Look up number two in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Number Two, No. 2, or similar may refer to:

Film[link]

• No. 2 (film), a 2006 New Zealand film, also:
  • No. 2 (soundtrack), the soundtrack to the film
• Number 2 (Austin Powers), a character from the Austin Powers films
• Number Two (film), a 1975 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard

Television[link]

• Number Two (Battlestar Galactica) or Leoben Conoy, character from the 2004 TV Series
• Number Two (The Prisoner), a character from the British television series The Prisoner
• Numbuh Two, a character from the animated television series Codename: Kids Next Door

Music[link]

• No. 2 (band), an American alternative rock band
• N° 2, a 1959 Serge Gainsbourg album
• #2, the pseudonym of American musician Paul Gray, when performing with Slipknot
• "Number Two", from They Might Be Giants's album, Here Come the 123s

Other[link]

• 2 (number), the natural number
• No. 2 fuel oil or No. 2 diesel fuel
• Number two, character from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• No. 2, later revealed to be Stanley, an engine from the fictional Mid Sodor Railway of Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series
• No. 2, a slang term for defecation

See also[link]

• 2 (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Gustavo Dudamel
Dudamel at the European Tour, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez
Born	(1981-01-26) January 26, 1981 (age 31) Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela
Genres	Classical
Occupations	Composer, conductor
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1999–present
Associated acts	Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Website	www.GustavoDudamel.com

Gustavo Adolfo Dudamel Ramírez (born January 26, 1981) is a Venezuelan conductor and violinist. He is the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in Gothenburg, Sweden, and music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Los Angeles, California.^[1] Dudamel is also the artistic director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela.

Life and career[link]

Early life[link]

Dudamel was born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, the son of a trombonist and a voice teacher.^[2] He studied music from an early age, becoming involved with El Sistema, the famous Venezuelan musical education program, and took up the violin at age ten. He soon began to study composition. He attended the Jacinto Lara Conservatory, where he was taught the violin by José Luis Jiménez. He then went on to work with José Francisco del Castillo at the Latin-American Violin Academy. He began to study conducting in 1995, first with Rodolfo Saglimbeni, then later with José Antonio Abreu. In 1999, he was appointed music director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar, the national youth orchestra of Venezuela, and toured several countries. He attended Charles Dutoit's master class in Buenos Aires in 2002, and worked as assistant for Simon Rattle in Berlin and Salzburg in 2003.

Conducting career[link]

Dudamel began to win a number of conducting competitions, including the Gustav Mahler Conducting Prize in Germany in 2004.^[3] His reputation began to spread, and he was noticed by conductors such as Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado, who accepted invitations to conduct the Simón Bolívar Orchestra in Venezuela.^[4] Dudamel debuted with the Philharmonia, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among others, in 2005, and also signed a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

In 2005, Gustavo Dudamel first conducted the Gothenburg Symphony at the BBC Proms, on short notice as a replacement for the indisposed Neeme Järvi.^[5][6]

In 2006, Dudamel was named Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony.^[7] He continues to retain his position with the Simón Bolívar National Youth Orchestra.^[8] He took up the Gothenburg post in 2007,^[2] and his current contract there is to 2012.^[9] Dudamel made his US conducting debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (LAP) at the Hollywood Bowl on September 13, 2005 in a program consisting of "La Noche de los Mayas" by Silvestre Revueltas and the Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5.^[10]

He made his debut at La Scala, Milan, with Don Giovanni in November 2006. On September 10, 2007, he conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time at the Lucerne Festival.

On April 16, 2007, Gustavo Dudamel conducted the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in a concert in commemoration of the 80th birthday of Pope Benedict XVI, with Hilary Hahn as solo violinist, with the Pope himself and many other church dignitaries among the audience.^[11]

In March 2008, he made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony. Dudamel was subsequently invited back to the US, to conduct the orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall in January 2007 in performances of "Dances of Galánta" by Zoltán Kodály, the third piano concerto of Sergei Rachmaninoff with Yefim Bronfman as soloist, and Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra (the latter of which was recorded live and subsequently released by Deutsche Grammophon).

