Thomas Augustine Arne (March 12, 1710 – March 5, 1778) was an English composer, best known for the popular patriotic song, "Rule Britannia", which is still frequently sung, notably at the Last Night of the Proms, and also his musical settings of songs from the plays of William Shakespeare.

Arne was born in the Covent Garden area of London, to a family that had prospered in the upholstery business. He was educated at Eton College, and was interested in music from his earliest youth. A chance meeting with Michael Festing gave him the opportunity to indulge his interest, though his father still wanted him to become a lawyer.

Arne's sister, Susannah Maria Arne, was a famous contralto who performed in some of his works, including his first opera, Rosamund, performed in 1733. She had been taught to sing by her brother, and had first performed with him in 1732, along with their brother Richard. In 1736, Arne married another singer, Cecilia Young (whose sister, Isabella, married the composer John Frederick Lampe). Arne's operas and masques became very popular, and he received the patronage of Frederick, Prince of Wales, at whose country home, Cliveden, the Masque of Alfred, featuring "Rule, Britannia", was first performed.

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NYT > Music

Music Review | Met Orchestra: Brahms’s Earthy Passion Upstages Somber Messiaen
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:57:18 -0000
Of all the artists James Levine has had as concerto soloists for the Met Orchestra concerts, few have energized him and the players as much as the brilliant German violinist Christian Tetzlaff.
Music Review | American Symphony Orchestra: Mais Oui, Mostly French, Despite Wagnerian Touches
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:14:01 -0000
On Friday night at Avery Fisher Hall, American Symphony Orchestra offered a concert performance of Édouard Lalo’s “Roi d’Ys.”
Music Review: Beethoven Moving on, Challenging Tradition
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:18:33 -0000
Two ensembles, the Pacifica Quartet and the Orion Quartet took on Beethoven’s string quartets last week.

NPR Topics: Music

Noah And The Whale: '2 Atoms In A Molecule'
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:28:00 -0400
Chances are you've heard at least one song by the London-based Noah and the Whale. Recently, the folk-rock band had its immutably cheerful tune "5 Years Time" featured in a Saturn SUV commercial. Clapping, whistling and ukulele play joyfully together with choruses capable of inducing a Diabetic coma from all the sugary sweetness. But there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the world needs an extra dose of sunshine, and the members of Noah and the Whale make that their specialty.
Andras Schiff: Scaling Beethoven's Sonatas
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:16:00 -0400
Andras Schiff has played Beethoven's colossal piano sonata, the "Hammerklavier," for years. He calls it a "monument of impenetrability." Now, he's finally recorded the piece, and critic Tom Manoff has a review.
Rodney Crowell: 21st-Century Country
Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:42:00 -0400
Singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell is often associated with country music, but his songs have a much wider reach, often spanning rock, folk, swing and bluegrass. Hear the musician, who recently released Sex and Gasoline, in a session with World Cafe host David Dye.

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Ringtone royalty rate gets big boost
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:47:00 -0500
Songwriters and music publishers say they're pleased with a U.S. Copyright Royalty Board ruling issued Thursday that sets a higher rate for ringtones but keeps a 9.1-cents mechanical royalty on all other music, including compact discs and digital download services.
SESAC cooks up fun for The Grascals
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:51:00 -0500
The first clue that something was up at the oft-quiet performing rights organization SESAC this week was the large powder blue-and-turquoise tour bus emblazoned with an assortment of Mayberry's Finest baking mixes parked across the street from its Music Row offices.
SESAC cooks up fun for The Grascals
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:51:00 -0500
The first clue that something was up at the oft-quiet performing rights organization SESAC this week was the large powder blue-and-turquoise tour bus emblazoned with an assortment of Mayberry's Finest baking mixes parked across the street from its Music Row offices.

Rolling Stone: Features

Make-Believe Maverick
Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:23:06 -0700
A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty • VIDEO: Five Myths About John McCain • The Double-Talk Express • Mad Dog Palin: The Full Story • Karl Rove's A-Team At Fort McNair, an army base located along the Potomac River in the nation's capital, a chance reunion takes place one day between two former POWs. It's the spring of 1974, and Navy commander John Sidney McCain III has returned home from the...
The Easygoing Patriot
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:51:54 -0700
Jackson Browne on Obama's chances, what he learned from Dylan and living off the grid Making music is one of the greatest pleasures I've ever experienced — and I'm one who sought pleasure," Jackson Browne says with a quiet laugh on an early-autumn afternoon in a New York hotel room. But, he adds, "the heart of my activism is the belief that these pleasures are for everybody. If we continue what we're doing as a country . . . " He pauses. "We're all in the same boat. That's always been the subject of my songs. We only have a little time. It's a mess, so you do everything you...
Q&A: Chrissie Hynde
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:17:19 -0700
The Pretenders singer on moving back to Ohio, opening a vegan restaurant and her rootsy new record • Video: Behind the Scenes of the "Boots of Chinese Plastic" music video After her 2007 tour with the Pretenders, frontwoman Chrissie Hynde vowed not to return to the stage until she wrote some new material. "Frankly, it was just embarrassing that I hadn't had a record out in so long," she says. Now, after recently resettling in her childhood home of Akron, Ohio — she has lived primarily in London for the past 35 years — Hynde can hit the road and draw from a brand-new batch...

Ultimate-Guitar.Com [News]

Mudvayne Fans Do What They Do For Video Shoot
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Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:26:13 -0000
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Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:20:14 -0000
Many have said that Katy Perry is a doll, and now she literally IS a doll.

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