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- Music Department
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart grew up in Salzburg under the regulation of his strict father Leopold who also was a famous composer of his time. His abilities in music were obvious even when Mozart was still young so that in 1762 at the age of six, his father took him with his elder sister on a concert tour to Munich and Vienna and a second one from 1763-66 through the south of Germany, Paris and London. Mozart was celebrated as a wonder child everywhere because of his excellent piano playing and his improvisations.
In 1769 he became the concertmaster of the Archbishop and was knighted by the Pope in Rome. Working in Salzburg he nevertheless travelled around Europe to meet other composers and orchestras. But in 1781 after a dispute with the Archbishop he left Salzburg and went to Vienna where he married Constanze Weber from Mannheim. In Vienna he also started his friendship with Joseph Haydn and a time of many work pieces. In the last year of his life, for example, he wrote one of his masterpieces, "Die Zauberflöte". Although some of his operas were successful he could not make money from this and died in poverty at the age of 36, having even on his last day worked on a "Requiem". He was buried in a communal grave which could not be precisely identified years later.- Music Department
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685, in Eisenach, Thuringia, Germany, into a large and distinguished family of professional musicians. His father, named Johann Ambrosius Bach, was a violinist and trumpeter, employed by the city of Eisenach. His uncles were church organists, court musicians and composers. His mother and father died before Bach was 10. As an orphan, he moved in with his eldest brother, J. C. Bach, an organist and composer, under whose tutelage Bach studied organ music as well as the construction and maintenance of the organ.
Education: At the age of 14, Bach received a scholarship and walked on foot 300 kilometers to the famous St. Michael's school in Luneburg, near Hamburg. There he lived and studied for 2 years from 1699-1701. It was there that he sang a Capella at the boys chorale. Bach's studies included organ, harpsichord, and singing. In addition he took the academic studies in theology, history and geography, and lessons of Latin, Italian, and French. Besides his studies of music by the local Nothern German composers, Bach had important exposure to the music of composers from other European nations; such as the French composers Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marais, and Marchand, the South German composers Johann Pachelbel and Froberger, and the Italians Arcangelo Corelli and Antonio Vivaldi.
Personality and character: Bach was 17 when he made a 4-month pilgrimage, walking on foot about 400 kilometers from Arnstadt to the Northern city of Lubeck. There he studied with 'Dietrich Buxtehude' and became so involved that he overstayed his leave by three months. Buxtehude being probably the best organist of his time became the living link between the founder of Baroque music Heinrich Schütz and the biggest Baroque genius, Bach. Back in Arnstadt, Bach wrote 'Toccata and Fugue in D Minor' (1702), his first masterpiece; which stemmed from his bold organ improvisations. At that time he was in love with his second cousin Maria Barbara; whom he was taking upstairs to the church organ, where her presence was inspirational for his creativity. Bach was punished for the violation of the restrictions on women's presence in the church and he was fired. However, he eventually married Maria Barbara.
Cross-cultural studies: Bach studied the orchestral music of Antonio Vivaldi and gained insight into his compositional language by arranging Vivaldi's concertos for organ. Six French suites were written for keyboard; each suite opens with 'Allemande' and consists of several pieces, including 'Courante', 'Sarabande', 'Menuet', 'Gavotte', 'Air', 'Anglaise', 'Polonaise', 'Bourree', and 'Gigue'. As suggested by their titles, the pieces were representing songs and dances from various cultures. From the music of the Italians Antonio Vivaldi, Arcangelo Corelli, and 'Giuseppe Torelli'; Bach adopted dramatic introductions and endings as well as vivacious rhythmical dynamism and elaborate harmonization. Bach also performed the music of English, French, and Italian composers; motets of the Venetian school, and incorporated their rhythmical patterns and textural structures in the development of his own style.
Teaching: Bach selected and instructed musicians for orchestras and choirs in Weimar and Leipzig. His work as a Cantor included teaching instrumental and vocal lessons to the church musicians and later to the musicians of the court orchestra. Bach was also a teacher of his own children and of his second wife. In 1730, Bach presented his second wife with a musical notebook for studies, known as the 'Notebook of Anna Magdalena Bach'. Compositions in the notebook were written in a form of minuete, polonaise, gavotte, march, rondeau, chorale, sonata, prelude, song, and aria; written mainly by Bach, as well as by his sons 'Carl Philip Emanuel Bach', Johann Christoph Bach, and composers 'Francois Couperin', Georg Bohm, and others.
Family: Bach married his second cousin, named Maria Barbara, who was the inspirational force for his early compositions. They had seven children, 4 of whom survived to adulthood. W. F. Bach, J. C. Bach, and C. P. E. Bach became composers. Maria Barbara died in 1720. On December 3, 1721, Bach married Anna Magdalena (bee Wilcke), a talented soprano, who was 17 years his junior. They had thirteen children. Bach fathered a total of 20 children with his two wives. His sons 'Friedemann Bach', Johann Christoph Bach, and 'Carl Philip Emanuel Bach' became important composers in the Rococo style. The descendants of Bach are living in many countries across the world.
Social activity: Bach replaced his friend Georg Philipp Telemann as the director of the popular orchestra known as Collegium Musicum, which he led from 1729-1750. It was a private secular music society that gave concert performances twice a week at the Zimmerman's Coffeehouse near the Leipzig market square. Bach's exposure to such a secular public environment inspired him to compose numerous purely entertainment pieces for solo keyboard and several violin and harpsichord concertos.
