Niccolo PAGANINI (born: Genoa, Italy – October 27, 1782, died: Nice, France – May 27, 1840) was one of the most famous virtuosi of his day and is considered to be one of the greatest violinists ever. He was taught to play the violin from a very young age and and was immediately recognized as a virtuoso after he gave his first public concert at the age of 11. In his early teens he studied under Rollo and Ghiretti, but he could not cope well with his success: at the age of 19 he was gambling and drinking. His career was saved by an unknown lady, who took him to her estate, where he recovered and studied the violin for three years.
Paganini reappeared when he was 23, and he soon became a legend for his unparalleled mastery of the violin.
One of the best known of Paganini’s compositions is his set of 24 Caprices, written around 1817 for solo violin. They are among the most technically difficult music ever written for instrument, calling for a very wide range of bowing techniques, extremely wide left hand stretches, double stopped trills and harmonics and left hand pizzicati. The last of these pieces, in A minor, is a set of twelve variations, and many other composers have taken its theme as the basis for a set of variations of their own (Franz Liszt,Johannes Brahms,Sergei Rachmaninov among them).
Sheep were one of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleece, meat (lamb, hogget or mutton) and milk.
The domestic sheep is a multi-purpose animal, and the more than 200 breeds now in existence were created to serve these diverse purposes.
Churras and Merinos are 2 of those breeds, one for excellent milk production, the other excellent for wool production but if you mix them you got neither good wool neither good milk production. So, as it is said in Spain, do not mix churras with merinos trying to get maximum benefit because sometimes it doesn’t work that way.
Antonio Salieri (18 August 1750 – 7 May 1825) was an Italian composer and conductor from the Republic of Venice. As the Austrian imperial Kapellmeister from 1788 to 1824, he was one of the most important and famous musicians of his time. His music is rarely heard today outside of formal study.
Salieri and Mozart
There is very little evidence of a contentious relationship between the two composers. For example, when Salieri was appointed Kapellmeister in 1788 he revived Figaro instead of bringing out a new opera of his own; and when he went to the coronation festivities for Leopold II in 1790 he had no fewer than three Mozart masses in his luggage. Salieri and Mozart even composed a cantata for voice and piano together, called Per la ricuperata salute di Ophelia which was celebrating the return to stage of the singer Nancy Storace. This work has been lost, although it had been printed by Artaria in 1785. Mozart’s Davide penitente (1785), his Piano Concerto in E flat major (1785), the Clarinet Quintet (1789) and the great Symphony in G minor had been premiered on the suggestion of Salieri, who supposedly conducted a performance of it in 1791. In his last surviving letter from 14 October 1791, Mozart tells his wife that he collected Salieri and Caterina Cavalieri in his carriage and drove them both to the opera, and about Salieri’s attendance at his opera The Magic Flute, speaking enthusiastically: “He heard and saw with all his attention, and from the overture to the last choir there was no piece that didn’t elicit a “Bravo!” or “Bello!” out of him [...].”
Salieri died in Vienna and was buried in the Matzleinsdorfer Friedhof (his remains were later transferred to the Zentralfriedhof). At his funeral service, his own Requiem in C minor – composed in 1804 – was performed for the first time. [wikipedia]
Europa riconosciuta is an opera in two acts by Antonio Salieri, designated as a dramma per musica, set to an Italian libretto by Mattia Verazi.
The opera takes place in Tyre and tells a story of love, violence and political discord in ancient times. The central character, Europa, was once the lover of Zeus and helps resolve all disagreements after she discloses her identity – thus the title “Europa Revealed.” Though a traditional opera seria, the work differentiates itself from several of the typical characteristics of the genre. For example: a murder is seen onstage and an extended finale is used in both acts, a practice more typical of opera buffa. Musically, the opera is quite challenging, requiring four principal singers capable of spanning wide tessituras, sustaining long phrases, and making dextrous leaps. For example, the roles of Europa and Semele go up to a high F sharp above high C numerous times and at one point Europa even sings a high G. [wikipedia]
La Scala (Italian: Teatro alla Scala), is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal Theatre at La Scala (Italian: Nuovo Regio Ducal Teatro alla Scala). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri’s Europa riconosciuta. The opera was not performed again until December 7, 2004 for the re-opening of La Scala, after the theater had been closed for almost three years for major renovations.
Nicknamed “snowpocalypse” and “snowmageddon,” an exceptionally severe winter storm dropped several feet of snow around the Washington, D.C., area in early February 2010. You can also check snow effects over Britain and some nice photos more with snow as common link.
East coast of the US covered by snow. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this true-color image on February 7, 2010, showing part of the region affected by heavy snowfall. Snow blankets the area hundreds of kilometers inland from the Atlantic coastline. Credit: NASA Earthobservatory
The Last of the Mohicans is a historical novel by James Fenimore Cooper, first published in January 1826.
The Last of the Mohicans is a 1992 historical epic film set in 1757 during the French and Indian War. It was directed by Michael Mann and based on James Fenimore Cooper’s classic novel, although it owes more to George B. Seitz’s 1936 film adaptation than the source novel. The main cast includes Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Russell Means, Wes Studi, Eric Schweig and Jodhi May.
The soundtrack features music by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman, and the song “I Will Find You” by Clannad. The film won an Academy Award for Sound. The main theme of the movie is taken from the tune “The Gael” by Scottish singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean.
Enjoy a nice weekend :)
The last of the sunlight rays. Apocalyptic Sunset. Credit: author
Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera. The forelimbs of bats are webbed and developed as wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums and colugos, glide rather than fly, and only for short distances. Bats do not flap their entire forelimbs, like birds, but instead flap their spread out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane or patagium. Chiroptera comes from two Greek words, cheir “hand” and pteron “wing.”
There are about 1,100 bat species worldwide, which represent about twenty percent of all classified mammal species. About 70% of bats are insectivores. Most of the rest are frugivores, or fruit eaters. A few species feed from animals other than insects. Bats are present throughout most of the world and perform vital ecological roles such as pollinating flowers and dispersing fruit seeds. Many tropical plants depend entirely on bats for the distribution of their seeds.
Bats range in size from Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat measuring 29–33 mm (1.14–1.30 in) in length and 2 g (0.07 oz) in mass, to the Giant Golden-crowned Flying-fox which has a wing span of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and weighs approximately 1.2 kg (3 lb). [wikipedia]
Smile for the Camera (Eptesicus fuscus) Credit: Furryscaly
