Joseph Szigeti (1892–1973) was a Hungarian virtuoso violinist. Born into a musical family, he spent his early childhood in a small town in Transylvania. He quickly proved himself to be a child prodigy on the violin, and moved to Budapest with his father to study with the renowned pedagogue Jenő Hubay. After completing his studies with Hubay in his early teens, Szigeti began his international concert career. His performances at that time were primarily limited to salon-style recitals and the more overtly virtuosic repertoire; however, after making the acquaintance of pianist Ferruccio Busoni, he began to develop a much more thoughtful and intellectual approach to music that eventually earned him the nickname "The Scholarly Virtuoso". From the 1920s until 1960, Szigeti performed regularly around the world and recorded extensively. He also distinguished himself as a strong advocate of new music, and was the dedicatee of many new works by contemporary composers. Among the more notable pieces written for him are Ernest Bloch's Violin Concerto, Bartók's Rhapsody No. 1, and Eugène Ysaÿe's Solo Sonata No. 1. After retiring from the concert stage in 1960, he worked at teaching and writing until his death in 1973, at the age of 80.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Szigeti

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

222:

Disgusted with Roman emperor Elagabalus's disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos, the Praetorian Guard assassinated him and his mother Julia Soaemias, mutilated their bodies, and threw them in the Tiber River. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elagabalus

1879:

Shō Tai , the last king of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, abdicated when the kingdom was annexed by Japan and converted to Okinawa Prefecture. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8D_Tai

1978:

After hijacking a bus north of Tel Aviv, members of Palestine Liberation Organization faction Fatah engaged in a shootout with the Israel Police, resulting in the deaths of 38 civilians and most of the perpetrators. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coastal_Road_massacre

1983:

Pakistan successfully conducted a cold test of a nuclear weapon. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project-706

2006:

Michelle Bachelet was inaugurated as the first female President of Chile. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Bachelet

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hypernatremic (adj): (medicine) Having an abnormally high concentration of sodium (or salt) in blood plasma http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hypernatremic

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Perhaps if only once you did enjoy

The thousandth part of all the happiness A heart beloved enjoys, returning love,

Repentant, you would surely sighing say, "All time is truly lost and gone

Which is not spent in serving love." --Torquato Tasso http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Torquato_Tasso