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Martin Bookspan
Martin Bookspan (July 30, 1926April 29, 2021) was an American announcer, commentator, and author. He was the announcer on the PBS series ''Live from Lincoln Center'' from its beginnings in 1976 until his retirement in 2006. For years he was also announcer for the ''Live from the Met'' series on PBS (which eventually became ''The Metropolitan Opera Presents''). Early life Bookspan was born in Boston on July 30, 1926. His father worked as a dry goods salesman before going into insurance; his mother was a housewife. Both immigrated to the United States from the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire. His father enkindled Bookspan's interest in classical music by taking him to concerts on the weekends, where he would act as an usher. Bookspan attended a music academy in his hometown before studying German literature at Harvard University. There, he made his first broadcast on WHRB – the college's radio station – in 1944, at the age of 18. His first interview was with Aar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th-List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the country. The city boundaries encompass an area of about and a population of 675,647 2020 U.S. Census, as of 2020. It is the seat of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County (although the county government was disbanded on July 1, 1999). The city is the economic and cultural anchor of a substantially larger metropolitan area known as Greater Boston, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) home to a census-estimated 4.8 million people in 2016 and ranking as the tenth-largest MSA in the country. A broader combined statistical area (CSA), generally corresponding to the commuting area and includ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New England Opera Theater
The New England Opera Theatre (later known as the Goldovsky Opera Theater) was an American opera company that was active from 1945 to 1985. Founded by Boris Goldovsky in January 1945, the company was originally based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was initially established under the sponsorship of the New England Conservatory as a training ground for young opera singers. The company became independent and moved to New York in the 1950s and enjoyed four decades of touring during which young singers were trained for operatic careers. Many of them went on to sing at the Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ... and other leading houses. The company disbanded upon Goldovsky's retirement in 1985.Bruce Macpherson and James Klein, ''Measure by Measure'', Boston: N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox' home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, , following the lead of previous teams that had been known as the "Boston Red Stockings," including the Boston Braves (now the Atlanta Braves). The team has won nine World Series championships, tied for the third-most of any MLB team, and has played in 13 World Series. Their most recent World Series appearance and win was in . In addition, they won the American League pennant, but were not able to defend their 1903 World Series championship when the New York Giants refused to participate in the 1904 World Series. The Red Sox were a dominant team in the new league, defeating the Pittsburgh Pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census. A year-round resort area, Stockbridge is home to the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Austen Riggs Center (a psychiatric treatment center), and Chesterwood, home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French. History Stockbridge was settled by British missionaries in 1734, who established it as a praying town for the Stockbridge Indians, an indigenous Mohican tribe. The township was set aside for the tribe by Massachusetts colonists as a reward for their assistance against the French in the French and Indian Wars. The Rev. John Sergeant, from Newark, New Jersey, was their first missionary. Sergeant was succeeded in this post by Jonathan Edwards, a Christian theologian associated with the First Great Awakening. First chartered as Indian Town in 1737, the village was incorpora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in 1761. The Berkshire Hills are centered on Berkshire County. Residents are known as Berkshirites. It exists today only as a historical geographic region, and has no county government, with the exception of the retirement board for former county workers, and certain offices such as the sheriff and registry of deeds. Law and government Of the fourteen Massachusetts counties, Berkshire County is one of eight that exists today only as a historical geographic region; it has limited county government. Berkshire County government was abolished effective July 1, 2000. Most former county functions were assumed by state agencies, and there is no county council or commission. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Child
Fred Child (born March 30, 1963) is an American radio host. Since 2000, he has been the host of the classical music radio program '' Performance Today'' on American Public Media. He is also the announcer and commentator for the PBS program '' Live from Lincoln Center.'' Early life and education Child was born in Huntsville, Alabama. He moved to Portland, Oregon, while still a young child, and began studying classical piano. He attended Oregon State University, where he was first exposed to radio work while hosting a jazz program on the student-run campus radio station. Career After graduation from university, Child was host, announcer, producer, and programmer for Oregon Public Broadcasting for ten years, including five years (1990–94) on his two-hour weekend program of World Music called ''Music Confluence''. Child then moved to New York City and worked at WNYC, where he became music director, director of cultural programming, and also host of the program ''Around New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano Pedals
