Witold Lutosławski (25 January 1913 – 7 February 1994) was a Polish
composer and conductor. His compositions include symphonies, concertos,
orchestral song cycles, and chamber works. During his youth, he studied
piano and composition in Warsaw. Having narrowly escaped German capture,
during World War II he earned income by playing the piano in Warsaw
bars. Post-war Stalinist authorities banned his First Symphony for being
"formalist". His early works were inspired by Polish folk music,
including Concerto for Orchestra and Dance Preludes in the mid-1950s. He
often built up harmonies from small groups of musical intervals. From
the late 1950s he developed new and characteristic composition
techniques that stipulated elements of aleatoric music within a tightly
controlled musical architecture. In the 1980s, he supported the
Solidarity movement artistically. He received the Grawemeyer Award, the
Royal Philharmonic Society's Gold Medal, and in 1994, the Order of the
White Eagle, Poland's highest honour.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witold_Lutos%C5%82awski>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1792:
Thomas Hardy founded the London Corresponding Society to seek a
"radical reform of parliament", later influencing the reform movements
of early-19th-century England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Corresponding_Society>
1917:
Serving as a British armed merchant cruiser, Laurentic
(depicted) was sunk by German naval mines off the northern coast of
Ireland, resulting in 354 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Laurentic_%281908%29>
1967:
South Vietnamese junta leader Nguyễn Cao Kỳ fired his rival
Nguyễn Hữu Có while the latter was overseas on a diplomatic visit.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nguy%E1%BB%85n_H%E1%BB%AFu_C%C3%B3>
1995:
A team of Norwegian and American scientists launched a Black
Brant XII sounding rocket, which was mistaken by Russian forces for a
Trident missile.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_rocket_incident>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
lang may yer lum reek:
(Scotland) Used to wish someone well, especially as a drinking toast or
a farewell.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lang_may_yer_lum_reek>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now
and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a
meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.
--W. Somerset Maugham
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham>
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