Music Director, Los Angeles Philharmonic[link]

In April 2007, during a guest conducting engagement with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Dudamel was named the LAP's next music director as of the 2009–2010 season, succeeding Esa-Pekka Salonen. His initial contract in Los Angeles is for five years, beginning in September 2009.^[12][13][14] Dudamel began his tenure as Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic on September 28, 2009 with a rehearsal of Beethoven's 9th Symphony that included the Los Angeles Master Chorale and representatives of eight community-based choruses. His first official rehearsal with the orchestra followed on September 30. On October 3 he conducted Beethoven's 9th Symphony at the Hollywood Bowl in "Bienvenido Gustavo," a free concert, and conducted his official inaugural concert featuring the world premiere of John Adams' "City Noir" and Mahler's Symphony No. 1 with his new orchestra in Walt Disney Concert Hall on October 8.

Awards and media[link]

Dudamel is featured in the documentary film Tocar y Luchar, which covers El Sistema. Dudamel and the Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar received the WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award in New York City in November 2007. Another US television news feature on Dudamel was on 60 Minutes in February 2008, entitled "Gustavo the Great".

On July 23, 2009, Dudamel was selected by the Eighth Glenn Gould Prize laureate José Antonio Abreu as winner of the prestigious The City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize.

Dudamel is featured in the 2011 documentary "Let The Children Play," a film which focuses on his work advocating for music as a way to enrich children's lives.^[15]

Gramophone, the British classical music magazine, named Dudamel its 2011 Gramophone Artist of the Year. Past recipients of the award include Yo-Yo Ma, Michael Tilson Thomas, Riccardo Chailly, Cecilia Bartoli and Antonio Pappano, to name only a few. The announcement was made at the Gramophone Awards in London on October 6, 2011.

In 2011, Dudamel appeared in the Visit California promotional film aimed at boosting tourism from the UK.

On February 12, 2012, Gustavo Dudamel won a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance, for his recording of Brahms Symphony No. 4 for the label Deutsche Grammophon.

Personal life[link]

Gustavo and his wife, Eloísa Maturén

Dudamel married his girlfriend, Eloísa Maturén, in 2006 in Caracas. Maturén, also a Venezuelan native, is a classically trained ballet dancer and a journalist.

The Simón Bolívar National Youth Orchestra combined forces with the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela and the Orfeon Universitario of the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado to make the event a special musical celebration. The wedding took place in the chapel at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello in Montalbán, a suburb of Caracas.

They have a son, Martín Dudamel Maturén, a U.S. citizen.^[16]

Discography[link]

• 2006: "Beethoven, Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7"
• 2007: "Birthday Concert for Pope Benedict XVI"
• 2007: "Mahler, Symphony No. 5"
• 2008: "Fiesta"
• 2008: "The Promise Of Music"
• 2008: "Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5, Francesca Da Rimini"
• 2009: "Gustavo Dudamel - Live From Salzburg"
• 2009: "Discoveries"
• 2009: "El Sistema - Music To Change Life"
• 2009: "The Inaugural Concert"
• 2009: "State Of The Art - The Story Of Deutsche Grammophon"
• 2010: "Stravinsky: Le Sacre Du Printemps; Revueltas: La Noche De Los Mayas"
• 2011: "Tchaikovsky & Shakespeare"
• 2011: "New Year's Eve Concert 2010"
• 2011: "Sibelius: Symphony No. 2; Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5; Bruckner: Symphony No. 9"
• 2012: "Beethoven: Symphony No. 3"

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

• Tunstall, Tricia, Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music, New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2012 ISBN 978039307896

External links[link]

• Gustavo Dudamel official website
• Gustavo Dudamel biography at Deutsche Grammophon
• Conductor Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with performance schedule
• Gustavo Dudamel collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Profile (2008) and interview (2010) at The Guardian
• Works by or about Gustavo Dudamel in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Gustavo Dudamel at the Internet Movie Database
• Gustavo Dudamel and Eloísa Maturen's civil wedding (Spanish), el universal.com, 25 November 2005 – includes wedding photographs
• Fundación de Estado para el Sistema Nacional de Orquesta Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (El Sistema)

