title: World Without End (miniseries)

text: "World Without End" was released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on 4 December 2012 in DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats. The two-disc sets contain the featurette "The Making Of Ken Follett's World Without End".


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: Youth is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Vincent Selva. It is the Tamil remake of the Telugu film, "Chiru Navvutho" (2000). It stars Vijay and Sandhya, while Yugendran, Vivek, Manivannan, and Sindhu Menon play other pivotal characters. The film released on 19 July 2002. It received positive reviews and was a commercial hit.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: On his wedding day, Shiva discovers that his cousin and bride, Aruna, has run away because she does not want to marry a cook. However, he takes it lightly and moves to Chennai with Aruna's brother Prabhu to look for a job. One night, Shiva saves a girl Sandhya from some goons. In gratitude, she kisses him. Shiva starts to fall in love with her. After several occasions where they bump into each other, Shiva harbours hope that she too reciprocates his affections.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: However at Sandhya's birthday party, she announces her engagement to computer engineer Pratap. Shiva is devastated at the news and leaves the room quietly. Sandhya finds him standing alone at the swimming pool. She asks him about his impression of Pratap and is shocked when Shiva reveals to her that he loves her. Sandhya declares that she only feels friendship towards him and tells him to stop loving her.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: After receiving a telephone call, Shiva goes to the police station and finds Aruna. She had eloped with her to-be lover. However, he later abandoned her and left her penniless. With no one to turn to, Aruna attempted suicide. Shiva takes her back home to take care of her. Prabhu was still angry and calls up their parents. Shiva speaks up for Aruna and gets the family to forgive her. Before returning to the village, Aruna meets Pratap and discovers that Sandhya's fiancé is actually the lover who abandoned her.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: On the eve of Sandhya's wedding, she finally understands that she loves Shiva and tells her father that she does not want to marry Pratap. Her father refuses to cancel the wedding and gives Shiva a cheque for 10 million to get the latter to leave Sandhya. Sandhya runs away on her wedding day to look for Shiva and confesses to him that she loves him too. She wants to elope with Shiva, but he brings her back to the wedding venue.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: Before the ceremony starts, he calls Pratap into a room and closes the door. When the door reopens, Shiva and Pratap had changed clothes. Shiva is now in the groom's attire, while Pratap is in ordinary clothes. Shiva marries Sandhya in the end. On their wedding night, Shiva reveals to Sandhya what happened between Pratap and him in the room. He offered Sandhya's father's cheque to Pratap in exchange for calling off his engagement, which Pratap accepted. Shiva also reveals that he knew that Sandhya's father would later cancel the cheque, thinking that Shiva is cheating him, which comes to pass.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: The film is a remake of the 2000 Telugu film "Chiru Navvutho" starring Venu and Shaheen Khan. The film was also made in Kannada as "Premakke Sai" in 2001 with Ravichandran and Shaheen. Despite appearing in only four feature films, three of Shaheen's films have featured her reprising the role of Sandhya. "Velu" and "Prince" were considered as titles before naming it as "Youth". Some scenes were shot at Hyderabad where a song too was shot on a lavish set erected, and it had Vijay dancing with about a hundred dancers. Some stunt scenes were later shot at Chennai, at the Vauhini Studios, at the AVM Studios, a lavish set costing a cool 12 lakh, was erected resembling a waterfall, with trees and grass around. A song was shot on the lead pair here. The song "Sagiyea Sagiyea", was shot in Niagara Falls, Toronto and Ottawa in Canada. Director Mysskin worked as an assistant director for this film.


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: The film released on 19 July 2002 and became a commercial success. Critics from The Hindu gave the film a positive review, In regard to performances, the critic mentioned that "Vijay is so used to this romantic sojourn that the essay comes without effort", while it was cited that Shaheen Khan's "magical screen presence is definitely missing".


title: Youth (2002 film)

text: The film's soundtrack is composed by Mani Sharma and consists of six songs. Sharma Reused three of the film's song from his previous Telugu films such as "Annayya", "Chiru Navvutho" and "Kushi", while the other three are new. The song, "Aal Thotta Bhoopathi Nanada", featured Simran in an item number. The title of the song translates to "I am the king of Aal Garden", referring to the now non-existent Hall's Garden region of Chennai with a spelling mistake.


title: Park MGM

text: The Park MGM, formerly Monte Carlo Resort and Casino, is a megaresort hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel, with a height of , has 32 floors, including a casino floor with 1,400 slot machines, 60 table games, and 15 poker tables. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. The hotel offers 2,992 guest rooms, including 259 luxury suites. The Monte Carlo was converted into Park MGM between late 2016 and 2018, with the upper floors being converted into a boutique hotel, NoMad Las Vegas.


title: Park MGM

text: The hotel, formerly named to invoke the Place du Casino in Monte Carlo, featured chandelier domes, marble floors, neoclassical arches, ornate fountains, and gas-lit promenades.


title: Park MGM

text: The original Monte Carlo included of retail stores, plus convention facilities, a spa, fitness center, a hair salon, a exercise room, a pool area, which includes a wave pool & lazy river, and the Street of Dreams shopping area collection of retail stores which includes Optica, Marshall Rousso, Misura, Harley Davidson of Las Vegas and Art of Music. A pool area includes a wave pool with constantly changing wave patterns, and a "Lazy River" feature. The CityCenter Tram offers access to the Bellagio and Crystals retail district in the CityCenter complex, with service every 5 minutes.


title: Park MGM

text: On October 7, 2010, the Jabbawockeez began performance of their residency at Monte Carlo, entitled "MÜS.I.C". This show was originally performed five nights per week at the 1,224-seat Monte Carlo Theater. The venue was previously known as the Lance Burton Theatre and hosted magician Lance Burton, who performed there between June 21, 1996 and September 4, 2010. In 2012, the JabbaWockeeZ show moved to the 800-seat Monte Carlo Pavilion. On October 11, 2015, Blue Man Group discontinued its show at the Monte Carlo and returned to the Luxor to open a new show, which premiered on November 18, 2015.


title: Park MGM

text: The 5,200-seat Park Theater opened at the resort on December 17, 2016, and was renamed Dolby Live in 2021. The theater has had residencies by Ricky Martin (All In) and Cher (Classic Cher). The theater will be holding a 2 year residency by Lady Gaga from 28 December 2018 until further notice called Enigma as well as the first concert residency by Janet Jackson beginning in May 2019 titled .


title: Park MGM

text: On October 18, 2018, Britney Spears announced a new residency show at the Park Theater opening in February 2019 titled , but it was cancelled.


title: Park MGM

text: As of 2009, the Monte Carlo print advertising campaign featured intentionally misspelled French words ("tray sheek") coupled with glamorous images. The campaign's tagline was "Unpretentiously luxurious".


title: Park MGM

text: Park MGM is located on part of the former site of the Dunes casino and golf course. Mirage Resorts purchased the Dunes in 1992 and closed it in January 1993. In May 1994, Mirage and Gold Strike Resorts announced a joint venture to build a $250-million casino targeted at budget-conscious visitors, on of the Dunes site. Ground was broken for the hotel in March 1995. Circus Circus Enterprises acquired Gold Strike in June 1995 and took over its role of managing the project.


title: Park MGM

text: Gold Strike had hoped to name the project as the Grand Victoria, the same name as the casino being developed by the company in Illinois, but that idea was discarded because of potential confusion with the MGM Grand. "Victoria" and "Victoria Bay" were reported as likely names for the property. Details about the property were revealed in July 1995, including that it would be named the Monte Carlo and feature "Belle Époque" architecture, based on the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco.


title: Park MGM

text: The Monte Carlo opened to the public at midnight on June 21, 1996, following an invitation-only pre-opening celebration, including a fireworks show. The project ultimately cost $344 million to build.


title: Park MGM

text: On January 25, 2008, at 10:57 AM, a three-alarm fire was reported on the exterior of the top six floors and roof of the casino. Portions of the hotel facade's Exterior Insulation Finishing System burned with some debris falling and starting smaller secondary fires on ledges three floors below. The fire was fully contained an hour after it began. It was an exterior fire, although there was water damage to parts of several floors. The Hotel & Casino reopened to guests on February 15, 2008. MGM Mirage officials put the total losses due to fire damage and loss of business at just under $100 million. Fire investigators interviewed witnesses and investigated the scene, and determined the likely cause of the fire was the improper cutting and welding operations by contractors who were installing a steel catwalk.


title: Park MGM

text: In June 2016, MGM announced a joint venture with Sydell Group that the Monte Carlo would be renovated and rebranded as the Park MGM, named after the adjacent dining and entertainment district, The Park, that opened in April 2016, and the NoMad Hotel would occupy the top floors. It would feature a new Eataly restaurant. Both hotels began construction at the end of 2016, with completion planned for 2018. The property was officially renamed Park MGM on May 9, 2018. The resorts opened a new entertainment venue, the Park Theater, in December 2016.


title: Park MGM

text: Ownership of the Monte Carlo, along with many other MGM properties, was transferred in 2016 to MGM Growth Properties (later acquired by Vici Properties in 2022), while MGM Resorts continued to operate it under a lease agreement.


title: Park MGM

text: Nevada casinos were ordered to close in March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the state. The state's casinos began reopening a few months later. When Park MGM and NoMad reopened on September 30, 2020, it instituted a non-smoking policy, becoming the only casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip to be smoke-free. This was done to attract a non-smoking clientele who dislike the cigarette smoke that is typically associated with casinos. The timing for such a decision was considered appropriate, as there was support for smoke-free policies amid the pandemic. The non-smoking policy had previously been considered two years earlier, until MGM Resorts passed on the idea. Smoking is still permitted in designated outdoor areas.


title: Park MGM

text: Hotel32 was an ultra-luxury, boutique hotel located on Monte Carlo's top floor. The new extension opened on August 10, 2009. The hotel had 50 lofts ranging in size from studios to penthouses and could only be accessed via a private elevator. All Hotel32 guests had access to a dedicated Suite Assistant, who provides personal butler and concierge services and numerous high-tech touches, including a TV integrated into the bathroom mirror. Guests had access to Lounge32, which overlooks the Las Vegas skyline. Hotel32 offered its guests a branded iPhone at check-in to promote the use of hotel amenities. The system, running Hotel Evolution software, enabled the hotel to make changes to services easily, because updates were made automatically.


title: Park MGM

text: In June 2016, MGM announced a joint venture with the Sydell Group that the Hotel 32 would be renovated and rebranded as the 300-room NoMad Las Vegas.


title: Park MGM

text: Monte Carlo Resort and Casino has figured in several feature films and television series. Major release films partially filmed at Monte Carlo include the 2000 film "Get Carter" and 2008's "What Happens in Vegas". In the 2004 film "", the Average Joes stay at Monte Carlo during the dodgeball championships in Las Vegas. In the "Amazing Race 15", teams had to count out $1 million worth of poker chips here in the season finale, to receive their next clue. It was also featured in the season six episode "Three of a Kind" of "The X-Files."


