Scotland in 1848. For most of his life, Chopin was in poor health. He died in Paris in 1849 at the age of 39, probably of pericarditis aggravated by tuberculosis.
All of Chopin’s compositions include the piano. Most are for solo piano, though he also wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces, and some 19 songs set to Polish lyrics. His piano writing was technically demanding and expanded the limits of the instrument: his own performances were noted for their nuance and sensitivity. Chopin invented the concept of the instrumental ballade. His major piano works also include mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, polonaises, études, impromptus, scherzos, preludes and sonatas, some published only posthumously. Among the influences on his style of composition were Polish folk music, the classical tradition of J. S. Bach, Mozart, and Schubert, and the atmosphere of the Paris salons of which he was a frequent guest. His innovations in style, harmony, and musical form, and his association of music with nationalism, were influential throughout and after the late Romantic period.
Chopin’s music, his status as one of music’s earliest superstars, his (indirect) association with political insurrection, his high-profile love-life, and his early death have made him a leading symbol of the Romantic era. His works remain popular, and he has been the subject of numerous films and biographies of varying historical fidelity.
Life
Childhood
Chopin’s birthplace in Żelazowa WolaFryderyk Chopin was born in Żelazowa Wola,[4] 46 kilometres (29 miles) west of Warsaw, in what was then the Duchy of Warsaw, a Polish state established by Napoleon. The parish baptismal record gives his birthday as 22 February 1810, and cites his given names in the Latin form Fridericus Franciscus[4] (in Polish, he was Fryderyk Franciszek).[5] However, the composer and his family used the birthdate 1 March,[n 1][4] which is now generally accepted as the correct date.[7]Chopin’s father, Nicolas Chopin, by Ambroży Mieroszewski, 1829Watch given by soprano Angelica Catalani to 9-year-old Chopin on 3 January 1820Fryderyk’s father, Nicolas Chopin, was a Frenchman from Lorraine who had emigrated to Poland in 1787 at the age of sixteen.[8] Nicolas tutored children of the Polish aristocracy, and in 1806 married Tekla Justyna Krzyżanowska,[9] a poor relative of the Skarbeks, one of the families for whom he worked.[10] Fryderyk was baptised on Easter Sunday, 23 April 1810, in the same church where his parents had married, in Brochów.[4]His eighteen-year-old godfather, for whom he was named, was Fryderyk Skarbek, a pupil of Nicolas Chopin.[4]Fryderyk was the couple’s second child and only son; he had an elder sister, Ludwika (1807–1855), and two younger sisters, Izabela (1811–1881) and Emilia (1812–1827).[11] Nicolas was devoted to his adopted homeland, and insisted on the use of the Polish language in the household.[4]
In October 1810, six months after Fryderyk’s birth, the family moved to Warsaw, where his father acquired a post teaching French at the Warsaw Lyceum, then housed in the Saxon Palace. Fryderyk lived with his family in the Palace grounds. The father played the flute and violin;[12] the mother played the piano and gave lessons to boys in the boarding house that the Chopins kept.[13] Chopin was of slight build, and even in early childhood was prone to illnesses.[14]
Fryderyk may have had some piano instruction from his mother, but his first professional music tutor, from 1816 to 1821, was the Czech pianist Wojciech Żywny.[15] His elder sister Ludwika also took lessons from Żywny, and occasionally played duets with her brother.[16] It quickly became apparent that he was a child prodigy. By the age of seven Fryderyk had begun giving public concerts, and in 1817 he composed two polonaises, in G minor and B-flat major.[17] His next work, a polonaise in A-flat major of 1821, dedicated to Żywny, is his earliest surviving musical manuscript.[15]