Piano pedals are foot-operated levers at the base of a piano that change the instrument's sound in various ways. Modern pianos usually have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal (or una corda), the sostenuto pedal, and the sustaining pedal (or damper pedal). Some pianos omit the sostenuto pedal, or have a middle pedal with a different purpose such as a muting function also known as silent piano. The development of the piano's pedals is an evolution that began from the very earliest days of the piano, and continued through the late 19th century. Throughout the years, the piano had as few as one modifying stop, and as many as six or more, before finally arriving at its current configuration of three. Individual pedals Soft pedal The ''soft pedal'', or '' una corda'' pedal, was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori. It was the first mechanism invented to modify the piano's sound. This function is typically operated by the left pedal on modern pianos. Neither of its co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in then Eger, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Czech Republic), to a Russian Jewish family. His father, Mordko Serkin, "had been a Russian basso, and taught him to read music before he could read words." Hailed as a child prodigy, he was sent to Vienna at the age of 9, where he studied piano with Richard Robert and, later, composition with Joseph Marx, making his public debut with the Vienna Philharmonic at 12. From 1918 to 1920 he studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg and participated actively in Schoenberg's Society for the Private Performance of Music. Career Serkin began a regular concert career in 1920, living in Berlin with the German violinist Adolf Busch and his family, which included a then-3-year-old daughter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is one of the leading American orchestras popularly referred to as the " Big Five". The Philharmonic's home is David Geffen Hall, located in New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Founded in 1842, the orchestra is one of the oldest musical institutions in the United States and the oldest of the "Big Five" orchestras. Its record-setting 14,000th concert was given in December 2004. History Founding and first concert, 1842 The New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842 by the American conductor Ureli Corelli Hill, with the aid of the Irish composer William Vincent Wallace. The orchestra was then called the Philharmonic Society of New York. It was the third Philharmonic on American soil since 1799, and had as its intended purpose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Grauer
Benjamin Franklin Grauer (June 2, 1908 – May 31, 1977) was a US radio and TV personality, following a career during the 1920s as a child actor in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in David Warfield's production of ''The Return of Peter Grimm''. Among his early credits were roles in films directed by D.W. Griffith. Grauer was born in Staten Island, New York. After graduating from Townsend Harris High School, he received his B.A. from the City College of New York in 1930. Grauer started in radio as an actor but soon became part of the broadcasting staff at the National Broadcasting Company. He was one of the four narrators, along with Burgess Meredith, of NBC's public affairs series '' The Big Story'', which focused on courageous journalists. In 1954, he married interior designer Melanie Kahane. Radio Grauer's greatest fame lies in his legendary 40-year career in radio. In 1930, the 22-year-old Benjamin Franklin Grauer joined the staff at NBC. He quickly rose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his eidetic memory. He was at various times the music director of La Scala in Milan and the New York Philharmonic. Later in his career he was appointed the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–54), and this led to his becoming a household name (especially in the United States) through his radio and television broadcasts and many recordings of the operatic and symphonic repertoire. Biography Early years Toscanini was born in Parma, Emilia-Romagna, and won a scholarship to the local music conservatory, where he studied the cello. Living conditions at the conservatory were harsh and strict. For example, the menu at the conservatory consisted almost entirely of fish; in his later years, T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stereo Review
''Sound & Vision'' is an American magazine, purchased by AVTech Media Ltd. (UK) in March 2018, covering home theater, audio, video and multimedia consumer products. Before 2000, it had been published for most of its history as ''Stereo Review''. The magazine is headquartered in New York City. History and profile ''Stereo Review'' was an American magazine first published in 1958 by Ziff-Davis with the title ''HiFi and Music Review''. During the initial phase the magazine was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It was one of a handful of magazines then available for the individual interested in high fidelity. Throughout its life it published a blend of record and equipment reviews, articles on music and musicians, and articles on technical issues and advice. The name changed to ''HiFi Review'' in 1959. It became ''HiFi/Stereo Review'' in 1961 to reflect the growing use of stereophonic technology in recordings and broadcasts. In 1968 it became, simply, ''Stereo Review'', reflect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
