Otto Klemperer: (May 14, 1885 – July 6, 1973).

He was born in Breslau, Province of Silesia, then in Germany (now Wrocław, Poland), as a son of Nathan Klemperer, a native of Prague, Bohemia (today's Czech Republic). His parents were Jewish. Klemperer studied music first at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, and later at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin under James Kwast and Hans Pfitzner. He followed Kwast to three institutions and credited him with the whole basis of his musical development. In 1905, he met Gustav Mahler while conducting the off-stage brass at a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. He also made a piano reduction of the second symphony. The two men became friends, and Klemperer became conductor at the German Opera in Prague in 1907 on Mahler's recommendation. Mahler wrote a short testimonial, recommending Klemperer, on a small card which Klemperer kept for the rest of his life. Later, in 1910, Klemperer assisted Mahler in the premiere of his Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand.

Klemperer went on to hold a number of positions, in Hamburg (1910–1912); in Barmen (1912–1913); the Strasbourg Opera (1914–1917); the Cologne Opera (1917–1924); and the Wiesbaden Opera House (1924–1927). From 1927 to 1931, he was conductor at the Kroll Opera in Berlin. In this post he enhanced his reputation as a champion of new music, playing a number of new works, including Janáček's From the House of the Dead, Schoenberg's Erwartung, Stravinsky's Oedipus rex, and Hindemith's Cardillac.

On 22 March 1920, his wife, soprano Johanna Geisler, gave birth to their son, the German-American actor Werner Klemperer. Their daughter Lotte was born on 1 November 1923.

In 1933, once the Nazi Party had reached power, Klemperer left Germany and moved to the United States. He had previously converted to Catholicism, but returned to Judaism at the end of his life. In the U.S. he was appointed Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He was granted United States citizenship in 1937. In Los Angeles, he began to concentrate more on the standard works of the Germanic repertoire that would later bring him greatest acclaim, particularly the works of Beethoven, Brahms and Gustav Mahler, though he gave the Los Angeles premieres of some of fellow Los Angeles resident Arnold Schoenberg's works with the Philharmonic. He also visited other countries, including England and Australia. While the orchestra responded well to his leadership, Klemperer had a difficult time adjusting to Southern California, a situation exacerbated by repeated manic-depressive episodes, reportedly as a result of severe cyclothymic bipolar disorder. He also found that the dominant musical culture and leading music critics in the United States were largely out of sympathy with his taste for modern music from Weimar's Golden Age, and he felt he was not properly valued.

Klemperer hoped for a permanent position as lead conductor in New York or Philadelphia. But in 1936 he was passed over for both – first in Philadelphia, where Eugene Ormandy succeeded Leopold Stokowski at the Philadelphia Orchestra, and then in New York, where Arturo Toscanini's departure left a vacancy at the New York Philharmonic but John Barbirolli and Artur Rodziński were engaged in preference to Klemperer. The New York decision was particularly galling, as Klemperer had been engaged to conduct the first fourteen weeks of the New York Philharmonic's 1935-6 season. Klemperer's bitterness at this decision was voiced in a letter he wrote to Arthur Judson, who ran the orchestra: "that the society did not reengage me is the strongest offense, the sharpest insult to me as artist, which I can imagine. You see, I am no youngster. I have a name and a good name. One could not use me in a most difficult season and then expell me. This non-reengagement will have very bad results not only for me in New York but in the whole world... This non-reengagement is an absolutely unjustified wrong done to me by the Philharmonic Society."

Then, after completing the 1939 Los Angeles Philharmonic summer season at the Hollywood Bowl, Klemperer was visiting Boston and was diagnosed with a brain tumor; the subsequent brain surgery to remove "a tumour the size of a small orange" left him partially paralyzed. He went into a depressive state and was placed in institution; when he escaped, The New York Times ran a cover story declaring him missing, and after he was found in New Jersey, a picture of him behind bars was printed in the Herald Tribune. Though he would occasionally conduct the Philharmonic after that, he lost the post of Music Director.[8] Furthermore, his erratic behavior during manic episodes made him an undesirable guest to US orchestras, and the late flowering of his career centered in other countries.

Oysters are not food!

The oyster is for filtering and cleaning the water, NOT for eating. Whatever it removes from the water, goes into its body and into your system, should you eat it. This is unclean and is the reason many are sick. WAKE UP!

BAPTISM.

Baptism is a fundamental ritual that has been associated with the Christian faith since its inception. Beginning with the Apostle Peter’s answer to the audience he spoke to on that day of Pentecost described in Acts 2:37–38, baptism has been the answer on how to commence your Christian walk with Yeshua (real name of Jesus Christ).

Yet, there is much controversy surrounding this act of faith. Why do you suppose so much debate exists? What is so hard to understand about what the Scriptures say concerning this illustration of commitment to God and His Son?

So many questions have emerged over the centuries about this procedure, from how to do it, to what it actually means. Some believe a baby that can’t even talk can be baptized—many call it a “christening.” Others think it must be done in a river that has flowing water, while others think a lot of pomp and ceremony should be exhibited during the event. And then there are some that think it’s not necessary at all, and you can be a Christian without being baptized! Why so much confusion?

Well, in this session of Web-Chat, Bill and Wayne attempt to discuss this fundamental Christian ritual in hopes to pull back the curtain on some of the reasons why so many questions exist about this basic Christian function and try to clarify some of the details surrounding baptism. Take a moment and listen in on their discussion. We assure you it will be helpful to your understanding about just how important this procedure really is and what part it should play in your Christian lifestyle. After all, keep in mind, even Jesus Christ Himself surrendered to be baptized!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cs5vHnWZlw