In 1817 the Saxon Palace was requisitioned by Warsaw’s Russian governor for military use, and the Warsaw Lyceum was reestablished in the Kazimierz Palace (today the rectorate of Warsaw University). Fryderyk and his family moved to a building, which still survives, adjacent to the Kazimierz Palace. During this period, Fryderyk was sometimes invited to the Belweder Palace as playmate to the son of the ruler of Russian Poland, Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia; he played the piano for Constantine Pavlovich and composed a march for him. Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, in his dramatic eclogue, “Nasze Przebiegi” (“Our Discourses”, 1818), attested to “little Chopin’s” popularity.[18]EducationEditFrom September 1823 to 1826, Chopin attended the Warsaw Lyceum, where he received organ lessons from the Czech musician Wilhelm Würfelduring his first year. In the autumn of 1826 he began a three-year course under the Silesian composer Józef Elsner at the Warsaw Conservatory, studying music theory, figured bass, and composition.[19][n 2] Throughout this period he continued to compose and to give recitals in concerts and salons in Warsaw. He was engaged by the inventors of the “aeolomelodicon” (a combination of piano and mechanical organ), and on this instrument, in May 1825 he performed his own improvisation and part of a concerto by Moscheles. The success of this concert led to an invitation to give a recital on a similar instrument (the “aeolopantaleon”) before Tsar Alexander I, who was visiting Warsaw; the Tsar presented him with a diamond ring. At a subsequent aeolopantaleon concert on 10 June 1825, Chopin performed his Rondo Op. 1. This was the first of his works to be commercially published and earned him his first mention in the foreign press, when the Leipzig Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitungpraised his “wealth of musical ideas”.[20]Józef Elsner (after 1853)During 1824–28 Chopin spent his vacations away from Warsaw, at a number of locales.[n 3] In 1824 and 1825, at Szafarnia, he was a guest of Dominik Dziewanowski, the father of a schoolmate. Here for the first time, he encountered Polish rural folk music.[22] His letters home from Szafarnia (to which he gave the title “The Szafarnia Courier”), written in a very modern and lively Polish, amused his family with their spoofing of the Warsaw newspapers and demonstrated the youngster’s literary gift.
Linus Carl Pauling (/ˈpɔːlɪŋ/; February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics.[4] New Scientist called him one of the 20 greatest scientists of all time,[5] and as of 2000, he was rated the 16th most important scientist in history.[6] For his scientific work, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. For his peace activism, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. He is one of four individuals to have won more than one Nobel Prize (the others being Marie Curie, John Bardeen and Frederick Sanger).[7] Of these, he is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes,[8] and one of two people to be awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields, the other being Marie Curie.[7] He was married to the American human rights activist Ava Helen Pauling.
Linus Pauling
ForMemRS

Linus Pauling in 1962
Born
Linus Carl Pauling
February 28, 1901
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
DiedAugust 19, 1994(aged 93)
Big Sur, California, U.S.
NationalityAmericanEducation
Oregon State University (BS)
California Institute of Technology(PhD)
Known for
Alpha sheet
Beta sheet
Bond order
Breath gas analysis
Coiled coil
Corey-Pauling rules
CPK coloring
Crystal structure prediction
Electronegativity
Elucidating chemical bondsand molecular structures
Ice-type model
Linear combination of atomic orbitals
Molecular clock
Molecular medicine
Orbital overlap
Pauling equation
Pauling’s rules
Pauling–Corey–Branson alpha helix
Pauling’s principle of electroneutrality
Quantum chemistry
Quantum graph
Residual entropy
Resonance (chemistry)
Space-filling model
Valence bond theory
Vitamin C megadosage
Xenic acid
Advocating nuclear disarmament
Spouse(s)
Ava Helen Miller (m. 1923; d. 1981)
Children4, including Peter PaulingAwards
ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1931)
Irving Langmuir Award (1931)
Member of the National Academy of Sciences(1933)
Davy Medal (1947)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1954)
Nobel Peace Prize(1962)
Roebling Medal(1967)
Lenin Peace Prize(1968–69)
National Medal of Science (1974)
Lomonosov Gold Medal (1977)
NAS Award in Chemical Sciences (1979)
Priestley Medal(1984)
Vannevar Bush Award (1989)
Scientific careerFields
Quantum chemistry
Biochemistry
InstitutionsAs faculty memberCaltech (1927–1963)UC San Diego(1967–1969)Stanford (1969–1975) As fellow Cornell University(1937–1938)University of Oxford (1948)Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions(1963–1967)ThesisThe Determination with X-Rays of the Structures of Crystals (1925[3])Doctoral advisorRoscoe Dickinson Richard Tolman[1]Other academic advisorsArnold Sommerfeld Niels Bohr[2]Doctoral studentsMartin Karplus Jerry Donohue Matthew Meselson Robert E. Rundle Edgar Bright Wilson William Lipscomb[1]SignatureNotes
The only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes.
