Born in 1961 in Valdosta, Georgia, William Melvin “Bill” Hicks was an American comedian, social critic, satirist and musician. His material, encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy was controversial and often steeped in dark comedy. He saw himself as a flame, Shiva The Destroyer, using comedy a weapon to expose truths about our society’s government and politics. Hicks suffered from drug and alcohol abuse and passed away in 1994.

billhicks.com

Bill Hicks is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Chris Burden was born in 1946 in Boston, Massachusetts. He received a BFA from Pomona College in Claremont, California and a MFA from the University of California at Irvine. He became the first artist to be represented by Larry Gagosian in 1978. Burden’s works from the early 1970s were visceral performances where he had himself shot, locked up, electrocuted, cut, or crucified. The daring nature of these early performances translated into his sculptural work, as he created huge, intricate, imposing works. He passed away in Topanga, California in 2015.

gagosian.com/artists/chris-burden-2

Chris Burden is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Christo and Jeanne-Claude The artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude were born on the same day, June 13, 1935; Christo was born in Bulgaria and Jeanne-Claude in Morocco. The pair first met in Paris in 1958, and they had a son Cyril on May 11, 1960. They are known for their large-scale land artworks of wrapped monuments and outdoor sculptural installations. Until 1994, the works were only attributed to Christo; however, they have since been retroactively attributed to Christo and Jeanne-Claude. In November 2009, Jeanne-Claude passed away, and Christo continues to work.

christojeanneclaude.net

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are featured in Edition: Paradise Found and Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Born as Achille-Claude Debussy on August 22, 1862 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, Claude Debussy is one of the great composers of the 20th century. At a young age, he showed musical talent and entered the Paris Conservatory in 1873. He won the 1884 Grand Prix de Rome for his cantata L’Enfant prodigue (The Prodigal Child), which allowed him a three-year stint at the Villa Medici in Rome; however, he left Rome to return to Paris after just two years. Debussy’s compositions expressed many of the same ideals as his contemporary Impressionist and Symbolist painters and writers. He challenged the traditional orchestral use of instruments and frequently used atonality. Debussy passed away from cancer on March 25, 1918.

britannica.com/biography/Claude-Debussy

Claude Debussy is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

The pieces included in this category are from various sources, all striving to induce states of meditation and concentration.

For more information on: Tibetan Singing Bowls, Binaural Beats, Brainwave Relaxation

Collection of Meditative sounds are featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Eric Alfred Leslie Satie was born in Honfleur, France on May 17, 1866. He studied at the Paris Conservatory but dropped out and later worked as a café pianist. He moved to Arcueil, a suburb of Paris in 1898, and lived in seclusion. In 1905 he began studying at the Schola Cantorum under Vincent d’Indy and Albert Roussel, continuing for three years. The group Les Six, adopted him as their patron saint in 1917, and later the School of Arcueil was formed in his honor. He passed away on July 1, 1925 in Paris. Satie’s music represents the first definite break with the traditions of 19th century French Romanticism. It bears similarities with Dada and Surrealism in its disregard for traditional forms and structures, its flippant titles, Such as Troix morceaux en form de poire (1903; Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear), and its directions to players, such as “with much illness”. Satie strove to remove the pretentiousness and sentimentality from music in order to reveal an austere essence.

theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/01/erik-satie-a-life-less-ordinary

Erik Satie is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Gilles Deleuze was born in 1925 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. He was a French philosopher who, from the early 1960s until his death, wrote influentially on philosophy, literature, film and fine art. Deleuze wrote many books dedicated to the work of other practitioners, and his work is full of unexpected references, often citing obscure authors. Immanence was a key word for Deleuze, returning time and again throughout his texts. The term refers to what he called his empiricist philosophy based on the empirical real without recourse to the transcendental. Deleuze insists that philosophy must approach the immanent conditions of that which it is trying to think. Thought must create movement and consequences. Deleuze passed away on November 4, 1995 in Paris.

