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Battle of Abukir (1799)

In the Battle of Abukir (or Aboukir or Abu Qir) Napoleon Bonaparte defeated Seid Mustafa Pasha's Ottoman army on 25 July 1799, during the French campaign in Egypt. It is considered the first pitched battle with this name, as there already had been a naval battle on 1 August 1798, the Battle of the Nile. (A second pitched battle followed on 8 March 1801.) No sooner had the French forces returned from a campaign to Syria, than the Ottoman forces were transported to Egypt by Sidney Smith's British fleet to put an end to French rule in Egypt.

Seid Mustafa Pasha was an experienced commander who had fought against the Russians. He knew that cavalry charges against the French squares were futile. So, he sought to avoid them by fortifying his beachhead with two defensive lines. From this beachhead Mustafa could carry out the invasion of Egypt. However, Napoleon immediately saw the flaw in the tactic as it meant that the Turks had nowhere to run if routed.

The French attacked the Ottoman positions and quickly broke through the first defensive line before it was fully completed. The second line, however, proved tougher to defeat and the French withdrew for a while. At this point, cavalry general Murat saw his opportunity and attacked with his cavalry, quickly routing the exposed Turks.

Murat's charge was so rapid that he burst inside Mustafa's tent and captured the Turkish commander, severing two of the Turk's fingers with his sabre. In return, Mustafa shot Murat in the jaw. Immediately, Murat was operated on and resumed his duties the next day.

The Turkish army fled in panic. Some Ottomans drowned trying to swim to the British ships two miles away from shore, while others fled to Abukir castle, but they surrendered shortly thereafter. The Turkish army was annihilated, French losses were under 1,000. News of the victory reached France before Napoleon arrived in October and this made him even more popular, an important asset considering the troubles brewing in the French Directory. This battle temporarily secured France's control over Egypt.

Background
Although nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt had been ruled as a semi-autonomous province for centuries, and its potential occupation by France had been under discussion since 1774. In early 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte proposed its annexation as part of a wider plan to weaken British interests in the Middle East. He hoped to use Egypt as the first step in taking Constantinople, then to invade India and assist local uprisings against the British. This was duly approved, and in July 1798, a French expeditionary force of over 40,000 landed in Alexandria.

With British support, the Ottomans now declared war on France, and in 1799 sent two armies to recapture Egypt. One of these was carried by the British fleet, while the other marched down the Syrian coast. Napoleon took the initiative and marched north in February 1799, taking Gaza City, El Arish, and Jaffa, but was then held up at Acre for over two months. The defence was led by Djezzar Pasha, the Ottoman governor, assisted by Antoine de Phélippeaux, an engineer and master of artillery who had studied with Bonaparte at the École militaire but was now a British Colonel. The city was continually replenished with supplies by the Royal Navy, and with his own forces decimated by the plague, Napoleon withdrew, ending plans to capture Constantinople.

Aboukir is a small, thin peninsula jutting out of the Egyptian coastline, approximately ~35 kilometers north-west (due west) of Alexandria on the coastline. The peninsula overlooks bays on both of its side. The peninsula and fort occupy a strategic point, as they overlook the juncture that connects the isthmus that leads to Rosetta (east) and the isthmus that leads to Alexandria (west). Previously, this was only true for Alexandria. The lake south of Aboukir (sporadically referred to as Aboukir bay or lake of Aboukir or by its local name 'Lake Ma'adieh), came to existence in 1770 when the beachwall south-east of the peninsula was breached by high tides, flooding the large landmass. This made Aboukir reachable only by 3 thin avenues; the road extending directly southwards leading to Damanhur and the Nile Delta, the isthmus leading westward to Alexandria, and the isthmus leading eastward to Rosetta. The middle landmass and road leading southward had lake Ma'adieh/Aboukir bay on its eastern embankment, and the ancient freshwater Lake Mariout on its western embankment. (Later in 1801 the British would breach this embankment, causing the brackish seawater to flood into lake Mariouts, which hugely increased its size and cut Alexandria's most significant source of freshwater).

On 14 July a British fleet of sixty ships landed with 16,000 men under the command of Mustapha Pasha, a veteran of the last Russo-Turkish war. The Ottoman troops overran the encampment of 300 French troops near Aboukir and slaughtered them, then set siege on the fortress of Aboukir - which was garrisoned by a skeletal force of 35 French troops. These troops would surrender 3 days later. The peninsula changed hands and Ottoman flags fluttered on the bastion.

Proud of this success, Mustapha Pasha was in no hurry to march on Cairo. Murad Bey, who had managed to escape and join him, said, "The French dreaded that you could not support the presence, I watch, and they are fleeing before me." and Murad replied, "Pasha, be glad that it suits the French to withdraw because if they turned, you would disappear before them like dust before the north wind."

Napoleon previously received reports that Murad Bey was riding due north, passing the Natron lakes west of Cairo, he ordered Murat out to pursue him. But the bey returned to Giza and climbed the Pyramids, and using a mirror, "sent several signals to his wife" (who was observing him from the roof of her palace). Napoleon was not alerted by this, as the bey had only a skeleton force of Mamluks with him, and was worn out to the bone by Desaix's protracted pursuit of him through Upper Egypt over the course of the last several months (Murad had been chased squarely out of Egypt, and had been forced to seek refuge in some remote oasis' and prey on Sudanese villages south of Upper Egypt to survive). When Napoleon received (at the time he was several miles northwest of Cairo, participating in the hunt of Murad bey) a report from Marmont, then military-governor of Alexandria, on July 15, reporting that a large flotilla of English and Ottoman ships had arrived off Aboukir and disembarked 10,000 troops, Napoleon wasted no time and sent several dispatches. He ordered Murat to stop the pursuit of Murad bey and to converge to Damanhur, located 40 miles south of Aboukir. Kleber was to set out with his division from the eastern Delta for Damanhur as well, Desaix was to march down the Nile with as much of his division as possible to provide a reserve in case the Ottoman army marched on Cairo. Napoleon set out with almost all the French troops in Cairo for Damanhur as well, leaving the city to be policed and garrisoned only by his local Egyptian 'police chief', a man known as "Barthelemy". Marmont was ordered by Napoleon to remain in Alexandria with his 1,200 troops, in case the Turkish army marched upon it. Page 392

Napoleon assembled 10,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry at Damanhur. He was greatly concerned that the Turkish army would march out of the Peninsula and attack anywhere in Egypt, so he set out immediately with his army without waiting for Kleber. He arrived near Aboukir in 24 July and was relieved to find the Ottoman army lying in wait. Napoleon had to reassess his plans; according to his intelligence, the enemy commander was the white-bearded Mustapha Pasha. A leader who had won several victories against the Russians in the previous Russo-Turkish war. This was to be a different battle than those with the Mamluks, one against a commander who had experience against European armies. Mustapha Pasha knew of Napoleon's strengths; his superlative tactics, decisiveness in speed and the imperviousness of his squares. He nullified these advantages by fortifying his army in two strong defensive lines along the peninsula, with both his flanks anchored on the shores. This protected him from flanking action, and also forced the French to attack on his own terms. Napoleon approached Abukir with the divisions of Lannes, Desaix and Murat's cavalry, 7,700 men and 1,000 horsemen, and the Turks had 15,000-18,000 men, 8,000 of whom were in a condition to fight. According to François Furet and Denis Richet ("French Revolution", Macmillan 1970, XI-14). According to Mustapha Pasha himself, corroborated by British commander Sidney Smith, this number was actually only 7,000 men. Page 396 The clash between the two armies took place near Alexandria, but the victorious French called it "the battle of Abu Qir" (or Aboukir) to avenge the former defeat of 1-3 August 1798.

Battle
Napoleon camped his army for the night of the 24th, the next morning on 25 July he ordered an attack on the Ottoman army. Mustapha Pasha arranged his army in two strongly defended lines with both flanks anchored in the shores of the peninsula. Lanusse's division was placed on the left French flank, while Lannes' division was placed on the right. Murat was in the vanguard with his cavalrymen. The Turkish fortifications and trenches on the western flank, facing Lanusse, were still unfinished, and the division under Lanusse managed to breakthrough the Turkish line after ferocious fighting. Lannuse took advantage of the rout on the Ottoman right flank to swing around and behind the left flank of the 1st enemy defensive line. This caused a widespread panic among the defending Turks on the left flank, without anywhere to retreat, many took to the water and attempted to swim to the nearest Turkish and British ships, where almost all of them drowned. According to Napoleon,

"The enemy threw themselves into the water in an attempt to reach the boats which were more than 2 miles out at sea; they all drowned, the most horrible sight I've seen."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

The French then proceeded to attack the 2nd Turkish line, which was strongly defended. The French attack, under bombardment from the Turkish and English ships, was repulsed, but the western side of the peninsula was poorly supported by English and Turkish ships, two impressions made by the French on the eastern side were driven back with supporting fire from the English ships. Page 365 As the French retreated, hundreds of Turks emerged from their fortifications and set in pursuit of the retreating French, beheading the corpses of dead Frenchmen. After the rout of the Turks defending the 1st line, Napoleon contemplated moving his artillery batteries to the two hills infront of the 2nd line, which was heavily defended and seemed impervious to attack. But seeing that the western bay of Aboukir extended like a cape, and moved his artillery there. This allowed the French batteries to bombard the Ottoman's right flank. The Ottomans maneuvered their right flank slightly inland, leaving a small gap in their line. At this juncture, Murat saw an opportunity with an opening in the Turkish line and numerous Ottoman soldiers emerging out of the protection of their fortifications to mutilate the French dead, and charged his cavalry at these scattered Turks. A wave of panic spread through the Turks, all the way to their defensive lines, and within minutes Murat found himself charging deep into the Turkish encampment, where he found Mustapha Pasha's tent. The Pasha emerged before Murat and fired a pistol at him, wounding him in the jaw. Murat swung his sabre at the Pasha's right hand, cutting off two of his fingers and ordered his men to seize him.