Video

• 60 Minutes (CBS-TV): "Gustavo the Great" February 17, 2008 (video and transcript)
• Celebracion! Dudamel, Florez, and the L.A. Philharmonic, 1:55:22, Great Performances on PBS, December 29, 2010, video-only link with related videos
• Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic: The Inaugural Concert, 51:41, Great Performances on PBS, October 21, 2009, video-only link with related videos
• JANERA: Dudamel in da House, by Nicole E. Foster (article and video)
• WQXR Press Release, 12 November 2007, "The 2007 WQXR Gramophone Special Recognition Award Is Presented to Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela on the Stage of Carnegie Hall on November 10".
• Danzón no. 2 on YouTube by Arturo Márquez. Gustavo Dudamel and Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra
• Gustavo Dudamel and the Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra performing for TED 2009
• Suite Concertante for World-WWs & Orch, Movs. 6 & 7 on YouTube by Pedro Eustache (composer-soloist). Gustavo Dudamel and Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra
• Mahler 5, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela

This biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (March 2012)

Arturo Márquez (born 20 December 1950) is a Mexican composer of orchestra music who uses musical forms and styles of his native Mexico and incorporates them into his compositions.

Life[link]

Márquez was born in Álamos, Sonora, in 1950 where his interest in music began. Marquez is the first born of nine children of Arturo Marquez and Aurora Marquez Navarro. Marquez was the only one of the nine siblings who became a musician. Marquez's father was a mariachi musician in Mexico and later in Los Angeles and his paternal grandfather was a Mexican folk musician in the northern states of Sonora and Chihuahua. Because of Marquez's father and grandfather, he was exposed to several musical styles in his childhood, particularly Mexican "salon music" which would be the impetus for his later musical repertoire.

In his late childhood the family immigrated to Southern California settling in La Puente, a suburb of Los Angeles. There he attended Fairgrove Junior High school and William Workman High School. In junior high school he began to play the trombone under the direction of Mr. Rossetti, the school's band director, and continued playing in high school. While living in La Puente he started formal studies in music enrolling in violin and trombone lessons. He had started piano studies in Alamos, Sonora and when the family immigrated to the U.S. he continued more extensive piano lessons in the home of Mrs. Eva McGowan, a local piano teacher. He started composing at the age of 16 and then attended the Mexican Music Conservatory where he studied with Federico Ibarra, Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras and Héctor Quintanar. Márquez was then awarded a scholarship by the French government to study composition in Paris with Jacques Casterede. Subsequently, in the U.S., he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and obtained a MFA in composition from California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. There he studied with Morton Subotnick, Mel Powell, Lucky Mosko, and James Newton.

Although Márquez was already an accomplished composer in Mexico, his music started to reach the international stage with the introduction of his series of Danzones in the early 1990s. The Danzones are based on the music of Cuba and the Veracruz region of Mexico. Danzon no. 2 was included on the program of the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel on their 2007 tour of Europe and the United States. As a result of the strong public response to the orchestra's performance of the piece, Danzon no. 2 has established itself as one of the signature pieces performed by the orchestra. It has also opened the door for the discovery of other pieces by the composer that are increasingly being performed throughout the world and extensively in Latin America. Son a Tamayo for harp, percussion and tape was featured at the 1996 World Harp Congress.

Marquez's music has been performed and recorded worldwide by a variety of chamber ensembles, symphony orchestras and soloists. He has composed numerous scores for film and dance works. He has received commissions and fellowships from among others, the Universidad Metropolitana de Mexico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Festival Cervantino, Festival del Caribe, the World's Fair in Sevilla in 1992, the Rockefeller Foundation and Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, (CONACULTA). He currently works at the National University of Mexico, Superior School of Music and CENIDIM (National Center of Research, Documentation and Information of Mexican Music). He lives with his family in Mexico City.

Awards[link]

Márquez has been the recipient of several prestigious awards and honors. Marquez was awarded the National Arts and Sciences (Premio Nacional de Artes y Sciences) award of Mexico by President Felipe Calderon on December 14, 2009. In February 2006, he made history when he became the first musician to receive "La Medalla De Oro De Bellas Artes de Mexico" (Gold Medal of Fine Arts of Mexico), one of Mexico's most coveted award for career accomplishments in the fine arts. Other awards have included the Medalla Mozart (awarded by the Austrian embassy), Medalla Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado, California Institute of the Arts Distinguished Alumnus Award, Union de Cronistas de Musica y de Teatro, and many others. In 2000, the German public paid homage to the composer at a concert in his honor in Berlin.