iep.utm.edu/deleuze

Gilles Deleuze is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Giorgio Moroder is an Italian producer, songwriter, DJ, and performer. He was born in South Tyrol, Italy in April 1940. He played bass and guitar in pop-oriented ensembles while touring Europe and first gained popularity in 1969 with his single “Looky Looky”. He teamed up with Pete Bellotte and Donna Summer to create “Love to Love You Baby”, a song that is credited with starting the worldwide disco craze. Throughout his career, he has worked with numerous artists such as Barbara Streisand, Elton John, Cher, Janet Jackson, David Bowie, and Daft Punk. He has won three Academy Awards: Best Original Score for Midnight Express (1978), Best Song for “Flashdance…What a Feeling” from Flashdance (1983), and Best Song for “Take My Breath Away” from Topgun (1986). Moroder has also won four Grammy Awards, two of them were for his score for Flashdance; he also won for Best Dance Recording for the song “Carry On” (1998) and Album of the Year for his collaboration with Daft Punk’s 2014 album Random Access Memories. His most recent album, Déjà Vu was released in 2015 and reached number one on the US Billboard Dance/Electronic charts.

giorgiomoroder.com

Giorgio Moroder is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Gustav Holst was born on September 21, 1874 in Cheltenham, England. His father Adolph was a professional pianist and his mother Clara, who passed away in 1882, was also a pianist as well as a singer. As a child, Holst was sickly, suffered from poor eyesight, and did not receive much parental attention. He was educated at Cheltenham Grammar School from 1886-91, showing an interest in composing. In 1891, he left for Oxford to study counterpoint for a few months with George Frederick Sims, the organist of Merton College. Holst then attended the Royal College of Music in London and studied under Charles Stanford until 1898. He married Isobel Harrison in 1901 and was appointed Director of Music at St. Paul’s Girls’ School in Hammersmith in 1905, where he would continue to teach until his death. Because of his teaching position, Holst was unable to devote large chunks of time to composing, but remained dedicated to the artform throughout his life. He passed away on May 25, 1934.

musicsalesclassical.com/composer

Gustav Holst is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Born Johannes Siegfried Richter in Berlin, Germany in 1888, Hans Ricter was an avant-garde artist associated with Dada. From 1908-11 he studied at the Academy of Art in Berlin, the Academy of Art in Weimar, and the Académie Julian in Paris. In 1914, Richter joined Die Aktion, an association of Expressionist artists formed around Franz Pfemfert’s journal of the same name. He was inducted into the army in September 1914 but was soon severely wounded and removed from active duty. Before leaving for the war, Richter and two friends Ferdinand Hardekopf and Albert Ehrenstein made a pact to reunite in two years at the Café de la terrasse in Zurich. It was during this reunion that Richter was introduced to members of the Dada group, Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco, and Georges Janco. Richter became an active member of Dada, and in the spring of 1918, Tzara introduced him to Viking Egging, a Swedish artist. The two co-authored a book on abstract theory in 1920 titled Universelle Sprache (Universal Language). They also produced a new kind of artwork, the abstract film, introducing time to the abstract visual language. Richter was eventually forced to flee before the onset of World War II, moving to the US in 1940. He taught at the Film Institute of City College of New York until he retired in 1962 and returned to Switzerland. He passed away there in 1976.

dada-companion.com/richter

Hans Richter is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Jeff Mills is an American techno DJ. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1963. He started DJing in 1987 and was creating his own music by 1989. He founded Underground Resistance, a techno collective, with “Mad” Mike Banks. In 1992, Mills founded the label Axis Records in Chicago, Illinois. Mills is actively touring and DJing across the globe.

axisrecords.com

Jeff Mills is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Kruger & Dorfmeister is an Austrian duo named for its two members, Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister. The duo released its first 4-track EP entitled G-Stoned in 1993 to critical acclaim, especially in the UK. Their music is a mix of downtempo, trip hop, drum and bass, and electronica.

facebook.com/kruder.dorfmeister

Kruder & Dorfmeister is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher born in 1901 in a part of Austria-Hungary that is in modern day Ukraine. He co-founded, with directors Harold Clubman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as “America’s first true theatrical collective”. In 1951, he became director of the non-profit Actors Studio, in New York City, which is considered the nation’s most prestigious acting school. Strasberg is considered the father of method acting in America, and from the 1920s until his death in 1982 he revolutionized the art of acting by having a profound influence on performance in American theater and movies. From his base in New York, he trained several generations of theatre and film’s most illustrious talents, including James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Fonda, Julie Harris and Robert De Niro.