Outside the Pasha's tent, the mayhem did not cease, and the Turkish army had broken into a complete rout and thousands of soldiers were fleeing to the sea on both sides of the Peninsula. A few thousand of the Turks retreated northwards and took refuge inside the fort of Aboukir, these included the Pasha's son. These troops were reinforced by a detachment of English marines, which Sidney dispatched from HMS Tigre (1795). The French bombarded the fort day and night, and the Turkish officers soon agreed to surrender, but their troops mutinied against this, having heard of the great slaughter of Ottoman prisoners captured by the French in the siege of Jaffa. Napoleon at this stage left for Alexandria and gave charge of the siege to Lannes. Mustapha Pasha, who was now a captive of the French, wrote multiple dispatches to the beleaguered Turks, ordering them to surrender, this was refused and the survivors of the battle swore to defend the fort to their last extremity. The Pasha's 2nd letter to the besieged Turks chided them for their continued resistance, which was spilling more blood needlessly, at this juncture the besieged Turks agreed to a ceasefire. Bertrand (French colonel in charge of the engineers) used advantage of this ceasefire to reconnoiter the fort, but a firefight broke out subsequently. The Turks sallied out of the fort and captured a few houses infront of it (there were several buildings infront of the fort), Lannes wanted to counterattack and drive them back, but he was dissuaded from this by Bertrand, who wisely stated that even if these buildings were retaken, it would cost the French more troops when the Turks try to recapture them, and advised Lannes to wait a few days until the digging of siege trenches was complete, which would force the Turkish soldiers back inside the fort, and the siege would ideally cost no casualties to the French. The Turks, encouraged by their small success, made another sortie and captured more buildings in the village on June 28. And after this, even made a sortie on French positions on Sheikh hill. Lannes could not hold back anymore and ordered an attack to drive the Turks back into the fort. During the fighting, he was wounded with a musket ball, and had to be evacuated. General Menou (military governor of Rosetta at the time) then took command of the siege. The Turks then made yet another sortie, capturing a bridgehead to the fort. Davout, who was in the siege trenches, attacked the Turks and drove them out of the village back inside the fortress. At the 30th, two batteries of heavy guns and three batteries of mortars came into action and began bombarding the fort, while at the night of the 30th French sappers began mining below the fort to mine and blow up the counterscarp. But at 2 August, at dawn, the Turks crowded out of their fort, without any envoy of capitulation. The Turkish troops were starved, and many became delirious and half-crazed from drinking seawater over the course of the siege. After holding out for 8 days, they simply walked out en-masse and asked for mercy. Of their surrender, the French captain Charles François describes the surrender;

"They came out to offer themselves up to the vengeance of their victors. The son of the Pasha and his lieutenants came out at the head of the Turkish soldiers, who looked like ghosts. They threw down their arms that they no longer had the strength to carry, and all of them bowed down, asking for death. But our commanders and soldiers, forgetting their previous hatred of the enemy, felt for them all the compassion and care evoked by their deplorable state. We gave them food and drink, and in spite of the precautions taken to prevent the illness that comes from eating too much too quickly after having suffered from hunger, three-quarters of those 3,000 men died of indigestion."

- Charles François

Aftermath
Sir Sidney Smith dispatched a letter to Horatio Nelson, on August 2, informing him of the defeat, writing; Page 364 "I am sorry to have to acquaint your lordship of the entire defeat of the first division of the Ottoman army, destined to act against the enemy in Egypt, under the command of his excellency Mustapha Serasker, who is wounded and taken prisoner, after having defended himself gallantly, and wounded General Murat, who took him. However, under these untoward circumstances, we have the satisfaction of observing the enemy's loss to be such, that a few more victories like this will annihilate the French army. It is much to be lamented that we had not two regular regiments, in addition to the remnant of the Chiflick (sic) corps, which was almost entirely cut to pieces for want of support; we should then have been able to have kept the redoubt and castle of Aboukir, which Mustapha Pasha and Patrona Bey took by assault, on the 15th ultimo; as it was, the unformed mass of irregular infantry could not withstand the spirited at-tack of a small body of French cavalry, which leaped over the works after having been three times repulsed by the effect of our cannon. On my arrival, five days after the disembarkation, I found the Turkish army in a very different position from that in which I hoped to find it, from the correspondence which had passed between Mustapha Pasha and me; and much less considerable, being but 5,000 men instead of 15,000, as had been reported. Hassan Bey, who came with me, had but 2,000, and as Buonaparte was at Rahmania, an attack was to be expected immediately; it was therefore the more necessary to make the best of our ground. The Turks are not easily brought to quit their arms for entrenching tools, of which they only begin to see the utility; thus the attempt at making lines across the peninsula, from the redoubt to the sea on each side, was very imperfect. The gun-boats were ordered to take a station to flank these lines, but there was no stimulating their crews to any degree of exertion in the transporting of them, and thus the enemy had less fire opposed to them than might have been produced, had the division destined for the west side of the Isthmus reached its station. The English rowing boats alone went there, after completely clearing the east side from the enemy, and we felt the insufficiency of our fire so much the more, since even that made a considerable impression on the blue column as it advanced to the assault; it was even repulsed twice, but the barbarous custom of the Turks, in cutting off the heads of their fallen enemies, to effect which they ran forward irregularly, produced a burst of indignation amongst the French infantry, which 'rallied them; the suddenness of their return to the assault discomfited the unconnected defenders of these imperfect lines ; the sea was soon covered with hundreds of fugitives swimming off to us, and the castle on the point became too much crowded for it to be practicable for the besieged to act in its defence, or for us to supply such a numerous garrison...."

- Sir William Sidney Smith The French suffered only 220 dead and 600 wounded while the Turkish losses were enormous: 2,000 dead on the battlefield, 11,000 men drowned, 5,000 prisoners of war and 2,000 missing and unaccounted for. Napoleon would claim that "of the enemy who came ashore, not a single one escaped." This was not true, Sidney Smith dispatched some boats to rescue some of the Turks who ran into the waters. Among the Ottomans rescued from the water was thirty-years old officer of Albanian descent Muhammed Ali, who six years later would rule and transform Egypt.

On the main battlefield, the French captured 100 Ottoman banners, 32 field guns, 400 horses and three Pasha's Bunchuks (ceremonial flags issued to Pashas). The captured cannons included two small English cannons, which were presented by the King of England as a gift to Sultan Selim. These cannons were given to a French cavalry brigade. For his gallant charge and capture of the Turkish Pasha, Napoleon promoted Murat to divisional general, and gave him great credit for the victory at Aboukir. Lannes was also promoted to divisional general, and Bertrand to the rank of colonel.

Sidney Smith, leading the British flotilla, wrote the following to be "Causes of the defeat of the Ottoman army under Mustapha Pasha Serasker on the 25th July 1799; Page 367

"1st. The primary cause was the original formation of the army under feudal chiefs, without connection in its parts, organisation, or gradation in rank.

2nd. Its being far less in number than supposed and reported, and certainly unequal to undertaking the siege of Alexandria, consequently fit only to carry on a harassing war of posts, under the protection of the naval force, to cause a division in favour of the Vizier, and facilitate his uninterrupted progress into Egypt by the way of the desert.

3rd. The Pasha not having listened to the advice on this head, sent him by Sir Sidney Smith, through Major Bromley, which pointed out Damietta and Rosetta as the stations to which his forces should be directed, while the fleet occupied the Bay of Aboukir being not only a powerful diversion, but likewise conductive to the blockade and reduction of Alexandria by famine, which, now that it is strongly fortified, is the only way that an army, unused to the European mode of carrying on a siege, can attempt it.

4th. The want of water, owing to want of casks in the transports, and even in the Turkish men-of-war, which rendered the disembarkation on the first point of the coast of Egypt which they reached, an object of unavoidable necessity, and occasioned the extreme of distress for want of that indispensable article, when the army had retreated into the castle, where the single well furnishes only brackish water, although the Peninsula furnishes good water wherever wells are sunk.

5th. The backwardness of the Turkish gun-boats, which were ordered to take a commanding station to the westward of the Isthmus, but which never arrived there ; also the inefficacy of the Turkish launches, which were ordered to possess themselves of the lake, and cross their fire on the Isthmus with them.

6th. The absolute denial of the Turkish launches to accompany the English commodore when he went with his boats to the westward, after having cleared the east side of the Peninsula of every Frenchman, so that when the English boats came round and found the French infantry lodged and crouched amongst the sand-banks on the shore, and totally exposed to the sea, their fire, though well served and directed into the mass of them, being from two guns only, was insufficient for their destruction, or to keep them in check, and consequently rather goaded them on than otherwise; the four gun-boats would have effectually hindered their approach to the redoubt, and covered the retreat of the Chiflick regiment from the village in front ; the Turkish launches would have checked the enemy sufficiently for the Turks to rally ; finally, there being no prompt punishment for disobedience of orders, nor any immediate successor to the principal chief, in case of his death, capture, absence, illness, or excess of fatigue ; and in short, such a want of gradation in the distribution of ranks, that it is indispensably necessary for the principal chief to super-intend the execution of the most trifling service him-self, to the ultimate prejudice of his authority on greater questions where every one pretends to decide. The mutinous spirit of their army was carried so far as to produce the actual arrest of the governor and principal personages in the castle, and increased the difficulty of supplying their wants, as, in the disorder, they forced the boats which brought water to them to return with fugitives, firing on those who approached with necessary caution, fearing to be overpowered with more than they could bear."

Abukir gave the French a few months respite. Desaix continued through Upper Egypt in search of Murad Bey, who would soon accept a conditional peace with the French and ally himself with them.

Napoleon learned from the Pasha of the situation in Europe, where a large coalition was threatening France. (he had been completely in the dark regarding developments in Europe for a long time, due to the British blockade). And an envoy sent to Sidney Smith for exchanging prisoners (Napoleon wanted to send the heavily wounded Turks to the Anglo-Ottoman fleet in exchange for the captured French garrison of Aboukir), Sidney Smith then handed the French envoy appointed by Napoleon several of the latest newspapers, and verbally told the envoy that the directory had summoned Napoleon back to Paris (he had read the summons letter, which was intercepted by the British blockade, and presumably was trying to get Napoleon out of Egypt, which would ideally greatly weaken the French position in Egypt). Napoleon read these newspapers, which were more confirmation to the grave situation political situation of France in Europe, where almost all of the Italian territories he conquered were captured by the Austrians, and there was another insurrection in the Vendée. Sidney Smith would soon, for reasons that can only be understood as elaborate, lift the blockade of the Egyptian coast and take his fleet for provisioning at an allied port (he would state that his salted provisions were completely exhausted at this stage). This gave Napoleon an opening in which he would be able to escape from Egypt.

On 23 August, leaving the command to Kleber, Bonaparte embarked on the frigate Muiron in the small flotilla under the command of Ganteaume. with Berthier, Murat, Lannes and several of his savants (including his favorite, Monge). He very secretively prepared to abandon Egypt and go back to France and only informed Kleber with a letter in the very same day he departed, to the great chagrin of his troops and generals who viewed this as nothing short of betrayal (especially Kleber, who would be appalled to see the letters Napoleon dispatched to the Directory, in which he minimized and downplayed the precarious conditions of the expedition. Kleber would dispatch a strong-worded letter to the directory informing them of the reality of the situation).

In the long term, a French presence in Egypt was impossible to maintain. Jean Antoine Verdier managed to defeat a 2nd Turkish amphibious assault at Damietta several months later, on 1 November, and Kleber tenuously maintained French rule over the country thanks to his victory at Heliopolis on 18 March 1800, but less than a month later he was murdered in his garden in Cairo by a student of theology. Kleber's successor, Menou, lacking the skills of a war leader, was defeated at Canopus (fought a short distance west of the battlefield of Aboukir, on the isthmus to Alexandria) and surrendered on 2 September on identical conditions that were negotiated and agreed on previously by Kleber, Sidney Smith and the Ottoman Grand Vizier, but declined and foundered by the British prime minister. Under the convention signed with the British, the French army came back to France in British ships.

The battle has become one of the greatly celebrated victories in French history. It has a plate relief on the Arc de Triomphe, and the Rue D'Aboukir in Paris was named after this victory.

title: Battle of Abukir (1799)


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Open de España

The Acciona Open de España (formerly the Spanish Open) is the national open golf championship of Spain. It was founded in 1912 and has been part of the European Tour's schedule since the inception of the Tour in 1972. The tournament has been played in April or May, except for a five-year period in the early 1980s and since the 2019 edition, when the tournament was moved to October. In 2005, it was one of five European Tour events to be held in Spain. Former champions include Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Jon Rahm.

The tournament has been organized by the Royal Spanish Golf Federation. In April 2019, a partnership between the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, the European Tour, and Madrid Trophy Promotion (MTP) was announced. This agreement meant that MTP became the organizer of the event for the next 5 years. MTP is also the organizer of the Mutua Madrid Open, a professional tennis tournament.

Multiple winners
Thirteen men have won the tournament more than once through 2022.

 * 5 wins
 * Ángel de la Torre: 1916, 1917, 1919, 1923, 1925
 * 4 wins
 * Mariano Provencio: 1934, 1941, 1943, 1951
 * Gabriel Gonzalez: 1932, 1933, 1940, 1942
 * 3 wins
 * Arnaud Massy: 1912, 1927, 1928
 * Joaquin Bernardino: 1926, 1930, 1934
 * Marcelino Morcillo: 1946, 1948, 1949
 * Max Faulkner: 1952, 1953, 1957
 * Sebastián Miguel: 1954, 1960, 1967
 * Seve Ballesteros: 1981, 1985, 1995
 * Jon Rahm : 2018, 2019, 2022
 * 2 wins
 * Eugène Lafitte: 1921, 1929
 * Peter Alliss: 1956, 1958
 * Ángel Miguel: 1961, 1964
 * Dale Hayes: 1971, 1979
 * Eddie Polland: 1976, 1980
 * Bernhard Langer: 1984, 1989
 * Mark James: 1988, 1997

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Open de España


text: Category:Turkish boxers

title: Category:Turkish boxers


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Barbacoa

Barbacoa or Asado en Barbacoa in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the primitive method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally refers to slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a hole dug in the ground, and covered with agave (maguey) leaves, although the interpretation is loose, and in the present day (and in some cases) may refer to meat steamed until tender. This meat is known for its high fat content and strong flavor, often accompanied with onions and cilantro (coriander leaf). Because this method of cooking was used throughout different regions by different ethnic groups or tribes in Mexico, each had their own name for it; for the Nahuatl it was called nakakoyonki; for the Mayan it was called píib; for the Otomi it was called thumngö.

Being that it is not unique to Mexico, similar methods exist throughout Latin America and the rest of the world, under distinct names, including: pachamanca and huatia in the Andean region; curanto in Chile and southern Argentina; berarubu in Brazil; cocido enterrado in Colombia; or hāngī in New Zealand.

Although it is speculated that the word ”barbacoa” may have originated from the Taíno language, this method of cooking in an earth oven has nothing to do with the original Taíno definition of the word.

Etymology
There has been debate about the origin of the word barbacoa, with most scholars agreeing that it originates from the Taíno language. The Taino term “barbaca” or barbacoa means “framework of sticks” or “reeds”. It was applied, and continues to be applied throughout Latin America, to a wide range of objects or structures, like a raised wooden structure where the natives slept on; a raised wooden structure where they kept food away from the animals; a hanging hut; the attic of a hut; a scaffold; a wattle (weaved construction); a pergola for climbing plants; a wooden bridge, a shelter, a loft inside a house, a treehouse and a raised, small box filled with soil for cultivating vegetables; and a wooden grill where the natives would cure their meats over fire and smoke.

But in Mexico, for some unknown reason, the term barbacoa was applied by the Spaniards to the pit or earth oven used by the local indigenous people for cooking or roasting all kinds of foods. As a result from this discrepancy, a new hypothesis has been proposed that argues that the term barbacoa, as used in Mexico, originates not from the Taíno term but from the Mayan term Baalbak'Kaab, which supposedly means “meat covered with soil”, although there’s no evidence to support it.

History
Earth ovens or barbacoa, as it’s known in Mexico, are an ancient, primitive method for cooking, steaming or roasting foods in holes or pits. Traditionally, in Mexico, a hole was dug in the ground proportionate to the size of the piece of meat or food being prepared; a fire was lit inside to heat it; In it, banana, maguey, or corn leaves are placed and with these the food that is to be roasted, whether meat or fish, is wrapped; then the hole is covered with soil, pressing it lightly and a large fire is lit on the surface layer; the food will remain roasting in this natural oven until cooked. In Pre-Columbian Mexico, turkey, deer, dog, fish, seafood, rabbit or turtles, were the most common meats used. With the arrival of the Spanish, mutton, beef, pork, and goat became the meats of choice.

The asado en barbacoa (roasting in barbacoa) was widely prepared in Mexico at countryside festivities, such as rodeos (cattle roundups), herraderos (cattle branding celebrations), jaripeos and bull-fights, patron saint festivities of the hacienda, or family picnics. According to two articles published by Mexican writer Domingo Revilla in 1844 and 1845, respectively, the “banquet” at the herraderos was reduced to barbacoas and asados al pastor (spit roasting barbecues) of whole calves (veal), bull or sheep, and wrote that while barbacoa was more common in the Mezquital and Apan valleys and surrounding areas, asados al pastor were more common in Tierra Adentro or the Bajío region and beyond.

In her book —Life in Mexico (1843)— Scottish noblewoman Frances Erskine Inglis, wrote about her experiences attending the rodeos and herraderos in central Mexico, near the town of Santiago in Hidalgo, in 1840, and describes how at the end of an herradero a whole bull was cooked in barbacoa:

"The last day of the herraderos, by way of winding up, a bull was killed in honour of Calderón, and a great flag was sent streaming from a tree, on which flag was inscribed in large letters, 'Gloria al Señor Ministro de la Augusta Cristina! ” a piece of gallantry which I rewarded with a piece of gold. The animal, when dead, was given as a present to the toreadores; and this bull, cut in pieces, they bury with his skin on, in a hole in the ground previously prepared with fire in it, which is then covered over with earth and branches. During a certain time, it remains baking in this natural oven, and the common people consider it a great delicacy, (in which I differ from them)."

In the cities, though, barbacoa was very rarely prepared in homes, rather, it was sold and bought in the public markets, as it was a tedious and difficult process. In her book —Face to Face with the Mexicans (1889)— Fanny Chambers Gooch Iglehart, wrote:

"”Barbacoa is one of the principal articles of food known to the Mexican market—and is good enough for the table of a king. The dexterous native takes a well-dressed mutton, properly quartered, using also head and bones. A hole is made in the ground, and a fire built in it. Stone slabs are thrown in, and the hole is covered. When thoroughly hot, a lining is made of maguey leaves, the meat put in, and covered with maguey, the top of the hole is also covered, and the process of cooking goes on all night. The next morning it is put in a hot vessel, ready to eat-a delicious, brown, crisp, barbecued mutton. As the process is difficult and tedious, it is not generally prepared in the families, and even the wealthiest patronize the market for this delicacy, ready cooked.”"

Styles
By the 20th century, as a result of urbanization, the Mexican Revolution, the cost of living, and other social and economic changes, different styles of barbacoa began to emerge depending on the region. According to Mexican chef and professor, Josefina Velázquez de León’s book Platillos Regionales de la República Mexicana (1946) barbacoa is prepared in different ways, thus, each region of Mexico has its own style taking advantage of its own local various productions and customs.

Barbacoa de Cabeza
The most common barbacoa prepared and consumed all across Mexico is barbacoa de res (beef barbacoa). In many regions, specially in southern Mexico and along the Gulf Coast, entire cow barbacoa is prepared. But the most common, and one of the oldest, is barbacoa de cabeza, or beef-head barbacoa.

Barbacoa de cabeza, also known as Cabeza guateada in Argentina and Paraguay, consists in roasting an entire cow head, including tongue and brains, in an earth oven. After being cleaned and seasoned, the beef-head is wrapped either in maguey or banana leaves, or in a burlap sack. Then it is traditionally buried in a hole in the ground that had been previously prepared and heated with fire. The head will remain cooking in this natural oven for up to 15 hours.

Barbacoa de cabeza was prepared in Mexico and South America out of the need to use every part of the cow after slaughtering it for tasajo. In 18th and 19th century Mexico, and Latin America, most of the beef consumed was dried salted beef known as “tasajo”. After slaughtering a cow, most of the flesh was salted and dried, with the exception of the lomo (loin, ribs), organs, and head. Typically, the lomo, ribs, and the organs, like the tripas, were roasted al pastor style (spit roasted), while the head was cooked in barbacoa.

Birria
Birria is a regional variation of barbacoa from western Mexico, mainly made with goat or beef. The meat is marinated in an adobo made of vinegar, dried chiles, garlic, and herbs and spices (including cumin, bay leaves, and thyme) before being cooked in a broth (consomé). Historically, birria was the regional name given in the state of Jalisco and surrounding areas to what is known as barbacoa, meats cooked or roasted in a pit or earth oven, in other regions of Mexico. For many people today, birria is now a distinct dish

Restaurants or street carts that serve birria are known as birrierias and exist throughout Mexico, especially in Michoacán and Jalisco. However, neighboring Mexican states have their own variations of the dish, including Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and Colima.

Cochinita Pibil
Cochinita pibil (also puerco pibil or cochinita con achiote) is a traditional Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatán Peninsula. Preparation of traditional cochinita involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, adding annatto seed, which imparts a vivid burnt orange color, and roasting the meat in a píib (earth oven) while it is wrapped in banana leaf. According to recipes from the early 1900s, the whole pig (eviscerated and with the hair burned) was cooked in the earthen oven. Cochinita pibil is accompanied with red onion in sour orange and habanero chili, very common in the region.

Ximbo
Ximbo (from nximbo meaning “the heart of the maguey”) is a traditional pit-barbecued pork dish from the Mexican states of Hidalgo and México. It originated in the Mezquital Valley, mainly in San Salvador and Actopan municipalities. Ximbo is an Otomi word. It is generally made from pork, beef, pork cueritos, fish, and chicken fried in chili sauce with nopalitos, cumin, oregano, and onions. It is then wrapped in small packages made of century plant leaf.

Adaptations
In the U.S., barbacoa is often prepared with parts from the heads of cattle, such as the cheeks. In northern Mexico, it is also sometimes made from beef head, but more often it is prepared from goat meat (cabrito). In central Mexico, the meat of choice is lamb, and in the Yucatan, their traditional version, cochinita pibil (pit-style pork), is prepared with pork.

