Georges Bizet, (1838-1875) was a French pianist and composer. A musical child prodigy his opera Carmen premiered right before his death in 1875 and is now performed all over the world.
Illustration by Kathleen McGuinness. Visit her watercolor portraits.
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Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was a cantankerous German philosopher born in Poland. A fun guy, he developed a pessimistic philosophy. He believed that man having a will to live is the cause of all suffering and wrote deep philosophic tomes like his World as Will and Representation. Still, at least he wrote nice stuff about religious tolerance.
Illustration by Kathleen McGuinness. Visit her watercolor portraits.
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Baruch Spinoza born Benedito de Espinosa (1632-1677) was a cool Portuguese philosopher. His thinking helped bring about the Enlightenment. He invented a modern way of viewing one self in relation to the universe. No longer was the universe passing out favors or punishments. The universe was, well the universe, and for our part prayer or meditation was a good idea. Spinoza was one of the great rationalists of his time and a leading figure of the Dutch Golden Age.
Illustration by Kathleen McGuinness. Visit her watercolor portraits.
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Emily Dickinson was a revered American poet (1830-1886). She was a member of a prominent family with strong ties to its community in Massachusetts. She was reclusive most of her life. Her talent was a unique ability to distill meaning from the ordinary things and translate them into poetry.
Illustration by Kathleen McGuinness. Visit her watercolor portraits.
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Herman Melville (1819-1891) was an American novelist, poet and a short story writer. He was a seaman in his youth. His masterpiece Moby Dick is about a duel between a great white whale and a whaling ship captain Ahab. The whale sinks the ship along with Captain Ahab at the end of the book. Despite this the book has been required reading for millions of school kids.
Illustration by Kathleen McGuinness. Visit her watercolor portraits.
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Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was an Austrian composer of the German Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the piano trio. He has been called the Father of the Symphony and the Father of the String Quartet.
Though Haydn spent much of his career on the estate of a wealthy family his music circulated and during his life he was the most celebrated composer in Europe. Haydn was a friend and mentor of Mozart, a tutor of Beethoven.
Illustration by Kathleen McGuinness. Visit her watercolor portraits.
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