Pauling was one of the founders of the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology.[9] His contributions to the theory of the chemical bond include the concept of orbital hybridisation and the first accurate scale of electronegativities of the elements. Pauling also worked on the structures of biological molecules, and showed the importance of the alpha helix and beta sheet in protein secondary structure. Pauling’s approach combined methods and results from X-ray crystallography, molecular model building, and quantum chemistry. His discoveries inspired the work of James Watson, Francis Crick, and Rosalind Franklin on the structure of DNA, which in turn made it possible for geneticists to crack the DNA code of all organisms.[10] In his later years he promoted nuclear disarmament, as well as orthomolecular medicine, megavitamin therapy,[11] and dietary supplements. None of the latter have gained much acceptance in the mainstream scientific community.[5][12]
Acest articol sau secțiune este de actualitate.
Informațiile se pot schimba rapid odată cu desfășurarea evenimentelor.Epidemia de coronavirus (COVID-19)BoalaCOVID-19Tulpina de virusCoronavirusul sindromului respirator acut sever 2(SARS-CoV-2)Primul caz1 decembrie 2019OrigineWuhan, Hubei, Republica Populară ChinezăMorți2.801Cazuri confirmate82.187Modifică date / text
Focar
Harta focarului de coronvirus Wuhan 2019-2020, cu număr de cazuri în China, Hong Kong, Macau și Taiwan.
Harta focarului de coronvirus Wuhan 2019-2020 (începând cu 24 ianuarie 2020):
Țara de origine de unde a provenit coronavirusul (China)
Cazuri confirmate
Cazuri suspecte raportate pe țară
Epidemia de coronavirus 2019-nCoV, cunoscut și sub denumirea de coronavirus Wuhan, focar de pneumonie chineză sau pneumonie Wuhan (chineză simplificată: 武汉肺炎; chineză tradițională: 武漢肺炎; pinyin: Wǔhàn fèiyán) a început pe 12 decembrie 2019 în centrul orașului Wuhan, China, atunci când a apărut un grup de persoane cu pneumonie de cauză necunoscută, a fost legat în principal de proprietarii de tarabe care lucrau la piața de pește Huanan, care vindeau și animale vii. Ulterior, oamenii de știință chinezi au izolat un nou coronavirus, denumit 2019-nCoV, care s-a dovedit a fi cel puțin 70% similar în secvența genelor SARS-CoV.[1][2] Coronavirusul 2019-nCoV a fost identificat în Wuhan, provincia Hubei, China, după ce oamenii au dezvoltat pneumonie fără să aibă o cauză clară și pentru care vaccinurile sau tratamentele existente nu au fost eficiente. Virusul prezintă dovezi de transmitere de la persoană la persoană, iar rata de transmitere (rata infecției)[3] pare să fi escaladat la jumătatea lunii ianuarie, aceasta reieșind și din alte cazuri decât cele pe care China le-a raportat până acum.[4] Primul caz de coronavirus din România a fost confirmat pe 26 februarie 2020 la un bărbat din județul Gorj.[5]
Perioada de incubație (perioada de la expunere până la apariția simptomelor) este de aproximativ două săptămâni, simptomele includ febră, tuse și dificultăți de respirație și ea poate fi fatală.[6]
Pe 20 ianuarie 2020, premierul chinez Li Keqiang a cerut eforturi decisive și eficiente pentru prevenirea și controlul epidemiei de pneumonie cauzată de un nou coronavirus.[7] Începând cu 24 ianuarie 2020, au avut loc 26 decese, toate în China și există dovezi că se transmite de la om la om. Testele ample au evidențiat peste 2120 de cazuri confirmate, dintre care unii sunt angajați în asistență medicală.[8] De asemenea, au fost semnalate cazuri confirmate în Thailanda, Coreea de Sud, Japonia, Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong și Statele Unite.
La 23 ianuarie 2020, OMS a decis să nu declare o urgență internațională pentru sănătate.[9] OMS avertizase anterior că este posibil un focar mai larg,[10] există temeri de transmitere ulterioară în timpul sezonului maxim al Anului Nou Chinezesc.[11][12] Creșterea bruscă a focarelor de boală a ridicat întrebări cu privire la traficul de animale sălbatice, răspândirea virusului și incertitudinile legate de virus, indiferent dacă virusul a circulat mai devreme decât se credea anterior, originea și probabilitatea de a fi super-virale, adică un eveniment de răspândire majoră.[13][12][14]
Primele cazuri suspectate au fost raportate la 31 decembrie 2019,[15]primele cazuri de boală simptomatică apărând cu puțin peste trei săptămâni mai devreme la 8 decembrie 2019.[16] Piața a fost închisă la 1 ianuarie 2020 și persoanele care au prezentat semne și simptome ale infecției cu coronavirus erau izolate. Peste 9930 de persoane, care au intrat în contact strâns cu persoane posibil infectate, au fost inițial monitorizate. După dezvoltarea unui test de reacție de polimerizare în lanț de diagnostic specific pentru detectarea infecției, prezența 2019-nCoV a fost confirmată ulterior la 41 de persoane în clusterul din Wuhan,[17] dintre care două au fost ulterior raportate ca fiind un cuplu căsătorit, dintre care unul nu fusese prezenți pe piață și alți trei membri ai aceleiași familii care lucrau la standurile de fructe de mare ale pieței.[18][19] Prima moarte confirmată din cauza infecției cu coronavirus a avut loc la 9 ianuarie 2020.[20]
La 23 ianuarie 2020, centrul Wuhan a fost plasat în carantină, în care au fost suspendate toate mijloacele de transport în comun și din Wuhan. Orașele din apropiere Huanggang, Ezhou, Chibi, Jingzhou și Zhejiang au fost de asemenea plasate în carantină începând cu 24 ianuarie 2020.[21][22]
Stella Maeve(born November 14, 1989) is an American film and televisionactressbest known for her role of Julia Wicker inThe Magiciansand of Nadia inChicago P.D.[1]
In 2014 she starred in the music video “Figure it out” by Royal Blood. Since 2015, she has starred as Julia Wicker in theSyfyTV seriesThe Magicians.[2]In 2019 Stella returned to her Big Apple home to guest-star on an episode of the hitCBSdrama (and NYC-based and filmed)God Friended Me.
Personal life
Stella Maeve has stated that she isNative American.[6]When asked for further details on her Instagram photo, she answered that she was “BlackfootandCherokee.”[7]
In an April 2019 post toReddit, Maeve confirmed that she is engaged toDeadly ClassactorBenjamin Wadsworth. In August 2019, Maeve and Wadsworth revealed via social media that they are expecting their first child together, a baby girl. Jo Jezebel Wadsworth was born on January 29, 2020.[8]
Symphony No. 7is the name given to a four-movement symphony inE major(D729) drafted byFranz Schubertin August 1821. Although the work (which comprises about 1350 bars)is structurally complete, Schubert only orchestrated the slow introduction and the first 110 bars of the first movement. The rest of the work is, however, continued on 14-stavescore pages as a melodic line with occasional basses or counterpoints, giving clues as to changes in orchestral texture.
Schubert seems to have laid the symphony aside in order to work on hisoperaAlfonso und Estrella, and never returned to it. The manuscript was given by Schubert’s brotherFerdinandtoFelix Mendelssohnand was subsequently acquired by SirGeorge Grove, who bequeathed it to theRoyal College of Musicin London. There are at least three completions: byJohn Francis Barnett(1881),Felix Weingartner(1934) andBrian Newbould(1980).The work is now generally accepted to be Schubert’s Seventh Symphony,an appellation which some scholars had preferred to leave for the chimerical ‘Gastein Symphony’ that was long believed to have been written and lost in 1824.