Barbacoa was later adopted into the cuisine of the southwestern United States by way of Texas. The word transformed in time to "barbecue".

In the Philippines, the Visayan dish balbacua (also spelled balbakwa) is named after barbacoa, probably for the similar length of cooking time and tenderness of the meat. It is a completely different dish. Unlike Latin American versions, it is a stew made from beef, oxtail, cow feet and skin boiled for several hours until gelatinous and extremely tender.

Notable restaurants
Brownsville Texas's Vera's Backyard Bar-B-Que as of 2022 is the only restaurant in Texas still serving barbacoa made using the traditional method commercially because they are grandfathered in; all other legal commercial providers steam the meat rather than pit-smoking it.

title: Barbacoa


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Ruth Laredo

Ruth Laredo (November 20, 1937 – May 25, 2005) was an American classical pianist.

She became known in the 1970s in particular for her premiere recordings of the 10 sonatas of Scriabin and the complete solo piano works of Rachmaninoff, for her Ravel recordings and, in the last sixteen and a half years before her death, for her series in the Metropolitan Museum of Art “Concerts with Commentary”. She was often referred to as “America's First Lady of the Piano”.

Biography
Ruth Meckler was born on November 20, 1937, in Detroit, Michigan, the elder of two daughters of Miriam Meckler-Horowitz, a piano teacher, and Ben Meckler, an English teacher. When Ruth was only two years old and untaught, she was able to play "God Bless America" on her mother's piano.

When Ruth was eight years old, her mother took her to a concert of Vladimir Horowitz in the Masonic Auditorium in Detroit. After the concert, Ruth vowed to become a concert pianist. Horowitz played Scriabin, and Laredo was so fascinated by this music that she developed a lifelong passion for Scriabin and other Russian composers, including Scriabin's contemporary Rachmaninoff.

In 1960, Meckler moved to New York City and married the Bolivian-born violinist Jaime Laredo, who was three-and-a half-years younger. She had met him at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and they performed together regularly until their divorce in 1974 (in some publications, erroneously given as 1976). Their union produced a daughter in 1969, Jennifer, who is married to Paul Watkins, chief conductor and music director of the English Chamber Orchestra. Jennifer Laredo Watkins lives in London.

During the pregnancy and after the birth of her daughter, Ruth Laredo cut back on touring with her husband. Keen to record the music of Scriabin, she approached various record companies with the proposal to record all ten sonatas. Alan Silver from the Connoisseur Society agreed to take the risk, although initially only for one LP (Sonatas No. 5, No. 7, “White Mass”, No. 9, “Black Mass”, Eight Etudes, Op. 42). After the success of this first recording, Connoisseur engaged her to record the remaining seven sonatas, thus making Laredo the first pianist to have recorded the complete cycle: this milestone marked the beginning of her public acclaim as a solo artist.

Laredo explained in The Ruth Laredo Becoming a Musician Book (published in 1992) that it was an alternative way to embark upon a solo career to find a niche repertoire. The more obvious route would have been to win competitions, but apart from the Young Concert Artists International Auditions Laredo never had any success in important competitions.

When her daughter was older, Laredo resumed touring with her husband, but was confronted with his wish to divorce. Finalized in 1974, the divorce pushed Laredo into a personal crisis. She took a teaching job at Yale University and accepted an invitation from Thomas Z. Shepard from CBS Masterworks, who was impressed by the Scriabin recordings, to record the complete solo piano works of Rachmaninoff. This project, said Laredo, saved her life, and with the Rachmaninoff recordings, made from 1974 to 1979 (the latest album released in 1981), her solo career gathered momentum.

After her landmark recordings, the international music publisher C. F. Peters commissioned Ruth Laredo to edit a new Urtext edition of the complete 24 Preludes of Rachmaninoff, which were published in 1981    (Op. 3, No. 2), 1985 (Op. 23) and 1991 (Op. 32). Laredo thought that many of the markings in the commonly used Rachmaninoff editions were not those of the composer; after studying original manuscripts, which she found in the Library of Congress and in the Rachmaninoff archive in Washington, D.C., and later in the Glinka Museum during her tour to Russia in 1989, her suspicions were confirmed. Her editions were much closer to the composer's original manuscripts.

Laredo wrote articles for the magazines Piano Today and Keyboard Classics, and hosted programs for National Public Radio (NPR), Performance Today and Morning Edition), and the New York classical radio station WQXR (First Hearing and Onstage with Young Concert Artists).

In 2000, Laredo appeared in a scene of Woody Allen's movie Small Time Crooks, in which Hugh Grant's character tries to impress Tracey Ullman's character by taking her to a piano recital, where Ruth Laredo is playing Rachmaninoff.

Laredo was known for wearing striking gowns (most of them made by Lincoln Center's costume designer Catherine Heiser) on stage, which were frequently shown in fashion magazines. She was often seen riding her bicycle or jogging while listening to the music of Phil Collins or the rock group Genesis around Manhattan's Upper West Side, where she lived.

Laredo had a strong commitment to Jewish tradition. In a lecture in the Concerts with Commentary series about Felix Mendelssohn, she discussed the significance and depth of the composer's Jewish background. Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy's decision to convert to Protestantism, said Laredo, was a practical means to ensure his son's acceptance into the music profession in Germany.

Laredo died in her sleep at home on May 25, 2005, of ovarian cancer, a diagnosis made four years earlier, but which did not stop her from giving concerts. She is buried in Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, New York, a few meters from the grave of Sergei Rachmaninoff, who was so important to her life. At the funeral on May 31, 2005, two of her closest colleagues performed: Wei Gang Li from the Shanghai Quartet, and Courtenay Budd, with whom – along with the St. Petersburg String Quartet – she had given her last “Concert with Commentary” on May 6, 2005.

On May 18, 2006, her daughter Jennifer organized a memorial concert in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The participants were the Guarneri Quartet (with Paul Watkins, Jennifer's husband), Courtenay Budd, Nicolas Kendall, Pei Yao Wang, Edmund Battersby, James Tocco, Susan Wadsworth, director of the Young Concert Artists, and the flutist Paula Robison. Courtenay Budd sang Ruth Laredo's favourite song, Franz Schubert's An die Musik, the title of which Jennifer had chosen for the inscription on her mother's gravestone.

In 2007, the Ruth Laredo Memorial Prize of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions was endowed with contributions from her family and friends and admirers. Laredo had won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions Award in 1962, and later was a frequent and devoted member of the Jury of the Auditions. Winners of the Memorial Prize include Benjamin Moser, Germany, pianist; Bella Hristova, Bulgaria, violinist; Charlie Albright, US, pianist; and George Li, US, pianist.

Education

Ruth Laredo's mother Miriam Meckler, a piano teacher mainly for children, taught Ruth first. When the time came for more formal training in 1947, she sent her to Edward Bredshall. Bredshall had studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris and was known for his effective methods of teaching. She studied with him four years, and he introduced her to the music of other Russian composers, notably Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Kabalevsky.

Her preference for Russian music led her to team up with a Russian émigré, Mischa Kottler, who also was the teacher of the pianist and singer Muriel Elizabeth Charbonneau and later of the saxophonist and composer Rick Margitza and the jazz pianist Ray Cooke.

From 1951 to 1955 Laredo attended Mumford High School in Detroit. During summer vacations she enjoyed the Indian Hill Summer Workshops in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. After her graduation in 1955 she began her studies with Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She had been introduced to Serkin in 1954 by the violinist Berl Senofsky and the pianist Seymour Lipkin, both of whom she knew from the summer camps. Serkin told her at her audition in Marlboro, Vermont: “I can see that you play like a tiger!” He accepted her as one of only four students.

Rudolf Serkin, a student of Arnold Schoenberg and himself an artist of worldwide reputation, was known for his complete dedication to the music, and his fidelity to the composer. At first, he took a dim view of Laredo's passion for the music of Russian composers; his tastes ran to the Mozart-Beethoven-Schubert-Brahms line of Central European composers. Despite this, Ruth Laredo would become known later for her Scriabin and Rachmaninoff recordings and performances.

Ruth Laredo spent many summers at the Marlboro Music School and Festival near Brattleboro, Vermont, which had been founded in 1950 by Rudolf Serkin and Adolf Busch (then called School of Music). There she continued her studies with Serkin and was coached in chamber music by the cellist Pablo Casals. Fellow students included Murray Perahia, Richard Goode (currently artistic director of the festival, together with Mitsuko Uchida), Emanuel Ax and Yo-Yo Ma. At the end of each festival season, the traditional closing work was Beethoven's Choral Fantasy, Op. 80, with Rudolf Serkin as soloist and the entire Marlboro community in the chorus.

Ruth Laredo graduated in 1960 with a diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Her graduation took place on a celebration of the fiftieth birthday of the American composer Samuel Barber. By coincidence she had prepared his Sonata in E-flat minor, Op. 26 for her graduation recital, and so became part of the celebration. Barber was in the audience and came back to her after the concert, very warmly congratulated her, and wrote on her copy of the Sonata: “Brava, bravissima.”

Teaching
At the Curtis Institute of Music and at the summer music festival of the Meadowmount School of Music in Elizabethtown, New York, Ruth Laredo was chosen by the violin pedagogue Ivan Galamian and the cellist Leonard Rose to be the piano accompanist for their students, among them Arnold Steinhardt, Michael Tree, Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman.

Ruth Laredo was a member of the faculties of Kent State University (1968–71), Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, and the Manhattan School of Music, New York City. She gave master classes in those institutions and at the Eastman School of Music (University of Rochester), Indiana University Bloomington, the New England Conservatory of Music, Boston, the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, California, and Princeton University. For some time she held the Wiley Housewright Eminent Scholar Chair at the Florida State University, Tallahassee. Among her students were the American composer and pianist Curt Cacioppo; Michael Kimmelman, chief art critic of the New York Times; the Czech pianist Adam Skoumal; and the Swiss pianist Oliver Schnyder.

Laredo served as a jury member for several competitions, among them the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the Naumburg Foundation Competition, the Seventeen Magazine Competition, the New York City Competition, all New York City, and the William Kapell International Piano Competition, Maryland. As late as 2004 she was a jury member of the International Piano-e-Competition in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. “We had no idea she was ill,” competition director and pianist Alexander Braginsky told the Minneapolis Star Tribune after Laredo's death. “She was so feisty and opinionated, a powerful personality.”

Concerts
Ruth Laredo appeared on stage as a little girl in the Music Club of Metropolitan Detroit. When she was 11, she gave both her first recital in the Detroit Institute of Arts (among the pieces the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 2, where her teacher Edward Bredshall played the orchestral part), and, under Karl Krueger, her first concert with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with whom she played the second and third movements of the concerto.

She spent much of the first decade of her career as accompanist to her husband Jaime Laredo. At the same time she tried to establish herself as a soloist and in 1962 she made her orchestral debut in Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Unfortunately the debut attracted little attention, and it was some time before she became recognized as a solo performer.