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The Holy League (Latin: Sacra Ligua) of 1684 was an alliance of European nations formed during the Great Turkish War. Born out of the Treaty of Warsaw, it was founded as a means to prevent further Ottoman expansion into Europe. This consolidation of a large portion of Europe's military might led to unprecedented military successes, with large areas of previously ceded land recovered in Morea, Dalmatia and Danubia in what has been dubbed a "14th crusade".


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The formation of the League has been recognised as a turning point in Ottoman history. By forcing the surrender of the Empire on multiple occasions, it shifted the balance of power away from the Ottomans, leading to a diminished Ottoman presence in Europe and the subsequent dissolution of the League in 1699.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The Ottoman Empire had annexed much of Eastern Europe under the control of grand vizier Mehmed IV through multiple successful conquests. After Poland’s surrender of most of Right Bank Ukraine in 1681 the Empire bordered with Poland, the Habsburg Empire and the Tsardom of Russia. They assumed direct control over all of south-eastern Europe, and multiple free states such as Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia had become eyalet vassals of the Empire. Crete, Cyprus, and other Mediterranean islands of strategic importance had also been seized from the Venetian Republic.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The culmination of Ottoman advances was the establishment of a military corridor from Constantinople, through Turkish-controlled Moravia and Belgrade, to the once-Habsburg fortress Érsekújvar in Royal Hungary. In the wake of this corridor was an inflow of Ottoman culture, including the construction of new schools, baths and mosques, in what Treasure has called a "Muslim penetration" into Europe. On the Venetian island of Chios, the Ottomans banned all Roman Catholic worship, converting previous Catholic churches to mosques. Prominent Christian figures at the time such as Pope Innocent XI and Friar Marco d'Aviano saw these advances as a foreign threat to Christianity.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Concurrent to the imperialist threat was a growing secessionist movement in Royal Hungary. Under the rule of Leopold I, the Habsburg monarchy had allowed grievances against the Protestant Church in Hungary to go unpunished, which included the conversion of Protestant churches and the expulsion of their ministers. This counter-reformation movement saw the population of Hungary grow increasingly disillusioned with the Habsburg rule. This was heightened following the Treaty of Vasvár in 1664, when the Habsburgs refused to pursue retreating Ottoman forces beyond the borders of the Holy Roman Empire, which enabled them to set up garrison in Hungary. Using an already-established military corridor, Ottoman officials could then pass into Hungary unimpeded, where they demanded tax from the Hungarian wealthy and elite. When the Habsburgs refused to intervene, the Hungarian trust in the Monarchy declined further; the combined effect of declining trust and growing Ottoman presence prompted a conspiracy to secede Hungary to the Ottoman Empire. This culminated in an attempt at communication with the Turkish Grand Vizier, which was only halted by the discovery of the conspiracy and the subsequent execution of the main conspirators, putting pressure on the Habsburgs to push back against the Ottoman presence in their western territory.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Fearing further Ottoman advances into Europe, King Sobieski III of Poland sought to form an alliance with Leopold I. This was met by immediate controversy in the Polish Diet, where the pro-Ottoman French party held a significant minority. Further negotiations in the Diet led to violence among the senators, with the French party fearing an alliance would see French influence over Poland diminish. These fears were alleviated only slightly by the agreement that the alliance was only to be called upon if Vienna or Cracow were under threat from the Ottomans. It was only through the backing of Pope Innocent XI that the Polish court would eventually sign this Treaty of Warsaw on March 31, 1683. This backing included a papal subsidy of 200,000 imperial thalers to Poland, the mobilisation of 60,000 Holy Roman troops, and the appointment of a Cardinal Protector for Sobieski III.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The alliance was called into effect only six months later when the Ottomans besieged Vienna. Following the end of the siege and the liberation of the city by Polish forces, Sobieski wrote to Pope Innocent XI giving him his “unextinguished zeal in propagating the Christian faith”. Nevertheless, Innocent was wrought with anxiety, fearing that Vienna could not withstand another attack. He believed that without the help of Venice, there was no chance of repelling further Turkish advances. Venice had already voiced their desire to be part of an anti-Turkish alliance and desired to reclaim their Mediterranean territory from the Ottomans, however, an alliance with the Holy Roman Empire was complicated by tensions between the two states as a result of Venetian ambassadors taking advantage of Innocent XI’s goodwill and their privileges in Rome.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Following the desire of Venice to join in an alliance, the Holy League was conceived of by Pope Innocent XI. Modeled after the Treaty of Warsaw, it compelled the members to mobilise their forces against an Ottoman threat exclusively, and to continue their campaigns until all members agreed to make peace. It was signed into effect on 5 March 1684 at Linz by representatives of the Holy Roman Empire under the rule of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Venetian Republic; all other Christian nations were invited to join as well. It was then sworn in by the Pope and most of the Cardinals of Rome on May 24, where the Pope became patron of the League. According to the alliance,


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The League stipulated that all members were to act independently, and that they would retain all land that their conquests allowed them. This proved difficult for Venice, who believed that they had insufficient foot troops and so Leopold I would reclaim previously Venetian land in Dalmatia. This prompted an amendment to the League in the days that followed its creation, so that Venice would receive all reconquered land in Dalmatia regardless.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The name “The Holy League” has been called a propaganda term, which highlights the crusade-like nature of the war that the members waged.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Negotiations for the Tsardom of Russia to join an alliance began in early 1684, when nuncio of Poland Girolamo Buonvisi had begun to reconcile relations with Russia. Previous territorial wars had concluded in a truce, and the two were yet to formally make peace; Russia also currently had control of previously Polish Kiev, making two barriers which had to be overcome before Russia were to join any alliance.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Innocent XI had similar intentions, sending an envoy to Moscow in April, and in the following month he gifted money to the Cossacks under the pretense that more would be given if Russia were to join the League. These attempts at diplomacy culminated in the Pope’s personal invitation in August to Tsarine Sophia, calling on Russia to join the Holy League; this was eventually accepted on 26 April 1686 after a peace treaty with Poland was made. Russia joined the League on the stipulation that they were to keep Kiev from the Polish in exchange for 1.5 million florins, with the requirement that they were to begin war with the Ottomans before the end of 1686.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Having revived their long-standing alliance with the Ottoman Empire, France had publicly declared that they would refuse to aid in defending against a Turkish invasion. Prior to the Treaty of Warsaw, King Louis XIV exerted control over the Polish diet through a paid French minority, which sought to stall Sobieski III's attempts at joining in an alliance with Leopold I. This was supported by agents throughout Poland, who claimed that the Habsburgs sought Polish help with the intent of regaining Austrian land only. A conspiracy to install a French prince as Polish king was uncovered in 1692, which would have prevented the formation of the League entirely.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: King Louis XIV attempted to exert similar control over Leopold I himself, by sowing doubt in his mind over the necessity of the alliance. When this failed and the League went ahead, the Habsburgs were making large territorial gains and expanding their influence further into south-east Europe. In response, France attacked the Habsburg Empire in 1688, attempting to aid the Ottomans by creating a second front while expanding their influence in Europe. This Nine Years' War would go on to prolong the Ottoman surrender and cripple the Austrian efforts in the Great Turkish War.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Multiple German principalities, which Leopold I did not have full control over, had pledged to aid the Holy League. Brandenburg, which had typically allied with France and resisted imperial control, pledged 7,000 men and 150,000 imperial thalers to the success of the League in 1685 following extensive negotiations between the Pope and Elector of Brandenburg, Frederick William. Similarly, Bavaria pledged 8,000 men, Cologne 2,900, Franconia 3,000, Swabia 1,400, the Upper Rhine 1,500 and Sweden 1,000 as a guarantor of the imperial constitution.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Despite not being a Christian nation, the League had allied with Persia and sought to invite them to join on multiple occasions, seeking to leverage the primarily Shiite Persians' history of opposition to the Sunni Ottomans. The first invitation was during the initial formation of the League in 1683, which the Shah Suleiman of Persia rejected on the grounds that his troops were needed to defend Persia’s borders from Cossack raids. A similar request was made by the Archbishop of Naxivan at the turn of 1684, which was also rejected.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The necessity of Persia to defend her borders from the Cossacks was removed when Russia joined the League, and on 20 July 1686 Innocent XI once more wrote to the Shah to encourage him to join the Holy League. In response, Suleiman prepared 30,000 troops to march against the Ottoman Empire, claiming he “would take advantage of so favourable an opportunity.” He did not bring Persia to join the League, however.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Following the formation of the League, the European powers made large territorial gains, in what has been called a “14th crusade” by von Hammer-Purgstall. The successes prompted the Ottoman Empire to open diplomatic relations in 1688, where an envoy was sent to the Habsburg court, seeking peace. With their advantageous position, the Habsburgs put forward ambitious peace terms, centred around retaining territorial gains and the handover of Hungary’s Emeric Thököly, leader of the nation's secessionist movements. Despite six days of negotiations, the envoy was unable to meet both the Sultan’s and Habsburg’s demands, and peace was not reached.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Following this failure and the throning of a new Sultan, the Ottomans redoubled their military efforts and made no more attempts at diplomatic communication with the League for almost a decade. The territorial gains of the League continued, however, and the defeat of the Ottomans at the Battle of Zenta in September 1697 led to immediate calls for peace.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Financial issues plagued the members of the League for the first year of its existence, and almost led to its dissolution at this early stage. Soon after its formation, Sobieski III had demanded increasing sums of money from Rome, with the message that they were necessary to further the war efforts that Poland was preparing. When Innocent XI refused, he was informed that Poland were to leave the League if they did not receive the money they demanded. Within a year, Innocent XI had donated over 1.5 million florins to Poland. This was in spite of their refusal to begin conflict with the Ottoman Empire, a fact which annoyed Innocent XI greatly and was enunciated by Cardinal Cibo in his letter, where he states “had these sums been used elsewhere, they would have been a great help, whereas in Poland nothing was done.” These issues further strained the relationship between Poland and Rome until the former put their money to use and began conquest against the Ottoman Empire late in 1686.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Under the terms of the League, it was to be terminated at the end of the war with the Ottomans. When peace was brought forward in 1697, the League was quick to accept and put an end to the war for multiple reasons. The members, especially the Holy Roman Empire, needed to relocate troops to the opposite side of Europe nearing the end of 1698, where the issue of the succession of the Spanish crown loomed; death of the childless Charles II of Spain was imminent and the rest of Europe saw a chance to claim part of Spain for their own. The Venetians were holding onto newly gained territory at a great cost, to which the only end was peace. The death of Sobieski III in 1696 had halted the Polish advances significantly, as had financial issues and a lack of support from the Diet.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: Peace was officially made between the founding three members of the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire on January 26, 1699, through the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz. While Russia would not sign the treaty, and would not agree to a truce for another year, this marked the end of the Ottoman threat to Vienna and Cracow and thus the end of the Holy League.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The Treaty of Karlowitz guaranteed uti possidetis, meaning the powers of the League were able to retain all conquered land. The Habsburg Empire was able to reclaim Hungary from Thököly's Ottoman control, Venice reclaimed Morea and regions in Dalmatia, Poland regained Podolia and Russia regained parts of Novorossiya as well as Azak.


