The 16th December is a most auspicious date for literature and music. Starting with the literature, Arthur C Clarke and Jane Austen would both have been celebrating their birthdays today, if they were still alive. And ACC would have been blowing out 100 candles on his cake. At the other end of the life spectrum, half of the Grimm Brothers, Wilhelm died. Rather boringly and disappointingly, he met his end as the result of an infection and not at the hands of an evil witch in a gingerbread house in the depths of the forest.
One of my favourite composers was born on this day in 1770, Ludwig van Beethoven. Those of you that have been following the exploits of the Phantom Pen during NaNoWriMo will know that his opera, Fidelio, is an important element in the plot, as it was the opera with which the Vienna State Opera re-opened its doors after ten years of rebuilding, necessitated by us having flattened it in WWII.
So this is the perfect excuse for another track for the playlist (see link).