Alan Paul Rouse (December 19, 1951 – August 10, 1986) was the first British climber to reach the summit of the second highest mountain in the world, K2, but died on the descent.

Education[link]

Rouse was born in Wallasey and began climbing at the age of 15, soon climbing many of the most difficult routes in North Wales. He attended Birkenhead School from 1963 to 1970 and Emmanuel College, Cambridge until 1973. At Cambridge he was distracted from his studies by climbing and by his hedonistic life-style. He was a highly sociable, but heavy drinker; by his own admission he was a 'womaniser', and liked to 'live on the edge'.^[1] As a result he only managed to gain an ordinary pass degree in Mathematics, despite showing early promise in the subject. On leaving Cambridge he worked periodically in teaching but was often away on climbing expeditions.

Mountaineering[link]

Rouse was an outstanding technical rock climber, one of the best of his generation. His ascents of 'The Beatnik' on Helsby, and his solo ascent of 'The Boldest'^[2] on Clogwyn Du'r Arddu marked him out as an exceptional talent. He was a member of a group of contemporaries (including Cliff Phillips, Eric Jones, Pete Minks, 'Richard' McHardy) whose competitive spirit pushed them to solo the hardest routes of the day.

His soloing was not confined to Wales, nor was it always successful. An attempt on the American Route on South Face of the Aiguille de Fou failed when a small piton being used for aid pulled near the summit. Although he fell only 5 meters, Rouse broke his ankle and was forced to make 17 abseils down the entire route, for much of the time using only his knees.^[3]

Rouse eventually became a professional mountaineer, lecturing, guiding, writing and acting as an adviser to the outdoor equipment trade. He moved to Sheffield in easy reach of the rocks of the Peak District. Rouse became a highly experienced climber in places as far afield as Scotland, North Wales, Patagonia, Peru, the Alps, the Andes, New Zealand and Nepal. He was also elected vice-president of the British Mountaineering Council.

In 1980, Rouse, Dr Michael Ward and Chris Bonington were among the few Europeans to visit the high mountains of China, reopening some of these to foreign mountaineers. In the winter of 1980–81, Rouse led a British expedition to attempt Mount Everest by the west ridge, without using oxygen or Sherpas. The trip was not successful, but in the summer of 1981 he climbed Kongur Tagh, a hitherto unclimbed peak in western China, with Bonington, Joe Tasker and Peter Boardman.

1986 K2 disaster[link]

K2 is regarded as a much more difficult climb than Mount Everest and has a high fatality rate. In 1983, Rouse made his first attempt on K2 with an international team by a new route up the south ridge. In 1986, Rouse returned as the leader of a British expedition and obtained a permit to climb the difficult North-West Ridge, instead of the conventional Abruzzi ridge. After they had made several unsuccessful attempts to establish camps on their chosen route, the British team members – apart from Rouse and fellow climber and expedition cameraman, Jim Curran – left.

While Rouse and the British expedition attempted the North-West Ridge, other expeditions had also been trying various routes, with and without oxygen. After his fellow team members left the mountain, Rouse and six climbers from these expeditions decided to join forces to try the conventional route without a permit. There were four Austrian men, Alfred Imitzer, Hannes Wieser, Willi Bauer and Kurt Diemberger, a Polish woman, Dobroslawa Miodowicz-Wolf, and a British woman, Julie Tullis.

They reached Camp IV at (8,157 metres, 26,760 feet), the final staging post before the summit. For reasons that are still unclear, this impromptu team decided to wait a day before trying the final stage to the summit. None of the climbers on the Abruzzi Ridge chose to follow the team consisting of three Korean climbers who had set out on an oxygen aided attempt on August 3rd, even though the trail would have been broken through the deep snow for those climbing without oxygen. On the following day, it was obvious that the weather was deteriorating, but Rouse and Wolf set out for the summit. Wolf quickly tired and dropped back, whilst Rouse continued. Because he was breaking the trail alone, two of the Austrian climbers, Willi Bauer and Alfred Imitzer, caught up with him some 100 vertical meters below the summit. By then Rouse could fall in behind the Austrians, thus making his ascent easier the last stretch, and the three reached the summit together on August 4, 1986.

On the way down, they found Wolf asleep in the snow and persuaded her to descend. They also met Kurt Diemberger and Julie Tullis, still on their way up and tried to persuade them to descend but with no success. Diemberger and Tullis also summitted but very late, at dusk which occurred around 7 pm. On the descent, Tullis fell. Even though she survived, both Tullis and Diemberger had to spend the night, bivouacked in the open.