title: Holy League (1684)

text: The willingness of the Ottomans both in 1688 and 1697 to open diplomatic relations represents a major shift in power according to some historians. Yilmaz describes the formation of the Holy League as having “clearly altered the balance between the two Empires to the advantage of the Habsburgs”, which is in contrast to the successes the Ottoman Empire enjoyed in the century prior to its formation. This is echoed by Abou-El-Haj, who notes that the Ottoman Empire had little in the way of formal diplomatic procedures and relied upon continual military victories as foreign relations.


title: Bortezomib

text: Bortezomib, sold under the brand name Velcade among others, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. This includes multiple myeloma in those who have and have not previously received treatment. It is generally used together with other medications. It is given by injection.


title: Bortezomib

text: Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, tiredness, low platelets, fever, numbness, low white blood cells, shortness of breath, rash and abdominal pain. Other severe side effects include low blood pressure, tumour lysis syndrome, heart failure, and reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome. It is in the class of medications known as proteasome inhibitor. It works by inhibiting proteasomes, cellular complexes that break down proteins.


title: Bortezomib

text: Bortezomib was approved for medical use in the United States in 2003 and in the European Union in 2004. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic medication.


title: Bortezomib

text: Two open-label trials established the efficacy of bortezomib (with or without dexamethasone) on days 1,4,8, and 11 of a 21-day cycle for a maximum of eight cycles in heavily pretreated people with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. The phase III demonstrated the superiority of bortezomib over a high-dose dexamethasone regimen (e.g. median TTP 6.2 vs 3.5 months, and 1-year survival 80% vs 66%). New studies show that bortezomib may potentially help recover from vincristine treatment in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia, when replacing vincristine in the process.


title: Bortezomib

text: Bortezomib was also evaluated together with other drugs for the treatment of multiple myelomas in adults. It was seen that bortezomib plus lenalidomide plus dexamethasone as well as bortezomib plus melphalan and prednisone may result in a large increase in the progression-free survival.


title: Bortezomib

text: Gastro-intestinal effects and asthenia are the most common adverse events. Bortezomib is associated with peripheral neuropathy in 30% of people resulting in pain. This can be worse in people with pre-existing neuropathy. In addition, myelosuppression causing neutropenia and thrombocytopenia can also occur and be dose-limiting. However, these side effects are usually mild relative to bone marrow transplantation and other treatment options for people with advanced disease. Bortezomib is associated with a high rate of shingles, although prophylactic acyclovir can reduce the risk of this.


title: Bortezomib

text: Ocular side effects such as chalazion or hordeolum (stye) may be more common in women and have led to discontinuation of treatment. Acute interstitial nephritis has also been reported.


title: Bortezomib

text: Polyphenols derived from green tea extract including epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which were expected to have a synergistic effect, instead were found to reduce the effectiveness of bortezomib in cell culture experiments.


title: Bortezomib

text: The drug is an N-protected dipeptide and can be written as Pyz-Phe-boroLeu, which stands for pyrazinoic acid, phenylalanine and Leucine with a boronic acid instead of a carboxylic acid.


title: Bortezomib

text: The boron atom in bortezomib binds the catalytic site of the 26S proteasome with high affinity and specificity. In normal cells, the proteasome regulates protein expression and function by degradation of ubiquitylated proteins, and also rids the cell of abnormal or misfolded proteins. Clinical and preclinical data support a role for the proteasome in maintaining the immortal phenotype of myeloma cells, and cell-culture and xenograft data support a similar function in solid tumor cancers. While multiple mechanisms are likely to be involved, proteasome inhibition may prevent degradation of pro-apoptotic factors, thereby triggering programmed cell death in neoplastic cells. Recently, it was found that bortezomib caused a rapid and dramatic change in the levels of intracellular peptides that are produced by the proteasome. Some intracellular peptides have been shown to be biologically active, and so the effect of bortezomib on the levels of intracellular peptides may contribute to the biological and/or side effects of the drug.


title: Bortezomib

text: After subcutaneous administration, peak plasma levels are ~25-50 nM and this peak is sustained for 1-2 hrs. After intravenous injection, peak plasma levels are ~500 nM but only for ~5 minutes, after which the levels rapidly drop as the drug distributes to tissues (volume of distribution is ~500 L). Both routes provide equal drug exposures and generally comparable therapeutic efficacy. Elimination half life is 9–15 hours and the drug is primarily cleared by hepatic metabolism.


title: Bortezomib

text: The pharmacodynamics of bortezomib are determined by quantifying proteasome inhibition in peripheral blood mononuclear cells taken from people receiving the drug.


title: Bortezomib

text: Bortezomib was originally made in 1995 at Myogenics. The drug (PS-341) was tested in a small Phase I clinical trial on people with multiple myeloma. It was brought to further clinical trials by Millennium Pharmaceuticals in October 1999.


title: Bortezomib

text: In May 2003, seven years after the initial synthesis, bortezomib (marketed as Velcade by Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc.) was approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in multiple myeloma, based on the results from the SUMMIT Phase II trial. In 2008, bortezomib was approved in the United States for initial treatment of people with multiple myeloma. Bortezomib was previously approved in 2005, for the treatment of people with multiple myeloma who had received at least one prior therapy and in 2003, for the treatment of more refractory multiple myeloma.


title: Bortezomib

text: The 2008 approval was based on an international, multicenter, open label, active-control trial in previously untreated people with symptomatic multiple myeloma. People were randomized to receive either nine cycles of oral melphalan (M) plus prednisone (P) or MP plus bortezomib. People received M (9 mg/m2 ) plus prednisone (60 mg/m2 ) daily for four days every 6 weeks or the same MP schedule with bortezomib, 1.3 mg/m2 iv on days 1, 8, 11, 22, 25, 29, and 32 of every 6 week cycle for 4 cycles then once weekly for 4 weeks for 5 cycles. Time- to- progression (TTP) was the primary efficacy endpoint. Overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and response rate (RR) were secondary endpoints. Eligible people were age > 65 years. A total of 682 people were randomized: 338 to receive MP and 344 to the combination of bortezomib plus MP. Demographics and baseline disease characteristics were similar between the two groups.


title: Bortezomib

text: The trial was stopped following a pre-specified interim analysis showing a statistically significant improvement in TTP with the addition of bortezomib to MP (median 20.7 months) compared with MP (median 15 months) [HR: 0.54 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.70), p= 0.000002]. OS, PFS, and RR also were significantly superior for the bortezomib-MP combination.


title: Bortezomib

text: In August 2014, bortezomib was approved in the United States for the retreatment of adults with multiple myeloma who had previously responded to Velcade therapy and relapsed at least six months following completion of prior treatment.