She was a founding member of the Music from Marlboro Concerts and in 1965 participated in their first tour, which included a visit to Israel where she played Johann Sebastian Bach's Concerto for three pianos in D minor with Rudolf and Peter Serkin. She appeared in the very first Music from Marlboro Concert, “Isaac Stern and Friends”, in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Her solo career had a major boost in 1974, when she gave her debut in Avery Fisher Hall at New York's Lincoln Center. Her performance of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major with the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Pierre Boulez, was met with enthusiastic critical acclaim. In 1976 Young Concert Artists presented her solo recital debut in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center with pieces of Beethoven, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Ravel, whose “La Valse” would become her signature piece. Her encore in this concert was Gershwin's Second Piano Prelude. In 1981 she made her solo recital debut in Carnegie Hall with a program entitled “Homage to Rachmaninoff”, which included works by Chopin, Beethoven and Scriabin.

In 1988 Laredo participated at the celebration of the 135th anniversary of the first Steinway piano, and the 500,000th piano manufactured by that company. The concert, hosted by Van Cliburn, featured 27 famed pianists, including Alfred Brendel, Shura Cherkassky, Murray Perahia, Rudolf Serkin and Alexis Weissenberg. Laredo played Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 32, No. 5 and Coquette from Robert Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9.

Besides New York City and Detroit, Laredo performed in Washington, D.C. (Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, 1966 in the White House together with her then-husband Jaime Laredo for President Lyndon B. Johnson), in Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Indianapolis, Maryland, Nashville, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Toronto, at numerous festivals, among them the Amadeus Festival/Midsummer Nights Festival in New Jersey, the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, Colorado, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival in Bridgehampton, New York, the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York, the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, the Maverick Concerts Festival in Hurley, New York, the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in Detroit, the Music Mountain Summer Chamber Music Festival in Falls Village, Connecticut, and the Casals Festival in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She made tours in the season 1976/1977 to Europe (Netherlands, Germany) and Japan, and 1979 to Japan and Hong Kong. Particularly remarkable was her tour in 1989 to Russia (then RSFSR, Moscow, St. Petersburg [then Leningrad]) and the Ukraine (then USSR, Odessa). For an American to come to Russia to play the music of Russian composers – in the same room of the Moscow Conservatory where Rachmaninoff had played – was an extraordinary undertaking. Laredo enjoyed a very warm welcome by the audience and her concerts were sold out. In the Glinka Museum in Moscow she had the opportunity to see Rachmaninoff's original manuscripts.

In addition to the New York Philharmonic, the Detroit and the American Symphony Orchestra, Ruth Laredo played among others with the Philadelphia, the Cleveland and the American Composers Orchestra, the Baltimore, Beaumont, Boston, Greenwich, Houston, Indianapolis, Jupiter, Madison, National, New Jersey, St. Louis and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra, the Buffalo and the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Kazimierz Kord, with whom in 1993 she performed in Warsaw in a United Nations Day Concert, which was broadcast by TV stations all around Europe, and then toured with the orchestra through the US culminating in a concert in Carnegie Hall with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1.

In the 1988/1989 season she began her series “Concerts with Commentary” (first called “Speaking of Music”) in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. The series ran for 17 seasons until the last concert on May 6, 2005, shortly before her death. The programs became very popular and therefore she performed them in other cities of the US.

The series included works from Brahms, Chopin, Dvořák, Fauré, Franck, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Clara and Robert Schumann, Scriabin and Tchaikovsky, which she discussed before the performances with great engagement. The final concert was the third of a series entitled “The Russian Spirit” with music from Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Shostakovich.

On September 13, 2001, only two days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, Ruth Laredo celebrated the 25th anniversary of her debut in the Alice Tully Hall with a recital as the opening concert of Lincoln Center's 2001 season. Before the concert, she explained to the audience why she had not cancelled the event: “It was important for me to play. Great music gives us spiritual sustenance and gives us hope. It is in that spirit that I play tonight.” The program was similar to that of her debut in 1976 and included works by Robert Schumann, Beethoven, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Ravel, with Chopin's Waltz Op. 69, No. 1 as the encore.

In September 2004 Laredo was invited by the Russian ministry of culture to participate in the International Festival of the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory. At this event, dedicated to the 200th birthday of the Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, she played chamber music as well as solo recitals and gave a master class for Russian students.

She was noted for her strong commitment to chamber music and said that soloists particularly need this experience as a preparation for concerts with big orchestras. “The lack of it is evident when a soloist performs as if the orchestra were a mere accompaniment,” Laredo said. She collaborated frequently with the Shanghai Quartet (regularly at the Music Mountain Festival), and among others with the American, Budapest, Emerson, Manhattan, Muir, St. Lawrence, St. Petersburg, Veronika and the Vermeer Quartet, with the Chappaqua, Manhattan Chamber, Orpheus Chamber and Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, with the Philharmonia Virtuosi, the Sea Cliff Chamber Players and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. She appeared with the Guarneri Quartet and the Tokyo String Quartet in the Lincoln Center series Great Performers. She helped the Tokyo String Quartet several times when a member of the Quartet was indisposed transforming the group temporarily into a piano quartet. Since their first association in 1980 in Alice Tully Hall, she toured each season with the flutist Paula Robison as the “Paula and Ruth” duo.

Ruth Laredo also played contemporary music, mainly in the beginning of her career in Marlboro. This was something Pablo Casals – who did not like music beyond the era of Brahms – disapproved of. He would stay home when Leon Kirchner would come to Marlboro for a performance. In the 1983/1984 season she played the world premiere of Peter Martins's work called Waltzes with the New York City Ballet. In 1989 she played Wallingford Riegger's twelve-tone Variations for Piano and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra under Paul Lustig Dunkel. Her repertoire included also works by Franz Liszt, Arnold Schoenberg, Béla Bartók, Anton Webern and Alban Berg.

In 1994 Laredo played with jazz pianist Marian McPartland and from 1996 with her and Dick Hyman in programs entitled Three Piano Crossover.

In the last years of her life, her career as a soloist with orchestras waned, but she was comfortable with a mix of recitals and chamber concerts.

Laredo criticized the rising trend in the US of recording live concerts for broadcast as “troublesome”. She preferred the European method of recording the music in radio studios for subsequent broadcast.

Recordings
In 1967 Ruth Laredo recorded a well-received album of piano music by French composer Maurice Ravel, also renowned for music full of pianistic challenges.

In 1970 Laredo made her famous premiere recordings of Scriabin's 10 sonatas on three LPs for Connoisseur Society (reissued in 1984 by Nonesuch Records on a three-LP box and in 1996 on a double CD). She made the recordings in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University, New York City, on a Baldwin SD-10 grand piano. The Scriabin LPs were released in a period where little of Scriabin's music was available, and Laredo's recordings led to his rising popularity in the US. "I was kind of a crusader for his music," said Laredo.

From 1974 to 1981 followed Rachmaninoff's complete solo piano works on seven LPs for CBS Masterworks (reissued in 1993 by Sony Classical on five CDs), a project no pianist before had ever dared to undertake (at the same time the German-American pianist Michael Ponti also recorded the Scriabin and Rachmaninoff works). At this time she was a relative rarity as a female piano soloist, particularly in the technically demanding and muscular works of Rachmaninoff. There were only a few others – Gina Bachauer, Myra Hess and later Alicia de Larrocha, for example. The New York Daily News baptised her now “America's First Lady of the Piano”, an appellation which was later used by many others. Laredo initially disliked this as she felt it was sexist: she wanted to be known as a pianist, not a “woman pianist” Later she relented and used the title herself in her book and on her website.

The preparations for the recording of Rachmaninoff's solo piano works proved to be very exhausting. Laredo said she now understood why some of the pieces had never been played by anybody: it was simply because they were so hard. Rachmaninoff, who was 6 feet 4 inches tall with correspondingly large hands, had composed many of his works for himself. One could only wonder how the tiny 5-foot-1-inch Laredo was able to play Rachmaninoff's pieces, some of which indulged in 11-key stretches. After practicing the music of “Rocky”, as she called Rachmaninoff, she had to get her hands massaged.

Ruth Laredo also recorded more than 20 albums featuring works of other composers, among them Isaac Albéniz, Bach, Beethoven, Lili Boulanger, Brahms, Chopin, Falla, Debussy, Khachaturian, Fauré, Mozart, Poulenc, Ravel, Clara and Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky as well as of the American composers Barber, Aaron Copland, Ives, Laderman, Kirchner, Rorem and Siegmeister. Especially acclaimed was the recording with James Tocco of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring in the version for two pianos for Gasparo Records.

Laredo made her last recordings in 1999 with the Shanghai Quartet, who called her “the fifth member of the Shanghai Quartet” for Arabesque Records (piano quartets by Brahms) and at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival with the violinist Philip Setzer for Newport Classic (“Day Music” by Ned Rorem; the CD contains also Norem's “War Scenes” and “End of Summer” performed by other artists, including the composer at the piano). Both CDs were released in 2000.

Probably the last radio program was the one with jazz pianist Marian McPartland for NPR. The date was February 19, 2004.

Awards and recognitions

 * Winner of the Gabrilowitsch scholarship (1948/49)
 * Winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions (1962)
 * Year's Best Recording Award of Stereo Review and Saturday Review (Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, La Valse; 1968)
 * Year's Best Recording Award of Saturday Review and High Fidelity (Scriabin: The Complete Sonatas, Vol. 1; 1970)
 * Best of the Month of Stereo Review (Scriabin: The Complete Sonatas, Vol. 1; 1970)
 * Musician of the Month of High Fidelity/Musical America (1974)
 * Nomination for the Grammy Award 1976 (Ravel: Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, with Jaime Laredo and Jeffrey Solow)
 * Best of the Month of Stereo Review (Rachmaninoff, The Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 5; 1979)
 * Best Keyboard Artist Award of the Record World Magazine (Rachmaninoff, The Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 5; 1979)
 * Nomination for the Grammy Award 1981 (Rachmaninoff: The Complete Works for Solo Piano, Vol. 7)
 * selected as one of five pianists for the 90-year anniversary celebration of the Carnegie Hall (1981)
 * Nomination for the Grammy Award 1983 (Barber: Sonata for Piano, Op. 26, Souvenirs, Op. 28, Nocturne, Op. 33)
 * Honorary Member of the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity (1983)
 * Distinguished Service to Music in America Award of the Music Teachers National Association (1989)
 * Music in Humanity Award at the Music Festival in Mount Gretna, Pennsylvania (1994)
 * Best of the Year of the Audiophile Audition Magazine (2nd new edition of the Scriabin Sonatas; 1997)

