Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) was an Austrian late-Romantic composer, and
one of the leading conductors of his generation. After graduating from
the Vienna Conservatory in 1878, he held a succession of conducting
posts of rising importance in the opera houses of Europe, culminating
in his appointment in 1897 as director of the Vienna Court Opera
(Hofoper). During his ten years in Vienna, Mahler's innovative
productions and insistence on the highest performance standards ensured
his reputation as one of the greatest of opera conductors, particularly
as an interpreter of the stage works of Wagner and Mozart. The
compositions of Mahler's maturity are confined to the genres of
symphony and song. His symphonies were often controversial when first
performed, and were slow to receive critical and popular approval; an
exception was the triumphant premiere of his Eighth Symphony in 1910.
After 1945 the music was rediscovered and championed by a new
generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently
performed and recorded of all composers, a situation that continues
into the 21st century.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Mahler>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1585:
The Treaty of Nemours was first signed, forcing Henry III of France to
give in to the demands of the Catholic League and revoking all edicts
granting concessions to the Huguenots.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Nemours>
1928:
The Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri, US, first
produced sliced bread, advertised as "the greatest forward step in the
baking industry since bread was wrapped", which then led to the popular
phrase "the greatest thing since sliced bread".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sliced_bread>
1937:
The Imperial Japanese Army engaged the Republic of China's National
Revolutionary Army on Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge, marking the
beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_Bridge_Incident>
1963:
The police of Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother and chief political advisor of
President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem, attacked a group of American
journalists who were covering a protest during Buddhist crisis.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>
2005:
Suicide bombers killed 52 people in a series of four explosions on
London's public transport system (ambulances at Russell Square
pictured, following the attack).
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_July_2005_London_bombings>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bursiform (adj):
Shaped like a purse or bag
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bursiform>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Magic is not science, it is a collection of ways to do things — ways
that work but often we don't know why.
--Robert A. Heinlein
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein>