Adrian Boult (1889–1983) was an English conductor, known for championing British music. His first major post was conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra in 1924. Appointed director of music of the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1930, he established the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which was regarded as among the best in Britain under his chief conductorship. On retirement from the BBC in 1950, he took up the position of chief conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and, in what was widely called his "Indian Summer", continued to conduct it until his retirement in 1978. He gave the first performance of his friend Gustav Holst's The Planets, and introduced new works by other British composers including Bliss, Britten, Delius, Tippett, Vaughan Williams and Walton, as well as foreign composers such as Bartók, Berg, Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Webern. A modest man who disliked the limelight, he felt as comfortable in the recording studio as on the concert platform and made recordings throughout his career, many of which have remained in the catalogue for three or four decades. Prominent conductors influenced by him include Colin Davis and Vernon Handley.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Boult
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
313:
Roman emperor Licinius unified the eastern half of the empire under his rule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licinius
1803:
The United States purchased France's claim to the Louisiana Territory (flag raising ceremony pictured) for 78 million francs, or less than US$0.03 per acre. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph began Operation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcoming invasion of Sicily. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat
1948:
Twenty-one countries signed a charter in Bogotá, Colombia, establishing the Organization of American States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_American_States
1963:
A boycott was held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott,_1963
2004:
The New Yorker magazine posted an article and supporting pictures online, postdated May 10, detailing accounts of torture and abuse by American personnel of prisoners held at the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Ghraib_torture_and_prisoner_abuse
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
capacious: Having a lot of space inside; roomy. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/capacious
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Anything you don't understand is dangerous until you do understand it. --Larry Niven https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven