OCTOBER
John Williams
John Williams is one of the greatest Film Music
composers of all time. He has written the music for huge award winning
films such as Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Home Alone, E.T.
Home Alone, Jurassic Park and more recently Harry Potter.
He musical 'themes' are instantly recognizable and very catchy!
John
Williams was born in New York, America, in 1932. Both his parents were
musicians and he developed his love of music from them. He was drafted
to the US Airforce where he conducted and composed (wrote) music for the
Brass Band. After this he came back to New York to study in the world
famous Julliard School. He became a very popular Jazz pianist and
accompanied the stars before developing hid career as a Film music
composer.
In his time he has won;
5 Oscars
7 Baftas
21 Grammys
Check out the link to his most famous pieces of work!
NOVEMBER
Bon Iver
Bon Iver - meaning good winter was created by American folk musician Justin Vernon.
He wrote his first album from his fathers cabin in northern America, where he lived by himself for 3 months.
He moved up there after a bad break-up with his girlfriend and at the time he also had a bout of Glandular Fever - also known as 'Kissing disease'. He wrote the songs which were inspired by love and loss.
The album is called For Emma, Forever Go. He recorded it by himself, using his laptop, an old guitar and mic that he had, playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals himself.
One of the most recognised songs on the album is 'Skinny Love'
Here is Bon Iver performing the song live on Jools Holland.
He wrote his first album from his fathers cabin in northern America, where he lived by himself for 3 months.
He moved up there after a bad break-up with his girlfriend and at the time he also had a bout of Glandular Fever - also known as 'Kissing disease'. He wrote the songs which were inspired by love and loss.
The album is called For Emma, Forever Go. He recorded it by himself, using his laptop, an old guitar and mic that he had, playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals himself.
One of the most recognised songs on the album is 'Skinny Love'
Here is Bon Iver performing the song live on Jools Holland.
December
Tchaikovsky |
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Thaikovsky was a composer of the Romantic Era. He was born in Russia in 1840. He learned the Piano at the age of five and soon became as good as his teacher. After his schooling he became a civil servant but when he didn't get the promotion he was hoping for he decided to go back to college to study music. He studied at the prestigious St. Petersburg Music Conservatory. He became a music teacher in Moscow but soon became well known for his wonderful comopsitions.
Tchaikovsky wrote his very first composition when he was 14. His mother had just died and he was compeeled to write a waltz in her memory as this was her favourite type of music. His music: Tchaikovsky wrote many compositions including Symphonies, Operas and Ballets. His 3 Ballets - The Nutcracker Suite, Swan Lake & Sleeping Beauty are the most famous of it's kind and are still very popular today. |
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January
In the 1960s, a British group was responsible for shaking up the music world and the talented quartet would become one of the most famous rock groups of all time. These were the Beatles and today many of their songs are still played on radio stations, and new fans now listen to Beatle hits on MP3 players and I-Pods.The original members of the group were :
John Winston Lennon from Liverpool
James Paul McCartney from Liverpool
George Harrison from Liverpool
Stuart Sutcliffe from Edinburgh, Scotland
They were not always known as The Beatles. The group first chose the name Johnny and the Moondogs before changing the name of the group to the Silver Beetles. In 1960, they won a spot on a tour of Scotland with Johnny Gentle, and shortly after John Lennon told the group he had dreamed that they were to be called the Beatles with the unique spelling that featured an “a” in the name.
Lennon and Paul McCartney were becoming very good songwriters as well as performers and George Harrison would also contribute some of the songs for the group. More famous than their music at the beginning were their haircuts, which were often called “mop-tops”. Brian Epstein was a music store manager and in 1961, he went to see the Beatles and became their manager. During the early years, many record companies turned the group down and would not sign them to any contracts.
After the loss of Sutcliffe as drummer, Pete Best filled in for a short while but his talent as a drummer was not up to the group’s expectation and he was replaced with Richard Starkey “Ringo Starr” who was also from the Liverpool area. Ringo was an outgoing drummer who had performed with a band called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
During 1962, the group’s first single “Love Me Do” made it to the charts and was distinguished by Lennon’s harmonica playing. In 1963, “Please Please Me” was a new hit and this band was suddenly on the fast track. More songs were topping the charts in quick succession including “From Me to You”, “She Loves You” and “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and “I Want to Hold your Hand”. By this time, it was official that Beatlemania had taken the country by storm. In February of 1964, the Beatles made their first US appearance on the Ed Sullivan television show. The group became the first UK group to win over the American audience, and thus began the British invasion of rock music in the 60s.
