Frederick William Herschel was a German-British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover, William Herschel followed his father into the military band of Hanover, before emigrating to Great Britain in 1757 at the age of nineteen.
The Creation is an oratorio written in 1797 and 1798 by Joseph Haydn, and considered by many to be one of his masterpieces. The oratorio depicts and celebrates the creation of the world as narrated in the Book of Genesis.
Joseph Martin Kraus, was a German-Swedish composer in the Classical era who was born in Miltenberg am Main, Germany. He moved to Sweden at age 21, and died at the age of 36 in Stockholm. He has been referred to as "the Swedish Mozart", and had a life span very similar to Mozart's.
Giuseppe Bonno was an Austrian composer of Italian origin.
Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs was a German astronomer. She made key observations of variable stars.
Josef Meinrad was an Austrian actor. From 1959 until his death in 1996, Meinrad held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor — each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, judging that actor to be the "most significant and most worthy actor of the German-speaking theatre".
Paul Oswald Ahnert was a German astronomer. He first became famous in Germany for publishing the "Kalender für Sternfreunde" from 1948 until 1988, an annual calendar of astronomical events. The minor planet 3181 Ahnert is named in his honor.
Paul Rudolf Parsifal "Percy" Adlon was a German director, screenwriter, and producer. He is associated with the New German Cinema movement, and is known for his strong female characters and positive portrayals of lesbian relationships. He is best known for his 1987 film Bagdad Cafe, starring Marianne Sägebrecht, CCH Pounder and Jack Palance and subsequent films such as Rosalie Goes Shopping (1989), Salmonberries (1991) and Younger and Younger (1993). Adlon's films were shown in competition regularly at international film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Berlin International Film Festival, and others.
Johannes Wolfgang Zender was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festivals.
Giuseppe Carpani was an Italian man of letters. He is remembered in large part for his role in the history of classical music: he knew Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Beethoven, and Rossini, and served them in various ways as poet, translator, and biographer.
Carl David Stegmann was a German tenor, harpsichordist, conductor, and composer.
Christian Gerhaher is a German baritone and bass singer in opera and concert, particularly known as a Lieder singer.
Diethard Hellmann was a German Kantor, composer and academic teacher, first in Leipzig at the Friedenskirche and the Musikhochschule, then from 1955 in Mainz at the Christuskirche and the Peter Cornelius Conservatory, finally in Munich where he was president of the Musikhochschule München from 1981 to 1988. He was known for a weekly Bach cantata in Mainz, broadcast by SWR.
Kurt Widmer was a Swiss baritone and voice teacher, who appeared and recorded internationally. He focused on concert singing, especially of oratorios from the Romantic period. His recordings cover a repertoire from medieval mass to world premieres, such as song cycles by György Kurtág, and received international awards. He taught at the City of Basel Music Academy from 1968, influencing notable soloists including Nuria Rial and his son, Oliver Widmer.
Ulrike Sonntag is a German operatic soprano and academic voice teacher at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. She was previously a member of the Staatstheater Stuttgart, Vienna State Opera, and other ensembles, and has performed in operas and concerts, and taught masterclasses, in several countries. Among her recordings are rarely performed oratorios by Fanny Hensel and Paul Hindemith.
Figuralchor Frankfurt is a mixed choir in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1966 as a youth choir for the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk by Alois Ickstadt, who conducted it for 45 years. From 1977 to the 1990s, the choir was known as Figuralchor des Hessischen Rundfunks. It performs in concerts, radio productions and recordings, with a focus on a cappella music, but has also participated in joint symphonic productions such as Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand for the opening of the Alte Oper concert hall in 1981. The choir has been conducted by Paul Leonard Schäffer since 2016.
The Dresdner Kapellsolisten is a German chamber orchestra based in Dresden. The ensemble of soloists was formed in 1994 mostly by members of the Staatskapelle Dresden, directed by double bassist Helmut Branny. They play mostly music of the 18th to 20th centuries, on modern instruments but in historically informed performances. They focus on music by less-known composers from the 18th to 20th centuries, namely composers from Dresden. The chamber orchestra has performed in Germany, Southern Europe, Japan and South Korea, including festivals such as Mozart Festival Würzburg and Rheingau Musik Festival. They have produced numerous recordings.
The Celestial police, officially the United Astronomical Society, was a cooperation of numerous European astronomers in the early 19th century. It is mainly known in relation to the search for objects expected between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was formed in 1800 at the second European congress of astronomers. At the first such congress, in 1798, the French mathematician Jérôme Lalande had called for a coordinated search, in which each participating observatory would patrol a particular part of the sky. The group confirmed or discovered the four largest minor planets, which would lead to the identification of the asteroid belt. They also initiated the compilation of better star catalogues and the investigation of variable stars. They pioneered international collaboration and communication in astronomy.