Discography

 * Mozart/Bach. Music from Marlboro; Mozart: Concerto in E-flat for two Pianos (Rudolf Serkin, Peter Serkin); Bach: Concerto in C major for three Pianos (Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Peter Serkin, Rudolf Serkin), Concerto in D minor for three Pianos (Rudolf Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Ruth Laredo); Marlboro Festival Orchestra (Alexander Schneider). LP, CBS Masterworks ML 6247, 1964
 * Bach. Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, BWV 1046: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Myron Bloom, Robert Johnson (horns), John Mack, Ronald Richards, Peter Christ (oboes), Donald MacCourt (bassoon), Alexander Schneider (violin); Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, BWV 1047: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Robert Nagel (trumpet), Ørnulf Gulbransen (flute), John Mack (oboe); Alexander Schneider (violin); Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048; Orchestral Suite No. 1, BWV 1066: Members of the Marlboro Festival and John Mack, Joseph Turner (oboes), Joyce Kelley (bassoon), Ruth Laredo (piano); Marlboro Festival Orchestra: Pablo Casals. CD, Sony Classical SMK 46253, 1990; recorded 1964 (Brandenburg Concertos 1 and 3), 1965 (Brandenburg Concerto 2) and 1966 (Orchestral Suite)
 * Bach. Brandenburg Concerto No. 4, BWV 1049: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Alexander Schneider (violin), Ørnulf Gulbransen, Nancy Dalley (flutes), Rudolf Serkin (piano); Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Ørnulf Gulbransen (flute), Alexander Schneider (violin), Rudolf Serkin (piano); Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, BWV 1051: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Peter Serkin (continuo); Orchestral Suite No. 4, BWV 1069: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Henry Nowak, Wilmer Wise, Louis Opalesky (trumpets), John Mack, Joseph Turner, Patricia Grignet (oboes), Joyce Kelley (bassoon), John Wyre (timpani), Ruth Laredo (piano); Marlboro Festival Orchestra: Pablo Casals. CD, Sony Classical SMK 46254, 1990; recorded 1964 (Brandenburg Concertos) and 1966 (Orchestral Suite)
 * Bach. Goldberg Variations, BWV 1087: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Rudolf Serkin (piano); Orchestral Suite No. 2, BWV 1067: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Ornulf Gulbransen (flute), Ruth Laredo (continuo); Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068: Members of the Marlboro Festival and Henry Nowak, Wilmer Wise, Louis Opalesky (trumpets), John Mack, Patricia Grignet (oboes), John Wyre (timpani), Ruth Laredo (continuo); Marlboro Festival Orchestra: Pablo Casals. CD, Sony Classical SMK 45892, 1990; recorded 1976 (Goldberg Variations) and 1966 (Orchestral Suites)
 * Ravel. Gaspard de la Nuit, Valses Nobles et Sentimentales, La Valse. LP, Connoisseur Society CS-2005, 1968
 * Scriabin. The Complete Piano Sonatas, Sonata No. 1, Op. 6; Etude, Op. 2, No. 1; Sonata No. 2, Op. 19; Eight Etudes, Op. 42; Sonata No. 3, Op. 23; Sonata No. 4, Op. 30; Sonata No. 5, Op. 53; Sonata No. 6, Op. 62; Désir, Op. 57, No. 1; Caresse dansée, Op. 57, No. 2; Sonata No. 7, Op. 64; Sonata No. 8, Op. 66; Sonata No. 9, Op. 68; Sonata No. 10, Op. 70; Vers la Flamme, Op. 72. 2 CDs, Nonesuch 5973035-2, 1996 (new edition of 3 LPs Connoisseur Society CS-2032/CS-2034/CS-2035, 1970/Nonesuch 73035, 1984)
 * Robert Schumann. Music for piano and violin; Ruth Laredo (piano), Jaime Laredo (violin); Sonata No. 1, Op. 105; Sonata No. 2, Op. 121; Intermezzo from F.A.E. Sonata. LP, Desto DC 6442, 1979; recorded 1970
 * Laderman/Siegmeister. Ezra Laderman: Duo for Violin and Piano; Elie Siegmeister: Sonata No. 2; Jaime Laredo (violin), Ruth Laredo (piano). Desto Records LP DC 7125, 1971
 * Scriabin. 24 Preludes, Op. 11 (incl. No. 9 and No. 10); 5 Preludes, Op. 74 (incl. No. 2); Poem, Op. 32, No. 1. CD, Phoenix USA PHCD 114, 1990 (new edition of LP Desto DC 7145, 1972)
 * Rorem/Kirchner. Ned Rorem: Day Music, Leon Kirchner: Sonata concertante; Jaime Loredo (violin), Ruth Laredo (piano). LP, Desto DC 7151, 1973
 * Rorem. Day Music: Jaime Laredo (violin), Ruth Laredo (piano); Night Music: Earl Carlyss (violin), Ann Schein (piano). CD, Phoenix USA PHCD123, 1991 (Day Music previously published on LP Desto DC 7151, 1973; Night Music on LP Desto DC 7174, 1974)
 * Scriabin. Greatest Hits; Morton Estrin/Ruth Laredo; Ruth Laredo plays Etude, Op. 2, No. 1; Sonata No. 4, Op. 30; Etudes, Op. 42, No. 3 and No. 4; Vers la Flamme, Op. 72; Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. LP, Connoisseur Society CS-2046, 1973
 * Ravel. Music from Marlboro, The Marlboro Music Festival, Rudolf Serkin (director); Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano: Jaime Laredo (violin), Ruth Laredo (piano), Jeffrey Solow (cello); Sonata for Violin and Cello: Jaime Laredo (violin), Leslie Parnas (cello). LP, CBS Masterworks M 33529, 1973
 * Kirchner/Copland/Ives/Lees. Music for Violin and Piano; Leon Kirchner: Sonata Concertante (Jaime Laredo, violin; Ruth Laredo, piano); Aaron Copland: Sonata for Violin and Piano (Jaime Laredo, violin; Ann Schein, piano); Charles Ives: Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano (Jaime Laredo, violin; Ann Schein, piano); Benjamin Lees: Sonata No. 2 (1973; Rafael Druian, violin; Ilse von Alpenheim, piano). CD, Phoenix USA PHCD 136, 1997 (Kirchner previously published on LP Desto DC 7151, 1973, Copland and Ives onLP Desto DC 6439, 1975, Lees on LP Desto DC 7174, 1974)
 * Rachmaninoff. The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 1; Fantasy Pieces, Op. 3 (incl. Prelude in C sharp minor); Salon Pieces, Op. 10; Moments Musicaux, Op. 16. CD, Sony Classical SMK 48468, 1993 (new edition on 5 CDs of The Complete Works for Solo Piano on 7 LPs from CBS Masterworks M 32938/M 33430/M 33998/M 34532/M 35151/M 35836/M 35881, 1974–1981)
 * Rachmaninoff. The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 2; Piano Transcriptions; Chopin Variations. CD, Sony Classical SMK 48469, 1993 (new edition on 5 CDs of The Complete Works for Solo Piano on 7 LPs from CBS MasterworksM 32938/M 33430/M 33998/M 34532/M 35151/M 35836/M 35881, 1974–1981)
 * Rachmaninoff. The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 3; Sonatas No. 1, Op. 28 and No. 2, Op. 36; Corelli Variations. CD, Sony Classical SMK 48470, 1993 (new edition on 5 CDs of The Complete Works for Solo Piano on 7 LPs from CBS Masterworks M 32938/M 33430/M 33998/M 34532/M 35151/M 35836/M 35881, 1974–1981)
 * Rachmaninoff. The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 4; Preludes Op. 23 and Op. 32. CD, Sony Classical SMK 48471, 1993 (new edition on 5 CDs of The Complete Works for Solo Piano on 7 LPs from CBS Masterworks M 32938/M 33430/M 33998/M 34532/M 35151/M 35836/M 35881, 1974–1981)
 * Rachmaninoff. The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 5; Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 and Op. 39; Fragments; Lilacs; Daisies; Oriental Sketch; Two Fantasy Pieces. CD, Sony Classical SMK 48472, 1993 (new edition on 5 CDs of The Complete Works for Solo Piano on 7 LPs from CBS Masterworks M 32938/M 33430/M 33998/M 34532/M 35151/M 35836/M 35881, 1974–1981)
 * Rachmaninoff. Romantic Piano Pieces: Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3; Morceaux de salon, Op. 10; Moments musicaux, Op. 16;3,5; Preludes, Op. 23;1,3,4,5,6,10; Preludes, Op. 32;2,5,10,12,13, Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33;7 and Op. 39;2. CD, Sony Classical, SMK 89950, 2002 (collection of previously published material, 1974–1977)
 * Rachmaninoff/Debussy/Scriabin/Prokofiev. Recital; Rachmaninoff: Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2; Debussy: Feu d’artifice, Bruyères, La fille aux cheveux de lin, Reflets dans l'eau; Scriabin: Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1; Poem, Op. 32, No. 1; Sonata No. 9 in F, Op. 68 (“Black Mass”); Prokofiev: Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28. CD, Connoisseur Society 30CD-3020, 1980
 * Debussy/Scriabin/Rachmaninoff. Essential Piano Library, The Student's Essential Classics, with Earl Wild, Santiago Rodriguez, David Bar-Illan, Jorge Bolet, Gilbert Kalish; Ruth Laredo plays Debussy, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair (Preludes, Book I), Reflections in the Water (Images, Book I), Fireworks (Preludes, Book II); Scriabin, Etude in C-sharp minor Op. 2, No. 1; Rachmaninoff, Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2. 2 LPs Baldwin Piano Artists BDW-700/701, 1981
 * Scriabin/Prokofiev/Barber. Essential Piano Library, Masters Perform Master Works. LP, Baldwin Piano Artists BDW-805, 1981
 * Ravel. Miroirs, La Valse, Sonatine, Prelude in A major, Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn. CD, Sanctuary, 1998 (new edition of LP CBS Masterworks M 36734, 1982)
 * Barber. Piano Sonata, Op. 26; Souvenirs, Op. 28; Nocturne, Op. 33 (Homage to John Field). CD, Sanctuary, 1998 (new edition of LP Nonesuch D 79032, 1982)
 * Chopin. Mazurkas, Op. 6, Nos. 2 and 3; Op. 24, No. 2; Op. 33, No. 4; Op. 56, No. 2; Op. 63, No. 3; Waltzes, Op. 34, Nos. 1 and 2; Op. 42; Op. 69, No. 1; Op. 69, No. 2; Etude, Op. 25, No. 4; Nocturne, Op. 15, No. 1; Scherzo, Op. 20. CD, Sanctuary, 1998 (new edition of LP Nonesuch 71450, 1987; recorded 1982/1985)
 * Tchaikovsky. The Seasons, Op. 37a; Polka de Salon, Op. 9, No. 2; Mazurka de Salon, Op. 9, No. 3; Humoresque, Op. 10, No. 2; Natha-Valse, Op. 51, No. 4. CD, Sanctuary, 1998 (new edition of LP Nonesuch Digital Stereo 79119, 1985)
 * Fauré/Lili Boulanger/Ravel/Poulenc. French Masterpieces for flute and piano, Ruth Laredo (piano), Paula Robison (flute); Gabriel Fauré: Sonata in A major; Lili Boulanger: Nocturne; Maurice Ravel: Pièce en forme de Habanera; Francis Poulenc: Sonata. CD, Pergola, 2006 (new edition of CD Musical Heritage Society 2003 resp. LP Amerco 1991/1992; recorded in 1985)
 * Beethoven. Sonatas No. 23 (Appassionata), No. 26 (Les Adieux), No. 3 and No. 20. CD, Second Hearing GS 9007, 1986; recorded live
 * Ravel. Pièces pour 2 pianos, Ruth Laredo, Jacques Rouvier; Bolero, Mother Goose Suite, Sites Auriculaires, Frontispièce, La Valse. CD, Denon 33C37-7907, 1986
 * Albéniz/Falla. Isaac Albéniz: Songs of Spain, Suite Española; Manuel de Falla: Three Dances from The Three-Cornered Hat, Suite from El Amor Brujo. CD, MCA Classics MCAD-6265, 1988
 * Bach/Mozart/Beethoven/Chopin/Debussy/Robert Schumann/Prokofiev. My First Recital; Bach: Prelude No. 1 in C, BWV 846; Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C, BWV 772; Two-Part Invention No. 4 in d, BWV 775; Two-Part Invention No. 8 in F, BWV 779; Mozart: Fantasia in d, K. 397; Sonata in C, K. 545; Beethoven: Für Elise; Sonata No. 20 in G, Op. 49, No. 2; Chopin: Waltz in D, Op. 64, No. 1 (Minute Waltz); Waltz in A, Op. 69, No. 1; Grande Valse Brillante in E, Op. 18; Debussy: The Girl With the Flaxen Hair; Clair de Lune; Schumann: Kinderszenen (From Foreign Lands and People, A Curious Story, An Important Event, Dreaming [Träumerei]); Prokofiev: March from Peter and the Wolf. CD, ESS.A.Y CD1006, 1990
 * Bach/Mozart/Beethoven/Robert Schumann/Debussy/Brahms/Chopin/Tchaikovsky/Khachaturian. My Second Recital; Bach: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring; Mozart: Rondo alla Turca; Beethoven: Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp major, Op. 78, Adagio Cantabile, Allegro Vivace; Schumann: Arabesque; Debussy: Sarabande; Brahms: Waltz, Op. 39, No. 2 in E major; Waltz, Op. 39, No. 3 in G-sharp minor; Waltz, Op. 39, No. 4 in E minor; Waltz, Op. 39, No. 5 in E major; Waltz, Op. 39, No. 15 in A-flat major; Waltz in Intermezzo in E-flat major, Op. 117, No. 1; Chopin: Mazurka in F-sharp minor; Waltz in C-sharp minor; Nocturne in F-sharp minor; Tchaikovsky: Humoresque, Natha-Valse, Barcarolle; Khachaturian: Toccata. CD, ESS.A.Y CD1026, 1991
 * Stravinsky/Rachmaninoff. Music from the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Music for Two Pianos; James Tocco and Ruth Laredo; Stravinsky: Le Sacre du Printemps; Rachmaninoff: Suite No. 2 for 2 Pianos. CD, Gasparo GSCD-313, 1996; recorded 1995
 * Rachmaninoff. Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30, Vladimir Feltsman (piano), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Zubin Mehta); Morceaux de salon Op. 10, Nos. 2, 3 and 7, Ruth Laredo (piano); Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14, Nelly Lee (sprano), Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra (Arnold Katz); Prelude, Op. 23, No. 5, Prelude, Op. 32, Nos. 5, 1, 7, 8 and 12, Ruth Laredo (piano); Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra (Arnold Katz); Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 39, Nos. 2, 5 and 6, Ruth Laredo (piano); Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Vladimir Feltsman (piano), Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (Zubin Mehta). 2 CDs, Sony Classical SB2K 64 343, 1996
 * Beethoven. 3 Sonatas; Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 (Appassionata); No. 17, Op. 31; No. 2 (Tempest); No. 26, Op. 81a (Les Adieux); Bagatelle for Piano in A minor (Für Elise); Bagatelle in B major. CD, Connoisseur Society CD-4210, 1997
 * Mendelssohn/Robert Schumann/Clara Schumann/Brahms. Such Good Friends; Felix Mendelssohn: Introduction and Rondo capriccioso, Op. 14; Robert Schumann: Eight Fantasy Pieces, Op. 12 (Des Abends, Aufschwung, Warum?, Grillen, In der Nacht, Fabel, Traumes Wirren, Ende vom Lied); Clara Schumann: Romance, Op. 11, No. 1; Johannes Brahms: Intermezzi, Op. 117, Nos. 1, 2 and 3; Pieces for Piano, Op. 118, No. 2, 119, No. 1; Fantasia, Op. 116, No. 4. CD, Open Mike M 4022 (or Sanctuary CD 3001), 1999, recorded 1998
 * Brahms. Piano Quartets No. 1, Op. 25, No. 2, Op. 26, No. 3, Op. 60, The Shanghai Quartet and Ruth Laredo (piano). 2 CDs, Arabesque Z6740-2, 2000; recorded April 1999
 * Rorem. Chamber Music, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival; Day Music: Ruth Laredo (piano), Philip Setzer (violin); War Scenes: Kurt Ollmann (baritone), Ned Rorem (piano); End of Summer: Elm City Ensemble. CD, Newport Classic NPD 85663, 2000; recorded June 1999

title: Ruth Laredo


text:
User:Ed Poor/opposed

I'm opposed to two things:
 * 1) murder
 * 2) immorality

So I naturally align myself with anyone else who is against those things. That's why I'm a big Ronald Reagan fan, and why I feel an affinity toward George W. Bush.

I have been an anti-Communist since childhood. When I found out how many women and children and other non-combatants the Communist guerrillas and Communist governments have murdered. It makes me so mad I can't ever use good grammar!

I have more recently come to believe that immorality is also not good for "children and other living things".

Destroying your enemy seems like a perfectly justifiable thing, but it is often very selfish. And when you go around executing "bad people", you run the risk of becoming a "bad person" yourself. Even Neitschze knew that people who hunt montsers run the risk of turning into monsters themselves. (Man, I never have this much trouble typing; I guess I'm pretty worked up!)

Enjoying love seems also like a perfectly justifiable thing, even the "purpose of life" itself! But when it's outside of marriage - and I mean "one man, one woman" - it inevitably leads to misery for all involved. And that's pretty selfish, to drag someone else down into misery just so you can be "happy for a while" (as Don McRean sang). Is it mere coincidence that the most immoral movie series currently being produced for teenagers is called American Pie?

This doesn't mean to save everyone from dying; sometimes war is necessary, and refusing to kill could be a sin. This doesn't mean that loveless marriages are to be exalted, either. But the key here is love.

We should love other people so much that "killing our enemies" becomes no longer necessary. We should love our spouses so much that it spills over into all our other family and social relationships.

Is it easy? Of course not! We would have done it already, if there had been an easier way. But it's easy to kill people - physically or spiritually, and that's the wrong way. We must go the harder and more rewarding way of "living for the sake of others.

title: User:Ed Poor/opposed


text:
Enoxolone

Enoxolone (INN, BAN; also known as glycyrrhetinic acid or glycyrrhetic acid) is a pentacyclic triterpenoid derivative of the beta-amyrin type obtained from the hydrolysis of glycyrrhizic acid, which was obtained from the herb liquorice.

The substance has a sweet taste, so it is used in flavoring to mask the bitter taste of drugs like aloe and quinine. It may have some anti-inflammatory activities. One of its metabolites is responsible for the blood pressure-increasing effect of liquorice.

Oral topical
In Turkey, enoxolone is used in a "Anzibel" lozenge in combination with benzocaine (a local anesthetic) and chlorhexidine hydrochloride (an antibacterial).

It is found in an over-the-counter "Arthrodont" toothpaste. Evidence for the ingredient's usefulness for plaque and gingivitis is lacking.

Skin topical
In Japan, enoxolone is found in the "Salonpas" pain-relief menthol patch.

It is also used in the Singaporean "Vetic" cream. In the United States, it is found in PruClair, a "precription medical device" indicated for generic dermatoses.

Possible other uses
Enoxolone is effective in the treatment of peptic ulcer and also has expectorant (antitussive) properties. It has some additional pharmacological properties with possible antiviral, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and antibacterial activities.

Anti-inflammatory
Glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits the enzymes (15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase and delta-13-prostaglandin) that metabolize the prostaglandins PGE-2 and PGF-2α to their respective, inactive 15-keto-13,14-dihydro metabolites. This increases prostaglandins in the digestive system. Prostaglandins inhibit gastric secretion, stimulate pancreatic secretion and mucous secretion in the intestines, and markedly increase intestinal motility. They also cause cell proliferation in the stomach. The effect on gastric acid secretion, and promotion of mucous secretion and cell proliferation shows why licorice has potential in treating peptic ulcers.

Licorice should not be taken during pregnancy, because PGF-2α stimulates activity of the uterus during pregnancy and can cause abortion. ds The structure of glycyrrhetinic acid is similar to that of cortisone. Both molecules are flat and similar at positions 3 and 11. This might be the basis for licorice's anti-inflammatory action.

Hypertensive
3-β- D -(Monoglucuronyl)-18-β-glycyrrhetinic acid, a metabolite of glycyrrhetinic acid, inhibits the conversion of 'active' cortisol to 'inactive' cortisone in the kidneys. This occurs via inhibition of the enzyme 11-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. As a result, cortisol levels become high within the collecting duct of the kidney. Cortisol has intrinsic mineralocorticoid properties (that is, it acts like aldosterone and increases sodium reabsorption) that work on ENaC channels in the collecting duct. Hypertension develops due to this mechanism of sodium retention. People often have high blood pressure with a low renin and low aldosterone blood level. The increased amounts of cortisol binds to the unprotected, nonspecific mineralocorticoid receptors and induce sodium and fluid retention, hypokalaemia, high blood pressure, and inhibition of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Therefore, licorice should not be given to patients with a known history of hypertension in doses sufficient to inhibit 11-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.

Derivatives
In glycyrrhetinic acid, the functional group (R) is a hydroxyl group. Research in 2005 demonstrated that with a proper functional group a very effective glycyrrhetinic artificial sweetener can be obtained. When R is an anionic NHCO(CH2)CO2K side chain, the sweetening effect is found to be 1200 times that of sugar (human sensory panel data). A shorter or longer spacer reduces the sweetening effect. One explanation is that the taste bud cell receptor has 1.3 nanometers (13 angstroms) available for docking with the sweetener molecule. In addition, the sweetener molecule requires three proton donor positions, of which two reside at the extremities, to be able to interact efficiently with the receptor cavity.

A synthetic analog, carbenoxolone, was developed in Britain. Both glycyrrhetinic acid and carbenoxolone have a modulatory effect on neural signaling through gap junction channels.

