Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 February 12

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Today's featured article
The Symphony of Sorrowful Songs is a symphony in three movements composed by Henryk Górecki in Katowice, Poland, between October and December 1976. The work is indicative of the transition between Górecki's dissonant earlier manner and his more tonal later style. A solo soprano sings a different Polish text in each of the three movements. The first is a 15th-century Polish lament of Mary, mother of Jesus, the second a message written on the wall of a Gestapo cell during World War II, and the third a Silesian folk song of a mother searching for her son killed in the Silesian uprisings. The first and third movements are written from the perspective of a parent who has lost a child, and the second movement from that of a child separated from a parent. The dominant themes of the symphony are motherhood and separation through war. It was premièred on 4 April 1977 at the Royan International Festival, conducted by Ernest Bour, with soprano Stefania Woytowicz. Until 1992, Górecki was known only to connoisseurs, primarily as one of several composers responsible for the postwar Polish music renaissance. That year, Elektra-Nonesuch released a recording of the 15-year-old symphony that topped the classical charts in Britain and the United States. To date, it has sold more than a million copies, vastly exceeding the expected lifetime sales of a typical symphonic recording by a 20th-century composer. This success, however, did not generate much interest in Górecki's other works. (more...) Recently featured: Albertosaurus – Herbert Greenfield – Black Friday (1945) Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that Google's Art Project features digital versions of 17 pieces of artwork (including Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, pictured) at a resolution of 7 gigapixels? ... that the anonymous Greek author of Hellenic Nomarchy, written in 1806, dedicates his work to the activist Rigas Feraios? ... that pioneer aviator Léon Lemartin set a world record when he carried seven passengers in a Blériot XIII Aerobus? ... that both Interstate 81 and U.S. Route 11 in West Virginia roughly follow the Warrior Path, an old Indian trail through the Eastern Panhandle region? ... that the Reverend Richard Boys was responsible for the moral upkeep of Hudson Lowe and his men who guarded Napoleon I during the exile on Saint Helena? ... that since the 1990s, the Cross de San Sebastián has been dominated by runners of East African origin? ... that Fringe's executive producers compared the episode "Marionette" to a Rip Van Winkle experience? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Hosni Mubarak Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (pictured) resigns and transfers authority to the Higher Council of the Armed Forces, following eighteen days of protests. A new round of clashes erupts between Cambodian and Thai soldiers over the area surrounding Preah Vihear Temple. NASA's STEREO satellites obtain the first simultaneous images of the entire surface of the Sun. In American football, the Green Bay Packers defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers to win Super Bowl XLV. The Japan Sumo Association cancels a Grand Tournament for the first time in 65 years after a match-fixing controversy. Following an explosion affecting the Arab Gas Pipeline in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate, natural gas supplies to Israel and Jordan are suspended. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
February 12: Darwin Day; Red Hand Day 1502 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India with the object of enforcing Portuguese interests in the Far East. 1818 – On the first anniversary of its victory in the Battle of Chacabuco, Chile formally declared its independence from Spain. 1855 – Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was founded as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the United States' first agricultural college. 1912 – Xinhai Revolution: Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated under a deal brokered by military official and politician Yuan Shikai, formally replacing the Qing Dynasty with a new republic in China. 1994 – Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream (pictured) was stolen from the National Gallery of Norway. 2001 – NASA's robotic space probe NEAR Shoemaker touched down on Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. More anniversaries: February 11 – February 12 – February 13 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now February 12 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

On 12 February 1988, the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Yorktown, while exercising the "right of innocent passage" through Soviet territorial waters, was intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetniy (collision pictured) with the intention of pushing the Yorktown into international waters. This action has been called "the last incident of the Cold War".

Photo: United States Navy

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