Soprano Montserrat Figueras has died in Spain, age 69

Montserrat Figueras, the glamorous, powerfully emotive Catalan soprano who along with her husband, Jordi Savall, created ensembles that revitalized the performance of early music, died on Wednesday, 23 NOVEMBER 2011, at her home in Bellaterra, Spain. She was 69.

Montserrat Figueras García (Barcelona, 15 March 1942 – 23 November 2011) was a Catalan soprano who specialized in early music. Figueras was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, and began studying early singing techniques together with her sister Pilar Figueras in 1966 and developed an approach and technique for singing early music which combined historical fidelity with vitality.
In 1974 she and Jordi Savall, her husband since 1968, Lorenzo Alpert and Hopkinson Smith formed Hespèrion XX, an early music ensemble. Figueras and her husband were members of a newer version of that ensemble, Hespèrion XXI. They also founded the groups La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Le Concert des Nations. Figueras also performed and recorded regularly as a solo artist. She and her husband performed with their children: daughter Arianna and son Ferran.
above from Wikipedia | SHOP: Montserrat Figueras

Ladi Geisler (27 November, 1927 – 19 November, 2011)

Ladislav "Ladi" Geisler (27 November, 1927 – 19 November, 2011) was a Czech musician who established a high profile in the post-war German music scene. Best known for his work with German pop musicians Bert Kaempfert, James Last and Freddy Quinn, Geisler developed the distinctive “Knack-Bass” percussive bass sound that helped popularize the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra. He later released numerous records under his own name. 

Sena Jurinac, soprano died near Augsburg, Germany. She was 90.

Sena Jurinac, whose creamy soprano and elegant, sincere musical style made her a favorite of opera fans and critics alike during a career spanning four decades, died on Tuesday, 22 November 2011, at her home near Augsburg, Germany. She was 90. Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac ([juˈrinats] (24 October 1921 – 22 November 2011 was a Bosnian Croat/Austrian operatic soprano. Born in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and also with Milka Kostrenčić (whose other well-known pupil was Zinka Milanov).


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Composer Russ Garcia dies

Musical legend Russ Garcia – whose 70-year career in jazz and film saw him work with the likes of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Walt Disney and Clint Eastwood – has died at his home in Kerikeri, New Zealand aged 95.
Wikipedia Bio | SHOP: Russ Garcia

Russell Garcia, QSM (12 April 1916 – 20 November 2011) was a composer and arranger who wrote a wide variety of music for screen, stage and broadcast.
Garcia was born in Oakland, California, but was a long time resident of New Zealand. Self-taught, his break came when he substituted for an ill colleague on a radio show. Subsequently, he went on to become composer/arranger at NBC Studios for such televison shows as Rawhide 1962and Laredo, 1965-67, MGM and Universal Studios and films like the George Pal, MGM films, The Time Machine (1960) and Atlantis, the Lost Continent (1961), as well as his orchestrated themes for Father Goose (1964) and The Benny Goodman Story (1956). He collaborated with many musical and Hollywood stars - Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Anita O’Day, Mel Torme, Julie London, Oscar Peterson, Stan Kenton, Maynard Ferguson, Walt Disney, Orson Welles, Jane Wyman, Ronald Reagan, Andy Williams, Judy Garland, Henry Mancini, and Charlie Chaplin making arrangements and conducting orchestras as needed. Russ loved to ski so he would write on-site scores to ski-content films.

André Hodeir - January 22, 1921 – November 1, 2011

André Hodeir (January 22, 1921 – November 1, 2011) was a French violinist, composer, arranger and musicologist. André Hodeir was born in Paris. His initial training was as a classical violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, where he took Olivier Messiaen's analysis class, and won first prizes in fugue, harmony, and music history. While pursuing these studies, he discovered jazz, and embarked on an exploration of all music forms, jazz as well as classical.


Wikipedia | SHOP: André Hodeir