Politics: Being the undisputed musical genius, Bach still suffered from ugly political machinations. Although the Leipzig Council had enough money, they never honored the promised salary of 1000 talers a year; promised to Bach by the Mayor of Leipzig, Gottlieb Lange, at the hiring interview. Bach worked diligently, in spite of being underpaid for 27 years until his death. On top of that local political factions in the Leipzig Council manipulated Bach's educational work as well as his compositions and public performances. They were pressuring him as the Cantor and Composer and interfering his creative efforts by imposing restrictions on his performances because of their ugly political games. Bach prevailed as he composed and played his "Mass in B Minor" to the monarch of Saxony and was appointed the Royal Court Composer of Saxony.
King Frederick the Great invited Bach to Potsdam in 1747. There the king played his own theme for Bach and challenged the composer to improvise on it. Bach used the 'royal theme' and improvised a three-part fugue on the king's piano. Later Bach upgraded the king's theme to a more sophisticated melody, and composed an array of pieces based on the improved 'royal theme', which he titled "Musical Offering" and later presented this composition to the king.
Legacy: Bach wrote over eleven hundred music compositions in all genres. In Leipzig alone he wrote a cantata for every Sunday and feast day of the year, of which 224 cantatas survive. Some of his compositions were written on the same theme at different times in his life, like choral cantatas and organ works on similar themes with significantly reworked arrangements. The complete list of Bach's works, BWV, has 1127 compositions for voice, organ, harpsichord, violin, cello, flute, chamber music for small ensembles, orchestral music, concertos for violin and orchestra, and for keyboard and orchestra. His music became the essential part of the education for every musician. Bach influenced such great composers as Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Sergei Prokofiev and many other prominent musicians.
Bach is by far the most performed and recorded composer in history. His 'Das Wohltemperierte Clavier' (The well-tempered keyboard, or The well-tuned piano, in modern terminology) is the definitive work for all students as well as concert musicians. Bach's 'Orgebuchlein' (The little organ book) is a staple in the repertoire of organists and pianists, and some pieces from it were arranged for ensembles. Bach's many chorales, especially the "Mass in B Minor" are considered the best works in the genre. His last work 'The Art of Fugue' is best known for it's acclaimed performance by Glenn Gould. Bach's music was used in hundreds of films, thousands of stage productions, and continues being played all over the world.
The definitive biography of J. S. Bach was written by the Nobel Prize Laureate Albert Schweitzer.- Music Department
- Composer
- Additional Crew
Beethoven was the child of a Flamian musician family and became a member of the electoral orchestra of Bonn in 1783. In 1787 he studied at Mozart's in Vienna and in 1792 he moved all to Vienna becoming a student of Joseph Haydn. The Vienna High Society loved him as a piano player as well as as composer. In 1802 his deafness became serious making Beethoven a real eccentric until his death in 1827.- Music Department
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Born February 23 1685 in Halle, Germany, he was christened "Georg Friederich Händel" but always signed his name "Georg Friedrich Händel". His father intended for him to go into law, but Händel studied music clandestinely and was eventually allowed to study under an organist. He achieved some success early on, and toured Italy in 1706. He briefly worked in Hannover before departing for London in 1711. While in England Händel composed a number of anthems, operas, and church music, and in 1723 he became a British citizen. He premiered "Messiah" in Ireland as a charity aid, and this quickly became his most famous work. He died early in the morning on 14 April 1759, and was buried in Westminster Abbey under a monument that reads: "George Frederic Handel". 3,000 people attended his funeral.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Jacob Grimm was a German folklorist, linguist, and philologist. He and his younger brother Wilhelm Grimm (1786 - 1859) co-operated in collecting, compiling, and revising German folk tales into "Grimms' Fairy Tales" (1812). By its final revised edition in 1857, the collection included 210 unique fairy tales. Grimm also published the historical treatise "Teutonic Mythology" (Deutsche Mythologie, 1835) on Germanic mythology and its impact in modern German folk culture. He spend his last years working on "The German Dictionary" (Deutsches Wörterbuch), the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of High German. It was left unfinished with his death, but was expanded and finished by other scholars. Its first complete edition was published in 1961, nearly a century after Grimm's death.
In 1785, Grimm was born in Hanau, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. His father was the lawyer Philipp Grimm (d. 1796). His father died when Grimm was 11-years-old, severely reducing the Grimm family's income and social status. However, Jacob received financial help from a maternal aunt who served as a lady of the chamber to the Landgravine of Hesse.
Grimm was educated at public schools, and enrolled at the University of Marburg in 1802. He was initially only interested in studying law, but he was impressed with the lectures of the historian Friedrich Carl von Savigny (1779 -1861). Savigny awakened in Jacob a love for historical and antiquarian research, and allowed the young man to study Middle High German texts from his personal library.
In 1805, Grimm joined his mentor Savigny in his work at Paris, where he took time to study available medieval texts. In 1806, Grimm found a new job, working in the war office at Kassel. His salary was meager, but provided him with enough free time to pursue his own interests.
In 1808, Grimm was appointed superintendent of the private library of Jerome Bonaparte, King of Westphalia (1784-1860, reigned 1807-1813). He also as an auditor to the state council. His combined salary for these two positions were 4000 francs. Following Jerome's deposition, Grimm served as Secretary of Legation in Hesse-Kassel. He spend a few years trying to claim restitutions of books from Kassel that had been taken by the French Army.
In 1816, Grimm was appointed as the second librarian at the Kassel library, second-in-command for this department. He worked closely with his brother Wilhelm, who was also employed as a librarian at this library. In 1828, the chief librarian died. Both brothers were nominated for promotion, but were disappointed when the vacant seat was occupied by another candidate.
In 1829, the frustrated Jacob accepted an offer to work as both a professor and a librarian at the University of Göttingen. He lectured on legal history, historical grammar, literary history, and diplomatics. He also provided commentaries on Old German poetry and the "Germania" of Tacitus, one of the oldest surviving works on Germanic history and culture.
In 1837, Jacob and Grimm were both included in the Göttingen Seven, academics who protested against the planned abolition of the constitution of the Kingdom of Hanover by the new monarch, Ernest Augustus, King of Hanover (1771-1851, reigned 1837-1851). The academics were all fired by the king, and the Grimm Brothers were exiled. The brothers spend a few years under reduced circumstances in Kassel.
In 1840, Grimm was appointed a professor at the University of Berlin, after accepting an offer of employment Frederick William IV of Prussia (1795-1861, reigned 1840-1861). By the terms of his employment, he was not actually obligated to lecture students. He chose to only lecture on occasion, devoting much of his time to compiling more literary works.
Grimm died in September 1863, while still working in Berlin. He was 78-years-old at the time of his death. He had never married and had no known descendants. His legacy includes a large influence on several fields of scholarship, and frequent adaptations of his fairy tales over the following centuries. He is the originator of "Grimm's law" in linguistics, which is used in the study of the Proto-Indo-European language.- Writer
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Johann Wolfgang Goethe was born on 28 August 1749 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany as son of a lawyer. After growing up in a privileged upper middle class family, he studied law in Leipzig from 1765 to 1768, although he was more interested in literature. As he was seriously ill, he had to interrupt his studies, but finally graduated in Strassburg with a degree in law. In the following years, his novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther" (1774) became one of the first bestsellers, making him a key author in the "Sturm und Drang" (Storm and Stress) movement. In 1775, he settled down in Weimar, being the Duke's adviser and writing popular dramas such as "Egmont" or "Torquato Tasso". One of his life's important milestones was the Italian Journey from 1786 and 1788, where he discovered his interest in Greek and Roman classicism. After his return to Germany, he began the "Weimar Classicism" movement with his good friend Friedrich Schiller, concentrating on poems and dramas such as his best known work "Faust", which he published in two parts (1808/1832). Beside his literary work, he contributed many interesting theories to sciences, making him Germany's leading polymath in that period. On 22 March 1832, he died in Weimar, the town he had lived for more than fifty years.- Music Department
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Schubert was musically educated at the "Hofkapelle" in Vienna where he sang as a boy but then had to quit in order to help his father at school. Four years later, he became an independent composer and was destined to live in poverty from then onwards. Having an introverted personality, Schubert played his songs mostly amongst a couple of friends who shared his romantic passion. Within his short life Schubert composed many pieces of music, including eight symphonies.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) was a German author and pioneering anthropologist. He was the younger brother of philologist Jacob Grimm.
Wilhelm was born in the town of Hanau, in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Holy Roman Empire. His parents were Philipp Wilhelm Grimm and his wife Dorothea Zimmer, respectively a jurist and a housewife. Wilhelm's maternal grandfather was a city councilman in Kassel. Wilhem was one of 9 children born to the couple, but 3 of his siblings died in infancy.
In 1791, the Grimm family moved to the town of Steinau an der Straße, where Philipp Grimm had been appointed as the new Amtmann (district magistrate). They settled in a large house, surrounded by fields. Wilhelm initially did not attend school, but was educated at home by private tutors. He was given a strict, religious education as a Lutheran.
In 1796, Philipp Grimm died in office, due to pneumonia. The Grimm family fell into poverty, and had to relinquish its house and servants. Jacob Grimm (only 11-year-old at the time) legally became the new head of household, and had to undertake some adult responsibilities. The Grimm family was, for the time being, financially dependent on Wilhelm's maternal grandfather and on Wilhelm's maternal aunt, who was serving as a lady-in-waiting at the court of William I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1743-1821, reigned 1785-1821).
In 1798, the same maternal aunt arranged for both Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm to attend the Friedrichsgymnasium Kassel, a gymnasium (equivalent to preparatory high school) in Kassel. By this time, Wilhelm's maternal grandfather had died, and their aunt was their only protector.
The two brothers Grimm became roommates in their school years, and formed a particularly close relationship which would endure into their adult lives. They relied entirely on each other in most matters. They were both hard-working students, but considered as inferior by several classmates who came from aristocratic families. The two brothers differed in temperament, with Jacob being the more intellectual and introspective, and Wilhelm being slower to grasp new ideas, but acting jovial and out-going. Wilhelm suffered from various illnesses, but his talent for music and storytelling made him more popular with their peers.
In 1803, Jacob Grimm graduated the Gymnasium at the top of his class. In 1804, Wilhelm Grimm also graduated at the top of his class. Both brothers next started college life in the University of Marburg. They became roommates again while they were both college students, and would continue living together for most of their adult lives. They shared their books and other property items.
At the University, the Grimm brothers were subject to class discrimination, disqualified from admission in certain courses in favor of aristocratic students, and denied tuition aid. However, they kept excelling in their studies. While initially interested in legal studies, both brothers were impressed with the teachings of professor Friedrich Carl von Savigny (1779-1861). Savigny was an innovative historian, and awakened in the brothers a new passion for history, philology, and medieval literature. Savigny introduced the brothers to some of his own friends,who were leading romantic writers and intellectuals of the time.
Due to increasing financial problems, Jacob Grimm (who was legally responsible for the financial care of all his siblings), quit school in 1805, and started seeking employment in various German courts. By 1808, Jacob became a librarian in Kassel. Wilhelm at the time suffered from heart and respiratory ailments, and Jacob paid for his medical treatments. Jacob then managed to arrange for Wilhem to be hired as a fellow librarian in Kassel, allowing the brothers to work together. Their salaries were rather small, but they had a steady income and plenty of time for research.
An old acquaintance, the novelist Clemens Brentano (1778-1842) asked the brothers to help him in collecting traditional stories. Brentano was working on a new collection of folk tales, but did not have enough time to search for more tales. For the following few years, the brothers Grimm interviewed storytellers from various social backgrounds and collected 53 individual tales. But when they send their report to Brentano, he had lost interest in the project. Unwilling to waste years of effort, the brothers Grimm prepared to publish the tales under their own name. They worked on revising the various oral tales for a literate audience. In 1812, the first version of Grimms' Fairy Tales was published, containing 86 stories. Wilhelm, the storyteller of the duo, was responsible for many of the revisions to the stories. Over the following decades, the brothers kept revising and expanding their work. By 1857, the 7th edition of the collection, it included 211 individual tales.
Following the success of their first published work, the brothers started producing philological books and studies on various European mythologies, primarily Irish and Norse mythology. They became literary celebrities and earned honorary doctorates from various universities.
In 1825, Wilhelm Grimm married his long-time friend Henriette Dorothea "Dortchen" Wild. Her family had been among those interviewed for Grimms' Fairy Tales, and they had kept in touch for over a decade. Jacob Grimm never married and continued co-cohabiting with his brother and new sister-in-law. Wilhelm and Henriette had four children together: Jacob (April-December 1826), Herman Friedrich (1828 -1901), Rudolf Georg (1830 -1889), and Barbara Auguste Luise Pauline Marie (1832 - 1919).
In 1830, both Jacob and Wilhelm were candidates for the position of head librarian at Kassel, but were overlooked despite their fame. They resigned their positions soon after, and took new jobs as professors at the University of Göttingen, in the Kingdom of Hanover. They pioneered the course of German studies.
In 1837, the Grimms were fired from the University, as part of the so-called "Göttingen Seven". The new king of Hanover, Ernest Augustus (1771-1851, reigned 1837-1851), announced plans to abolish or heavily rewrite Hanover's constitution. Seven college professors opposed the abolition of the constitution and protested. They were all fired and deported from Hanover.
Wilhelm and his brother returned to Kassel, but were now unemployed. They relied on financial support from friends and admirers, while working on a new dictionary. In 1840, their former mentor Savigny convinced new king Frederick William IV of Prussia (1795-1861, reigned 1840-1861) to employ the Brothers Grimm. They gained positions at the University of Berlin, and stipends from the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin. They continued jointly working on their dictionary, but each brother started producing individual works, since their intellectual interests had become much different.
During the Revolutions of 1848, the Brothers Grimm were elected to the civil parliament in Mainz, but they resumed their teaching positions in Berlin at the end of the Revolution. Jacob chose retirement in the late 1840s, but Wilhem continued teaching until 1852. They devoted the rest of their lives to working on their incomplete dictionary.
In 1859, Wilhem died in Berlin, due to an unspecified infection. He was 73-years-old. His brother Jacob survived him, but reportedly became increasingly reclusive following Wilhelm's death.- Composer
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Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben, Mansfeld, Holy Roman Empire [now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany]. He was a composer, known for Gangs of New York (2002), Alias Nick Beal (1949) and Mitt folk är icke ditt (1944). He was married to Katherine Von Bora. He died on 18 February 1546 in Eisleben, Mansfeld, Holy Roman Empire [now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany].- Music Department
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Johann Pachelbel was born on 1 September 1653 in Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany]. Johann was a composer, known for Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Asteroid City (2023) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Johann died on 3 March 1706 in Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany].- Colette Descombes was born on 26 January 1943 in Romans sur Isère, Drôme, France. She is an actress, known for Paranoia (1969), The Erotic Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1976) and Cani (1977).
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Haydn had a hard childhood: at six years old he had to work as a boy singer in a choir and after his voice broke he had to earn his money by playing dance music and serving as a butler. Becoming famous for his compositions Haydn was employed as "Kapellmeister" by Fuerst Esterhazy in Eisenstadt in 1761. For thirty years he served him and composed his pieces for the pleasure of the aristocrats; his musicians used to call him "Papa Haydn" as he was caring for them and was socially engaged. After the death of Esterhazy Haydn moved to Vienna leaving it only twice for London where he composed his "London symphonies".- Queen Charlotte was born on 19 May 1744 in Mirow, Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Holy Roman Empire [now Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany]. She was married to George III. She died on 17 November 1818 in Kew, Richmond upon Thames, London, England, UK.
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Friedrich Schiller was born on Nov. 10, 1759, in Marbach, Germany. His father was an army doctor. Growing up in a very poor environment, Schiller eventually managed to get the support of a wealthy duke that enabled him to study medicine. He served as a military doctor first, but through the efforts of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe he finally went to Jena and Weimar, where he died on the May 9, 1805.
Schiller is an important German author of his time, most famous for his stage plays. They were highly acclaimed--and mostly forbidden, because of their contents. His first big work, "Die Räuber", dealt with the revolt of sons against their parents and environment, a very modern topic for the time and one that was not accepted in many regions of Germany. Overall, though, he is underrated as an author due to the fact that he lived and wrote in the same time as Goethe: Schiller is considered to be a good writer, but not as brilliant as Goethe.- Gaio Giulio Cesare was born on 13 July 100 in Rome, Roman Republic. He was a writer, known for La conquête des Gaules (1923) and Caesar the Conqueror (1962). He died on 15 March 44 in Rome, Roman Republic.
- Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (Latin: Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 1777 - 23 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes referred to as the Princeps mathematicorum (Latin for '"the foremost of mathematicians"') and "the greatest mathematician since antiquity", Gauss had an exceptional influence in many fields of mathematics and science, and is ranked among history's most influential mathematicians
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Wilhelm Hauff was born on 29 November 1802 in Stuttgart, Duchy of Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Baden-Württemberg, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Othello (1918), Das Wirtshaus im Spessart (1958) and Das kalte Herz (1930). He was married to Luise. He died on 18 November 1827 in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg [now Baden-Württemberg, Germany].- Heinrich von Kleist was born on the 18th of October, 1777 in Frankfurt/Oder (Germany) as the son of a priest. His father died when Heinrich was 11 so he had to earn some money early. He managed to go to the High School until 15, but was forced then to join the Prussian army in their war in the west. He climbed up the ranks until he was lieutenant, but quit then in 1799 and studied philosophy, physics, mathematics and political sciences in the town where he was born. After stays at Weimar (where Kleist met Wieland, Goethe and Schiller, other famous writers of his time), he finally entered the Prussian state as a secretary. His writings were no success at all, political life was not satisfying, and his girlfriend was ill, going to die- after all, he decided to go with her. They both met their death together, using a gun on the 21st of November, 1811 (Kleist was, as you can see, only 34). It is rather difficult to describe Kleist's role in German literature. He wrote immortal pieces of literature, such as "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg". But especially this stage play, for which he is best known, was often used as a nationalist piece of propaganda. Kleist does not belong to any literary epoch at all, but stays between the Romantik, the Klassik and the upcoming Realismus. Often underrated, Kleist was a walker between the lines. Seen in this context, his death is nothing but consequent.
- Sergiu Smerea was born on 8 September 1995 in Roman, Romania. He is an actor, known for A Higher Law (2021), Freedom (2023) and The Action Pack (2023).
- Mario Valdemarin was born on 30 December 1926 in Romans d'Isonzo, Gorizia, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy. He was an actor, known for Anna Karenina (1974), Spy in Your Eye (1965) and Una spada nell'ombra (1961). He died on 12 December 2023 in Rome, Italy.
- Sir Peter Paul Rubens was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens's highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of classical and Christian history. His unique and immensely popular Baroque style emphasized movement, co-lour, and sensuality, which followed the immediate, dramatic artistic style promoted in the Counter-Reformation. Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes, and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was also a prolific designer of cartoons for the Flemish tapestry workshops and of frontispieces for the publishers in Antwerp.
- Gottfried August Bürger was born on 31 December 1747 in Molmerswende, Halberstadt, Prussia, Holy Roman Empire [now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany]. He was a writer, known for The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962), Monsieur de Crac (1912) and The Hallucinations of Baron Munchausen (1911). He died on 8 June 1794 in Göttingen, Brunswick-Lüneburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Lower Saxony, Germany].
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Born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1797 to a Jewish family, Heine was sent to Hamburg as a young man to work for his rich uncle. He studied at the universities at Bonn, Berlin and Göttingen, and got a law degree in 1825; he also changed his name to Heinrich Heine to ease his integration into German society. In 1821 he published his poem "Gedichte", but after a spat with another poet damaged his reputation, he moved to Paris to be a journalist. There he met an illiterate shopgirl named Crecence Eugénie Mirat, whom he married in 1841. Heine's criticism of Germany won him censorship from his native land, and he retired permanently to France.
He died in Paris on February 17 1856. Heine was controversial in Germany, and because of his Jewish origins, his poems had to be marked as 'author unknown' under the Nazi regime. He influenced many poets and composers, including Rainer Maria Rilke, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, Karl Marx, and Robert Schumann.- Music Department
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Young Gluck was a singer in a church choir and thus decided to study music in Prague although his parents wanted him to work in the forest. Having to earn his own money he worked as a part-time musician and finished his studies in Milan where he wrote his first Italian style opera. Impressing the audience he was invited to London where he had first contact with the music of George Frideric Handel. In 1752, he finally accepted a job at a theatre in Vienna, but continued composing operas and ballets for clients in Paris.- Duchess of Kent and Strathearn was born on 17 August 1786 in Coburg, Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Holy Roman Empire [now Bavaria, Germany]. She was a writer, known for Queen Victoria's Letters: A Monarch Unveiled (2014), Network First (1994) and Kings and Queens (2002). She was married to Duke of Kent and Strathearn Prince Edward and Prince Emich Carl of Leiningen. She died on 16 March 1861 in Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK.
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Georg Philipp Telemann was born on 14 March 1681 in Magdeburg, Duchy of Magdeburg, Brandenburg-Prussia, Holy Roman Empire [now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany]. He was a composer, known for Hereditary (2018), Casanova (2005) and Equals (2015). He was married to Maria Textor and Amalie Eberlin. He died on 25 June 1767 in Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany].- Writer
- Art Department
Albrecht Dürer was born on 21 May 1471 in Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Bavaria, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Knight, Death and the Devil (2023) and Unser Sandmännchen (1959). He died on 6 April 1528 in Nuremberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Bavaria, Germany].- Music Department
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Ernst Anschütz was born on 28 October 1780 in Goldlauter, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire [now Suhl, Thuringia, Germany]. He is known for Iron Man 3 (2013), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Adam (2009). He died on 18 December 1861 in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony [now Saxony, Germany].- Actor
- Casting Department
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jean Cherlian was born on 1 February 1932 in Romans-sur-Isère, Drôme, France. He was an actor and assistant director, known for The Night of the Hunted (1980), Dog Day (1984) and Helga, la louve de Stilberg (1978). He was married to Varee Tangsui-Yung, Mireille Limbourg and Claude Vaniscotte. He died on 21 August 2013 in Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thaïland.- Music Department
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Antonio Diabelli was born on 5 September 1781 in Mattsee, Archbishopric of Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Salzburg, Austria]. He is known for The Accidental Husband (2008), Seven Days... Seven Nights (1960) and Das Vaterspiel (2009). He died on 5 April 1858 in Vienna, Austrian Empire [now Austria].- Music Department
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Carl (Karl) Czerny was born on 20th of February, 1791, in Vienna, Austria. He studied piano with his father, Wenzel Czerny, and later took lessons from Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven was so impressed with Czerny's playing that he offered to teach him several times a week for two years. Czerny was giving concert performances as a child prodigy from the age of 9, playing a Mozart Piano Concerto in C minor and Beethoven's piano sonatas. By the age of fifteen he became a reputable music teacher himself. Czerny created his original method of piano practice, incorporating many didactic piano pieces named "Etudes", which he wrote for piano practice of his students. His method is focused on finger dexterity and velocity, as well as on the sound control and expressiveness. Many of his "Etudes" (studies) are widely used today for piano practice, especially such collections as "The School of Velocity", "The Art of Dexterity", and "Etudes for the Left Hand". Czerny became a leading performer and devoted supporter of Beethoven's piano music. He was selected by Beethoven to perform the premiere of the Piano Concerto No1 in 1806 and the Piano Concerto No 5 "The Emperor" in 1812, in Vienna, with "Ludvig van Beethoven' and the Emperor in attendance. Carl Czerny never married, and he lived alone. Being devoted to his ailing parents, he never took a concert tour. His students were such famous pianists as 'Sigismond Thalberg', Franz Liszt, and Stephen Heller. At one time in 1815, Beethoven asked Czerny to teach his nephew, Carl. In 1821 he started his two-year training course with Franz Liszt and continued correspondence with Liszt during his successful career. Czerny enjoyed a genuine respect from his famous colleagues. He shared a mutual admiration with Frédéric Chopin, who was Czerny's guest in Vienna, in 1829. Czerny died rich and famous, and left behind over one thousand original compositions and piano arrangements, of which about 860 were published. His original music is largely unheard by modern ears, with the exception of his "Etudes" and "Piano Sonatas for 4 hands", which are among the most charming pieces, that he wrote for his famous students to perform.- Greek biographer and philosopher who was born c. 46 AD in Chaeronea, Boeotia, central Greece. Son of Aristobulus. In A.D. 66 he was in Athens, studying physics, mathematics natural science, and rhetoric - though the subject which held the greatest interest for him was ethics. He lectured in Rome on philosophical and rhetorical subjects. Plutarch went on fairly extensive travels to Egypt, Asia Minor and other parts of Greece. He was given a honorific position by Trajan and made a procurator by the emperor Hadrian. Athens granted him citizenship, and a life priesthood was bestowed on him at Delphi where he helped revive the shrine there. He also held numerous municipal posts in Chaeronea. A discipline of Romans like Plato and Aristotle, he nevertheless had his own views of humanity and expressed them in his works. He was a prolific and varied writer who produced two extensive collections of essays, Moralia (Morals) and Vitae parallelae (Parallel lives; translated simply as Lives). The latter includes biographies on Alexander the Great, two mythical or legendary monarchs, Romulus and Numa, and Mark Antony among others. The biography of the divine Heracles, Scipio the Younger, and Scipio the Elder are missing. He probably died c. 120-25 CE.