Acetoxolone, the acetyl derivative of glycyrrhetinic acid, is a drug used in the treatment of peptic ulcer and gastroesophageal reflux disease.

title: Enoxolone


text:
Benedictine (disambiguation)

Benedictine may mean:
 * A Benedictine, a monk or nun who belongs to the Order of Saint Benedict
 * Benedictine abbey
 * Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas
 * Benedictine High School (disambiguation)
 * Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois
 * Bénédictine, a liqueur
 * Benedictine (spread), a spread/dip made with cucumbers and cream cheese

title: Benedictine (disambiguation)


text:
Guimet

Guimet is a surname used by French and Spanish families. Uses of the name include:

People

 * Jean-Baptiste Guimet (1795–1871), French industrial chemist
 * Émile Étienne Guimet (1836–1918), French industrialist, son of the above
 * Felip Comabella i Guimet (1841–1901), Spanish pharmacist
 * Jordi Guimet (born 1948), Spanish industrial engineer
 * Úrsula Guimet, a Peruvian female taekwondo practitioner

Other uses

 * The Guimet Museum, founded by Émile Étienne Guimet.
 * The former Museum of Natural History - Guimet in Lyon. In 2014, its collections were transferred to the Musée des Confluences
 * Émile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature, annual French literary prize first awarded in 2017

title: Guimet


text:
Talk:Ruth Laredo

More needed please
can we fill this out please? Brookie: Some air in a vacuum 21:10, 27 May 2005 (UTC)

title: Talk:Ruth Laredo


text: Category:Scottish pianists

title: Category:Scottish pianists


text:
Handy Writers' Colony

The Handy Writers' Colony, often called simply the Handy Colony or The Colony, was a writers' colony located in Marshall, Illinois, which operated from 1950–1964. The Handy Colony was founded in 1950 by Lowney Turner Handy and her husband, Harry Handy, along with Lowney's student (and then-lover), best-selling novelist James Jones. Lowney Handy was the Colony's quirky teacher and mentor, with financial support coming from her husband and Jones, particularly after the sale of Jones' first novel, From Here to Eternity. A unique aspect of Handy's approach was to have her students spend many hours simply copying, by hand or typewriter, materials from authors whose work she admired.

Handy was vehemently opposed to homosexual writers, often making homophobic and derogatory remarks about artists such as Walt Whitman, Marcel Proust, and Hart Crane, as well as D. H. Lawrence and T. S. Eliot, which she had banned her students from reading (along with the works of Wallace Stevens, Franz Kafka, and Dylan Thomas, among others), even going so far as to tear up books and physically assault students.

Originally conceived as a Utopian commune where budding artists could focus exclusively on their writing projects, the colony dissolved largely because of Handy's own erratic behavior and Jones' focus on his own novels. Jones' editor and mentor, Burroughs Mitchell, said of Handy: "She could be charming, easy, and warm; but her black eyes could quickly become blacker, her voice strident, with a violent outburst. Lowney was convinced she could do anything. She held various mystical beliefs, drawn from dubious books on Eastern thought (and some of this unfortunately affected Jim in Some Came Running). In Jim Jones, dedication to the art of writing was an essential part of a steadfast nature. In Lowney, that dedication was an obsession, a madness. She had read quite widely, but unevenly. For example, she admired Arnold Bennett, but thought Dickens wrote stories for boys. She became a torment to Jim and ultimately went mad and committed suicide. But it has to be remembered that she gave him support and encouragement at the beginning of his career, when he was otherwise alone."

Despite Handy's policy prohibiting outsiders from entering the colony, certain visitors were allowed, including Burroughs Mitchell, Norman Mailer, and actor Montgomery Clift.

Many young writers found support at the Colony. Published writers associated with the Colony included James Jones, John Bowers, Tom T. Chamales, Edwin C. Daly, William Duhart, Jere Peacock, Jon Shirota, Jerry Tschappat (a.k.a. Gerald Tesch), and Charles S. Wright. The colony dissolved with the death of Lowney Handy in 1964.

Novels associated with the Colony
Published novels written at least in part at the Colony or with editorial advice from Lowney Handy include:

 * John Bowers:
 * The Colony (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1971) — slightly fictionalized account of Bowers' time at the Colony
 * Tom T. Chamales:
 * Never So Few (New York: Scribner's, 1957)
 * Go Naked in the World (New York: Scribner's, 1959)
 * Edwin C. Daly:
 * Some Must Watch (New York: Scribner's, 1956)
 * A Legacy of Love (New York: Scribner's 1958)
 * William Duhart:
 * The Deadly Pay-Off (Greenwich, CT: Gold Medal Books, 1958)
 * James Jones:
 * From Here to Eternity (New York: Scribner's, 1951)
 * Some Came Running (New York: Scribner's 1958)
 * Jere Peacock:
 * Valhalla (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1961)
 * Jon Shirota:
 * Lucky Come Hawaii (New York: Bantam Books, 1965)
 * Gerald Tesch:
 * Never the Same Again (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1956)
 * Charles Wright:
 * The Messenger (New York: Farrar, Straus, 1963)

Archives
The archives of the Handy Colony are in Archives/Special Collections in Norris L. Brookens Library at the University of Illinois Springfield. In addition, the Department of Special Collections at Cunningham Memorial Library at Indiana State University holds the Colony's library, including books by Handy's students and the books from which she had them copy.

title: Handy Writers' Colony


text:
File:The Expanse (ENT episode).jpg

Scene from The Expanse (Star Trek episode) episode of Star Trek: Enterprise

Rationale of fair use
This image is fair use because:
 * 1) The image is of lower resolution and quality than the original video (copies made from it will be of inferior quality).
 * 2) No free or public domain images have been located for this subject.
 * 3) The image does not limit the copyright owners' rights to distribute the show or DVDs in any way.
 * 4) The image is being used for informational purposes only and is encyclopedic.
 * 5) The image is being used to illustrate the television show in question.

title: File:The Expanse (ENT episode).jpg


text:
Secretly Canadian

Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publishing, representing artists, writers, film makers, producers, and comedians.

History
Secretly Canadian was founded in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill while they attended Indiana University.  Before Secretly Canadian was founded, Chris Swanson and Eric Weddle met in 1995 in Indiana University's campus radio station, WIUX. Then Chris met Jonathan Cargill through a job at the Collins Living-Learning Center cafeteria on campus. Soon after, Chris' younger brother Ben Swanson moved to Bloomington to earn his undergraduate degree from the Jacobs School of Music in musicology.

In 1996, Secretly Canadian was founded. The label's first official release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic from Grand Forks, North Dakota; the Glory Hole CD. The second release in 1997 was Jason Molina's, under the Songs: Ohia moniker, often referred to as "The Black Album". After the Swanson brothers tracked down Molina's email address and drove hours to Molina's in-store gig at Adult Crash in New York. After signing Molina, the record label became more popular in the indie music scene. Secretly Canadian then signed Marmoset and Swearing At Motorists. Weddle soon left to form label Family Vineyard – and later followed by Cargill as well. After that, Chris Swanson and Darius Van Arman became friends in 1999 and Secretly Canadian joined forces with Van Arman's Jagjaguwar.

The early 2000s yielded reissues from Swell Maps, Nikki Sudden, and Danielson. Damien Jurado, the Seattle singer-songwriter, made his way to Secretly Canadian in 2002. Two years later, Jens Lekman joined the label's roster.

Anohni also signed to the label in the 2000s. Formerly known as Antony and the Johnsons earlier in her career, the Swanson brothers became enamored with Antony and the Johnsons’ self-titled debut from 2000. Antony and the Johnsons’ first record with Secretly Canadian, I Am a Bird Now, released in 2005, sold 100,000 copies in the first two months.

Secretly Canadian then signed The War on Drugs, the Philadelphia-based band whose third record, Lost in the Dream, struck as both a critical and commercial success in 2014. Secretly Canadian also began a partnership with Chimera Records in the form of Yoko Ono's reissues beginning in 2016, and the debut release from William Eggleston, in 2017. Secretly Canadian's roster also includes Cherry Glazerr, Whitney, Alex Cameron, Joey Dosik, Stella Donnelly, Faye Webster, and serpentwithfeet, among many others.

In 2007, the addition of Dead Oceans to Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar's partnership led to the formation of Secretly Group. In 2015, Secretly Group began a partnership with The Numero Group as well.

In 2018, Secretly Canadian was listed as #8 on Paste Magazine's top 10 record labels of 2018. Jagjaguwar was listed as #4 and Dead Oceans was listed as #7.

Artists

 * Alasdair Roberts
 * Alex Cameron
 * Anohni
 * Antony and the Johnsons
 * Ativin
 * Ben Abraham
 * BLK JKS
 * Bobb Trimble
 * Bodies of Water
 * Catfish Haven
 * Cayucas
 * Cherry Glazerr
 * Damien Jurado
 * Danielson
 * Dave Fischoff
 * David Vandervelde
 * Don Lennon
 * Dungeonesse
 * Early Day Miners
 * Electric Youth
 * Emily Angeles
 * Faye Webster
 * Foreign Born
 * Frida Hyvonen
 * Gardens & Villa
 * Havergal
 * The Horns of Happiness
 * I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness
 * The Impossible Shapes
 * Instruments of Science & Technology
 * Intro to Airlift
 * Jason Molina
 * The Japonize Elephants
 * Jens Lekman
 * JJ
 * Joey Dosik
 * Jorma Whittaker
 * June Panic
 * Little Scream
 * Luke Temple
 * Magnolia Electric Co.
 * Major Lazer
 * Makeness
 * Marmoset
 * Molina and Johnson
 * Music Go Music
 * Nightlands
 * Nikki Sudden & The Jacobites
 * Nite Jewel
 * Normanoak
 * The Panoply Academy
 * Porcelain Raft
 * Porridge Radio
 * Racebannon
 * Richard Swift
 * Scout Niblett
 * serpentwithfeet
 * She-Devils
 * Shura
 * Simon Joyner
 * Songs: Ohia
 * Stella Donnelly
 * Steven A. Clark
 * Suuns
 * Suzanne Langille & Loren MazzaCane Connors
 * Swearing at Motorists
 * Swell Maps
 * Taken By Trees
 * Throw Me The Statue
 * Tig Notaro
 * Tomas Barfod
 * Tren Brothers
 * The War on Drugs
 * Whitney
 * Windsor for the Derby
 * Woman's Hour
 * Yeah Yeah Yeahs
 * Yeasayer
 * Yoko Ono
 * Zero Boys

Notable awards and honors
A2IM LIBERA AWARDS (US)
 * 2015, Secretly Canadian, Label of the Year (finalist)
 * 2014, Secretly Canadian, Label of the Year (finalist)

AIM INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS (UK)
 * 2014, Secretly Group – Independent Label of the Year (nominated)

title: Secretly Canadian