Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. His music has been described as linking the end of Romanticism with the modernism of the second quarter of the 20th century. He trained as an organist and choirmaster in Paris, where his teachers included Camille Saint-Saëns, who became a lifelong friend. In later life, when he was organist of the Église de la Madeleine and director of the Paris Conservatoire, he retreated to the countryside in his summer holidays to concentrate on composing. By his last years, Fauré was recognised in France as the leading French composer of his day. Outside France, his music took decades to become widely accepted, except in Britain, where he had many admirers during his lifetime. His best-known works include Pavane, Requiem, nocturnes for piano, and the songs "Après un rêve" and "Clair de lune". Although his best-known and most accessible compositions are generally his earlier ones, Fauré composed many of his greatest works in his later years, in a harmonically and melodically much more complex style.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Faur%C3%A9
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1864:
American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest led a cavalry division in an attack on a Union Army supply base at Johnsonville, Tennessee, capturing 150 prisoners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Johnsonville
1890:
London's City and South London Railway, the first deep-level underground railway in the world, opened, running a distance of 5.1 km (3.2 mi) between the City of London and Stockwell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_and_South_London_Railway
1912:
Construction on USS Nevada, the first "super-dreadnought" of the United States Navy, began as the keel was laid down. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_(BB-36)
1921:
The remains of an unknown soldier were buried with an eternal flame at the Altare della Patria in Rome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altare_della_Patria
1995:
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir while at a peace rally at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Yitzhak_Rabin
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
termitarium: A termite colony. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/termitarium
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The battle for the airwaves cannot be limited to only those who have the bank accounts to pay for the battle and win it. Democracy is in danger. Seats in Congress, seats in the state legislature, that big seat in the White House itself, can be purchased by those who have the greatest campaign resources, who have the largest bank accounts or own riches. That, I submit to you, is no democracy. It is an oligarchy of the already powerful. --Walter Cronkite https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Cronkite