- Titus Livius was born in 1959 in Patavium, Roman Republic [now Padua, Veneto, Italy]. He was a writer, known for Cabiria (1914). He died in 2017 in Patavium, Roman Empire [now Padua, Veneto, Italy].
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Sergiu Celibidache was born on 11 July 1912 in Roman, Romania. He is known for The Yellow Tie, Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015) and Celibidache (1992). He was married to Ioana Procopie Dimitrescu. He died on 14 August 1996 in Paris, France.- Writer
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Eduard Mörike was born on 8 September 1804 in Ludwigsburg, Duchy of Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Baden-Württemberg, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Eine kleine Nachtmusik (1939), Prosit 1957 (1957) and Erinna an Sappho (2013). He was married to Margarethe von Speeth. He died on 4 June 1875 in Stuttgart, Kingdom of Württemberg [now Baden-Württemberg], Germany.- Writer
- Music Department
Born a year after the notorious murder of Julius Caesar, Ovid passed his childhood in relative peace despite the civil wars that wracked the Roman Empire. At last Augustus was crowned emperor and the Pax Romana began, and Ovid set out to study rhetoric in Rome. Despite a promising career in government and even a shot at becoming senator, he preferred writing love poetry and concentrating on his unusual epic, "Metamorphoses". In 8 A.D. he was exiled by the Emperor Augustus for an unspecified crime; scholars speculate Ovid was involved somehow with the scandal of Augustus' daughter Julia's adultery. His erotic and sexually liberated work was wildly popular before and after his exile, and both "Metamorphoses" and "Ars Amatoria", his cynically humorous book on seduction, would greatly influence later writers.- Andreas Gryphius was born on 2 October 1616 in Glogau, Duchy of Glogau, Holy Roman Empire [now Glogow, Poland]. He was a writer, known for Meditation on Time (2015) and Vanitas, Vanitatum, et Omnia Vanitas (2015). He died on 16 July 1664 in Glogau, Duchy of Glogau, Holy Roman Empire [now Glogow, Poland].
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Joseph Mohr was born on 11 December 1792 in Salzburg, Archbishopric of Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Salzburg, Austria]. He is known for The Giver (2014), L.A. Confidential (1997) and Get Carter (2000). He died on 4 December 1848 in Wagrain, Salzburg, Austrian Empire [now Austria].- Music Department
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Jean-Paul-Égide Martini was born on 1 September 1741 in Freystadt, Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire [now Bavaria, Germany]. Jean-Paul-Égide was a composer, known for Best Seller (1987), The Butcher (1970) and We're No Angels (1955). Jean-Paul-Égide died on 10 February 1816 in Paris, France.- Writer
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Ferdinand Raimund was born on 1 June 1790 in Vienna, Austria, Holy Roman Empire [now Austria]. He was a writer, known for Personal Shopper (2016), Ihr größter Erfolg (1934) and Der Verschwender (1917). He died on 5 September 1836 in Pottenstein, Lower Austria, Austrian Empire [now Austria].- Michelangelo da Caravaggio was born on 29 September 1571 in Milan, Duchy of Milan, Holy Roman Empire. He was an actor and writer, known for Alex & Aki (2019), Five Revolutionary Painters (1959) and Canvas (1966). He died on 18 July 1610 in Porto Ecole, Grand Duchy of Tuscany, Holy Roman Empire.
- Hölderlin grew up in a pietistic family environment. From 1784 to 1788 he was a student at the monastery schools in Denkendorf and Maulbronn. He then studied philosophy and theology at the Tübingen monastery. There he met Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling, with whom he temporarily shared a room. In 1790 he founded a poets' association with Christian Ludwig Neuffer and Rudolf Magenau. In the Tübingen monastery, the ideas of the French Revolution were enthusiastically received, just as the political and theological situation in the country was met with rejection. During his time at the monastery, Hölderlin studied the works of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz, Plato, Friedrich Schiller, Benedictus de Spinoza and Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, which strongly influenced his thinking.
In 1790, Hölderlin received his doctorate in philosophy. In 1793 he completed his consistory examination. Nevertheless, he did not choose the spiritual profession because being a writer was closer to his heart. In order to realize this, he took on a number of court master positions to earn a living. Friedrich Schiller gave him a position as court master with the von Kalb family in Waltershausen, which Hölderlin held from 1793 to 1795. He then moved to Jena and attended lectures by the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte. From 1796 to 1798 he was court master for the Frankfurt banking family Jakob Friedrich Gontard. Hölderlin fell in love with the banker's wife, Susette Gontard. She found her way into Hölderlin's poetry as Diotima. This period was the most productive in the poet's life.
When an argument with the banker arose because of his affection for Susette Gontard, Hölderlin left Frankfurt and went to Homburg. There he stayed with his friend Isaac von Sinclair, the highest official in the county, from 1798 to 1800. He then stayed briefly in Stuttgart and Nürtingen and then in 1801 took on two more court master positions in Hauptwil in Switzerland and in Bordeaux in France. In 1802 he returned to Germany. The first signs of Hölderlin's mental illness became noticeable. During a period of improvement, larger poems were written. Isaak von Sinclair got him a job as a librarian in Homburg. In 1806 his health deteriorated significantly and the poet had to go to a clinic in Tübingen for treatment.
