Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 August 9

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Dmitri Shostakovich

The Leningrad première of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 took place on 9 August 1942 during the Second World War, while the city (now Saint Petersburg) was under siege by Nazi German forces. Dmitri Shostakovich (pictured) had intended for the piece to be premièred by the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, but they had been evacuated because of the siege, along with the composer, and the world première was instead held in Kuybyshev. The Leningrad première was performed by the surviving musicians of the Leningrad Radio Orchestra, supplemented with military performers. Most of the musicians were starving, and three died during rehearsals. Supported by a Soviet military offensive intended to silence German forces, the performance was a success, prompting an hour-long ovation. The symphony was broadcast to the German lines by loudspeaker as a form of psychological warfare. The Leningrad première was considered by music critics to be one of the most important artistic performances of the war because of its psychological and political effects. Reunion concerts featuring surviving musicians were convened in 1964 and 1992 to commemorate the event. (Full article...)

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In the news

Neymar

Brazilian footballer Neymar (pictured) joins French club Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record fee of €222 million.
After Nawaz Sharif is disqualified from public office, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi succeeds him as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Flooding in Gujarat, India, kills at least 224 people.
A suicide bombing in Lahore, Pakistan, kills 25 people and wounds 53 others.
In golf, Jordan Spieth wins the Open Championship.
The Women's Cricket World Cup concludes with England defeating India in the final.

On this day...

August 9: International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples; National Women's Day in South Africa

Flag of Singapore

1877 – Nez Perce War: Both Nez Perce and United States Army sides suffered numerous casualties as they fought to a stalemate in the Battle of the Big Hole.
1914 – World War I: France launched its first attack of the war in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to recover the province of Alsace from Germany.
1960 – The region of South Kasai seceded from the Republic of the Congo.
1965 – Malaysia expelled the state of Singapore (flag pictured) from its federation due to heated ideological conflict between their respective ruling parties.
2014 – A white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, killed an 18-year-old African-American male, resulting in widespread protests and unrest.

Hieronymus Bosch (d. 1516) · Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (b. 1757) · Gillian Anderson (b. 1968)

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Today's featured picture

Marina City is a mixed-use residential/commercial building complex in Chicago, Illinois. It occupies almost an entire city block on State Street and sits on the north bank of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, directly across from the Loop. The complex consists of two corncob-shaped, 587-foot (179 m), 65-story towers, as well as a saddle-shaped auditorium building and a mid-rise hotel building. Designed by Bertrand Goldberg, Marina City was the first building in the United States to be constructed with tower cranes.

Photograph: Diego Delso

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