Constantin Brancuşi’s series of works titled The Kiss
Constantin Brancuşi’s series of works titled The Kiss
Constantin Brancuşi’s series of works titled The Kiss
About the Sculpture:
Constantin Brancuşi’s series of works titled The Kiss constitutes one of the most celebrated depictions of love in the history of art. Utilizing a limestone block, the artist employed the method of direct carving to produce the incised contours that delineate the male and female forms. The juxtaposition of smooth and rough surfaces paired with the dramatic simplification of the human figures, which are shown from the waist up, may suggest Brancusi’s awareness of “primitive” African sculpture and perhaps also of the Cubist works of his contemporaries. The artist carved this sculpture specifically for John Quinn, the New York lawyer and art collector who had been interested in obtaining an earlier version of The Kiss (1907-8) that was no longer in the sculptor’s possession. When Quinn later inquired about the proper way to display his new acquisition, Brancusi responded that the work should be placed “just as it is, on something separate; for any kind of arrangement will have the look of an amputation. ” An archival photograph in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art reveals that Louise and Walter Arensberg, who later acquired the piece, installed The Kiss atop the artist’s Bench (1914-16) beside six stone sculptures from their collection of Pre-Columbian art.
Melissa Kerr, from Masterpieces from the Philadelphia Museum of Art: Impressionism and Modern Art (2007), p. 164.
Title page of Beethoven’s Symphonies from theGesamtausgabe
The compositions ofLudwig van Beethoven(1770–1827) consist of 722 works[1]written over forty-five years, from his earliest work in 1782 (variations for piano on a march byErnst Christoph Dressler) when he was only twelve years old and still inBonn, till his last work just before his death in Vienna in 1827. Beethoven composed in all the main genres of classical music, including symphonies, concertos, string quartets, piano sonatas and one opera. His works range from requiring a solo performer to needing a large orchestra and chorus to perform.
Beethoven straddled both theclassicalandromanticperiods, working in genres associated withWolfgang Amadeus Mozartand his teacherJoseph Haydnsuch as the piano concerto, string quartet and symphony, while on the other hand providing a precursor to Romantic composers such asHector BerliozandFranz Lisztwith programmatic works such as hisPastoral SymphonyandPiano Sonata “Les Adieux“[2]. Beethoven’s work is typically divided into three periods. The “Early” period where Beethoven composed in the “Viennese” style. The “Middle” or “Heroic” period where his work is characterised by struggle and heroism, such as in theEroicaSymphony, theAppassionataSonataand in his sole operaFidelio. Beethoven’s “Late” period is marked by intense, personal expression and an emotional and intellectual profundity. Although his output dropped drastically in his later years this period saw the composition of masterpieces such as theLate Quartets, theFinal Five Piano Sonatas, theDiabelli Variations, theMissa Solemnisand hisNinth Symphony[3].
Beethoven’s works are classified by both genre and various numbering systems[4]. The most well known numbering system for Beethoven’s works is that byopus number, assigned by Beethoven’s publishers during his lifetime. Only 172 of Beethoven’s works have opus numbers, divided among 138 opus numbers. Many works that were unpublished or else published without opus numbers have been assigned either “WoO” (Werke ohne Opuszahl—works without opus number), Hess or Biamonti numbers. For example, the short piano piece “Für Elise“, is more fully known as the “Bagatelle in A minor, WoO 59 (‘Für Elise’)”. Some works are also commonly referred to by their nicknames, such as theKreutzerViolin Sonata, or theArchdukePiano Trio.
As well as these numbering systems, works are also often identified by their number within their genre. For example, the 14thstring quartet, published as Opus 131, may be referenced either as “String Quartet No. 14” or “the Opus 131 String Quartet“. The listings include all of these relevant identifiers. Whileother catalogues of Beethoven’s worksexist, the numbers here represent the most commonly used.
Beethoven’s works are published in several editions, the first of these wasLudwig van Beethovens Werke: Vollständige kritisch durchgesehene überall berechtigte Ausgabepublished between 1862 and 1865 with a supplemental volume in 1888 byBreitkopf & Härtel, commonly known as the “Beethoven Gesamtausgabe” [GA]. While this was a landmark achievement at the time, the limitations of this edition soon became apparent. Between 1959 and 1971Willy Hessprepared a supplemental edition,Beethoven: Sämtliche Werke: Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe, [HS] containing works that were not in theGesamtausgabe.
Since 1961 theBeethoven Archivehas been publishing a new scholarly–critical Complete Edition of Beethoven’s works,Beethoven: Werke: neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke[5][NA]. However, only 42 of the projected 56 volumes have been published so far.[6]As this edition has not been published in full there are works without an NA designation.
