ejaasaari/simplewiki-2025-04-01 huggingface dataset:
Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944), is an American conductor, pianist and composer. He is the conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Life. Tilson Thomas was born in Los Angeles, California. His grandparents were well known actors of the Yiddish theatre. Tilson Thomas studied at the University of Southern California. After being assistant conductor at the Bayreuth Festival his first important opportunity came in 1969 when the conductor William Steinberg became unwell during a concert with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Tilson Thomas took over conducting the rest of the concert. He stayed with the orchestra as assistant conductor until 1974, making several recordings with them. He was conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra from 1971 to 1979. During this time he conducted a series of Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic. From 1981 to 1985 he was the main guest conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Tilson Thomas started a new orchestra, the New World Symphony, in Miami, Florida in 1987, to give talented young people a chance to play with a good orchestra. From 1988 to 1995, he was principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and since 1995 he has been their main guest conductor. In 1995, he became conductor (music director) of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Tilson Thomas has conducted many styles of music, especially American music such as that of Charles Ives and Aaron Copland. He also recorded all nine symphonies of Gustav Mahler. In 2009 Tilson Thomas created the YouTube Symphony Orchestra to give a concert that could be watched on YouTube. The orchestra was made up of young players from 30 different countries. Tilson Thomas is openly gay.
Esa-Pekka Salonen (born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish conductor and composer. He is conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. He and his family live in Los Angeles, California. Life. Salonen was born in Helsinki, Finland. He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, learning the French horn, composition and conducting. Later he studied composition with several composers including Einojuhani Rautavaara. He started conducting in 1979 with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, mainly in order to conduct his own compositions. In 1983 he was asked at short notice to conduct the Philharmonia Orchestra when Michael Tilson-Thomas was ill. This concert made him well known as a conductor. Salonen was principal conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1984 to 1995. He first conducted in the United States in 1984 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 1989 he became Principal Guest Conductor of the orchestra and soon became music director. He has had this title ever since. In 1992, he took the orchestra to the Salzburg Festival where they gave concert performances and well as playing in the opera house for the opera "Saint-François d'Assise" by Olivier Messiaen. They toured throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia, and performed at the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, the BBC Proms in London, in Cologne for a festival of Salonen's own compositions, and in 1996 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris for a Stravinsky festival conducted by Salonen and Pierre Boulez. The orchestra sounded very good in the Paris concert hall, and it made people realize that they needed a better concert hall in Los Angeles. Soon the Walt Disney Concert Hall was built there. In 2008, Salonen became the main conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. He will leave his job with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2009. He wants to have more time to compose. Salonen married Jane Price who used to play with the Philharmonia Orchestra. They have three children.
An emergency telephone is a special telephone that can be used in an emergency situation. Such telephones can usually be found on highways, and other big roads. They can also be found in places where people feel unsafe, such as big parks or the campuses of universities. Emergency telephones are also placed at spots where many people commit suicide, like bridges or cliffs. Emergency phones are usually connected directly, there is no need to dial a telephone number. Lifting the receiver, or pushing a button will make the call. Very often emergency telephones will also tell the other side where they are. This is because people may not know where they are or they may be in shock because of an accident that just happened. There are many special rules that apply to emergency telephones. They need to be in special colors, because color-blind people may not be able to tell the difference between certain colors. They also need to be easy to use. In an emergency situation, many people do not have time to think about how to operate them.
F-Zero is a racing video game first made for the SNES, where Captain Falcon made his debut. It involves racing around a track at high speeds. Other games in the "F-Zero" series are "F-Zero X" for Nintendo 64, ' for Game Boy Advance. "F-Zero GX" for Nintendo GameCube and ' for Game Boy Advance.
The Arena da Baixada is a football stadium and an indoor arena in Água Verde neighborhood, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. It has a maximum seating capacity of 28,327 people. It is formerly known as Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães. It was named Kyocera Arena for a short period of time (beginning 2005 until April 1, 2008). The stadium opened on June 6, 1914. The stadium is owned by Clube Atlético Paranaense. Its formal name honors Joaquim Américo Guimarães, a former chairman of Internacional-PR, which was a football club that merged with América-PR. This merger formed Atlético Paranaense. Joaquim Américo Guimarães started the stadium's construction in 1912. Despite being called an arena, it is technically an outdoor stadium. On May 31 2009, the stadium was made one of the match sites for the Brazil 2014 World Cup. History. The stadium was built at the previous location of a Brazilian Army powder depot. In 1934, the stadium was renamed Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães. In the 1970s, the original stadium was closed down. After being reopened in 1984 and operating for some years, the old stadium building was demolished on March 26, 1997, right after a construction project of a new arena was announced. In June 1999, the new stadium was built. In 2005, the stadium was renamed "Kyocera Arena", after the Japanese company Kyocera purchased the naming rights. The inaugural match of the old stadium was played on September 6, 1914, when Flamengo beat Internacional 7–1. The first goal of the stadium was scored by Flamengo's Arnaldo. The inaugural match of the new building was played on June 24, 1999, when Atlético Paranaense beat Cerro Porteño of Paraguay 2–1. The first goal of the stadium after its reinauguration was scored by Atlético
Steller's sea cow ("Hydrodamalis gigas") is an extinct aquatic mammal. It is a member of the order Sirenia, which today consists of dugongs and manatees. Discovered in 1741, Steller's sea cow weighed about 10 tonnes. It fed on kelp, and lived in shallow waters around the Bering Sea. Hunted relentlessly for their meat, they died out 27 years after their discovery. The reduction in the kelp supply may also have contributed to their extinction.