Marquez has also been honored at several musical festivals throughout Latin America where his music has been performed extensively and has obtained a large following. In 2005, the Arturo Marquez International Music Festival was commenced in Caracas, Venezuela in honor of the composer. His Danzones are increasingly being used for ballet productions throughout the world. Although regarded by many as a controversial composer for his use of Latin American styles in his compositions, he is a popular composer among the Latin American public and is widely recognized as one of the most important and admired Mexican composers of his generation.

Music[link]

• Leyenda De Miliano, for orchestra
• Danzón No. 1, for orchestra
• Danzón no. 2, Orchestra and Symphonic Band
• Marcha a Sonora
• Espejos en la Arena, for cello and orchestra
• Danzón no. 3, for flute, guitar and small orchestra
• Danzón no. 4, for chamber orchestra
• Danzón no. 5, portales de madrugada
• Zarabandeo, for clarinet and piano
• Son a tamayo, for harp and percussion and tape (featured at the 1996 World Harp Congress), which, along with Música para Mandinga, is an electroacoustic composition
• Octeto Malandro
• Danza de Mediodía, for wind quintet
• Días de Mar y Río
• En Clave, for piano
• Homenaje a Gismonti, for string quartet
• Paisajes bajo el signo de cosmos, for orchestra
• Noche de luna, for chorus and orchestra
• La pasión según San Juán de Letrán, De máscaras
• Danzón No. 8, Homenaje to Maurice, for orchestra
• Conga del Fuego Nuevo, for orchestra

References[link]

Esquer, Jose Carlos, "Mar Que Es Arena y Espejos: Un Acercamiento a la Obra del Compositor Arturo Marquez" Instituto Sonorense de Cultura, 2009 (ISBN 6077598089, ISBN 978-607-7598-08-4)

Rumbaut, Luis, "The Folk Spirit in Orchestral Music" CLAVE Magazine - Latin American Folk Institute, May 2002

Palapa, Fabiola; Herrera, Claudia; Mateos, Monica, Mexico es un Pais Afortunado en Generos Musicales, dijo Arturo Marquez La Jornada, December 15, 2009

External links[link]

• http://www.peermusicclassical.com/composer/composerdetail.cfm?detail=marquez Peermusic Classical: Arturo Marquez] Composer's Publisher and Bio
• http://www.artsalive.ca/en/mus/greatcomposers/marquez.html Arturo Márquez *http://www.ciberhabitat.gob.mx/conciertos/sarturomarquez.htm (same in Spanish)
• Making Of Danzón No. 2 Interview about the making of a short film with his famous piece, in Spanish.
• http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/10/local/la-me-lopezcolumn-20101010
• http://www.answers.com/topic/danz-n-no-2-for-orchestra
• http://www.ccsymphony.org/UserFiles/File/Program_notes_-_Marquez_Danzon_2.pdf
• http://www.sacm.org.mx/archivos/biografia_sola.asp?Socio=24942

Lana Del Rey
Del Rey at a promotional event in Seattle
Background information
Birth name	Elizabeth Woolridge Grant
Also known as	Lizzy Grant Lana Rey Del Mar May Jailer
Born	(1986-06-21) June 21, 1986 (age 26)[1] New York City, New York, United States
Origin	Lake Placid, New York, United States
Genres	Indie pop,[2] adult alternative,[2] chamber pop,[3] sadcore[4]
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, fashion model
Instruments	Vocals, guitar[5]
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Interscope, Polydor, Stranger
Website	lanadelrey.com

Elizabeth Woolridge Grant^[6] (born June 21, 1986), better known by her stage name Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Raised in upstate New York, Del Rey moved to New York City at age eighteen, where she attended college and began writing music and performing in clubs.

In 2008, Del Rey contracted with an independent label and recorded a self-titled debut album which was briefly available on iTunes in 2010; Del Rey ultimately bought back the rights to the album and it was withdrawn soon after.

