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Antonio
Vivaldi: The creator of hundreds of spirited, extroverted instrumental
works, Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi is widely recognized as the master
of the Baroque instrumental concerto, which he perfected and popularized
more than any of his contemporaries. Vivaldi's kinetic rhythms, fluid
melodies, bright instrumental effects, and extensions of instrumental
technique make his some of the most enjoyable of Baroque music. He was
highly influential among his contemporaries and successors: even as esteemed
a figure as Johann Sebastian Bach adapted some of Vivaldi's music. Vivaldi's
variable textures and dramatic effects initiated the shift toward what
became the Classical style; a deeper understanding of his music begins
with the realization that, compared with Bach and even Handel, he was
Baroque music's arch-progressive. Though not as familiar as his concerti,
Vivaldi's stage and choral music is still of value; his sometimes bouncy,
sometimes lyrical Gloria in D major (1708) has remained a perennial favorite.
His operas were widely performed in his own time. From AllMusic.com
Born: Mar 4, 1678 in Venice, Italy
Died: Jul 28, 1741 in Vienna, Austria
Period/Genre: Baroque
Antonio
Vivaldi - Concerto In E Major - Spring: Allegro
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Justin
Timberlake : As both a member of *NSYNC and a solo artist, Southern
superstar Justin Timberlake has played a major role in the teen pop explosion
of the '90s and 2000s. Like similar teen pop favorites -- who have included
the Backstreet Boys, C-Note, Christina Aguilera, Hanson, the Spice Girls,
and Britney Spears -- Timberlake usually doesn't get much respect from
rock critics (who, in many cases, tend to be very alternative-minded and
anti-commercialistic). Regardless, he is adored by millions of fans, many
of whom have been adolescent girls. Like Spears (who Timberlake became
romantically involved with), Aguilera, and *NSYNC's JC Chasez, Timberlake
got his start on the Disney Channel's '90s version of The Mickey Mouse
Club. *NSYNC got started in Orlando, FL, in 1996, when Timberlake
and Chasez teamed up with Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Joey Fatone.
Released by RCA/BMG in 1998, the vocal quintet's self-titled debut album
sold millions of copies in both the United States and Europe and contained
the smash hits "I Want You Back" and "Tearing Up My Heart."
*NSYNC's second album, No Strings Attached, was released on Jive in 2000
and was even more commercially successful. Jive released Celebrity, *NSYNC's
third album, in 2001, and after that, Timberlake started recording as
a solo artist. The singer had performed live as a solo artist before *NSYNC,
but it wasn't until the early 2000s that he actually recorded an album
as a solo act. Justified, Timberlake's first solo album, was released
on Jive in November 2002. "Like I Love You," the album's first
single, became a major hit and was followed by a second single, "Cry
Me a River". Timberlake returned to the music world in 2006 with
his Prince-inspired FutureSex/LoveSounds.
From AllMusic.com
Born: January 31, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee
Period/Genre: Rock/Dance-Pop/Rap
Justin
Timberlake - SexyBack
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Les
Misérables: Les Misérables is set in the Parisian underworld.
The protagonist, Jean Valjean, is sentenced to prison for 19 years for
stealing a loaf of bread. After his release, Valjean plans to rob monseigneur
Myriel, a saintlike bishop, but cancels his plan. However, he forfeits
his parole by committing a minor crime, and for this crime Valjean is
haunted by the police inspector Javert. Valjean eventually reforms and
becomes under the name of M. Madeleine a successful businessman, benefactor
and mayor of a northern town. To save an innocent man, Valjean gives himself
up and is imprisoned in Toulon. He escapes and adopts Cosette, an illegitimate
child of a poor woman, Fantine. Cosette grows up and falls in love with
Marius, who is wounded during a revolutionary fight. Valjean rescues Marius
by means of a flight through the sewers of Paris. Cosette and Marius marries
and Valjean reveals his past. - The story has been filmed several times
and made into a musical by the composer Claude-Michel Schönberg and
the librettist Alain Boublil, opening in 1980 in Paris. The English version
was realised in 1985 and the Broadway version followed two years later.
From http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/les_miserables/
Written by: Victor Hugo
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The
Wedding Crashers: Divorce mediators John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey
are business partners and lifelong friends who share one truly unique
springtime hobby--crashing weddings! Whatever the ethnicity of the wedding
party--Jewish, Italian, Irish, Chinese, Hindu--the charismatic and charming
duo always have clever back stories for inquisitive guests and inevitably
become the hit of every reception, where they strictly adhere to their
proven rules of wedding crashing to meet and pick up women aroused by
the very thought of marriage. At the tail end of another successful season
of toasting brides and grooms, Jeremy learns that the daughter of Treasury
Secretary William Cleary and his wife, Kathleen, is getting married in
what is sure to be the Washington D.C. social event of the year. After
infiltrating the lavish affair, John and Jeremy quickly set their sights
on two bridesmaids, Claire and Gloria Cleary. With the lavish reception
in full swing, Jeremy works his game plan to perfection in seducing Gloria,
but John's flirtation banter with Claire is unexpectedly impeded by her
pompous, Ivy League boyfriend Sack. Having uncharacteristically fallen
hard and fast for Claire, John convinces a resistant Jeremy to bend the
crashing rules and accept an invitation to an extended weekend party at
the Cleary family compound. Once at the palatial waterfront estate, John
and Jeremy endure a multitude of comical mishaps at the hands of the dysfunctional
members of the Cleary family, but also learn a few unexpected lessons
about love and relationships. From IMDB.com
Written by: Steve Faber & Bob Fisher
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