Isaac Albéniz

Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (Spanish pronunciation: [iˈsak alˈβeniθ]; 29 May 1860–18 May 1909) was a Spanish pianist and composer best known for his piano works based on folk music idioms. Transcriptions of many of his pieces, such as Asturias (Leyenda), Granada, Sevilla, Cadiz, Cordoba, Cataluña, and the Tango in D, are important pieces for classical guitar, though he never composed for the guitar. The personal papers of Albéniz are preserved, among other institutions, in the Biblioteca de Catalunya.

Life

Born in Camprodon, province of Girona, to Ángel Albéniz (a customs official) and his wife, Dolors Pascual, Albéniz was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. At age seven, after apparently taking lessons from Antoine François Marmontel, he passed the entrance examination for piano at the Paris Conservatoire, but he was refused admission because he was believed to be too young. By the time he had reached 12, he had made many attempts to run away from home.

Albeniz (disambiguation)

Albeniz may refer to:

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Albéniz (film)

Albéniz is a 1947 black-and-white Argentine Silver Condor award-winning biographical drama film directed by Luis César Amadori and written by Pedro Miguel Obligado. The film stars Pedro López Lagar and Sabina Olmos. It won the Silver Condor Award for Best Film and numerous other awards, given by the Argentine Film Critics Association in 1948 for the best picture of the previous year.

Overview

The film is based on the life of Spanish composer and pianist, Isaac Albéniz. Albéniz is first seen as a child prodigy who is so talented some observers regard him as a fraud; the boy is also shown as the victim of a tyrannical father, who lives his own life through his son's accomplishments. Escaping his father's dominance as an adult, Albéniz first moves to South America and later to the United States, experiencing a colorful array of tempestuous love affairs.

He returns to Spain, but manages to land a scholarship at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, but once again his mind is on women rather than music. Eventually he rises to international fame through a series of self-financed concerts, ultimately earning every conceivable award and accolade for his work. Actor Pedro López Lagar won critical acclaim for his portrayal.

Catalysis

Catalysis (/kəˈtælᵻsᵻs/) is the increase in the rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of an additional substance called a catalyst (/ˈkætəlᵻst/). With a catalyst, reactions occur faster and require less activation energy. Because catalysts are not consumed in the catalyzed reaction, they can continue to catalyze the reaction of further quantities of reactant. Often only tiny amounts are required.

Technical perspective

In the presence of a catalyst, less free energy is required to reach the transition state, but the total free energy from reactants to products does not change. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations. The effect of a catalyst may vary due to the presence of other substances known as inhibitors or poisons (which reduce the catalytic activity) or promoters (which increase the activity). The opposite of a catalyst, a substance that reduces the rate of a reaction, is an inhibitor.

Catalyzed reactions have a lower activation energy (rate-limiting free energy of activation) than the corresponding uncatalyzed reaction, resulting in a higher reaction rate at the same temperature and for the same reactant concentrations. However, the detailed mechanics of catalysis is complex. Catalysts may affect the reaction environment favorably, or bind to the reagents to polarize bonds, e.g. acid catalysts for reactions of carbonyl compounds, or form specific intermediates that are not produced naturally, such as osmate esters in osmium tetroxide-catalyzed dihydroxylation of alkenes, or cause dissociation of reagents to reactive forms, such as chemisorbed hydrogen in catalytic hydrogenation.

Catalyst (disambiguation)

A catalyst is a substance which increases the rate of a chemical reaction.

Catalyst may also refer to:

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Catalyst (TV program)

Catalyst is the ABC's primary science journalism television series and the only science show on primetime television in Australia. Launched in 2001, it replaced Quantum, which had ceased the previous year. Catalyst is regularly broadcast on ABC 1 at 8:00 pm on Tuesdays and at 11:30 am Saturdays. Also repeated on ABC News 24 on Saturdays at 4:30 pm.

Catalyst celebrated its tenth year of production in 2010.

Description

The show broadcasts stories on scientific themes, and in particular significant recent developments and discoveries. It focuses primarily on stories relevant to Australia, but the series covers international developments as well. It attempts to convey information in a way that is not only accurate but also interesting and informative to the general population, often discussing the ethical, political, and other implications of scientific discoveries and research as well as the discoveries themselves.

The show's website describes it as follows:

Each week Catalyst brings you stories from Australia and around the world.