Eventually, all the climbers reached Camp IV, where Hannes Wieser, waited. The seven waited for the storm to abate. Instead, the storm worsened with much snow, winds over 160 km/h, and sub-zero temperatures. With no food or any gas to melt snow into water, the situation soon became life threatening. Tullis died during the night of August 6–August 7, presumably of HAPE, high altitude pulmonary edema, a common consequence of lack of oxygen during physical exertion. The other six climbers stayed for the next three days, but remained barely conscious. On August 10, the snow stopped, but the temperature dropped and the wind continued unabated. The climbers, although severely weakened, decided that they had no option but to move.

Rouse, when conscious, was in agony, and the other climbers decided to leave him to save their own lives. Of the seven climbers who had originally reached Camp IV on August 4 and August 5, only Diemberger and Bauer reached Base Camp.

Alan Rouse is presumed to have died on August 10, 1986. He was survived by his girlfriend, Deborah Sweeney, who gave birth to their daughter, Holly, three weeks later.

Commemoration[link]

The library of the British Mountaineering Council is named in honour of Alan Rouse.

References[link]

1. ^ Birtles, Geoff, Alan Rouse: A Mountaineer's Life, HarperCollins, 1987 (ISBN 0-04-440075-6)
2. ^ Wilson, Ken and Newman, Bernard, Extreme Rock, p134. Diadem 1987 (ISBN 0-906371-36-8)
3. ^ Taylor, Colin: The Alps, Notes 1971, Alpine Journal

External links[link]

• K2 tragedy
• Anita McConnell, ‘Rouse, Alan Paul (1951–1986)’ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

Books[link]

• Birtles, Geoff, Alan Rouse: A Mountaineer's Life, HarperCollins, 1987 (ISBN 0-04-440075-6)
• Curran, Jim, K2: Triumph and Tragedy, Grafton, 1989, (ISBN 0-586-20569-1)
• Diemberger, Kurt, The Endless Knot: K2, Mountain of Dreams and Destiny, Mountaineers Books, 1991 (ISBN 0-89886-300-7)
• Fawcett, Ron; Lowe, Jeff; Nunn, Paul; Rouse, Alan; & Salkeld, Audrey, The Climber's Handbook: Rock, Ice, Alpine, Expeditions, Sierra Club Books, 1987 (ISBN 0-87156-702-4)

Alan Gilbert
Born	(1967-02-23) February 23, 1967 (age 45)
Origin	New York, New York
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Conductor
Instruments	Violin, viola, piano
Associated acts	New York Philharmonic Stockholm Philharmonic Santa Fe Opera
Website	www.alangilbert.com

Alan Gilbert (born February 23, 1967) is an American conductor and violinist. He is currently the Music Director of the New York Philharmonic, making his debut performance as the orchestra's music director on September 16, 2009.

Early years[link]

Alan Gilbert was born in New York City, into a New York Philharmonic family. Both his father, Michael Gilbert, and his Japanese mother, Yoko Takebe, have had careers as violinists in the Philharmonic — his father retired in 2001, and his mother still performs in the orchestra.^[1][2] Growing up in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Gilbert attended the Ethical Culture Fieldston School. As a youth, he learned the violin, viola, and piano.

In the 1980s Gilbert studied music at Harvard University, where he was music director of the Harvard Bach Society Orchestra in 1988–89.^[3] While in Boston, Gilbert also studied with violinist Masuko Ushioda at the New England Conservatory of Music. After obtaining his degree at Harvard, Gilbert studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School of Music with Otto-Werner Mueller. In 1994, he won the Georg Solti prize, which garnered him a week's private tutoring with maestro Solti. Also in 1994, Gilbert won first prize at the International Competition for Musical Performance in Geneva.

Conducting career[link]

During 1995–97, Gilbert was an assistant conductor with the Cleveland Orchestra. In 1997, he won the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award.^[4]

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic[link]

Gilbert became the Chief Conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2000, his first leadership post with an orchestra. During his Stockholm tenure, audience attendance increased, and Gilbert helped to secure additional financial support from the regional government.^[5] He concluded his Stockholm tenure in 2008.

Santa Fe Opera[link]

Gilbert's long association with Santa Fe Opera dates back to 1993, when he served as the orchestra's assistant concertmaster. Prior to that, both of Gilbert's parents played in the opera's orchestra, and his father served as concertmaster for a number of years. In 2001, Gilbert conducted his first Santa Fe Opera production, Verdi's Falstaff. In 2003, he became Santa Fe Opera's first Music Director. His initial contract concluded at the end of the 2006 season. In November 2006, it was reported that Gilbert was to be on "official sabbatical from June through August 2007" to spend more time with his family.^[6] In May 2007, Santa Fe Opera announced that Gilbert had officially concluded his tenure as their music director.^[7][8]

New York Philharmonic[link]

Gilbert made his first conducting appearance with the New York Philharmonic in 2001. After a total of 37 appearances as guest conductor, on July 18, 2007, the New York Philharmonic appointed Gilbert as its next Music Director, effective with the 2009–10 season.^[9] He is the first native New Yorker to hold this position.^[10] His contract includes a commitment of 12 subscription weeks of concerts per season for five years. Gilbert made his debut performance as the orchestra's new music director on the September 16, 2009 opening night gala, with a well-received program of Magnus Lindberg, Olivier Messiaen, and Hector Berlioz,^[11] which was telecast nationally on PBS's Live from Lincoln Center.