The Beatles enjoyed tremendous success and even starred in several movies, including “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!” and “Yellow Submarine”. They continued to release top selling albums and songs including “Yellow Submarine”, “Eleanor Rigby”, “Penny Lane” and the famous "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”. The music was excellent, but the songs by Lennon and McCarthy were even better. The words to many of the band’s tunes are as timely and meaningful today as they were then, when they seemed to sum up the feelings of an entire generation. The group had millions of adoring fans who idolized the group, but by 1970, the group had too many personal differences to continue. The music and songs that the Beatles created forever changed the recording industry and generations of fans.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
John Winston Lennon from Liverpool
James Paul McCartney from Liverpool
George Harrison from Liverpool
Stuart Sutcliffe from Edinburgh, Scotland
They were not always known as The Beatles. The group first chose the name Johnny and the Moondogs before changing the name of the group to the Silver Beetles. In 1960, they won a spot on a tour of Scotland with Johnny Gentle, and shortly after John Lennon told the group he had dreamed that they were to be called the Beatles with the unique spelling that featured an “a” in the name.
Lennon and Paul McCartney were becoming very good songwriters as well as performers and George Harrison would also contribute some of the songs for the group. More famous than their music at the beginning were their haircuts, which were often called “mop-tops”. Brian Epstein was a music store manager and in 1961, he went to see the Beatles and became their manager. During the early years, many record companies turned the group down and would not sign them to any contracts.
After the loss of Sutcliffe as drummer, Pete Best filled in for a short while but his talent as a drummer was not up to the group’s expectation and he was replaced with Richard Starkey “Ringo Starr” who was also from the Liverpool area. Ringo was an outgoing drummer who had performed with a band called Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.
During 1962, the group’s first single “Love Me Do” made it to the charts and was distinguished by Lennon’s harmonica playing. In 1963, “Please Please Me” was a new hit and this band was suddenly on the fast track. More songs were topping the charts in quick succession including “From Me to You”, “She Loves You” and “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” and “I Want to Hold your Hand”. By this time, it was official that Beatlemania had taken the country by storm. In February of 1964, the Beatles made their first US appearance on the Ed Sullivan television show. The group became the first UK group to win over the American audience, and thus began the British invasion of rock music in the 60s.
The Beatles enjoyed tremendous success and even starred in several movies, including “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Help!” and “Yellow Submarine”. They continued to release top selling albums and songs including “Yellow Submarine”, “Eleanor Rigby”, “Penny Lane” and the famous "Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band”. The music was excellent, but the songs by Lennon and McCarthy were even better. The words to many of the band’s tunes are as timely and meaningful today as they were then, when they seemed to sum up the feelings of an entire generation. The group had millions of adoring fans who idolized the group, but by 1970, the group had too many personal differences to continue. The music and songs that the Beatles created forever changed the recording industry and generations of fans.
This is an original news article © The Kids Window
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February
Mozart
Mozart Amadeus Mozart was a composer from the Classical Period.
He was born in Salzburg, Austria, where his father Leopold was a violinist and composer. Wolfgang (or Wolferl, as his family called him) was a child prodigy. He composed his first piece of music at age five; he had his first piece published when he was seven; and he wrote his first opera when he was twelve. By the time Wolfgang was 6, he was an excellent pianist and violinist. He and his sister Maria Anna (known as Nannerl) traveled all over Europe performing for royalty.
When he grew up, Mozart moved to Vienna, and tried to earn a living as a pianist and composer. But he had a lot of trouble handling the fact that he was no longer a child prodigy. Mozart was still a musical genius, but after he stopped being a cute kid, people stopped making a big fuss over him. Back then, musicians were treated like servants, but Mozart did not, and could not think of himself as a servant.
Mozart was only 35 when he died. During his short life, he composed in all different musical forms, including operas, symphonies, concertos, masses, and chamber music. Today, he is still considered a genius