Bilal ibn Ribah (578-638) was one of the companions of Muhammad. Bilal was an Ethiopian black slave. Life history. Bilal ibn Rabah (, also called Bilal al-Habashi) was an Ethiopian born in Mecca in the late 6th century, sometime between 578 and 582.Bilal was an Ethiopian slave. Bilal's owner was Umayyah ibn Khalaf, an enemy of Islam. When Bilal learned about Muhammad and became Muslim, his master started punishing him. When Muhammad heard about this, he ordered Abu Bakr to buy Bilal's freedom and Bilal -who was now free- joined Muhammad's companions. Muhammad choose Bilal as the first muezzin. A muezzin is someone who leads the call to daily prayer. Sometimes Bilal walked the streets to call Muslims to come to prayer but most of the times, he said the Adhan from the top of the mosque. Some years later, when the Muslim army walked towards Mecca, everyone ran to their homes and closed all doors and windows. They were afraid that the Muslims were going to kill them, because of the bad things they did to the Muslims many years ago. But, the Muslims went towards the Kaaba, the worship house believed to be built by Abraham and his elder son, Ishmael. Bilal, shouted out loud to the people of Mecca that they were all safe: "All those who lay down arms are safe. All those in the house of Abu Sufyan are safe. All those behind closed doors are safe." After Muhammad died, Bilal never said the Adhan again - except on two occasions. Once in Syria and the second time, in Medina, when Muhammad's grandson, Hasan ibn Ali asked him to do so. Bilal died in Damascus between 638 and 642 (AD). Legacy. Hadith books are the collections of Muhammad's sayings. Muhammad used to say about Bilal: When Bilal was chosen as the Muezzin, some people complained to Muhammad. They believed only an Arab can be a Muezzin, because Bilal could not pronounce the Arabic words correctly and he used to pronounce "s" instead of "sh". When Muhammad heard their complaint, he said:
Aisha bint Abu Bakr (614–678; ) was the third wife of Muhammad. Aisha is given honour in Islam, especially in the Sunni branch. She is often called by Muslims "Umm-al-mu'minin" which means "the Mother of the Believers". Aisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr of Mecca. Her age is specified in the Sunni sahih hadiths she was 6 years old when Muhammad married her and 9 years old when he consumated the marriage with her. She was Muhammad's favorite wife even though he married seven more women after her. She was the only virgin that he ever married. She was also a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence and narrated the fourth most ahadeeth from him. She was married to Muhammad for 9 years, until his death in 632. Aisha lived fifty more years in and around Medina. Shia view. Unlike the Sunni branch of Islam, Shiites view Aisha as a evil woman due to her actions. They reject her title of "the Mother of the Believers" and send curses upon her due to her actions. Many Shiites also celebrate the death of Aisha by sending more curses upon her and celebrating with food.
A deputy is a person who helps someone do their job when they are not there. "Deputy" is a rank or title. It usually refers to someone who is "second-in-command". For example: a "Deputy Master" is someone who will take over the responsibilities of the Master when the Master is not there. A "deputy conductor" will conduct an orchestra when the main (principal) conductor is not there. It is similar to an "assistant". Someone who is working as a deputy will deputize (stand in for someone else). Sometimes other terms are used such as "vice". A vice-president will take over the responsibilities of the president when he (or she) is not there or is ill.