Gilbert is a conductor who has built much of his reputation conducting contemporary and American music, and his appointment by the Philharmonic marks somewhat of a shift by the orchestra away from his more conservative predecessors Lorin Maazel, Kurt Masur, and Zubin Mehta.^[12] For his inaugural 2009–10 Philharmonic season, Gilbert has introduced a number of new initiatives, including the presence of Composer-in-Residence Magnus Lindberg and Artist-in-Residence Thomas Hampson. The festivals and tours he has introduced include CONTACT — the Philharmonic's new-music series; and a major tour of Asia and the Middle East in October 2009, with debuts in Hanoi and Abu Dhabi. During his tenure Gilbert will lead the orchestra in performances of several world, U.S., and New York premieres.

Additional work[link]

Gilbert has been Principal Guest Conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra since 2004. He made his conducting debut at the Metropolitan Opera in November 2008, with an acclaimed performance of John Adams' new opera, Doctor Atomic.

Gilbert is also the first person to hold the William Schuman Chair in Musical Studies at the Juilliard School. The position includes coaching, conducting, and performance master classes, and Gilbert assumed the post in the fall of 2009.

Personal life[link]

In 2002, Gilbert married Swedish cellist Kajsa William-Olsson, a member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. They have three children.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alan Gilbert – Official Website
• Profile – Who's Who
• Bio through 1999
• IMG Artists – Profile
• "Young Conductor at Home with N.Y. Philharmonic." All Things Considered (NPR), 2007
• Classical Archives Interview

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2011)

Emanuel Ax (2009)

Emanuel Ax (born 8 June 1949) is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School.^[1] He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.^[2]

Early life[link]

Ax was born in Lviv, Ukraine, to Joachim and Hellen Ax, both Nazi concentration camp survivors. Ax began to study piano at the age of six; his father was his first piano teacher. When he was eight the family moved to Warsaw, Poland (where he studied piano playing at Miodowa school) and then two years later to Winnipeg, Canada where he continued to study music, including as a member of The Junior Musical Club of Winnipeg. In 1961 the family moved to New York City and Ax continued his studies at the Juilliard School under Mieczysław Munz. In 1970 he received his B.A. in French at Columbia University and became an American citizen. In 1973 he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions.

Musical style[link]

Ax is a particular supporter of contemporary composers and has given three world premieres in the last few seasons; Century Rolls by John Adams, Seeing by Christopher Rouse and Red Silk Dance by Bright Sheng. He also performs works by such diverse figures as Sir Michael Tippett, Hans Werner Henze, Joseph Schwantner and Paul Hindemith, as well as more traditional composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin.

Ax regularly performs duo recitals with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and played quartets with Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Jaime Laredo. Before the quartet had to disband in 2001 due to the death of Stern, they recorded works for Sony by Brahms, Fauré, Beethoven, Schumann and Mozart. Ax is also a featured guest artist in a documentary film about the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Peter Oundjian, Five Days in September; the Rebirth of an Orchestra.

He is a recipient of Yale University's Sanford Medal^[3] and also holds an honorary doctorate of music from Yale awarded in May 2007.

Personal life[link]

Ax lives in New York City with his wife, pianist Yoko Nozaki, and has two children, Joey and Sarah.

Awards and recognitions[link]

• 1974 - Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition in Tel Aviv
• 1979 - Avery Fisher Prize in New York
• 2007 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[4]
• Award of Excellence, The International Center in New York

Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance:

• Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Brahms: Cello and Piano Sonatas in E Minor and F (1986)
• Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Beethoven: Cello and Piano Sonata No. 4 in C & Variations (1987)
• Emanuel Ax, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma & Isaac Stern for Brahms: Piano (Op. 25 and 26) (1992)
• Emanuel Ax & Yo-Yo Ma for Brahms: Sonatas for Cello & Piano (1993)
• Emanuel Ax, Yo-Yo Ma & Richard Stoltzman for Brahms/Beethoven/Mozart: Clarinet Trios (1996)

Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra):

• Emanuel Ax for Haydn: Piano Sonatas, Nos. 32, 47, 53, 59 (1995)
• Emanuel Ax for Haydn: Piano Sonatas Nos. 29, 31, 34, 35 & 49 (2004)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks