Leni Riefenstahl was a German film director and photographer, as well as an actress and dancer. Riefenstahl is one of the most famous filmmakers who worked during the period of National Socialist rule in Germany. Her documentary Triumph of the Will and Olympia made her an active promoter of the Third Reich.
Helene Berta Amalie Riefenstahl (her real name) was born on August 22, 1902 in Berlin. Her brother Heinz was born two and a half years later. Their father, Alfred Riefenstahl, was an experienced businessman and owned a large company.
Since childhood Leni took music lessons. The girl successfully performed at school concerts. Leni was gifted in music and painting, but had a real passion for dance. Italian musician F. Busoni saw her dancing and composed Waltz-Caprice special for the girl. Later it became one of her most popular performances.
At the age of 12 Leni joined the swimming sports club Mermaid, where she participated in competitions and received prizes. Once she fell from a five-meter diving tower and had to leave the club.
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Maria Callas was one of the greatest operatic voices of the 20th century.
Maria Kalogeropoulos was born on December 3, 1923 in New York City into a family of Greek immigrants. Callas was formally baptized Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria. Her father shortened the family name Kalogeropoulos to Callas.
When Maria was seven years old and her sister was 13, they began singing and piano lessons. Maria had a beautiful voice and sang at contests and on radio programs.
When Maria was 13 years old, she moved to Greece with her mother and sister. There Maria entered the Athens Conservatory.
In 1939, Maria began to study with a world-famous Spanish opera singer, Elvira de Hidalgo. It was she who arranged for Callas’s first professional performance at the National Lyric Theater in Athens in November of 1940.
After the occupation during World War II, de Hidalgo encouraged Callas to move to Italy to establish her career.
Her Italian debut, held on August 3, 1947, was a performance of La Gioconda at the Verona Arena.
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Louis Armstrong was one of the greatest jazz trumpet players in the world. He was one of the most important musicians in jazz and in twentieth-century music. He was an active participant in a number of jazz styles, including the New Orleans style of the 1910s, the Chicago style of the 1920s, the New York style in the 1930s, and the jazz of the wider world in the 1950s. Armstrong appeared in nearly 50 films.
Louis Daniel Armstrong was born on August 4, 1901 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
As a kid Armstrong often sang in the streets to earn some money, as his family was very poor.
On New Year’s Eve, 1913, Armstrong fired a gun into the air. The police arrested him and put in a home for problem children. At the home, Louis learned to play the cornet. When he left there 18 months later, he started to play in small jazz bands.
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Isadora Duncan was the great American icon of dance. She was ahead of her time in her artistic ideals, her modes of physical expression, and her controversial private life. Her free style of dancing came to be known as modern dance.
Angela Isadora Duncan was born on May 26, 1877 (according to other sources on May 27, 1878) in San Francisco, California. She was the youngest of four children. Isadora was the daughter of poor but liberal, art-loving parents. She attended sessions in gymnastics.
Still in her teens Isadora and her sister Elisabeth were listed as teachers of dance in the San Francisco directory.
On March 14, 1899 she gave a solo performance in New York in which she danced to poetry.
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Fazil Say is a genius at writing music and playing the piano. He is one of the most original artists today. He composes and performs, and he does both brilliantly. He is recognized as one of the greatest artists of the twenty-first century. He has created his own style, tempos, and the versions of classical music.
Fazil was born on January 14, 1970, in Ankara, Turkey. Say is the only child in his family. His father is a music critic who publishes music encyclopedias. His mother is a pharmacist. At the age of five, Fazil started piano lessons. His teacher taught him to play without looking at the page and to play with great emotion.
Fazil composed his first piece of music for the piano at the age of seven. Eight-year-old boy performed alone in Ankara.
In 1981, he enrolled at the Ankara State Conservatory and was in a special program for gifted children.
After school he went to Dusseldorf, Germany to continue his music studies.
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Francis Sinatra was an American singer, actor and showman. In XX century, Sinatra became a legend not only the music world, but also every aspect of American culture. When he died, some journalists wrote: “Day of death of Frank Sinatra is the end of XX century.” By the end of his life he was regarded as a model of musical style and taste. During 50 years of active creative activity he recorded about 100 discs, performed all the most famous songs of the largest US composers – George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin.
In addition to the musical triumph, Sinatra was also a successful film actor.
Francis Albert Sinatra was born on December 12, 1915 into a family of Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was the only child of Martin and Natalie Sinatra. After his son’s birth, his father, Martin, participated in boxing fights to support his family. Since the beginning of the war Sinatra’s father worked as a fireman.
Since his childhood Francis wanted to become a singer. Rudy Vallee and his idol, Bing Crosby had a great influence on him.
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer and virtuoso musician. One of the most popular classical composers, Mozart had a great influence on the world musical culture. According to contemporaries, Mozart had a phenomenal ear for music, memory and ability to improvise. Many of his works are considered masterpieces of symphonic, concert, chamber, operatic, and choral music. In all, Mozart wrote over 600 pieces of music. Some of his most famous works include the operas The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute and the Jupiter Symphony.
Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. His full name was Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. At the age of only three Wolfgang started to play the piano. His father, Leopold, was a musician. He taught Wolfgang and his sister to play musical instruments. Wolfgang remembered the music after hearing it just once! 5-year-old Wolfgang wrote his first piece of music for the piano and began earning money at the age of six. He played for kings and queens and other important people. Mozart played the violin, organ, piano, and harpsichord.
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