methodactingstrasberg.com

Lee Strasberg is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December 1770 in Bonn, Germany. At a very young age, Beethoven’s father began rigorously and, at times, brutally teaching him music. At the age of 10, Beethoven withdrew from school to study music full time with Christian Gottlob Neffe. In 1784 Beethoven was appointed as Assistant Court Organist, a position he requested in order to help out with his family’s financial situation. In 1792, Beethoven moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn, Antonio Salieri, and Johann Albrechsberger; he quickly earned a reputation as a virtuoso pianist with a knack for improvisation. Beethoven began composing some of his early great works in the late 1790s and early 1800s, and around this same time, he began to lose his hearing. Despite his difficulties hearing, Beethoven continued to compose groundbreaking pieces at a rapid pace. He passed away on March 26, 1827 at the age of 56. To this day, Beethoven is recognized as one of the most important and creative composers in history.

biography.com/people/ludwig-van-beethoven

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Marcel Duchamp was born in 1887 in France. He is considered one of the most important artists of the 20^th century and often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. He challenged conventional thought about artistic processes and art marketing by subversive actions and art. He passed away in 1968 and his work is still exhibited worldwide.

tate.org.uk/art/artists/marcel-duchamp

Marcel Duchamp is featured in Edition: Small Wonder and Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

The National Geographic Society was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Society publishes a magazine, maintains a website, operates a museum, creates films, manages a television network, and grants support for research and projects.

nationalgeographic.com

The National Geographic Society is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Norman McLaren was born in Stirling, Scotland on April 11, 1914. He studied Interior Design at The Glasgow School of Art in the 1930s, where his interest in film began to grow. One of his short films was seen by documentary filmmaker John Grierson, who offered McLaren a position at the British General Post Office Film Unit in London, where he would remain from 1936-39. He briefly lived in New York City before immigrating to Canada in October 1941 to help Grierson at the newly founded National Film Board of Canada, and a year later, McLaren was asked to found the animation department. Up until his retirement from the National Film Board in 1983, McLaren created numerous innovative, influential, and award winning films. He passed away on January 26, 1987.

mclaren2014.com

Norman McLaren is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Francisco Gustavo Sánchez Gomez, known as Paco de Lucia, was born on Algeciras, Spain on December 21, 1947. As a child, he played in the streets of his hometown with his brothers and adopted the stage name Paco de Lucia to honor is mother, Lucia Gomes as well as to differentiate himself from the many Pacos playing music in the neighborhood. He recorded his first album in Madrid at the age of 18. Throughout his life, de Lucia composed, performed, and collaborated with musicians, creating a legacy as one of Spain’s greatest musicians and one of the world’s best flamenco guitarists. He passed away on February 25, 2014.

pacodelucia.org

Paco de Lucia is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Philip Glass was born in 1937 and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School and also studied in Aspen with composer Darius Milhaud. He then moved to Europe to study with Nadia Boulanger and worked with Ravi Shankar. Upon his return to New York in 1967, he formed the Philip Glass Ensemble, which consisted of seven musicians playing keyboards and woodwinds, amplified and fed through a mixer. Glass was a leading composer in the development of the Minimalism style of music that gained popularity in the 1960s and 70s. Still actively working, Glass has composed more than twenty operas, eight symphonies, numerous concertos and many film scores, three of which have been nominated for Academy Awards.

philipglass.com

Philip Glass is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Ryuichi Sakamoto was born on January 17, 1952 in Tokyo, Japan. As a child, he became a fan of English rock (the first record he bought was “Tell Me” by the Rolling Stones) and French Impressionistic music, Debussy in particular. At age 11, he began studying music under Professor Matsumoto at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He then received a BA in Composition and MA with a concentration in electronic and ethnic music. In 1977, he began working as a composer, arranger, and studio musician with many of Japan’s most popular musicians. In 1978, he formed Yellow Magic Orchestra with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi. The group became an international sensation and helped pioneer electropop. Sakamoto is known for crossing musical and technological boundaries in his compositions for his solo albums, work for Yellow Magic Orchestra, and soundtracks. He has recorded numerous albums since 1978 and received many awards, included the Golden Pine Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Samovar Film Music Festival in 2013. He was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer in June 2014, but has since returned to work.

sitesakamoto.com

Ryuichi Sakamoto is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Salvador Dalí was a surrealist painter born in Figueres, Spain on May 11, 1904. In the 1920s, he went to Paris and began interacting with artists such as Picasso, Magritte and Miró, which led to Dalí’s first Surrealist phase. As war approached in Europe, Dalí clashed with members of the Surrealist movement and was expelled from the group. Over the following 15 years, Dalí continued to paint, painting a series of 19 large canvases that included scientific, historic or religious themes. Much of his work contained images depicting divine geometry, the DNA, the Hyper Cube, religious themes of chastity, and his wife Gala. He passed away on January 23, 1989 due to heart failure at the age of 84.

salvador-dali.org

Salvador Dalí is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer and Edition: Best of the Met

Sergei Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873 in Semyonov, Russia to aristocratic parents. His parents, Vasily and Lubov were amateur pianists; aware of their son’s talent, they hired St. Petersburg musician Anna Ornatskaya as a tutor for him. In 1882, the family lost its fortune, so they moved to St. Petersburg, where Rachmaninov was granted a scholarship by the local Conservatory; however, he failed his general exams in the spring of 1885. Rachmaninov, then twelve years old, moved to Moscow where he studied under the strict Nikolai Zverev at the Conservatory. He thrived in this new environment and finished his piano studies in 1891, one year early. In March 1897, his Symphony No. 1 premiered, and received horrible reviews, sending the composer into a depression that stifled his creativity for three years; he recovered and enjoyed success until the Russian Revolution. In 1902, he married his cousin Natalia, and they had two daughters. In 1917, his family estate was seized by the Russian rebels, and he moved his family first to Denmark and then New York in 1918, where he enjoyed a successful career as a concert pianist and part-time composer. He passed away on March 28, 1943 in Beverly Hills, California.

classical.net/music/comp.lst/rachmaninoff.php

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Steve Reich was born in New York in 1936 and raised in between New York and California. He attended Cornell University and graduated with honors in 1957 with a degree in Philosophy. He then began studying composition with Hall Overton and from 1958-61 he attended the Juilliard School of Music. He received his MA in Music from Mills College in 1963. In the mid-late 1960s, Reich was one of the pioneers of Minimal music; his music is known for its repetition, steady pulse, rigorous structures, and combination of non-Western influences. During his career, he has studied the Gamelan, African drumming at the University of Ghana, and traditional forms of chanting Hebrew scriptures. Reich’s work is internationally revered and has been performed across the world.

stevereich.com

Steve Reich is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Vladimir Horowitz was born in Kiev, Ukraine on October 1, 1903. His mother was a pianist and gave him lessons from an early age. He enrolled at the Kieve Conservatory in 1912, remaining there until 1919. He performed Sergei Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 for his graduation and soon began touring and performing across Russia and traveling to Berlin, London, and New York City. He made his American debut at Carnegie Hall in 1928. In 1932 he met conductor Arturo Toscanini, and the two began to perform and record music together. The following year he married Toscanini’s daughter Wanda. They had one daughter, Sonia, who was born in 1934. The family officially moved to New York in 1940, where they would remain until his death on November 5, 1989. Horowitz is regarded as one of the most talented pianists of the 20th century.

vladimirhorowitz.hostzi.com

Vladimir Horowitz is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer

Yves Klein was a French artist born in 1928 in Nice, France. Klein is touted as the most influential, prominent, and controversial French artist to emerge in the 1950s. He is remembered for his use of a single color, a rich shade of ultramarine that he made his own: International Klein Blue. His success, however, is largely attributed to attacking many of the ideas that underpinned the abstract painting that had been dominant in France since the end of the Second World War. Skeptics of abstract art have always alleged that the viewers do more work than the artist, investing the form with their own feelings rather than discovering the artist’s. Viewed in this light, Klein’s monochrome blue paintings might be read as a satire on abstract art, for not only do the pictured carry no motif, but Klein insisted there was nothing there at all, only ”the void”. He passed away in Paris on June 6, 1962.

yveskleinarchives.org

Yves Klein is featured in Edition: Guest Editor, Stephan Breuer