Monthly Archives: June 2013

This song is for you

Opera composers knew which singers were going to perform an opera that they were writing and they composed the music to match the specific talents of those singers.

(Great Courses – How to Listen to and Understand Opera)

Post Presidential Wandering

After he left the office of President Theodore Roosevelt went on an expedition to the Amazon river. He almost died due to diseases and an infection of a bullet that he never had taken out but he did have a tributary of the Amazon named after him.

(Book – Colonel Roosevelt – Edmund Morris)

Live longer than your enemies so that you can have the last word

Every school kid learns that Ponce de Leon was known for exploring Florida looking for the Fountain of Youth. Unfortunately the school books are wrong. Ponce was governor of Puerto Rico and was ousted by a group that included Diego Columbus (Christopher’s son) and someone named Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes. After Ponce died Oviedo wrote an account of the America’s where he made up tales Ponce in his ‘search’ in order make him appear foolish.

A couple points: Is is better to be known through history for something foolish you didn’t do or is better to be ‘unknown’?. If the history that we teach our children is wrong on such a well known ‘fact’ of history, how sure are we of any of our facts of history.

(Smithsonian Magazine – June 2013)

Russian heirs

Catherine the Great was born to a poor family in Prussia but was married off to Peter III who was the grandson of Peter the Great. Their marriage was never consummated and all her children were the offspring of her and her lovers.

(Book – Catherine the Great – Robert Massie)

French tug-of-war

When France signed an armistice with Germany in 1940 they only agreed that Vichy France (unoccupied France) was to be a neutral country. While France was officially neutral there were many competing factors which kept the situation very fluid.

France was under pressure from the British to honor its agreement with Britain that what was left of its fleet would not fall into German hands. The main ships in question were two battleships that were anchored in French African ports.

France was under pressure from the United States to make sure that those battleships did not enter the war.

France was under pressure from Germany to be more cooperative with them and they offered territorial gains for France if they would cooperate. While some in the French government were open to an alliance with Germany the fact was that the French people were pro-Allies and unlikely to actually fight against the British.

(Book – The Second Work War – Winston S. Churchill)

Symphony renamed

Beethoven’s 3rd symphony originally had the name ‘Bonaparte’ on the cover page. When Napoleon crowned himself emperor Beethoven ripped apart the cover page and threw it in the fire. He then renamed the symphony ‘The Eroica’  (the heroic) which is how it is known today.

(Great Courses – Beethoven’s symphonies)

Where is he?

After Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE his generals divided the kingdom to rule, General Ptolemy took Egypt. When the body of Alexander the Great was being transported back to Greece for burial Ptolemy hijacked the body and took it to Egypt. Alexander was then buried in Alexandria. By 400 AD no one knew where the tomb was. It is now one of the great archaeological mysteries.

(Great Courses – The History of Egypt)                                                                                             (Archaeology Magazine – July/August 2013)

 

 

Art history

The 17th century in art was dominated by the Baroque. This was big and bold. Think of Louis XIV of France and Versailles. This period was followed in the 18th century by Rococo which is ‘little Baroque’. This was smaller, simpler art with more curves and softer colors.

(Great Courses – How to Look at and Understand Great Art)