In June 2011, she released the song "Video Games" on the Internet, accompanied by a self-made music video that went viral in the following months. The song was later released as a single in October, leading up to Del Rey's major-label debut album, Born to Die, which was released on January 31, 2012 through Interscope Records. Born to Die debuted at number one in seven countries, including the United Kingdom^[7] and Australia. The album has spawned two worldwide top 10 hits: "Video Games" and "Born to Die".

Del Rey's music has been noted for its cinematic sound and its references to various aspects of pop culture, particularly that of 1950s and '60s Americana.^[8] Del Rey has been described as a "self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra",^[9] and cites Britney Spears,^[10][11][12] Eminem,^[13][10] and Antony and the Johnsons amongst her musical influences.^[10]

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Del Rey was born Elizabeth Grant in New York City and grew up in Lake Placid, New York.^[14][15] When she was 14, she attended Kent School, a boarding school in Connecticut.^[16][17] She has Scottish ancestry, and is the daughter of domain investor Rob Grant, who supported her in her early career as a singer.^{[18][19][20][21]} Del Rey attended Fordham University in New York City, studying philosophy.^[22]

At age 18, her uncle taught her how to play guitar, beginning with basic chords: "It was G, C, A, D minor, A minor and some diminished chord as well. Some trick, some shortcut," Del Rey recalled. "I realized I could probably write a million songs with those six chords, so I moved to New York and I took a couple of years to just write whatever I wanted."^[5] She began performing in clubs while living in the city.

Her stage name was discussed in a Vogue interview, in which she said, "I wanted a name I could shape the music towards [...] I was going to Miami quite a lot at the time, speaking a lot of Spanish with my friends from Cuba – Lana Del Rey reminded us of the glamour of the seaside. It sounded gorgeous coming off the tip of the tongue."^[23] The name is reportedly an amalgam of the actress Lana Turner, and the 1980's automobile Ford Del Rey. ^[24]

"I wanted to be part of a high-class scene of musicians. It was half-inspired because I didn't have many friends, and I was hoping that I would meet people and fall in love and start a community around me, the way they used to do in the '60s."^[25]

Del Rey first released a three-track EP titled Kill Kill in October 2008 under the name Lizzy Grant, featuring the tracks "Kill Kill", "Yayo" and "Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Heaven)".^[26]

[edit] 2010: Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant

Del Rey later released her first full-length studio album titled Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant [sic] in January 2010.^[27] It was the singer's first professionally produced album, released under Lizzy Grant on an independent label with producer David Kahne.^[28] Del Rey stated that "David asked to work with me only a day after he got my demo. He is known as a producer with a lot of integrity and who had an interest in making music that wasn't just pop."^[29] Her father, Robert Grant, helped with the marketing of the album,^[30] which was available for purchase on iTunes for a brief period before being withdrawn. According to David Kahne, who produced Grant, Grant bought the rights back from her label, 5 Points, as she wanted it out of circulation to "…stifle future opportunities to distribute it – an echo of rumors that the action was part of a calculated strategy."^[31]

[edit] 2011–present: Born to Die

Lana Del Rey performing at Paradiso, Amsterdam.

Later in June 2011, Del Rey was signed with Stranger Records,^[32] to release her debut single "Video Games";^[32] in October 2011, she signed a joint deal with Interscope Records and Polydor.^{[5][33][34][35]} In October 2011, she won the Q award for "Next Big Thing". Del Rey's song "Video Games" was featured for the first time on The CW's TV-Series Ringer on September 27, 2011.^[36] Del Rey also promoted the album in a number of live appearances, including a show at the Bowery Ballroom, where, according to Eliot Glazer of New York, "the polarizing indie hipstress brought her 'gangsta Nancy Sinatra' swagu."^[37] Rolling Stone commented that, despite Del Rey being nervous and anxious while performing her songs live, she "sang with considerable confidence", although they noted that "her transitions ...could be rather jarring."^[38] Del Rey also performed "Video Games" on Dutch television program De Wereld Draait Door,^[39] on British music television show Later... with Jools Holland,^[40] and on an intimate show at Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood, California.^[41]

Born to Die was released on January 27, 2012 in Ireland,^[42] January 30, 2012, in the UK, and on January 31, 2012 worldwide.^[43]

Del Rey performed two songs on Saturday Night Live on January 14, 2012 to a warm reception from the audience, but mixed reviews from critics and the general public. NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams called Del Rey's performance "one of the worst outings in SNL history". Del Rey's performance was defended by the evening's program guest host, actor Daniel Radcliffe, despite not having seen her performance.^[44] He said in part: "It was unfortunate that people seemed to turn on her so quickly [...] I don't think [the performance] warranted anywhere near that reaction." Del Rey had earlier defended her spot on the program, saying: "I'm a good musician [...] I have been singing for a long time, and I think that [SNL creator] Lorne Michaels knows that [...] it's not a fluke decision."^[45] On February 4, 2012, Kristen Wiig appeared on the Weekend Update segment on Saturday Night Live parodying Del Rey and poking fun at the backlash.

The second single and title track "Born to Die" was released on December 3, 2011.^[46] The music video for it leaked on December 14, 2011,^[47] and was based on a concept created by the singer, while being directed by Yoann Lemoine.^[48]

In January 2012, Del Rey revealed that she recently bought back the rights to her 2010 album Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant and will re-release it in the summer of 2012 under Interscope Records and Polydor.^[49] Contrary to Grant's press statement, her previous label (5 Point Records), and producer David Kahne have both stated that she bought the rights to the album when she and the label parted company, due to the offer of a new deal, in April 2010.^[50][51] On January 4, 2012, it was reported she had signed a deal with NEXT Model Management agency.^[52] In May 2012, Del Rey confirmed the song "National Anthem" as the fourth single from her album Born to Die. ^{[53] [54]} On May 30th, 2012, Del Rey's supposed debut album "Sirens" was leaked online under the name "May Jailer". The 15 track album includes the previously leaked song "A Star for Nick."

Artistry[link]

Music

She has been described as a "self-styled gangsta Nancy Sinatra",^[9] Del Rey is known to write and produce most of her own material and covers genres from Hip-Hop and Indie. Having first been discovered from posting viral videos of herself singing on the internet she quickly grew a significant fan base. She has been noted for using her allure to the celebrity lifestyle as an inspiration in itself, whilst at the same time maintaining an aura of mystique, this has reflected in the melodies and vocals she produces. Her sound as well as her videography has been described as eccentric, over the top and at times wild. However Noah Levy, senior news editor at In Touch Weekly magazine noted that her dedication and talent is undeniable, quoted as saying "I think she cares about the art that she is creating. I don't think that is fake at all."^[55]

Voice

Del Rey possesses a wide^[56] contralto vocal range,^{[57][58][59][60]} which has been described as unique, captivating and highly emotive,^[60] being able to transcend from sounding high and girlish in her timbre, down to a low and jazzy sound with great ease, although both these areas of the voice can be conflicting in their sound and polarise opinion.^[57]

When recording in the studio Del Rey is known for vocal multi layering, double tracking and overlays which has it has been noted is difficult for her to replicate within a live setting, especially with the lack of backing singers to fill out the original vocal style.^[59].

Influences

Del Rey cites Britney Spears,^[11][12] Elvis Presley, Antony and the Johnsons, Frank Sinatra ^[13] and Eminem amongst her musical influences. "[I really] just like the masters of every genre", she told BBC journalist Jo Whiley.^[61]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant (2010)
• Born To Die (2012)

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lana Del Rey

• Official website
• Lana Del Rey at the Internet Movie Database
• Lana Del Rey talks influences with BEAT

Hélène Grimaud in rehearsal at the La Roque-d'Anthéron Festival

Hélène Grimaud (born November 7, 1969) is a French pianist.

Biography[link]

Grimaud was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. On her mother's side, she is descended from Italian-Sephardi Jews on Corsica; and, on her father's side, from Algerian Jews.^[1][2] She has stated that, as a child, she was often "agitated".^[3] She discovered the piano at seven. In 1982, she entered the Conservatoire de Paris, where she studied with Jacques Rouvier. In 1985, she won 1st Prize at the Conservatory and the Grand Prix du Disque of the Académie Charles Cros for her recording of the Sergei Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata No. 2. In 1987, she launched her professional career with a solo recital in Paris and a performance with the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim.

