june 9
CARL NIELSEN (June 9, 1865)
June 9 is the birthday of Danish composer CARL NIELSEN (1865-1931).
"Music is life and, like it, inextinguishable."
Nielsen "is especially noted for his six symphonies, his Wind Quintet and his concertos for violin, flute and clarinet. In Denmark, his opera Maskarade and many of his songs have become an integral part of the national heritage. His early music was inspired by composers such as Brahms and Grieg, but he soon developed his own style, first experimenting with progressive tonality and later diverging even more radically from the standards of composition still common at the time. Nielsen's sixth and final symphony, Sinfonia semplice, was written in 1924–25." (Wikipedia)
JANE AVRIL (June 9, 1868)
June 9 is the birthday of French can-can dancer JANE AVRIL (1868-1943). Her hypnotic dance routines were described as "an orchid in a frenzy."
Avril was "made famous by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec through his paintings. Extremely thin, 'given to jerky movements and sudden contortions,' she was nicknamed La Mélinite, after an explosive ... Living in poverty and abused by her alcoholic mother, she ran away from home as a teenager, and was eventually admitted to the Salpêtrière Hospital in December 1882, with the movement disorder known as 'St Vitus' Dance,' with symptoms that included nervous tics, thrashing of limbs, and rhythmic swaying. Under the care of Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot, the expert on 'female hysteria,' she received various kinds of treatment, and claimed in her biography that, when she discovered dance at a social ball for employees and patients at the hospital celebrating Mardi Gras, she was cured, although a modern biography of her argues that this story is unlikely, as she was discharged in June 1884, months before any Mardi Gras celebration would take place.
Regardless, she incorporated some of the mannerisms into her dance style, but it is unclear if she was actually afflicted by the condition or if it was simply a marketing strategy, as nervous conditions such as hysteria were associated with elegance by writers of the time (or both)." (Wikipedia)
COLE PORTER (June 9, 1891)
June 9 is the birthday of American composer and songwriter COLE PORTER (1891-1964).
"Good authors, too, who once knew better words
Now only use four-letter words
Writing prose —
Anything goes."
Many of Porter's "songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in Hollywood films.
Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, Porter defied his grandfather's wishes for him to practice law and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn to musical theatre. After a slow start, he began to achieve success in the 1920s, and by the 1930s he was one of the major songwriters for the Broadway musical stage. Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Porter wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs.
After a serious horseback riding accident in 1937, Porter was left disabled and in constant pain, but he continued to work. His shows of the early 1940s did not contain the lasting hits of his best work of the 1920s and 1930s, but in 1948 he made a triumphant comeback with his most successful musical, Kiss Me, Kate. It won the first Tony Award for Best Musical.
Porter's other musicals include Fifty Million Frenchmen, DuBarry Was a Lady, Anything Goes, Can-Can and Silk Stockings. His numerous hit songs include 'Night and Day,' 'Begin the Beguine,' 'I Get a Kick Out of You,' 'Well, Did You Evah!', 'I've Got You Under My Skin,' 'Let's Do It, Let's Fall in Love', 'My Heart Belongs to Daddy' and 'You're the Top'. He also composed scores for films from the 1930s to the 1950s, including Born to Dance (1936), which featured the song 'You'd Be So Easy to Love'; Rosalie (1937), which featured 'In the Still of the Night'; High Society (1956), which included 'True Love"; and Les Girls (1957).' (Wikipedia)
LES PAUL (June 9, 1915)
June 9 is the birthday of American guitarist LES PAUL (1915-2009).
"When you just get mixed up & there's too much going on, then it's time to pick up your guitar."
Paul "was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, recorded numerous records, selling millions of copies." (Wikipedia)
this day in history
duccio maesta
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On June 9, 1311, Duccio di Buoninsegna installed his Maestá Altarpiece, one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance, in the Sienna Cathedral in Sienna, Italy.
donald duck
THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On June 9, 1934, DONALD DUCK made his debut in "Wise Little Hen."