ALISON ISADORA - NEW ZEALAND
BORN 24 MARCH
Born and bred in Aotearoa/New Zealand Alison Isadora studied political philosophy and music at the Victoria University of Wellington (NZ), before moving to the Netherlands in 1986 primarily to study violin (with Vera Beths) and thereafter composition (Gilius van Bergeijk and Theo Loevendie) at The Hague Conservatorium (1994, with distinction) and post-graduate performance theater at DasArts in Amsterdam.
She has been a performing composer or a composing performer within numerous Dutch groups including Hex, Gending, Nieuw Ensemble, the Maarten Altena Ensemble and the multi-medi duo SYNC. Her works have been performed by diverse ensembles in the Pacific, Europe and North America including Ensemble Klang, David Kweksilber Big Band, Matangi Strijkkwartet, Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, Array Ensemble (Canada) and STROMA Ensemble (NZ). As well as composing for music ensembles, Isadora also creates music-theatre performances, audio walks and installations.
MARIA MALIBRAN - SPAIN
BORN 24 MARCH
Maria Felicia Malibran was a Spanish singer who commonly sang both contralto and soprano parts, and was one of the best-known opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28. Contemporary accounts of her voice describe its range, power and flexibility as extraordinary. She was a muse to composersand Romantic goddess to her adoring public.
Maria Malibran was born in Paris, educated by her father Manuel Garcia (an opera singer and composer himself), and quickly rose to superstardom in Europe and North America. She died at the peak of her career, due to a shocking riding accident, at the early age of 29 in Manchester.
What many people don't know is the fact that she was also a fine composer and left produced many works in her short career.
♫ LISTEN
Rataplan by Maria Malibran
