The Short Symphony, or Symphony No. 2, is a symphony written by the
American composer Aaron Copland from 1931 to 1933. The name derives from
its short length of only 15 minutes. The work is dedicated to Copland's
friend, the Mexican composer and conductor Carlos Chávez (pictured).
The composition contains complex rhythms and polyharmonies, and
incorporates the composer's emerging interest in serialism and Mexican
music. Copland later arranged the work as a sextet. The symphony was not
widely performed during Copland's lifetime, largely due to the piece's
rhythmic difficulties. After Serge Koussevitzky and Leopold Stokowski
both declined to conduct the premiere, Chávez agreed to deliver it in
1934 in Mexico City. Though Copland thought of the Short Symphony as
"one of the best things I ever wrote", some critics found it to be
fragmented and cacophonous. Others agreed with Copland's assessment,
describing the symphony as a masterpiece and a significant work in both
Copland's career and modernist music.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Symphony>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England, for
killing a police officer while helping two Irish nationalists escape
from police custody.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Martyrs>
1924:
The New York Times published evidence from Edwin Hubble stating
that the Andromeda Nebula, previously believed to be part of the Milky
Way, is in fact another galaxy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble>
1976:
Jacques Mayol became the first person to freedive to a depth of
100 metres (330 ft).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Mayol>
2011:
Arab Spring: After 11 months of protests in Yemen, President
Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to transfer power to Vice President Abdrabbuh
Mansur Hadi.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdrabbuh_Mansur_Hadi>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
intraordinary:
(rare, nonstandard) Falling within normal parameters; normal, ordinary.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/intraordinary>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I will always hold to those principles by which I have been
raised … To seek understanding before taking action, yet to trust my
instincts when action is called for. Never to avoid danger from fear,
never to seek out danger for its own sake. Never to conform to fashion
from fear of eccentricity, never to be eccentric from fear of
conformity. … To hold myself to higher standards of conduct than I
hold another. To never strike without cause, and, when there is cause,
to strike for the heart.
--Steven Brust
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Brust>
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