The following year he was discharged as incurable. Hölderlin had become in need of care. Master carpenter Ernst Zimmer from Tübingen took over the care of the patient. The poet lived with him in a tower-like annex for 36 years in mental confusion. During his lifetime, Hölderlin only published the Sophocles translation, a few lyrical works and the novel "Hyperion or the Hermit in Greece (1797-1799). Due to the few publications, he remained largely unknown to his contemporaries. Hölderlin's view of the comprehensive unity of life as a contrast to the disunity of the present. For this ideal of man and society he chose ancient Greece, which he elevated to the future age with divine unity.
The poet tried to regain the loss of unity through human reflection through his poetry. In his work, pantheism and Christian doctrine confront each other, the synthesis of which the poet was no longer able to carry out in detail due to his illness. But Hölderlin also dealt strongly with this unity and wholeness of man, nature and gods in his lyrical works. Hölderlin's lyrical expression was based on ancient models. In lyrical development, his path led from various formal and metrical experiments through odes and elegies to hymns, which he created in free rhythms and thus the influence of Pindar became noticeable. Particularly in his hymns, Hölderlin represented the view of the poet as a mediator between the absolute and man.
The utopian idea of unity in the early hymns returned in the later works. In his odes, Hölderlin preferred to use the Alkaean and Asclepiadean verses. - Friedrich Silcher was born on 27 June 1789 in Schnaith, Duchy of Württemberg, Holy Roman Empire [now Weinstadt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany]. He was married to Luise Enslin. He died on 26 August 1860 in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach was born on 8 March 1714 in Weimar, Saxe-Weimar, Holy Roman Empire [now Thuringia, Germany]. Carl Philipp Emanuel was a composer, known for Paris (2008), Después del sueño (1992) and Wuthering Heights (2011). Carl Philipp Emanuel was married to Johanna Dannemann. Carl Philipp Emanuel died on 14 December 1788 in Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany].- Music Department
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Michael Praetorius was born on 15 February 1571 in Creuzburg, Saxe-Eisenach, Holy Roman Empire [now Thuringia, Germany]. Michael is known for Love Story (1970), The Hunt (2012) and Trace of Stones (1966). Michael died on 15 February 1621 in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, Germany.- Georg Friedrich Treitschke was born on 29 August 1776 in Leipzig, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany]. He was a writer, known for Fidelio (1968), The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1977) and Beethoven: Fidelio (2020). He died on 4 June 1842 in Vienna, Austrian Empire [now Austria].
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Born Emanuel Johann Joseph Schikaneder to domestic servants, he was educated in Regensburg (where his mother had moved the family after her husband's death), and earned money for the family as a street musician. In 1773, he joined a traveling theatrical troupe, where he learned the ropes as an actor, singer, composer, producer, and playwright. In 1775, he debuted his first work "Singspiel Die Lyranten" in Innsbruck, which was a success. Not a year after he and his wife Eleonore, an actress, joined another troupe, Schikaneder bought the troupe for 2,000 Gulden, and befriended the Mozart family soon after arriving in Salzburg in 1780.
In May 1789, he arrived at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna at the invite of his wife, whose troupe, which she ran with her now-deceased lover, was in residence at the Theater (not exactly above reproach, either, Schikaneder fathered at least two children by two different women during his marriage). The couple combined their two companies (hers included Mozart's sister-in-law), and enjoyed a string of successes. As implied in the film "Amadeus", Schikaneder staged grand productions geared toward the general public, but the film ignores that he was one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's best friends and the librettist of "Die Zauberflöte", in which he played Papageno 223 times.
On June 13, 1801, Schikaneder opened the Theater an der Wien, which still stands. On November 20, 1805, he debuted Ludwig van Beethoven's first and only opera, "Fidelio". However, his audiences became increasingly sophisticated, and he was unable to duplicate the success of "Die Zauberflöte". He died on September 21, 1812 in Vienna.
In 2016, Stephen Schwartz's and Christian Struppeck's musical "Schikaneder", directed by Trevor Nunn - based on the premise that "Die Zauberflöte" sprang from Schikaneder's tumultuous relationship with Eleonore - debuted in Vienna.- Christoph Martin Wieland, a famous German author of the literary enlightenment, was born in Oberholzheim, now Biberach, in South Germany. After education in several schools, mainly religious, he moved to Switzerland as the assistant of Bodmer, another famous author. After short stays again in Biberach and as a professor on the university of Erfurt he went to Weimar, where the duchess, Anna Amalia, assembled many of the greatest thinkers of her time, beside Wieland for example Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller. Wieland died 1813 in Weimar. Wieland is best known for his novels, which established the genre in German literature. Beside these he wrote many epic poems, translated a lot of foreign literature into German and was the editor of the "Merkur", the leading magazine of his time.
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Christoph Friedrich Bretzner was born on 10 December 1748 in Leipzig, Saxony, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany]. He was a writer, known for Great Performances (1971), Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1969) and L'enlèvement au sérail (1962). He died on 31 August 1807 in Leipzig, Saxony [now Germany].- Friedrich G. Klopstock was born on 2 July 1724 in Quedlinburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany]. He was a writer, known for Satana (1912) and Prestige de la musique (1963). He was married to Johanna Elisabeth von Winthem and Margareta Moller. He died on 14 March 1803 in Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire [now Germany].