33 thoughts on “Sunday Serendipity”

  1. jack, once again you’ve made our day. 

    from discovermusic:

    The symphony was commissioned by the Philharmonic Society of London in 1823 for £50 even though, six years earlier, Beethoven had failed to deliver on another symphony commission. London even missed out on the premiere (which was held in Vienna on 7 May 1824) but the British premiere was given on 21 March 1825 and a blue plaque, put up by the RPS, marks the spot. Still proud of their coup, the RPS continues to commission established and new composers today.

    Sadly for Beethoven the extraordinary expense of orchestra, chorus, and soloists ensured that profits were minimal, and he was still unable to pay off his debts.

    Beethoven was too deaf to conduct Symphony No. 9 by the time it gained international fame. At the Viennese premiere, on 7 May 1824, he sat at the side of the stage to give the beat. By the end he was several bars behind the orchestra and didn’t notice that the audience was giving him a standing ovation until the contralto, Carolina Unger, gently turned him round to face his public.

    [continues]

  2. also from the same discovermusic link above:

    Where have I heard it before?

    Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the ‘Choral’ symphony, is still one of the most frequently played orchestral works in the world. It’s an annual fixture at the BBC Proms, traditionally on the penultimate night of the season, and is still the most requested work on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs.

    Ode To Joy is also a favourite New Year’s Day singalong all around the world and played at many Olympics opening and closing ceremonies. And no round-up is complete without The Muppets’ version of Ode To Joy.

  3. again, but with more feeling

    To pay homage to the town they love and to celebrate their 130 anniversary Sabadell Bank in Spain delighted the townspeople with an incredible symphony flash mob. Watch as they play Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and sang Ode to Joy, filling up the town with joy and beautiful music! Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Ode To Joy

  4. ode to Joe:  atta boy, keep those EOs coming

    the hill:

    President Biden on Sunday will sign an executive order leveraging federal resources to protect and strengthen access to the ballot as Republican legislatures around the country seek to restrict voting rights in the wake of the 2020 election.

    Biden will sign an order that will direct agencies to increase access to voter registration materials and reduce barriers to voting for certain groups, including military and overseas voters, Native Americans, people with disabilities and Native Americans.

    The president on Sunday will also speak at the Martin and Coretta King Unity Breakfast to outline focus on voting rights. The order and speech come on the 56th anniversary of the “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma, Ala. The violent clash between 600 civil rights marchers and white police officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 served as a catalyst for the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

    “Every eligible voter should be able to vote and have it counted,” Biden will say at the breakfast, according to prepared remarks. “If you have the best ideas — you have nothing to hide. Let more people vote.”

    Administration officials signaled the executive order is intended as a direct response to the violent insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, triggered by weeks of false claims from former President Trump and his allies about fraud in the 2020 election, as well as subsequent efforts from state legislatures to rollback voting rights.

    Biden’s executive order will prompt federal agencies to use their websites and social media platforms to share information about voter registration and distribute vote-by-mail applications in the course of regular services.

    The order also aims to modernize Vote.gov, an official voter registration site run by the federal government, to improve accessibility and upgrade the user experience.

    The rest of the order focuses on strengthening voter access for specific groups more likely to face obstacles to voting. For example, the order will direct the attorney general to establish protocols to provide educational materials about voting for eligible individuals who are being held under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

    The order will also establish a steering group on Native American voting rights.

    [continues]

  5. Thank you Jack

    The Ode to Joy is probably the single work whose melody is known to almost everybody breathing.  There is something about that tune and words of peace that just hits your emotional center.  It is so pervasive that it is now the theme song of the European Union.

    German  and English Lyrics of Beethoven’s revision of original Schiller poem.

     

     

  7. Ludwig van Beethoven. The composer who, with his 9th Symphony, introduced me to classical music. Beethoven led me to Mozart, and for his works and for  that introduction to Amadeus I am forever in his debt. 

    Oh, and yes, everyone eligible to vote should have a way to vote and have their votes counted. Republican pricks. 

  9. Ok, so visiting LP who doesn’t have cable, I’m cruising Netflix and run across Ozark. Jason Bateman and Laura Linney. Good stuff. 

  11. Came later Poobah. Starting with his 1st symphony his hearing deteriorated over the next 12 – 15 or so years. His 9th was written when his hearing was rapidly going. I guess he could hear it in his head. 

  12. I discovered the Beet as a kid because me old mudder used to play Fur Elise all the time and then showed me how to play it. 

    Funny thing……easily one of the most recognised piano pieces, but the Beet wrote it for orchestra.  

  13. Have a new Twitter account

    @sanmari94112926

    You can find it with the above or search for San Marino with a black/white cat as a profile picture.

     

  15. Greg Abbott is scrambling because so many business leaders and healthcare providers are upset that he lifted the mask mandate.    He says folks know masks are effective and they don’t need the state to tell them what to do.   BS!   The next COVID spike is on Abbott. And, it won’t just be confined to Texas if, as he hopes, spring breakers go to South Padre and then go back to where they came from, taking the virus with them.

    https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/04/deaths-Abbott-coronavirus-masks/

    Sprouts put their must-wear-mask sign in front of the entrance. You have to walk around it to go inside. No way to say you didn’t see it.

    Also, failure to wear a mask in a business (when there is signage to wear one) makes you subject to arrest for illegal trespassing!

    Governor Greg is playing dice with COVID in order to exploit anti-immigrant fervor.

    https://www.texastribune.org/2021/03/04/greg-abbott-joe-biden-immigrants-testing/

  16. Jack, Thanks!

    The theme to The Countdown with Keith Olbermann can be heard at 19.53

  17. Republicans are still calling the vaccine rollout “warp speed.”  
    Well, it is NOW that POTUS Biden is in charge.   

  18. Andrew Cuomo announced that New York is removing all penalties for violation of NYS traffic laws and local traffic and parking ordinances because people aren’t as stupid as Greg Abbott and they know what about driving is unsafe and they know where to park. ~

  19. Jack….   thanks…  I LOVE Beethoven!
     
    patd…  thanks for that flash mob of Ode to Joy….  one of my favorite YouTube go to…

  21. Sturgeone

    Yes, Twitter wiped out all of my followers, lists, and people I followed.  Have to rebuild everything.  

     

  25. Whenever I think about what needs to be done to write anything complex, or for that matter simple, in the way of songs, operas, symphonies and such, I am in awe.  So many moving parts and tones and so much more.  I think that is one reason software types enjoy “classical” music whether written hundreds of years ago or last year.  If you are working on a system there are a lot of moving parts that are written in precise manner.  Long time ago I was an enigma to my college classmates.  I collected Deutsche Grammaphon albums and they whatever was on the top ten that week.  Even though I am completely non-musical and enjoy anything musical I preferred the classics and a touch of C&W.  My goto is always J.C. Bach though.  You cannot but be wowed by Beethoven 9th., it is one of those that leaves you humming and tapping and wagging your head.

  26. Neil deGrasse Tyson @neiltyson

     
    We’re just sayin’. To abolish mask -wearing laws in some States while the rest of the Nation keeps theirs is like designating a peeing section of the swimming pool.

  30. lol, wasn’t sure at first, but was worth pausing my music to watch that dumb woman’s tiktok
     
     
    P.S. if you’re over 30, get off tiktok

  32. So Poobah, you going to watch the NBA All Star Game or Harry & Megan shit on the royal family?

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