Claude Debussy..

Claude Debussy was born into a poor family in France, but his obvious gift at the piano sent him to the Paris Conservatory at age 11. At age 22, he won the Prix de Rome, which financed two years of further musical study in the Italian capital. After the turn of the century, Debussy established himself as the leading figure of French music.
During World War I, while Paris was being bombed by the German air force, he succumbed to colon cancer at the age of 55.

Debussy showed an early affinity for the piano, and he began taking lessons at age seven. By age 10 or 11, he had entered the Paris Conservatory, where his instructors and fellow students recognized his talent but often found his attempts at musical innovation strange.

In 1884, Debussy entered his cantata The Prodigal Son in the Prix de Rome, a competition for composers, and he took home the top prize, which allowed him to study for two years in the Italian capital. While there, he studied the music of German composer Richard Wagner, specifically his opera Tristan und Isolde. Wagner�s influence on Debussy was profound and lasting, but despite this, Debussy generally shied away from the ostentation of Wagner�s opera in his own works.

Debussy returned to Paris in 1887 and attended the Paris World Exhibition two years later. There he heard a Javanese gamelan�a musical ensemble composed of a variety of bells, gongs and xylophones, sometimes accompanied by vocals�and the subsequent years found Debussy incorporating the elements of the gamelan into his existing style to produce a wholly new kind of sound. The music written during this period came to represent his early masterpieces�Ariettes oubli�es (1888), Pr�lude � l'apr�s-midi d'un faune (1892), and the String Quartet (1893)�which were clearly delineated from the works of his coming mature period.

Debussy's seminal opera, Pell�as et M�lisande, was completed in 1895 and was a sensation when first performed in 1902, although it deeply divided listeners (audience members and critics either loved it or hated it). The attention gained with Pell�as, paired with the success of Pr�lude in 1892, earned Debussy extensive recognition, and over the following 10 years he was the leading figure in French music, writing such lasting works as La Mer (1905) and Ib�ria (1908), both for orchestra, and Images (1905) and Children's Corner Suite (1908), both for solo piano.

Later Years and Death

Debussy spent his remaining years writing as a critic, composing and performing his own works internationally, before dying of colon cancer in 1918.

Source : biography

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A New Twist Emerges in Princess Diana�s Death

British police said Saturday that new evidence shows a former soldier bragged to his parents that the military was behind the princess�s 1997 death in car crash, reigniting suspicion that foul play was involved in the tragedy.
Scotland Yard announced Saturday night that police officers were examining claims that the elite SAS Special Forces unit was behind the death of the princess in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Conspiracy theories first emerged within hours of the fatal crash that killed Diana and Dodi Fayed when their car struck the 13th pillar of the Alma Tunnel 16 years ago. Official inquiries concluded that their driver was drunk and had crashed accidentally while being pursued by the paparazzi, although Diana had feared that members of the royal family were plotting to have her killed.

A spokesman for London�s Metropolitan Police confirmed to The Daily Beast that they have received details of allegations that she was murdered. The claims were made in a letter that came to light during the court martial of a former member of the SAS. In the letter, which was written by the in-laws of a ex-Special Forces sniper, it is alleged that the marksman had boasted that the SAS �was behind Princess Diana�s death.�

The claims will be examined by specialist officers. "The Metropolitan Police Service is scoping information that has recently been received in relation to the deaths and assessing its relevance and credibility,� a spokesman said.

The letter in question, which has been seen by Britain�s People newspaper, does not include any firsthand evidence. It was written by the parents of a woman who was married to an ex-commando, who recount his alleged claims about the killing.

A decade after the fatal accident, it emerged that Diana had sent a letter to her butler, Paul Burrell, in which she claimed Prince Charles was planning to have her killed.
Mohammad Al-Fayed, Dodi�s father, claimed that his son and Diana were killed by the British military at the behest of the royal family because they wanted to ensure the couple would never be married. Al-Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, alleged that Prince Philip had instructed MI6 to carry out the hit.