André Previn (born Andreas Ludwig Prewin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. Life. André Previn was born as Andreas Ludwig Priwin to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. He may have been born in 1930, but cannot be sure as his birth certificate was lost when he emigrated to the United States with his family in 1939 to escape the Nazis. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1943. When he arrived in America he lived in Los Angeles. He started to be well known by composing movie scores for Hollywood movies. In 1967, Previn became conductor of the Houston Symphony Orchestra and in 1968 conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra. He stayed with the LSO for eleven years. His television series "André Previn's Music Night" helped to make classical music popular in Britain. From 1976 to 1984, Previn was conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO), with whom he made another television series called "Previn and the Pittsburgh". He was also principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1985 he became conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but because of disagreements he resigned in 1989. Previn made many recordings and composed many movie scores and other musical works. He also toured and recorded as a jazz pianist. Later he concentrated on composing classical music. Previn received many prizes and honours. In the United Kingdom he was knighted in 1996. He is particularly remembered in Britain for a guest appearance he made on the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show in 1971 where Eric Morecambe (who called him Andrew Preview) pretended to play the Piano Concerto by Edvard Grieg with Previn conducting. When Previn told him he was playing all the wrong notes, Morecambe grabbed him by his jacket and said that he was playing "all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order". Personal life. Andre Previn was married five times. His fifth marriage was to the German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter for whom he wrote a violin concerto. They divorced in 2006. Previn died on February 28, 2019 at home in Manhattan aged 89.
Franz Welser-Möst (born Linz, 16 August 1960) is an Austrian conductor. He is the conductor (music director) of the Cleveland Orchestra. Life. Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria. He learned to play the violin, but after being injured in a car accident he changed to conducting. In 1985 he changed his stage-name to "Welser-Möst" after the town of Wels where he grew up. He soon started to be invited to conduct major orchestras. He appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1985, then conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1986 and, from 1989 he appeared a lot in the United States. He conducted the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1990, Welser-Möst became main (principal) conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He received a lot of criticism and left the LPO in 1996. In 1995, he went to the Zurich Opera House where he conducted many operas including complete cycles of Wagner's Ring Cycle. He left the Zurich post in 2008. Since 2002, Welser-Möst has been conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2007, the Austrian government made him musical director (Generalmusikdirektor) of the Vienna State Opera beginning in September 2010. He has made many recordings.
Commerzbank Tower is a skyscraper in Frankfurt am Main, Hessen, Germany. At 259 meters, or 850 feet (300 meters with antenna included), it is Germany's tallest skyscraper and the third tallest building in Europe. It was completed and opened in 1997. Commerzbank Tower is located in Frankfurt's district "Innenstadt" in the centre of the city. It is home to the headquarters of the second largest German bank, Commerzbank. History. From 1970 onwards, the previous head offices were centralised in Frankfurt am Main, where the legal seat has also been located since 1990. In the early 1990s, Commerzbank sought to build a new skyscraper in the center of Frankfurt am Main. The aim was to consolidate a large part of the rented locations in the city. The extraordinary skyscraper was designed by Lord Norman Foster. Since 1997, the tower has been a prominent feature of the Frankfurt skyline and is regarded as a model for environmentally friendly and energy-saving architecture. Architecture. The floor plan forms a triangle with slightly outwardly curved sides. The tower appears open and transparent due to the atrium, also triangular. A double-skin facade encloses the building. The stepped top of the tower creates a striking building termination and sets an expressive sign for the banking district. The building was constructed from 1994 to 1997 and cost 600 million DM. It has 56 floors and an area of 109,200 square metres. The architect who designed the building is Norman Foster. The skyscraper weighs about 200,000 tonnes and contains 18,800 tonnes of steel - twice as much as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Green Building. The architect and his client worked together to make the Commerzbank tower innovatively environmentally- and climate-friendly. Natural ventilation and environmentally-friendly air conditioning create a long-term contribution to climate protection. The tower has been supplied entirely with "green" electricity since the beginning of 2008 and - like all Commerzbank buildings - is cleaned exclusively with biodegradable cleaning products. In 2009 the city of Frankfurt awarded the Commerzbank tower the "Green Building Frankfurt" award. Present. The magnificent building at the Kaiserplatz in Frankfurt is the Commerzbank's Head Office, and 2.800 people work there.
MesseTurm is a skyscraper in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. In English it is known as the "Trade Fair Tower". It is Germany's second tallest, and at the time of its building, it was the tallest building in Europe. It is the fourth tallest building in Europe. It is 257 metres (840 feet) tall. MesseTurm is located in Frankfurt's district "Westend". This is near the same named Trade Fair-Area in the centre of the city. It is home to the German headquarters of Reuters, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. The construction began in 1988. It was finished in 1991. It was the tallest building in Europe, between 1991 and 1997. In 1997, Commerzbank Tower became the tallest building in Germany. It was only two metres higher than MesseTurm. The construction of the building's foundation set a world record. The world record was for the longest continuous concrete pour. Ninety trucks poured concrete for 78 hours. They poured it into the deep foundation. There is a pyramid on the very top of MesseTurm. It is tall. This makes it very different from other skyscrapers. Because of this shape, people in Germany often call it "The Pencil."
The arrondissement of Belley is an arrondissement of France, in the Ain department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Its capital is the city of Belley.  History. When the Ain department was created on 1800, the "arrondissement" of Belley was part of that original department. Geography. It is the southernmost of the "arrondissements" of the department with an area of . It has 98,110 inhabitants and a density of inhabitants/km². The "arrondissement" of Belley is in the southeastern part of department and is bordered to the north by the "arrondissement" of Nantua, to the northeast by the Haute-Savoie department, to the east by the Savoie department, to the south by the Isère department and to the west by the "arrondissement" of Bourg-en-Bresse. Composition. Cantons. After the reorganisation of the cantons in France, cantons are not subdivisions of the "arrondissements" so they could have "communes" that belong to different "arrondissements". In the "arrondissement" of Belley, there are 3 cantons whose "communes" are in the "arrondissement": Ambérieu-en-Bugey, Belley and Lagnieu. The canton of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine has 1 "commune" in Belley, 2 in the "arrondissement" of Gex and 11 in the "arrondissement" of Nantua, the canton of Hauteville-Lompnes has 29 "communes" in Belley and 12 in Nantua, and the canton of Lagnieu has 22 "communes" in Belley and 4 in the "arrondissement" of Bourg-en-Bresse. Communes. The "arrondissement" of Belley has 115 "communes"; they are (with their INSEE codes)ː The "communes" with more inhabitants in the "arrondissement" are:
Anton Szandor LaVey (April 11, 1930 – October 29, 1997), born Howard Stanton Levey, was the founder of the Church of Satan. He created a religion called LaVeyan Satanism. He wrote several books describing his beliefs. His first book was called "The Satanic Bible". He reported a dramatic life story, although some say he lied about his past. Early life. LaVey was born Howard Stanton Levey in Chicago, Illinois. His family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area of California soon after he was born. He was talented with musical instruments, particularly the pipe organ and calliope. He read a lot. His biography says that he stopped going to high school to join the circus. When the carnival was not active, he played organ in burlesque houses. He then worked as a police photographer in San Francisco, though this has been questioned. Church of Satan. In the 1960s, LaVey began giving lectures at his house to a group of people he called his "Magic Circle." A member of this Circle told him that his ideas could become a religion. He agreed, and founded the Church of Satan in 1966. In 1969, he published "The Satanic Bible". "The Satanic Bible" was a collection of writings he had published in the past years that outlined his philosophies and the basics of the religion. It was influenced by Ayn Rand, Friedrich Nietzsche, H. L. Mencken, and other authors and philosophers. In 1971, LaVey published "The Compleat Witch" (later released as "The Satanic Witch"). "The Satanic Witch" was a manual of magic. In 1972, LaVey published "The Satanic Rituals". This contained instructions for performing rituals. In the 1990s, LaVey published two books of essays, "The Devil's Notebook" and "Satan Speaks". Death. LaVey died on October 29, 1997. His death was caused by pulmonary edema (fluid in his lungs). This was brought on by his heart disease.
Hurricane Ike was one of the most damaging tropical cyclones in United States history, having caused about $38 billion dollars in damage. It was the sixth-costliest Atlantic hurricane in U.S. history. Hurricane Ike was the ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, third major hurricane and the most-intense hurricane of 2008 in terms of pressure. Ike may have caused up to 195 deaths. Most deaths happened in Haiti and the U.S. together. Haiti was still recovering from Tropical Storm Fay, Hurricane Gustav, and Hurricane Hanna. Storm history. The storm that eventually became Hurricane Ike started near the west coast of Africa on August 28. The storm grew quickly as it moved to the west-northwest. On September 1, the storm formed into Tropical Depression Nine when the storm was over the central Atlantic Ocean. Later that day Tropical Depression Nine became Tropical Storm Ike. After the storm. In spring 2009, the name "Ike" was retired due to severe damage it caused, particularly in Texas. It was replaced by "Isaias" for the 2014 season.
Rafflesia is a genus of flowering plants. They are found in southeastern Asia, on the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand and the Philippines. They are the biggest single flowers in the world. In one species the flowers can be over a meter (three feet) across. The flowers smell like a dead animal, which attracts flies. The flies, which normally lay their eggs on rotten flesh, pollinate the "Rafflesia" when they get inside. "Rafflesia" is a parasite, and does not use chlorophyll. The plant has no stem, leaves or true roots. It lives inside vines of the genus "Tetrastigma" (Vitaceae). It spreads its absorptive organ, the haustorium, inside the tissue of the vine. The only part of the plant that can be seen outside the host vine is the flower.
Northern Fury F.C. is a soccer club from Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League as "North Queensland Fury FC". On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from the league due to financial instability. On 3 October 2012, the club was re-formed as Northern Fury FC after it was granted a license to play in the NPL Queensland. Northern Fury play their home fixtures at Townsville Sports Reserve.  – 2009 (3–2 V's Adelaide United – Played In Darwin/NT 02/07/09)