In 1991, at age 21, Grimaud moved to Tallahassee, Florida, to be near a boyfriend who taught bassoon at Florida State University.^[4] In 1997, she settled in Westchester County, north of New York City. After some time spent in Berlin,^[5] she currently resides in Switzerland.^[6] She has a passion for wolves, which she studies and raises. She now divides her time between her musical career and the Wolf Conservation Center, which she co-founded with her former companion, photographer J. Henry Fair.^[7] She also experiences synesthesia, where one physical sense adds to another, in her case seeing music as color.

She performed at the Last Night of the BBC Proms in London in September 2008, playing the piano part of Beethoven's Choral Fantasia.

Critical reception[link]

Critics have praised Grimaud's willingness to reinterpret works and take chances, and compared her to Glenn Gould:

Grimaud doesn’t sound like most pianists: she is a rubato artist, a reinventor of phrasings, a taker of chances. “A wrong note that is played out of élan, you hear it differently than one that is played out of fear,” she says. She admires “the more extreme players . . . people who wouldn’t be afraid to play their conception to the end.” Her two overriding characteristics are independence and drive, and her performances attempt, whenever possible, to shake up conventional pianistic wisdom. Brian Levine, the executive director of the Glenn Gould Foundation, sees in Grimaud a resemblance to Gould: “She has this willingness to take a piece of music apart and free herself from the general body of practice that has grown up around it.”^[8]

Discography[link]

On Denon ^[A]

• Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata No. 2 (1986)
• Chopin Ballade No. 1, Liszt Après une Lecture de Dante, Schumann Sonata for Piano (1987)
• Schumann Kreisleriana, Brahms Piano Sonata No. 2 (1989)
• Brahms Piano Sonata No. 3 & 6, Klavierstücke (1992)
• Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Ravel Piano Concerto (1993)

On Erato

• Schumann Piano Concerto, Richard Strauss Burleske (1995)
• Brahms Piano Pieces Op. 116–119 (1996)
• Gershwin Piano Concerto, Ravel Piano Concerto (1997)
• Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 (1998)

On Teldec

• Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4, Piano Sonata No. 30, Piano Sonata No. 31 (1999)
• Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Prelude Op. 32/12, Études-Tableaux Op. 33/1, 2 and 9, Variations on a Theme of Corelli (2001)
• Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4, Schumann Piano Concerto, Op. 54 (2003)

On Deutsche Grammophon

• Credo, comprising John Corigliano: Fantasia on an Ostinato, Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 "Tempest", Choral Fantasy, Arvo Pärt: Credo (2003)
• Chopin | Rachmaninoff (2005)
• Bartók The Piano Concertos (on the third) (2005)
• Reflection (2006)
• Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor", Piano Sonata No. 28 (2007)
• Bach Various (2008)
• Resonances, Mozart: Sonata No. 8, Berg: Sonata op.1, Liszt: Sonata in B minor, Bartok: Romanian Folk Dances.
• Mozart Piano Concerto No. 19, Piano Concerto No. 23, Ch'io mi scordi di te? (with Mojca Erdmann, soprano).

On Philips

• Schumann Sonata for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op. 105, Gidon Kremer violin and Helene Grimaud piano. Recording date: 7/1989. Release: Lockenhaus Festival 1982-1992 A Decade of Music-Making (1997)

On ACA Digital Recording, Inc

• Bassoon Music Of The Americas, Composers on Bassoon Music Of The Americas: Alvin Etler, Waldir Azevedo, Jose Siqueira, Magda Santos/Pó, Pixinguinha, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Willson Osborne. Jeff Keesecker - bassoon & Hélène Grimaud - piano (2002)

Bibliography[link]

• Variations sauvages (2003, published in English as Wild Harmonies)
• Leçons particulières (2005)
• D.T. Max, "Her way: A pianist of strong opinions", New Yorker 87/35 (7 November 2011), 58-65.

Notes and references[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• James R. Oestreich, "Recording as a Road to Recovery", New York Times, 27 January 2011
• New Yorker Profile by D. T. Max: "Her Way, A pianist of strong opinions", 7 November 2011
• Daniel J. Wakin, "Titans Clash Over a Mere Cadenza", New York Times, 30 October 2011

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Biographical information
• Wolf Conservation Center
• Interview with Helene Grimaud and performances of Bartok and Liszt on PBS "Sound Tracks presents Quick Hits'
• Classical Archives Interview