Legend for publications – p: parts s: full score vs: vocal score
Beethoven wrote ninesymphonies, nineconcertos, and a variety of other orchestral music, ranging fromoverturesandincidental musicfor theatrical productions to other miscellaneous “occasional” works, written for a particular occasion. Of the concertos, seven are widely known (one violin concerto, five piano concertos, and one triple concerto for violin, piano, and cello); the other two are an early piano concerto (WoO 4) and an arrangement of the Violin Concerto for piano and orchestra (Opus 61a).
Beethoven is believed to have intended to write aTenth Symphonyin the last year of his life; a performing version of possible sketches was assembled byBarry Cooper.[10]
listen
); baptised 17 December 1770[1] – 26 March 1827) was a Germancomposerandpianist. A crucial figure in the transition between theclassicalandromanticeras inclassical music, he is considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time.
The piece was a great critical and commercial success, and was followed bySymphony No. 1in 1800. This composition was distinguished for its frequent use ofsforzandi, as well as sudden shifts in tonal centers that were uncommon for traditional symphonic form, and the prominent, more independent use of wind instruments.[2]In 1801, he also gained notoriety for his sixString Quartetsand for the balletThe Creatures of Prometheus. During this period, his hearing began to deteriorate, but he continued to conduct, premiering histhirdandfifthsymphoniesin 1804 and 1808, respectively. His condition worsened to almost complete deafness by 1811, and he then gave up performing and appearing in public.
During this period of self exile, Beethoven composed many of his most admired works; hisseventhsymphony premiered in 1813, with its second movement,Allegretto, achieving widespread critical acclaim.[3]He composed the pieceMissa Solemnisfor a number of years until it premiered 1824, which preceded hisninthsymphony, with the latter gaining fame for being among the first examples of achoral symphony.[4]In 1826, hisfourteenth String Quartetwas noted for having seven linked movements played without a break, and is considered the final major piece performed beforehis deatha year later.
His career is conventionally divided into early, middle, and late periods; the “early” period is typically seen to last until 1802, the “middle” period from 1802 to 1812, and the “late” period from 1812 to his death in 1827. During his life, he composed ninesymphonies; fivepiano concertos; oneviolin concerto; thirty-twopiano sonatas; sixteenstring quartets; twomasses; and theoperaFidelio. Other works, likeFür Elise, were discovered after his death, and are also considered historical musical achievements. Beethoven’s legacy is characterized for his innovative compositions, namely through the combinations of vocals and instruments, and also for widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto, and quartet,[5]while he is also noted for histroublesome relationship with his contemporaries.
Love, love, love, is it love, if one cannot embrace human vanity or is it just plain silliness? Should love be sang, declared, or deep in one’s heart vault be contained, no, not like in a prison cell, but like a precious ore not yet uncovered, claimed, explored… not yet EXPLOITED, by anyone, ever so well unclaimed, it shines like the sum of all suns
Time is capricious, love unclaimed transcends. (PostedHere)
The traditional Christmas narrative, the Nativity of Jesus, delineated in theNew Testamentsays that Jesus was born inBethlehem, in accordance withmessianic prophecies.WhenJosephandMaryarrived in the city, the inn had no room and so they were offered astablewhere theChrist Childwas soon born, withangelsproclaiming this news to shepherds who then further disseminated the information.
Although the month and date of Jesus’ birth are unknown, the church in the early fourth century fixed the date as December 25.This corresponds to the date of thewinter solsticeon the Roman calendar.Most Christians celebrate on December 25 in theGregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in thecivil calendarsused in countries throughout the world. However, part of theEastern Christian Churchescelebrate Christmas on December 25 of the olderJulian calendar, which currently corresponds to January 7 in the Gregorian calendar. For Christians, believing thatGodcame into the world in theform of mantoatonefor thesinsof humanity, rather than knowing Jesus’ exact birth date, is considered to be the primary purpose in celebrating Christmas.
“Christmas” is a shortened form of “Christ‘smass“. The word is recorded asCrīstesmæssein 1038 andCristes-messein 1131.Crīst(genitiveCrīstes) is from GreekKhrīstos(Χριστός), a translation ofHebrewMāšîaḥ(מָשִׁיחַ), “Messiah“, meaning “anointed”;andmæsseis from Latinmissa, the celebration of theEucharist.
