John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. With a career spanning over six decades, he has composed some of the most popular, recognizable, and critically acclaimed film scores in cinematic history, including those of the Star Wars series, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, the Indiana Jones series, the first two Home Alone films, Hook, the first two Jurassic Park films, Schindler's List, and the first three Harry Potter films. Williams has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for all but four of his feature films––Duel, The Color Purple, Bridge of Spies, and Ready Player One. Other works by Williams include theme music for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, NBC Sunday Night Football, "The Mission" theme used by NBC News and Seven News in Australia, the television series Lost in Space and Land of the Giants, and the incidental music for the first season of Gilligan's Island. Williams has also composed numerous classical concertos and other works for orchestral ensembles and solo instruments. He served as the Boston Pops's principal conductor from 1980 to 1993, and is currently the orchestra's laureate conductor.
The Rite of Spring is a ballet and orchestral concert work by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation. Many have called the first-night reaction a "riot" or "near-riot," though this wording did not come about until reviews of later performances in 1924, over a decade later. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece and is widely considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century.
Joseph Joachim Raff was a German-Swiss composer, teacher and pianist.
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music director-designate of the San Francisco Symphony.
David Leo Diamond was an American composer of classical music.
William Alwyn, born William Alwyn Smith, was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher.
Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C♯ minor, Op. 3, No. 2, is one of the composer's most famous compositions. Part of a set of five piano pieces entitled Morceaux de fantaisie, it is a 62-bar prelude in ternary (ABA) form. It is also known as The Bells of Moscow since the introduction seems to reproduce the Kremlin's most solemn carillon chimes.
Daniel Gottlieb Steibelt was a German born pianist and composer who died in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His main works were composed in Paris and in London.
Thomas Joseph Gerard Victory was a prolific Irish composer. He wrote over two hundred works across many genres and styles, including tonal, serial, aleatoric and electroacoustic music.
Jeux (Games) is the last ballet written by Claude Debussy. Described as a "poème dansé", it was written for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Debussy initially objected to the scenario but reconsidered the commission when Diaghilev doubled the fee. Debussy wrote the score quickly, from mid-August to mid-September 1912. Robert Orledge has analysed the chronology of Debussy's composition and preserved manuscripts of the score.
Anthony Byrne is an Irish pianist.
The Holy Boy is a short composition by the English composer John Ireland. Alongside his setting of the hymn "My Song Is Love Unknown", it is probably his best-known work. Originally for solo piano, Ireland arranged it for various other forces over nearly 30 years. A performance takes about 3 minutes.
Michael Nicolella is an American classical guitarist and composer. Described as an iconoclast, he is known for his versatile, adventurous and eclectic approach to repertoire, including the incorporation of electric guitar into his concert programs and recordings. Nicolella's repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the present. His most recent recording is his own arrangement of the complete cello suites of Johann Sebastian Bach; while his past four recordings focused on contemporary music, including his own compositions, alongside those of Toru Takemitsu, Elliott Carter, Luciano Berio, Hans Werner Henze and Steve Reich. He has championed music by such emerging composers as Laurence Crane and Jacob ter Veldhuis and has premiered many works written for him by other composers, including: Joshua Kohl,, David Mesler, Christopher DeLaurenti and John Fitz Rogers, who in 2001 wrote the forty-five-minute piece Transit for Nicolella, scored for electric guitar and computer generated sound. His own compositions include works for solo guitar, chamber music with guitar, a classical guitar concerto, and an electric guitar concerto. His most recent major composition for soprano, guitar and orchestra, The Flame of the Blue Star of Twilight, was premiered by the Northwest Symphony Orchestra and soprano Alexandra Picard in April 2012. He has performed and collaborated with a wide range of groups and artists including: violinist Gil Shaham, rock singer Jon Anderson, best known for his work as lead vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes, broadway legends Bernadette Peters and Brian Stokes Mitchell, the Seattle Guitar Trio, jazz singer Johnaye Kendrick, classical music comedians Igudesman and Joo and is a frequent guest with the Seattle Symphony. Nicolella is a graduate of Yale University, Berklee College of Music and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana. He is currently based in Seattle, where he serves on the music faculty of Cornish College of the Arts. He is married to the painter Ann Gale.
A Downland Suite is a 1932 composition for brass band in four movements by John Ireland. It has also been arranged for string orchestra and various other instruments.
John Buckley is an Irish composer and pedagogue, a co-founder of the Ennis Summer School and member of Aosdána.
Preludes for Piano is a set of four short pieces for piano solo composed by John Ireland between 1913 and 1915. They were published in the latter year.
Prelude in E-flat major is a 1924 piece for piano solo by the English composer John Ireland. A performance takes 5 to 6 minutes.
"Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Latin "Veni Creator Spiritus". The hymn in seven stanzas was first published in 1524. The melody is derived from the chant of the Latin hymn. The number in the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG) is 126.
This is a summary of 1913 in music in the United Kingdom.
