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Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) was a Russian composer and conductor, considered one of the most important and influential composers of the 20th century and a pivotal figure in modernist music. He studied music under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov until the latter's death in 1908. Soon after, Stravinsky met the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who commissioned the composer to write three ballets for the Ballets Russes's Paris seasons: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913), the last of which caused a near-riot at the premiere due to its avant-garde nature. His compositional style varied greatly, being influenced at different points by Russian folklore, neoclassicism, and serialism. His ideas influenced the composers Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Béla Bartók, and Pierre Boulez, who were all challenged to innovate beyond traditional tonality, rhythm, and form. Stravinsky died in 1971, leaving six memoirs, an earlier autobiography, and a series of lectures. (Full article...)

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In the news

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Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (pictured) is killed by an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh, Lebanon.
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On this day

September 28: Meskel in Ethiopia and Eritrea (2024)

Alexander Fleming

48 BC – Pompey was killed by Lucius Septimius at Pelusium in Egypt.
1066 – William the Conqueror and his fleet of around 600 ships landed at Pevensey, Sussex, beginning the Norman conquest of England.
1901 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas killed more than forty American soldiers in a surprise attack on the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar.
1928 – Scottish biologist and pharmacologist Alexander Fleming (pictured) discovered penicillin when he noticed a bacteria-killing mould growing in his laboratory.
1975 – An attempted robbery of Spaghetti House, a restaurant in Knightsbridge, London, turned into a six-day hostage situation.

Rabbi Akiva (d. 135)
Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale (b. 1626)
Florence Violet McKenzie (b. 1890)
Guillermo Endara (d. 2009)

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Olivia de Havilland (1916–2020) was a British, American and French actress. A member of the de Havilland family, her younger sister was the Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine, with whom she had a noted rivalry well documented by the media. During her career, de Havilland appeared in 49 feature films. She first came to prominence with Errol Flynn as a screen couple in adventure films such as Captain Blood (1935). Departing from ingénue roles in the 1940s, she went on to win two Academy Awards for Best Actress, for her roles in To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949). She received honours in the United States, the United Kingdom and France, including appointments to the Légion d'honneur and the Order of the British Empire. At the time of her death, she was widely considered the last surviving major star from the Golden Age of Hollywood. This 1985 photograph of de Havilland was taken by the Polish-born American photographer Bernard Gotfryd.

Photograph credit: Bernard Gotfryd

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