The formChristenmaswas also historically used, but is now considered archaic and dialectal.The term derives from Middle EnglishCristenmasse, meaning “Christian mass”.Xmasis an abbreviation ofChristmasfound particularly in print, based on the initial letterchi(Χ) in GreekKhrīstos(Χριστός), “Christ”, though numerousstyle guidesdiscourage its use.This abbreviation has precedent in Middle EnglishΧρ̄es masse(where “Χρ̄” is an abbreviation for Χριστός).
Other names
In addition to “Christmas”, the holiday has been known by various other names throughout its history. TheAnglo-Saxonsreferred to the feast as “midwinter”,or, more rarely, asNātiuiteð(fromLatinnātīvitāsbelow).“Nativity“, meaning “birth”, is from Latinnātīvitās.In Old English,Gēola(Yule) referred to the period corresponding to December and January, which was eventually equated with Christian Christmas.“Noel” (or “Nowel”) entered English in the late 14th century and is from the Old Frenchnoëlornaël, itself ultimately from the Latinnātālis (diēs)meaning “birth (day)”.
Nativity
Gospel according to Saint Luke Chapter 2, v 1–20
The gospels ofLukeandMatthewdescribe Jesus as being born inBethlehemto theVirgin Mary. In Luke, Joseph and Mary travel fromNazarethto Bethlehem for the census, and Jesus is born there and laid in a manger.Angels proclaimed him a savior for all people, and shepherds came to adore him.
Laozi itself is ahonorific title:老(Old*rˤuʔ, “old, venerable”)and子(Old*tsəʔ, “master”).It has beenromanizednumerous ways, sometimes leading to confusion. The most common present form isLaoziorLǎozǐ,based on theHanyu Pinyinsystem adopted byMainland Chinain 1958and byTaiwanin 2009.During the 20thcentury,Lao-tzuwas more common,based on the formerly prevalentWade–Gilessystem. In the 19th century, the title was usually romanized asLao-tse.Other forms include the variantsLao-tzeandLao-tsu.
As a religious figure, he is worshipped under the name “Supreme Old Lord“(太上老君,Tàishàng Lǎojūn)and as one of the “Three Pure Ones“. During theTang dynasty, he was granted the title “Supremely Mysterious and Primordial Emperor”(太上玄元皇帝,Tàishàng Xuānyuán Huángdì).
Historical views
In the mid-twentieth century, a consensus emerged among scholars that thehistoricityof the person known as Laozi is doubtful and that theTao Te Chingwas “a compilation of Taoist sayings by many hands”.Alan Wattsurged more caution, holding that this view was part of an academic fashion for skepticism about historical spiritual and religious figures and stating that not enough would be known for years – or possibly ever – to make a firm judgment.
The earliest certain reference to the present figure of Laozi is found in the 1st‑centuryBCRecords of the Grand Historiancollected by the historianSima Qianfrom earlier accounts. In one account, Laozi was said to be a contemporary ofConfuciusduring the 6th or 5thcenturyBC. HissurnamewasLiand his personal name was Er or Dan. He was an official in the imperial archives and wrote a book in two parts before departing to the west. In another, Laozi was a different contemporary ofConfuciustitled Lao Laizi(老莱子)and wrote a book in 15 parts. In a third, he was the court astrologer Lao Dan who lived during the 4th centuryBC reign ofDukeXianof theQin Dynasty.The oldest text of theTao Te Chingso far recovered was written onbamboo slipsand dates to the late 4thcenturyBC;seeGuodian Chu Slips.
According to traditional accounts, Laozi was a scholar who worked as the Keeper of the Archives for the royal court ofZhou.This reportedly allowed him broad access to the works of theYellow Emperorand other classics of the time. The stories assert that Laozi never opened a formal school but nonetheless attracted a large number of students and loyal disciples. There are many variations of a story retelling his encounter with Confucius, most famously in theZhuangzi.
He was sometimes held to have come from thevillageofChu JeninChu.In accounts where Laozi married, he was said to have had a son named Zong who became a celebrated soldier.
