Happy birthday, Antonio Vivaldi!

It is the birthday of Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678), who wrote many violin concertos, operas and sacred choral works. He was well known throughout Europe during his lifetime and today is one of the most popular and often recorded Baroque composers. Here is the Winter movement from Vivaldi's violin concerto The Four Seasons, one of his most popular works.

Thomas Otway wrote compelling heroines

Thomas Otway

It is the birthday of English dramatist Thomas Otway (1652), who died at age 34, in debt and poverty, and according to popular tradition, choked on bread provided by charity. Otway is best remembered for his plays, Orphan (1680) and Venice Preserved (1652), which concerns a prominent senator in Venice, his wife, his mistress and a plot against the crown. Perhaps he is most remembered for the compelling heroines  Monimia and Belvidera in those two plays. Critics have lauded the tenderness of the two characters, and especially the love scenes between Belvidera and her husband in Venice Preserved. “More tears have been shed for the sorrows of Belvidera and Monimia than for those of Juliet and Desdemona," wrote Sir Walter Scott. For a century, Otway's tragedies were among the most presented in England, after the works of Shakespeare. Still, biographer Samuel Johnson had little use for Otway's plays or him as a man. "It is the work of a man not attentive to decency, nor zealous for virtue; but of one who conceived forcibly, and drew originally, by consulting nature in his own breast."

Dr. Seuss originally pronounced it Zoice

The Cat in the Hat

It is the birthday of children's writer Dr. Seuss (1904), beloved author of 46 books with wildly imaginative characters that have become iconic in American culture and known worldwide.

Dr. Seuss is the pseudonym for Theodor Seuss Geisel, whose best sellers included Horton Hears A Who! (1954), The Cat in the Hat (1957), How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960) and Green Eggs and Ham (1960). His work has been adapted into TV specials and series, feature films, and a Broadway musical and a theme park. His books have sold more than 220 million copies and have been translated into 15 languages.

Seuss was his mother's maiden name. Her parents emigrated from Bavaria in the the 19th century. The family pronounced the name Zoice but most Americans say Soose so Geisel finally went with that. He first started using the Dr. Seuss name on cartoons he drew for a humor magazine at Dartmouth College.

Chopin died young, left beautiful music

It is the birthday of Polish composer and pianist Frederic Chopin (1810), who was a well known child prodigy in Warsaw. He went to Paris at age 20 to escape Russian oppression and never returned. He gave only 30 public performances in his 19 years in Paris but wrote extensively. He also played in intimate salon settings. He died in Paris at age 39, probably of tuberculosis, though the cause of death has been the subject of debate among academics in recent years. He was a prolific composer and wrote 59 mazurkas, 27 études, 20 waltzes, 18 polonaises, plus rondos ballades, impromptus, scherzos, écossaises, piano sonatas, concertos, and other pieces. He also wrote 21 nocturnes, including the one in this video. Enjoy!