title: Bortezomib

text: In October 2014, bortezomib was approved in the United States for the treatment of treatment-naïve people with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).


title: Bortezomib

text: In the UK, NICE initially recommended against Velcade in October 2006, due to its cost of about per person, and because studies reviewed by NICE reported that it could only extend the life expectancy by an average of six months over standard treatment. However, the company later proposed a performance-linked cost reduction for multiple myeloma, and this was accepted.


title: Republics in the Commonwealth of Nations

text: The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. , 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. Charles III, who is the reigning monarch in the Commonwealth realms, is also still the titular Head of the Commonwealth (but not the head of the members of the Commonwealth) in a personal capacity. This role does not carry with it any power; instead, it is a symbol of the free association of Commonwealth members.


text: Except for the former Portuguese possession of Mozambique, the former Belgian trust territory of Rwanda and the former French possessions of Gabon and Togo, they are all former British (or partly British) colonies or self-governing colonies that have evolved into republics. Most of the Commonwealth's members achieved independence while keeping the British monarch as their own individual head of state (in a form of personal union) and later became republics within the Commonwealth by abolishing the monarchy. In some other instances, the countries became republics after achieving independence from other former British colonies (as, for example, Bangladesh did from Pakistan in 1971 as a result of the Bangladesh Liberation War).


text: Republics have been permitted as members of the Commonwealth since the London Declaration made on 28 April 1949. Ten days before that declaration, the Republic of Ireland had been declared, ensuring most of Ireland's self-exclusion from the Commonwealth as republics were not allowed in the Commonwealth at that time (Northern Ireland, as part of the United Kingdom, remained within the Commonwealth). The Republic of Ireland did not re-apply for membership of the Commonwealth, despite being eligible to do so under the London Declaration.


text: The declaration was made by India to allow it to continue its membership of the Commonwealth despite its decision, implemented on 26 January 1950, to adopt a new Constitution and become a republic, abolishing the monarchy. Thus, India became the first republic within the Commonwealth. This set a precedent that all other countries were free to follow, as long as they each recognised the position of Head of the Commonwealth. A compromise between the Indian government and those, such as Jan Smuts, who wished not to allow republics membership, the Declaration read:


text: Following their independence from the United Kingdom, most Commonwealth countries retained Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, who was represented in the country by a Governor-General. The monarch adopted a title to indicate the individual sovereignty of each of these nations (such as "Queen of Barbados"). With time, many of these countries became republics, passing constitutional amendments or holding referendums to remove the monarch as their head of state, and replacing the governor-general with an elected or appointed president. This was especially true in post-colonial Africa. Most African realms became republics within a few years of independence. As of 2022, there are 15 states headed by King Charles III, which are known as Commonwealth realms.


text: Commonwealth republics usually followed the presidential system. Some states became parliamentary republics, such as Malta or Fiji. In Fiji, the change to a republic in 1987 came as a result of two military coups, rather than out of any popular republican sentiment.


text: Even when Fiji was not a member of the Commonwealth, symbols of the monarchy remained, including the Queen's portrait on banknotes and coins; and, unlike in the United Kingdom, the Queen's Official Birthday is a public holiday. When Fiji was readmitted to the Commonwealth, the issue of reinstating the Queen as head of state was raised, but not pursued, although the country's Great Council of Chiefs reaffirmed that the Queen was still the country's "Paramount Chief".


text: Some republics within the Commonwealth became republics on gaining independence from the United Kingdom; again, this was particularly true in Africa.


text: While the moves to both independence and republican status have broken the remaining constitutional links to the United Kingdom, a number of Commonwealth countries have retained a right of appeal directly to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council; for example, Mauritius, and (if the case involves constitutional rights) Kiribati. In contrast with Commonwealth realms and British Overseas Territories, however, such appeals are made directly to the Judicial Committee, rather than formally being made to "His Majesty in Council".


text: Within the Commonwealth, there is no differentiation in status between republics, Commonwealth realms and the members with their own monarchs (Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga).


text: Membership of the Commonwealth is by common assent of the existing members, and this principle applies equally to territories gaining independence from the UK and to outside territories requesting membership. Until 2007, Commonwealth members that changed their internal constitutional structure to that of a republic had to re-apply for membership. Widespread objection to the racial policies in South Africa resulted in that country deciding not to pursue a re-application for Commonwealth membership when it became a republic in 1961. South Africa was subsequently readmitted as a member of the Commonwealth after democratic elections in 1994. Fiji and the Maldives also did not apply for continued membership after becoming republics (Fiji was likely to be suspended in any case, since a coup had overthrown the democratically elected government), and thus their membership lapsed too.


text: In some countries that became republics some time after independence, including Malta, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago, the new office of president was a ceremonial post, usually held by the last governor-general, each respective country being a Parliamentary republic. In others, such as Gambia, Ghana, and Malawi, the presidency was an executive post, usually first held by the last prime minister, with each respective country being a Presidential republic. In the latter cases, not only was the monarchy abolished, but so was the entire Westminster system of parliamentary government as well.


text: The 2007 Kampala review of the Edinburgh Declaration delimits the nations eligible for admission to the Commonwealth to those with "a historic constitutional association with an existing Commonwealth member, save in exceptional circumstances". Various republics have a historic association with the United Kingdom as being former British-administrated territories. The 2009 admission of Rwanda, which has no such association, was made under the "exceptional circumstances" proviso.


text: The republics of South Sudan, Sudan, and Suriname have formally made applications, while other republics have expressed interest. The United States (Thirteen Colonies), Israel (Mandate for Palestine), Republic of Ireland (Irish Free State), and the Persian Gulf states, as former possessions of the British empire, are eligible for membership but have shown no interest.


title: National service

text: National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term "national service" comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939.


title: National service

text: The length and nature of national service depends on the country in question. In some instances, national service is compulsory, and citizens living abroad can be called back to their country of origin to complete it. In other cases, national service is voluntary.


title: National service

text: Many young people spend one or more years in such programmes. Compulsory military service typically requires all citizens to enroll for one or two years, usually at age 18 (later for university-level students). Most conscripting countries conscript only men, but Norway, Sweden, Israel, Eritrea, Morocco and North Korea conscript both men and women.


title: National service

text: Voluntary national service may require only three months of basic military training. The US equivalent is Selective Service. In the United States, voluntary enrollments at the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps are also known as national service.


title: National service

text: Around 100 AD, Plutarch quoted an early case for national service made by a Roman general sometime around the 5th century BC:With the politic design of preventing intestine broils by employment abroad, and in the hope that when rich as well as poor, plebeians and patricians, should be mingled again in the same army and in the same camp, and engage in one common service for the public, it would mutually dispose them to reconciliation and friendship.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: Karen Anne Spencer, Countess Spencer (formerly Gordon, "née" Villeneuve; born June 6, 1972) is a Canadian social entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of Whole Child International, a U.S.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that works to improve the quality of care for vulnerable children.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: Countess Spencer was born Karen Anne Villeneuve on November 30, 1972 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, the eldest of three children. Her father’s career as a National Parks administrator required her family to move to as many as 23 homes and 10 schools during her childhood; Spencer has credited this experience as the foundation for her interest in helping children without a stable home.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: Spencer was motivated to launch the nonprofit organization Whole Child International, which targets the emotional needs of society’s most at-risk children, after attending a 2004 parenting class that introduced the child-rearing approach of Emmi Pikler.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: Whole Child is currently implementing programs with funding from USAID, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Korean Poverty Reduction Fund, and other donors such as David G. Booth, the Annenberg Foundation, and the Pamella and Daniel DeVos Foundation.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: In February 2010, the 14th Dalai Lama gave his support to Whole Child at the launch of its global initiative to raise awareness of the plight of institutionalized children.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: Karen Spencer is co-author of articles published in the peer-reviewed "Infant Journal of Mental Health" and "Perspectives in Infant Mental Health," contributing important insights and realistic solutions to the public debate. In September 2015, she was elected an Ashoka Fellow for her work as a social entrepreneur by the Ashoka Foundation, which honoured her for identifying and filling a gap in care for orphans and vulnerable children. In 2016 she was made a Fellow at the University of Northampton in the United Kingdom. In 2017, she received the Pikler/Lóczy USA Founders Award, and "People" Magazine named her one of "25 Women Changing the World."


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: She reportedly divides her time between her home in Pacific Palisades, California, and her husband's family seat at Althorp in Northamptonshire, United Kingdom.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: The Countess married Mark Gordon, a Hollywood producer whose films include "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Patriot", on November 8, 1997. The couple divorced in 2003. Together they have two daughters, Emma (b. 1998) and Kate (b. 2001).


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: On June 25, 2011, Spencer married Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer at Althorp. The Earl Spencer was the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and an author and broadcaster. As a result of her marriage, Karen Spencer is formally styled The Right Honourable The Countess Spencer, and is addressed as Lady Spencer.


title: Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer

text: The Earl and Countess Spencer have one child together: Lady Charlotte Diana Spencer, born 30 July 2012 at Althorp.


title: L'Aquila

text: L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and "comune" in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the Aterno river, it is surrounded by the Apennine Mountains, with the Gran Sasso d'Italia to the north-east.


title: L'Aquila

text: L'Aquila sits upon a hillside in the middle of a narrow valley; tall snow-capped mountains of the Gran Sasso massif flank the town. A maze of narrow streets, lined with Baroque and Renaissance buildings and churches, open onto elegant piazzas. Home to the University of L'Aquila, it is a lively college town and, as such, has many cultural institutions: a repertory theatre, a symphony orchestra, a fine-arts academy, a state conservatory, a film institute. There are several ski resorts in the surrounding province (Campo Imperatore, Ovindoli, Pescasseroli, Roccaraso, Scanno).


title: L'Aquila

text: Close to the highest of the Apennine summits, L'Aquila is positioned at an elevation of in the Valley of the Aterno-Pescara, situated between four mountain peaks above .


title: L'Aquila

text: The mountains block the city off from warm humid air currents from the Mediterranean, and give rise to a climate that is cool in comparison to most of central Italy, and dry. It has been said that the city enjoys each year 11 cold months and one cool one.


title: L'Aquila

text: L'Aquila is approximately east-northeast of Rome, with which it is connected by an autostrada through the mountains.


title: L'Aquila

text: The city's construction was begun by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily, out of several already existing villages (ninety-nine, according to local tradition; see Amiternum), as a bulwark against the power of the papacy. The name of Aquila means "Eagle" in Italian. Construction was completed in 1254 under Frederick's son, Conrad IV of Germany. The name was switched to Aquila degli Abruzzi in 1861, and L'Aquila in 1939. After the death of Conrad, the city was destroyed by his brother Manfred in 1259, but soon rebuilt by Charles I of Anjou, his successor as king of Sicily. The walls were completed in 1316.


title: L'Aquila

text: It quickly became the second city of the Kingdom of Naples. It was an autonomous city, ruled by a diarchy composed of the City Council (which had varying names and composition over the centuries) and the King's Captain. It fell initially under the lordship of Niccolò dell'Isola, appointed by the people as the People's Knight, but he was then killed when he became a tyrant. Later, it fell under Pietro "Lalle" Camponeschi, Count of Montorio, who became the third side of a new triarchy, with the Council and the King's Captain. Camponeschi, who was also Great Chancellor of the kingdom of Naples, became too powerful, and was killed by order of Prince Louis of Taranto. His descendants fought with the Pretatti family for power for several generations, but never again attained the power of their ancestor. The last, and the one true "lord" of L'Aquila, was Ludovico Franchi, who challenged the power of the pope by giving refuge to Alfonso I d'Este, former duke of Ferrara, and the children of Giampaolo Baglioni, deposed lord of Perugia. In the end, however, the Aquilans had him deposed and imprisoned by the king of Naples.


title: L'Aquila

text: The power of L'Aquila was based on the close connection between the city and its mother-villages, which had established the city as a federation, each of them building a borough and considering it as a part of the mother-village. The Fountain of the 99 Spouts ("Fontana delle 99 Cannelle"), was given its name to celebrate the ancient origin of the town. The City Council was originally composed of the Mayors of the villages, and the city had no legal existence until King Charles II of Naples appointed a "Camerlengo", responsible for city tributes (previously paid separately by each of its mother-villages). Later, the Camerlengo also took political power, as President of the City Council.


title: L'Aquila

text: From its beginnings the city constituted an important market for the surrounding countryside, which provided it with a regular supply of food: from the fertile valleys came the precious saffron; the surrounding mountain pastures provided summer grazing for numerous transhumant flocks of sheep, which in turn supplied abundant raw materials for export and, to a lesser extent, small local industries, which in time brought craftsmen and merchants from outside the area.


title: L'Aquila

text: Within a few decades L'Aquila became a crossroads in communications between cities within and beyond the Kingdom, thanks to the so-called "via degli Abruzzi", which ran from Florence to Naples by way of Perugia, Rieti, L'Aquila, Sulmona, Isernia, Venafro, Teano and Capua.


title: L'Aquila

text: Negotiations for the succession of Edmund, son of Henry III of England, to the throne of the Kingdom of Sicily involved L'Aquila in the web of interests linking the Roman Curia to the English court. On December 23, 1256, Pope Alexander IV elevated the churches of Saints Massimo and Giorgio to the status of cathedrals as a reward to the citizens of L'Aquila for their opposition to King Manfred who, in July 1259, had the city razed to the ground in an attempt to destroy the negotiations. On August 29, 1294, the hermit Pietro del Morrone was consecrated as pope Celestine V in the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, in commemoration of which the new pope decreed the annual religious rite of the Pardon (nowadays known as Celestinian Forgiveness, "Perdonanza Celestiniana"), still observed today in the city on August 28 and 29: it is the immediate ancestor of the Jubilee Year.


title: L'Aquila

text: The pontificate of Celestine V gave a new impulse to building development, as can be seen from the city statutes. In 1311, moreover, King Robert of Anjou granted privileges which had a decisive influence on the development of trade. These privileges protected all activities related to sheep-farming, exempting them from customs duties on imports and exports. This was the period in which merchants from Tuscany (Scale, Bonaccorsi) and Rieti purchased houses in the city. Hence the conditions for radical political renewal: in 1355 the trade guilds of leather-workers, metal-workers, merchants and learned men were brought into the government of the city, and these together with the Camerario and the Cinque constituted the new Camera Aquilana. Eleven years earlier, in 1344, the King had granted the city its own mint.


title: L'Aquila

text: In the middle of the 14th century the city was struck by plague epidemics (1348, 1363) and earthquakes (1349). Reconstruction began soon, however. In the 14th–15th century Jewish families came to live in the city, while the generals of the Franciscan Order chose the city as the seat of the Order's general chapters (1376, 1408, 1411, 1450, 1452, 1495). Bernardino of Siena, of the Franciscan order of the Observance, visited L'Aquila twice, the first time to preach in the presence of King René of Naples, and in 1444, on his second visit, he died in the city. In 1481 Adam of Rottweil, a pupil and collaborator of Johann Gutenberg, obtained permission to establish a printing press in L'Aquila.


title: L'Aquila

text: The Osservanti branch of the Franciscan order had a decisive influence on L'Aquila. As a result of initiatives by Friar Giovanni da Capistrano and Friar Giacomo della Marca, Lombard masters undertook, in the relatively underdeveloped north-east of the city, an imposing series of buildings centring on the hospital of Saint Salvatore (1446) and the convent and the Basilica of San Bernardino. The construction work was long and difficult, mainly because of the earthquake of 1461, which caused the buildings to collapse, and the translation of the body of San Bernardino did not take place until May 14, 1472. The whole city suffered serious damage on the occasion of the earthquake, and two years went by before repairs on the churches and convents began.


title: L'Aquila

text: In a strategy finalised to increasing their political and economic autonomy, the Aquilani took a series of political gambles, siding sometimes with the Roman Papacy, sometimes with the Kingdom of Naples. When the Pope excommunicated Joanna II, Queen of Naples, appointing Louis III of Anjou as heir to the crown in her stead, L'Aquila sided with the Angevines. Joanna hired the condottiero Braccio da Montone. In exchange for his services, Braccio obtained the lordship of Teramo, as well as the fiefdoms of Capua and Foggia: he started a 13-month-long siege of L'Aquila, that resisted bravely. Facing Braccio, at the head of the Angevine army was Muzio Attendolo Sforza and his son Francesco. The final clash between the two contenders was just below the walls of Aquila, near the hamlet today called Bazzano. In the battle fought on June 2, 1424 Braccio, mortally wounded in the neck, was made prisoner and transported to Aquila, where he died three days later, on June 5, 1424. The Pope had him buried in deconsecrated earth. The citizens of L'Aquila honoured the bravery of their enemy Braccio by dedicating one of the main streets of the city to his name.


title: L'Aquila

text: This period of freedom and prosperity ended in the 16th century, when Spanish viceroy Philibert van Oranje partially destroyed L'Aquila and established Spanish feudalism in its countryside. The city, separated from its roots, never developed again. Ancient privileges were revoked. L'Aquila was again destroyed by an earthquake in 1703. Successive earthquakes have repeatedly damaged the city's large cathedral, and destroyed the original dome of the Basilica of San Bernardino, designed along the lines of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence. The city was also sacked two times by French troops in 1799.


title: L'Aquila

text: L'Aquila, like so much of Italy, is a city of political contrasts. In the 1970s a novel by Alberto Moravia was seized because it was considered obscene, a local Catholic Archbishop protested the nudity of a centuries-old statue of a young man, and a group of local reactionaries even asked for the seizure of the £50 coin because it showed a naked man. In October 2003, however, a liberal judge in l'Aquila ordered the small town of Ofena to remove a crucifix from its elementary school so as to not to offend the religious sensibilities of two young Muslim students. After a national outcry, the judge's decision was overturned. In May 2007 Massimo Cialente, a physician and medical researcher, was elected mayor of L'Aquila with a centre-left coalition.


title: L'Aquila

text: Earthquakes mark the history of L'Aquila, as the city is partly built on an ancient lake-bed which amplifies seismic activity.


title: L'Aquila

text: On December 3, 1315, the city was struck by an earthquake which seriously damaged the San Francesco Church. Another earthquake struck on September 9, 1349, killing about 800 people. Other earthquakes struck in 1452, then on November 26, 1461, and again in 1501 and 1646. On February 3, 1703 a major earthquake struck the town. More than 3,000 people died and almost all the churches collapsed; Rocca Calascio, the highest fortress in Europe was also ruined by this event, yet the town survived. L'Aquila was then repopulated by decision of Pope Clement XI. The town was rocked by earthquake again in 1706. On June 26, 1958 an earthquake of 5.0 magnitude struck the town.


title: L'Aquila

text: On April 6, 2009, at 01:32 GMT (03:32 CEST) an earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck central Italy with its epicentre near L'Aquila, at . Initial reports said the earthquake caused damage to between 3,000 and 10,000 buildings in L'Aquila. Several buildings also collapsed. 308 people were killed by the earthquake, and approximately 1,500 people were injured. Twenty of the victims were children. Around 65,000 people were made homeless. There were many students trapped in a partially collapsed dormitory. The April 6 earthquake was felt throughout Abruzzo; as far away as Rome, other parts of Lazio, Marche, Molise, Umbria, and Campania.


title: L'Aquila

text: Because of the 2009 earthquake, the Berlusconi government decided to move that year's G8 summit from its scheduled Sardinian host of La Maddalena to L'Aquila, so that disaster funds would be distributed to the affected region and to show solidarity with the city's inhabitants. World leaders converged on L'Aquila on July 8 and many of them were given tours of the devastated city by the host Prime Minister.


title: L'Aquila

text: L'Aquila has a Oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb), influenced by its high altitude.


title: L'Aquila

text: Although less than an hour-and-a-half drive from Rome, and popular with Romans for summer hiking and winter skiing in surrounding mountains, the city is sparsely visited by tourists. Among the sights are:


title: L'Aquila

text: Also nearby are several ski resorts like Gran Sasso d'Italia, the highest of the Apennines where in its valley the movie "The Name of the Rose" was filmed in the end of the 1980s. The town also contains some fine palaces: the municipality has a museum, with a collection of Roman inscriptions and some illuminated service books. The Palazzi Dragonetti and Persichetti contain private collections of pictures.


title: L'Aquila

text: The first step of L'Aquila in the cinematographic activities was the Cineforum Primo Piano founded by Gabriele Lucci in the middle of the 1970s. As a work of Lucci, in 1981 saw the establishment of l'Istituto Cinematografico dell'Aquila, an institute for the production and diffusion of the cinematographic culture in Italia and abroad.


title: L'Aquila

text: The city is the home of five-time Italian champions L'Aquila Rugby. The football squad, L'Aquila Calcio, played 3 times in serie B.


title: L'Aquila

text: The following is a list of the "frazioni" in the "comune" of L'Aquila: Aquilio, Aragno, Arischia, Assergi, Bagno, Bazzano, Camarda, Cansatessa, Casaline, Cermone, Cese di Preturo, Civita di Bagno, Colle di Preturo, Colle di Sassa, Colle Roio – Poggio di Roio, Collebrincioni, Collefracido di Sassa, Collemare di Sassa, Coppito, Filetto, Foce di Sassa, Forcelle, Genzano di Sassa, Gignano, Monticchio, Onna, Paganica, Pagliare di Sassa, Pescomaggiore, Pettino, Pianola, Pile, Pizzutillo, Poggio di Roio, Poggio Santa Maria, Pozza di Preturo, Pratelle, Preturo, Ripa, Roio Piano, San Giacomo Alto, San Giuliano, San Gregorio, San Leonardo, San Marco Di Preturo, San Martino di Sassa, Santa Rufina di Roio, Sant'Angelo, Sant'Elia, Santi, San Vittorino, Sassa, Tempera, Torretta, Vallesindola, Vasche.


title: L'Aquila

text: L'Aquila railway station, on the Terni–Sulmona railway, is the main train station of the city, with trains to Terni, Rieti and Sulmona.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: An "ad valorem" tax (Latin for "according to value") is a tax whose amount is based on the value of a transaction or of property. It is typically imposed at the time of a transaction, as in the case of a sales tax or value-added tax (VAT). An "ad valorem" tax may also be imposed annually, as in the case of a real or personal property tax, or in connection with another significant event (e.g. inheritance tax, expatriation tax, or tariff). In some countries, a stamp duty is imposed as an "ad valorem" tax.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: All ad valorem taxes are collected according to the determined value of the taxed item. In the most common application of ad valorem taxes, namely municipal property taxes, public tax assessors regularly assess the property owner's real estate in order to determine its current value.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The determined value of the property is used to calculate the annual tax collected by the municipality or any other government entity upon the property owner. Ad valorem taxes are based on real property ownership and can therefore be compared with transaction taxes (i.e. sales taxes). Ad valorem tax is determined and collected every year, while transaction tax is only levied at the time of transaction.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Municipalities usually collect property ad valorem taxes, but they are levied also by government entities; examples are counties, school districts, or special taxation zones, also known as special purpose zones. Many entities can collect ad valorem taxes from the property owners; for example, a city and a county. Ad valorem property taxes are usually the main source of income for state and municipal governments. Municipal property ad valorem taxes are often referred to as "property taxes".


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Generally, starting from January 1 of each year, the tax assessment used to determine ad valorem taxes is calculated. Ad valorem tax as a percentage of the value of the assessed property, usually the fair market value of the property. Fair market price refers to the estimated selling price of the property. It is assumed that both willing buyers and sellers have the willingness to trade, and both parties have a reasonable understanding of all relevant facts about the property, and both parties are not obliged to complete the transaction. Fair market value can be seen as just a reasonable price.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: There are different ad valorem taxes and they are based in some cases on the ownership of real assets ( i.e. property tax), or alternatively they can be "transactional taxes": example is a sales tax. Property taxes usually are determined and collected with annual incidence, while transactional taxes take places at the time when the transaction occurs.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: With land value taxes (LVT), which are still ad valorem taxes, just the value of the land itself is taxed. Buildings, personal property and any kind of decoration are ignored by the following tax. LVT is different from other real estate taxes. Practically speaking, every jurisdiction collecting real estate property tax includes land value tax, since land value has a meaningful impact on the overall property value. In 1879, Henry George published "Progress and Poverty", by which he advocated a flat tax on lands based on the original unimproved value of the latters in their natural state, the "land value tax". George believed this tax was sufficient to support all government programs, being substantially a "single tax."


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The idea behind his thought was, instead of taxing labor and capital, to tax the rent of land and natural opportunities, in order to regain the rent for public use. He pointed out that in general, taxation will stifle production behavior: he thought that incomes taxation reduces people's motivation to earn an income, taxation of wheat reduces wheat production, and so on. However, taxing the value of unimproved land has different effects: it's possible to distinguish two different sources of value for a land, the natural value of the land and the value created by improving it (for example, by building value on the land). Since the value of unacquired land is not earned, neither land value nor land value tax will affect production behavior (Hooper 2008).


title: Ad valorem tax

text: A sales tax is a consumption tax charged at the point of purchase for certain goods and services. The tax is usually set as a percentage by the government charging the tax. There is usually a list of exemptions. The tax can be included in the price (tax-inclusive) or added at the point of sale (tax-exclusive).


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Ideally, a sales tax is fair, has a high compliance rate, is difficult to avoid, is charged every time an item is sold retail, and is simple to calculate and simple to collect. A conventional or retail sales tax attempts to achieve this by charging the tax only on the final end user, unlike a gross receipts tax levied on the intermediate business which purchases materials for production or ordinary operating expenses prior to delivering a service or product to the marketplace. This prevents so-called tax "cascading" or "pyramiding," in which an item is taxed more than once as it makes its way from production to final retail sale. There are several types of sales taxes: seller or vendor taxes, consumer excise taxes, retail transaction taxes, or value-added taxes.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: A value-added tax (VAT), or goods and services tax (GST), is a tax on exchanges. It is levied on the added value that results from each exchange. It differs from a sales tax because a sales tax is levied on the total value of the exchange. For this reason, a VAT is neutral with respect to the number of passages that there are between the producer and the final consumer. A VAT is an indirect tax, in that the tax is collected from someone other than the person who actually bears the cost of the tax (namely the seller rather than the consumer). To avoid double taxation on final consumption, exports (which by definition are consumed abroad) are usually not subject to VAT and VAT charged under such circumstances is usually refundable.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The origin of the value-added tax is a debatable topic. It is variously ascribed to either German businessman Wilhelm von Siemens in 1918, or American economist Thomas S. Adams in his works between the years 1910-1921. Adams intended the VAT as an alternative to the business income tax and meant it not as an appendix to the federal income tax system in existence at the time but as its major alternation. In contrast the innovators in Germany thought of the VAT as a substitution for an already existing sales tax and as an adjunct to the tax on income.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Firstly VAT was introduced in France in 1954, but its usage was limited only to several cases. First full-scale VAT was put in place in Denmark in 1967. The spread of VAT was helped by the fact that European Union began to require members to adopt the VAT upon their entrance to the EU. Major influences in the spread of VAT outside of the EU are generally attributed to the IMF and the World Bank. Ironically the United States, who to this day don’t have the VAT, promoted the tax largely in their post WWII occupation of Japan as well as in their advisory activities to developing economies.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: A property tax, millage tax is an "ad valorem" tax that an owner of real estate or other property pays on the value of the property being taxed. Ad valorem property taxes are collected by local government departments (examples are counties, cities, school districts, and special tax districts) on real property or personal property. Ad valorem property taxes are usually the main, if not the main, source of income for state and municipal governments. Municipal ad valorem property tax is often referred to as "property tax" for short. The owner of the property should pay this tax based on the value of the property.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Ad valorem taxes refer to goods or property taxes seen as a percentage of the sales price or estimated value. They belong to the assessed value range (because this is the only way to estimate the "sales price"). There are three species or types of property: Land, Improvements to Land (immovable man made things), and Personal (movable man made things).


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Real estate, real property or realty are all terms for the combination of land and improvements. The taxing authority requires and/or performs an appraisal of the monetary value of the property, and tax is assessed in proportion to that value. Forms of property tax used vary between countries and jurisdictions. . Usually, ad valorem taxes are calculated as a percentage of the estimated value of the considered property.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The estimated value of a property usually refers to the annual determination of the fair market value. "Fair market value" is generally defined as the price that willing buyers are willing to pay and the price of property that willing sellers are willing to accept, and neither price is forced to buy or sell.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: It is also considered as the price at which a property changes hands between a potential buyer and a potential seller when both parties have reliable knowledge of all necessary facts and do not require buying or selling. Most tax authorities require regular inspections of the subject matter during the evaluation process and decide evaluation measures to determine fair market value.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Though, there is no uniform tax base that applies to all places. In some countries, property taxes are based on the value of the property depending on market value, site value, rental value. In different countries, taxes are calculated on building area and property area - called unit value. These methods can also be used in combination.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Property taxes have existed since the first ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Persia and China. Ancient Greece and ancient Rome also had various property taxes. One of the earliest well documented ad valorem taxes known in Europe is the Danegeld – a land-tax first imposed in 1012 in Britain to pay off Viking raiders. The amount of tax collected was based on the value of the taxpayer’s property – usually measured by a local unit to determine the size of the land. Since the Danegeld became in time too complicated to collect, it was later replaced by Carucage, also a tax based on the size of land owned by the taxpayer.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: "Ad valorem" duties are important to those importing goods into the United States because the amount of duty owed is often based on the value of the imported commodity. "Ad valorem" taxes (mainly real property tax and sales taxes) are a major source of revenues for state and municipal governments, especially in jurisdictions that do not employ a personal income tax. Virtually all state and local sales taxes in the United States are "ad valorem".


title: Ad valorem tax

text: "Ad valorem" is used most frequently to refer to the value placed on property by the county tax assessors. An assessment is made against this value by applying an assessment rate (e.g. 100%, 60%, 40%, etc.). The net assessment is determined after subtracting any exemptions to which the property owner is entitled (e.g. homestead exemptions), and a tax or millage rate is applied to this net assessment to determine the ad valorem tax due from the property owner.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The two main basis for determining the ad valorem value are fair market value and current use value. The fair market value is based on the typical selling price for property on which the buyer and seller can agree, with the assumption that the property is being used or will be used at its highest and best use after the sale. The current use value is the typical selling price for property with an assumption that it will continue after the sale to be used in its current use rather than being converted to its highest and best use. State legislatures have created many variations to these two main valuation approaches.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: In some states, a central appraisal authority establishes values on all properties and distributes these to the local county or jurisdiction taxing authority, which then sets a tax rate and imposes the local ad valorem tax. In other states, a central appraisal authority values certain properties that are difficult to value at the local level (e.g. railroads, electric companies and other utility companies) and sends these values to the local county or jurisdiction taxing authority, while the local tax assessors determine the value on all other property in the county or jurisdiction.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: ""Ad valorem"" tax, most frequently referred to as property tax, relates to the tax that results when the net assessed value of a property is multiplied times the millage rate applicable to that property. This millage rate is usually expressed as a multiple of 1/1000 of a dollar. Thus the fractional amount of 0.001 will be expressed as 1 mill when expressed as an ad valorem tax millage rate.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The tax determined from multiplying the ad valorem assessment times the ad valorem tax rate is typically collected by the tax collector or tax commissioner.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The third largest source of government revenues is value-added tax (VAT), charged at the standard rate of 20% on supplies of goods and services. It is therefore a tax on consumer spending. Certain goods and services are exempt from VAT, and others are subject to VAT at a lower rate of 5% (the reduced rate) or 0% ("zero-rated").


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) (French: ) is a multi-level value-added tax introduced in Canada on January 1, 1991, by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and finance minister Michael Wilson. The GST replaced a hidden 13.5% Manufacturers' Sales Tax (MST) because it hurt the manufacturing sector's ability to export. The introduction of the GST was very controversial. As of January 1, 2012, the GST stood at 5%.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: As of July 1, 2010, the federal GST and the regional Provincial Sales Tax (PST) were combined into a single value-added sales tax, called the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). The HST is in effect in five of the ten Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia. Effective April 1, 2013, the Government of British Columbia eliminated the HST and reinstated PST and GST on taxable services provided in British Columbia.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: It was introduced by the Howard Government on 1 July 2000, replacing the previous federal wholesale sales tax system and designed to phase out the various state and territory taxes such as banking taxes, stamp duty and land value tax. While this was the stated intent at the time, the States still charge duty on a various transactions, including but not limited to vehicle transfers and land transfers, insurance contracts and agreements for the sale of land. Many States, such as Western Australia, have made recent amendments to duties laws to phase out particular duties and clarify existing ones. The "Duties Act 2008" (WA) is available online at the Western Australian State Law Publisher


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The Goods and Services Tax is a value-added tax of 15% on most goods and services sold in New Zealand.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: It was introduced by the Fourth Labour Government on 1 October 1986 at a rate of 10%. This was increased to 12.5% on 1 July 1989 and 15% on 1 October 2010.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: A common VAT system is compulsory for the member states of the European Union. The EU VAT system is imposed by a series of European Union directives, the most important of which is the Sixth VAT Directive (Directive 77/388/EC). Nevertheless, some member states have negotiated variable rates (Madeira in Portugal) or VAT exemption for regions or territories. The regions below fall out of the scope of EU VAT:


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Under the EU system of VAT, where a person carrying on an economic activity supplies goods and services to another person, and the value of the supplies passes financial limits, the supplier is required to register with the local taxation authorities and charge its customers, and account to the local taxation authority for VAT (although the price may be "inclusive" of VAT, so VAT is included as part of the agreed price, or "exclusive" of VAT, so VAT is payable in addition to the agreed price).


title: Ad valorem tax

text: VAT that is charged by a business and paid by its customers is known as "output" VAT (that is, VAT on its output supplies). VAT that is paid by a business to other businesses on the supplies that it receives is known as "input" VAT (that is, VAT on its input supplies). A business is generally able to recover input VAT to the extent that the input VAT is attributable to (that is, used to make) its taxable outputs. Input VAT is recovered by setting it against the output VAT for which the business is required to account to the government, or, if there is an excess, by claiming a repayment from the government.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Different rates of VAT apply in different EU member states. The minimum standard rate of VAT throughout the EU is 15%, although reduced rates of VAT, as low as 5%, are applied in various states on various sorts of supply (for example, domestic fuel and power in the UK). The maximum rate in the EU is 25%.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The Sixth VAT Directive requires certain goods and services to be exempt from VAT (for example, postal services, medical care, lending, insurance, betting), and certain other goods and services to be exempt from VAT but subject to the ability of an EU member state to opt to charge VAT on those supplies (such as land and certain financial services). Input VAT that is attributable to exempt supplies is not recoverable, although a business can increase its prices so the customer effectively bears the cost of the 'sticking' VAT (the effective rate will be lower than the headline rate and depend on the balance between previously taxed input and labour at the exempt stage).


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Finally, some goods and services are "zero-rated". The zero-rate is a positive rate of tax calculated at 0%. Supplies subject to the zero-rate are still "taxable supplies", i.e. they have VAT charged on them. In the UK, examples include most food, books, drugs, and certain kinds of transport. The zero-rate is not featured in the EU Sixth Directive as it was intended that the minimum VAT rate throughout Europe would be 5%. However, zero-rating remains in some Member States, most notably the UK, as a legacy of pre-EU legislation. These Member States have been granted a derogation to continue existing zero-rating but cannot add new goods or services.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The UK also exempts or lowers the rate on some products depending on situation; for example milk products are exempt from VAT, but if you go into a restaurant and drink a milk drink it is VAT-able. Some products such as feminine hygiene products and baby products (nappies etc.) are charged at 5% VAT along with domestic fuel.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: When goods are imported into the EU from other states, VAT is generally charged at the border, at the same time as customs duty. "Acquisition" VAT is payable when goods are acquired in one EU member state from another EU member state (this is done not at the border but through an accounting mechanism). EU businesses are often required to charge themselves VAT under the "reverse charge" mechanism where services are received from another member state or from outside of the EU.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Businesses can be required to register for VAT in EU member states, other than the one in which they are based, if they supply goods via mail order to those states, over a certain threshold. Businesses that are established in one member state but which receive supplies in another member state may be able to reclaim VAT charged in the second state under the provisions of the Eighth VAT Directive (Directive 79/1072/EC). To do so, businesses have a value added tax identification number. A similar directive, the Thirteenth VAT Directive (Directive 86/560/EC), also allows businesses established outside the EU to recover VAT in certain circumstances.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Following changes introduced on July 1, 2003, (under Directive 2002/38/EC), non-EU businesses providing digital electronic commerce and entertainment products and services to EU countries are also required to register with the tax authorities in the relevant EU member state, and to collect VAT on their sales at the appropriate rate, according to the location of the purchaser. Alternatively, under a special scheme, non-EU businesses may register and account for VAT on only one EU member state. This produces distortions as the rate of VAT is that of the member state of registration, not where the customer is located, and an alternative approach is therefore under negotiation, whereby VAT is charged at the rate of the member state where the purchaser is located.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The differences between different rates of VAT was often originally justified by certain products being "luxuries" and thus bearing high rates of VAT, whereas other items were deemed to be "essentials" and thus bearing lower rates of VAT. However, often high rates persisted long after the argument was no longer valid. For instance, France taxed cars as a luxury product (33%) up into the 1980s, when most of the French households owned one or more cars. Similarly, in the UK, clothing for children is "zero rated" whereas clothing for adults is subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: Starting with the land-value vax, since it is believed that the market usually redistributes resources functionally, the best tax is the one that causes the least distortion of market incentives; land value tax meets this standard. In addition, the land's value in a certain locality will be influenced by local government services, so it may be considered fair to tax landowners in proportion to the value of the proceeds received to finance these services. Henry George is correct that other taxes may have a stronger inhibitory effect but now a single land tax is not recognized innocent by economists. The site value is created, not inherent.


title: Ad valorem tax

text: A tax on the value of the site is actually a tax on the production potential, that is the consequence of land improvement in the area. George (1897) proposed to impose a tax on a piece of land based on the improvement of adjacent land (Hooper 2008). Rothbard (2004) believes that a "neutral tax" is the best thing to make the market free and without problems. The low-income earners have the biggest burden because consumption taxes (i.e. sales tax and value-added tax) are regressive. To compensate for this, taxes on necessities are usually lower than taxes on luxury goods. Supporters of this kind of taxation believe that it is an effective way to increase income and reduce income tax accordingly. Opponents believe that, as a diminishing tax, it places too much burden on the low-income earners. When the tax burden is borne by the producers, the French economist Jean-Baptiste Say said: "taxes, over time, cripple production itself" (Say 1880, 447). As some form of taxation is necessary to finance public institutions serving society, such taxation should be fair and helpful. Say (1880) said, "The best scheme of [public] finance is, to spend as little money as possible; and the best tax is always the lightest." At the end, the challenge is to guarantee that ad valorem taxes do not cause more problems than other forms of taxation (i.e. income tax).


title: Ad valorem tax

text: The theory of the firm shows that taxes on transfers can encourage firms to internalise costs and grow, whereas the absence of such transactions may result in a larger number of individually smaller firms. For example, a sales tax – unlike a VAT – would realign the incentives of a steel mill in favor of operating its own coal mine, as opposed to simply buying coal in a transaction subject to taxation; the theory of the firm's model suggests that this would be less economically efficient as it results in a decline in specialization.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is one of the leading American orchestras popularly referred to as the "Big Five". The Philharmonic's home is David Geffen Hall, located in New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Founded in 1842, the orchestra is one of the oldest musical institutions in the United States and the oldest of the "Big Five" orchestras. Its record-setting 14,000th concert was given in December 2004.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842 by the American conductor Ureli Corelli Hill, with the aid of the Irish composer William Vincent Wallace. The orchestra was then called the Philharmonic Society of New York. It was the third Philharmonic on American soil since 1799, and had as its intended purpose, "the advancement of instrumental music." The first concert of the Philharmonic Society took place on December 7, 1842 in the Apollo Rooms on lower Broadway before an audience of 600. The concert opened with Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5", led by Hill himself. Two other conductors, German-born Henry Christian Timm and French-born Denis Etienne, led parts of the eclectic, three-hour program, which included chamber music and several operatic selections with a leading singer of the day, as was the custom. The musicians operated as a cooperative society, deciding by a majority vote such issues as who would become a member, which music would be performed and who among them would conduct. At the end of the season, the players would divide any proceeds among themselves.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: After only a dozen public performances and barely four years old, the Philharmonic organized a concert to raise funds to build a new music hall. The centerpiece was the American premiere of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, to take place at Castle Garden on the southern tip of Manhattan. About 400 instrumental and vocal performers gathered for this premiere, which was conducted by George Loder. The chorals were translated into what would be the first English performance anywhere in the world. However, with the expensive US$2.00 ticket price and a war rally uptown, the hoped-for audience was kept away and the new hall would have to wait. Although judged by some as an odd work with all those singers kept at bay until the end, the Ninth soon became the work performed most often when a grand gesture was required.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: During the Philharmonic's first seven seasons, seven musicians alternated the conducting duties. In addition to Hill, Timm and Étienne, these were William Alpers, George Loder, Louis Wiegers and Alfred Boucher. This changed in 1849 when Theodore Eisfeld was installed as sole conductor for the season. Eisfeld, later along with Carl Bergmann, would be the conductor until 1865. That year, Eisfeld conducted the orchestra's memorial concert for the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln, but in a peculiar turn of events which were criticized in the New York press, the Philharmonic omitted the last movement, "Ode to Joy", as being inappropriate for the occasion. That year Eisfeld returned to Europe, and Bergmann continued to conduct the Society until his death in 1876.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Leopold Damrosch, Franz Liszt's former concertmaster at Weimar, served as conductor of the Philharmonic for the 1876/77 season. But failing to win support from the Philharmonic's public, he left to create the rival Symphony Society of New York in 1878. Upon his death in 1885, his 23-year-old son Walter took over and continued the competition with the old Philharmonic. It was Walter who would convince Andrew Carnegie that New York needed a first-class concert hall and on May 5, 1891, both Walter and Russian composer Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted at the inaugural concert of the city's new Music Hall, which in a few years would be renamed for its primary benefactor, Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie Hall would remain the orchestra's home until 1962.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: The Philharmonic in 1877 was in desperate financial condition, caused by the paltry income from five concerts in the 1876/77 season that brought in an average of only $168 per concert. Representatives of the Philharmonic wished to attract the German-born, American-trained conductor Theodore Thomas, whose own Theodore Thomas Orchestra had competed directly with the Philharmonic for over a decade and which had brought him fame and great success. At first the Philharmonic's suggestion offended Thomas because he was unwilling to disband his own orchestra. Because of the desperate financial circumstances, the Philharmonic offered Theodore Thomas the conductorship without conditions, and he began conducting the orchestra in the autumn of 1877. With the exception of the 1878/79 season – when he was in Cincinnati and Adolph Neuendorff led the group – Thomas conducted every season for fourteen years, vastly improving the orchestra's financial health while creating a polished and virtuosic ensemble. He left in 1891 to found the Chicago Symphony, taking thirteen Philharmonic musicians with him.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Another celebrated conductor, Anton Seidl, followed Thomas on the Philharmonic podium, serving until 1898. Seidl, who had served as Wagner's assistant, was a renowned conductor of the composer's works; Seidl's romantic interpretations inspired both adulation and controversy. During his tenure, the Philharmonic enjoyed a period of unprecedented success and prosperity and performed its first world premiere written by a world-renowned composer in the United States – Antonín Dvořák's Ninth Symphony "From the New World". Seidl's sudden death in 1898 from food poisoning at the age of 47 was widely mourned. Twelve thousand people applied for tickets to his funeral at the Metropolitan Opera House at 39th Street and Broadway and the streets were jammed for blocks with a "surging mass" of his admirers.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: According to Joseph Horowitz, Seidl's death was followed by "five unsuccessful seasons" under Emil Paur [music director from 1898 to 1902] and Walter Damrosch [who served for only one season, 1902/03]." After this, he says, for several seasons [1903–1906] the orchestra employed guest conductors, including Victor Herbert, Édouard Colonne, Willem Mengelberg, Fritz Steinbach, Richard Strauss, Felix Weingartner, and Henry Wood.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 1909, to ensure the financial stability of the Philharmonic, a group of wealthy New Yorkers led by two women, Mary Seney Sheldon and Minnie Untermyer, formed the Guarantors Committee and changed the orchestra's organization from a musician-operated cooperative to a corporate management structure. The Guarantors were responsible for bringing Gustav Mahler to the Philharmonic as principal conductor and expanding the season from 18 concerts to 54, which included a tour of New England. The Philharmonic was the only symphonic orchestra where Mahler worked as music director without any opera responsibilities, freeing him to explore the symphonic literature more deeply. In New York, he conducted several works for the first time in his career and introduced audiences to his own compositions. Under Mahler, a controversial figure both as a composer and conductor, the season expanded, musicians' salaries were guaranteed, the scope of operations broadened, and the 20th-century orchestra was created.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 1911 Mahler died unexpectedly, and the Philharmonic appointed Josef Stránský as his replacement. Many commentators were surprised by the choice of Stránský, whom they did not see as a worthy successor to Mahler. Stránský led all of the orchestra's concerts until 1920, and also made the first recordings with the orchestra in 1917.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 1921 the Philharmonic merged with New York's National Symphony Orchestra (no relation to the present Washington, D.C. ensemble). With this merger it also acquired the imposing Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg. For the 1922/23 season Stránský and Mengelberg shared the conducting duties, but Stránský left after the one shared season. For nine years Mengelberg dominated the scene, although other conductors, among them Bruno Walter, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Igor Stravinsky, and Arturo Toscanini, led about half of each season's concerts. During this period, the Philharmonic became one of the first American orchestras to boast an outdoor symphony series when it began playing low-priced summer concerts at Lewisohn Stadium in upper Manhattan. In 1920 the orchestra hired Henry Hadley as "associate conductor" given specific responsibility for the "Americanization" of the orchestra: each of Hadley's concerts featured at least one work by an American-born composer.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: In 1924, the Young People's Concerts were expanded into a substantial series of children's concerts under the direction of American pianist-composer-conductor Ernest Schelling. This series became the prototype for concerts of its kind around the country and grew by popular demand to 15 concerts per season by the end of the decade.


title: New York Philharmonic

text: Mengelberg and Toscanini both led the Philharmonic in recording sessions for the Victor Talking Machine Company and Brunswick Records, initially in a recording studio (for the acoustically-recorded Victors, all under Mengelberg) and eventually in Carnegie Hall as electrical recording was developed. All of the early electrical recordings for Victor were made with a single microphone, usually placed near or above the conductor, a process Victor called "Orthophonic"; the Brunswick electricals used the company's proprietary non-microphone "Light-Ray" selenium-cell system, which was much more prone to sonic distortion than Victor's. Mengelberg's first records for Victor were acousticals made in 1922; Toscanini's recordings with the Philharmonic actually began with a single disc for Brunswick in 1926, recorded in a rehearsal hall at Carnegie Hall. Mengelberg's most successful recording with the Philharmonic was a 1927 performance in Carnegie Hall of Richard Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben". Additional Toscanini recordings with the Philharmonic, all for Victor, took place on Carnegie Hall's stage in 1929 and 1936. By the 1936 sessions Victor, now owned by RCA, began to experiment with multiple microphones to achieve more comprehensive reproductions of the orchestra.