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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

bursiform (adj): Shaped like a purse or bag http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bursiform

___________________________ 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