In 2004, Scotland Yard�s commissioner, Lord Stevens, launched an investigation into the deaths of Diana, Dodi, and their chauffeur, Henri Paul. Operation Paget, which was completed two years later, rejected the murder claims and found that Diana was not pregnant nor engaged to Dodi at the time for her death despite the claims made by Al-Fayed. A spokesman for the Egyptian businessman said in a statement that he would be �interested in seeing the outcome� of the latest investigation, which he expected to be completed �with vigor.�

Diana, who was 36 at the time of her death, had divorced Prince Charles a year earlier. Although the police confirmed that they were investigating the latest claims, they said they had not re-opened Operation Paget or their original investigation into Diana�s death.

A decade after the fatal accident, it emerged that Diana had sent a letter to her butler, Paul Burrell, in which she claimed Prince Charles was planning to have her killed. "This particular phase in my life is the most dangerous,� she wrote, in the 1993 note. �My husband is planning 'an accident' in my car, brake failure and serious head injury.�

Her death, four years later, prompted an unprecedented outpouring of public grief in Britain led by Tony Blair, the newly elected prime minister. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to mark her passing ahead of a funeral attended by her young sons William and Harry, and broadcast live around the world.

Source: thedailybeast

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Biography: Rembrandt van Rijn

 Rembrandt was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606 - his full name Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.
He was the son of a miller. Despite the fact that he came from a family of relatively modest means, his parents took great care with his education.

Rembrandt began his studies at the Latin School, and at the age of 14 he was enrolled at the University of Leiden. The program did not interest him, and he soon left to study art - first with a local master, Jacob van Swanenburch, and then, in Amsterdam, with Pieter Lastman, known for his historical paintings. After six months, having mastered everything he had been taught, Rembrandt returned to Leiden, where he was soon so highly regarded that although barely 22 years old, he took his first pupils. One of his students was the famous artist Gerrit Dou.

Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631; his marriage in 1634 to Saskia van Uylenburgh, the cousin of a successful art dealer, enhanced his career, bringing him in contact with wealthy patrons who eagerly commissioned portraits. An exceptionally fine example from this period is the Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts (1631, Frick Collection, New York City). In addition, Rembrandt's mythological and religious works were much in demand, and he painted numerous dramatic masterpieces such as The Blinding of Samson (1636, St�delsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt). Because of his renown as a teacher, his studio was filled with pupils, some of whom (such as Carel Fabritius) were already trained artists. In the 20th century, scholars have reattributed a number of his paintings to his associates; attributing and identifying Rembrandt's works is an active area of art scholarship.




Rembrandt produced many of his works in this fashionable town house in Amsterdam (above left). Purchased by the artist in 1639, when he was 33, it proved to be the scene of personal tragedy: his wife and three of his children died here.

SELF PORTRAIT

The house became a financial burden, and in 1660 Rembrandt was forced to move. A new owner added the upper story and roof, giving it the appearance it still bears. In 1911 the Dutch movement made it a Rembrandt museum -preserving it both as a shrine of a revered national artist and as an imposing example of 17th Century Dutch architecture.

In contrast to his successful public career, however, Rembrandt's family life was marked by misfortune. Between 1635 and 1641 Saskia gave birth to four children, but only the last, Titus, survived; her own death came in 1642- at the age of 30. Hendrickje Stoffels, engaged as his housekeeper about 1649, eventually became his common-law wife and was the model for many of his pictures.
Despite Rembrandt's financial success as an artist, teacher, and art dealer, his penchant for ostentatious living forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1656. An inventory of his collection of art and antiquities, taken before an auction to pay his debts, showed the breadth of Rembrandt's interests: ancient sculpture, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings, Far Eastern art, contemporary Dutch works, weapons, and armor. Unfortunately, the results of the auction - including the sale of his house - were disappointing.

These problems in no way affected Rembrandt's work; if anything, his artistry increased. Some of the great paintings from this period are The Jewish Bride (1665), The Syndics of the Cloth Guild (1661, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), Bathsheba (1654, Louvre, Paris), Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (1656, Staatliche Gem�ldegalerie, Kassel, Germany), and a self-portrait (1658, Frick Collection).
His personal life, however, continued to be marred by sorrow. His beloved Hendrickje died in 1663, and his son, Titus, in 1668- only 27 years of age. Eleven months later, on October 4, 1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam.








Source: rembrandtpainting

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Take Charge of Your Health

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