Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 June 28

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Today's featured article
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's relations with the Belyayev circle, which lasted from 1887 until Tchaikovsky's death, influenced all of their music and briefly helped shape the next generation of Russian composers. This group was named after timber merchant Mitrofan Belyayev, an influential music patron and publisher. By 1887, Tchaikovsky was firmly established as one of the leading composers in Russia. A favorite of Tsar Alexander III, he was widely regarded as a national treasure. As a result of the time Tchaikovsky spent with the Belyayev circle's leading composers—Alexander Glazunov, Anatoly Lyadov and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov—the somewhat fraught relationship he had previously endured with The Five would eventually meld into something more harmonious. Over the long term, though, Tchaikovsky's influence over the Belyayev composers was not as great as his influence on The Five. They continued writing overall in a style more akin to Rimsky-Korsakov than to Tchaikovsky, falling back stylistically on their predecessors instead of developing their own individual voices. Even Glazunov backed away from echoing Tchaikovsky strongly in his mature work, instead amalgamating nationalistic and cosmopolitan styles in an eclectic approach. The Belyayev composers also spread the nationalist musical aesthetic to Russia on the whole and were themselves an influence on composers well into the Soviet era. (more...) Recently featured: Rochester Castle – 1907 Tiflis bank robbery – Homicide: Life on the Street (season 1) Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Himalayan Lidder Valley (pictured) lies in the Vale of Kashmir and was formed by a river that originates at the Kolhoi Glacier? ... that the Côte d'Ivoire women's national football team is Africa's sixth best women's football team while women's football is the fourth most popular sport in the country? ... that the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., has served heads of state and royalty? ... that piercing points are used by geologists to find out how much a fault has moved? ... that the Ombla River near Dubrovnik, Croatia, is claimed to be the shortest river in the world, flowing approximately 30 metres (98 feet) before emptying into the Adriatic Sea? ... that 2012 Australian weightlifting Olympian Seen Lee won Australia's first women's weightlifting Commonwealth Games medal in 2002 and Australia's first medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games? ... that the hypothallus of a slime mold is produced by the plasmodium at the beginning of its fruiting? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
American director, playwright and screenwriter Nora Ephron (pictured) dies at the age of 71. The last known specimen of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise, dies. Mohamed Morsi is elected President of Egypt. Ashton Eaton breaks the decathlon world record at the United States Olympic Trials. Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco. In basketball, the Miami Heat defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA championship. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 28 1776 – American Revolutionary War: South Carolina militia repelled a British attack on Charleston. 1895 – The United States Court of Private Land Claims ruled that the title claimed by James Reavis to 18,600 sq mi (48,000 km²) in present-day Arizona and New Mexico was "wholly fictitious and fraudulent". 1942 – World War II: The German Wehrmacht launched Case Blue, a strategic summer offensive intended to knock the Soviet Union out of the war. 1956 – Workers demanding better conditions held massive protests in Poznań, Poland, but were violently repressed by the following day by 400 tanks and 10,000 soldiers of the People's Army of Poland and the Internal Security Corps. 1989 – President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević gave a speech in which he described the possibility of "armed battles" in the future of Serbia's national development. 2009 – Honduran president Manuel Zelaya (pictured) was ousted by local military forces following his attempt to hold a referendum to change the Honduran constitution so he could serve a second term. More anniversaries: June 27 – June 28 – June 29 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 28, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Superb Fairywren (Malurus cyaneus) is a passerine bird common and familiar across south-eastern Australia. The species is sedentary and territorial, also exhibiting a high degree of sexual dimorphism: the male in breeding plumage (shown here) has a striking bright blue forehead, ear coverts, mantle, and tail, with a black mask and black or dark blue throat, while non-breeding males, females and juveniles are predominantly grey-brown in colour.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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