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From today's featured article

Paul Creston

The Sonata for E♭ Alto Saxophone and Piano, Op. 19, was composed by Paul Creston (pictured) in 1939. The sonata was commissioned by Creston's frequent collaborator, the American saxophonist Cecil Leeson. Creston began composition by June; it was completed by the end of August and slated for publication in 1940, although this was postponed to 1945 due to World War II. The sonata is in three movements and takes around thirteen minutes to perform. Its form follows a traditional, Classical-era structure. The sonata as a whole is of considerable difficulty for both players. Creston and Leeson premiered the sonata at the Carnegie Chamber Hall on February 15, 1940. No critics were present at the premiere, but the sonata's 1955 debut recording by Vincent Abato and Creston received a mixed response. Most found the sonata enjoyable, but there was criticism of a perceived simplistic and salon-like styling. (Full article...)

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Harpagofututor

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In the news

Trifid and Lagoon nebulae

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images (example shown) from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
In basketball, the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the Indiana Pacers to win the NBA Finals.
An attack on a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
The United States conducts military strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
In rugby union, the Crusaders defeat the Chiefs to win the Super Rugby Pacific final.

On this day

July 2

A demonstration against the Soviet blockade of Lithuania

1779 – American Revolutionary War: French troops landed near St. George's, Grenada, and began their capture of the island.
1990 – Singing Revolution: The Soviet economic blockade of Lithuania (pictured) was lifted when the Lithuanian parliament agreed to suspend the effects of their act to re-establish Lithuania as a state.
1998 – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling, the second novel of the Harry Potter series, was published.
2013 – In the Indonesian province of Aceh on the northern end of Sumatra, a M_w 6.1 strike-slip earthquake killed at least 35 people and injured 276 others.
2020 – A landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant killed 175–200 miners, the deadliest mining accident in Burmese history.

Robert Ridgway (b. 1850)
Leonard J. Arrington (b. 1917)
Carlos Menem (b. 1930)
Maria Lourdes Sereno (b. 1960)

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Today's featured picture

The Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk is an American–Swedish transonic advanced jet trainer produced by Boeing with Saab. In September 2018, the United States Air Force (USAF) selected it for the T-X program to replace the Northrop T-38 Talon as the service's advanced jet trainer. It is named the Red Hawk as a tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen, who painted their airplane's tails bright red, and to the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, the first aircraft flown in combat by the 99th Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Army Air Force's first black fighter squadron. Its first flight took place in June 2023, and the first aircraft was delivered to the USAF in September 2023. This air-to-air photograph shows a T-7 Red Hawk on a test flight over Edwards Air Force Base in November 2023.

Photograph credit: Bryce Bennett

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