title: Bassoon

text: Compared to the Heckel bassoon, Buffet system bassoons have a narrower bore and simpler mechanism, requiring different, and often more complex fingerings for many notes. Switching between Heckel and Buffet, or vice versa, requires extensive retraining. French woodwind instruments' tone in general exhibits a certain amount of "edge", with more of a vocal quality than is usual elsewhere, and the Buffet bassoon is no exception. This sound has been utilised effectively in writing for Buffet bassoon, but is less inclined to blend than the tone of the Heckel bassoon. As with all bassoons, the tone varies considerably, depending on individual instrument, reed, and performer. In the hands of a lesser player, the Heckel bassoon can sound flat and woody, but good players succeed in producing a vibrant, singing tone. Conversely, a poorly played Buffet can sound buzzy and nasal, but good players succeed in producing a warm, expressive sound.


title: Bassoon

text: Though the United Kingdom once favored the French system, Buffet-system instruments are no longer made there and the last prominent British player of the French system retired in the 1980s. However, with continued use in some regions and its distinctive tone, the Buffet continues to have a place in modern bassoon playing, particularly in France, where it originated. Buffet-model bassoons are currently made in Paris by Buffet Crampon and the atelier Ducasse (Romainville, France). The Selmer Company stopped fabrication of French system bassoons around the year 2012. Some players, for example the late Gerald Corey in Canada, have learned to play both types and will alternate between them depending on the repertoire.


title: Bassoon

text: Prior to 1760, the early ancestor of the bassoon was the dulcian. It was used to reinforce the bass line in wind ensembles called consorts. However, its use in concert orchestras was sporadic until the late 17th century when double reeds began to make their way into standard instrumentation. Increasing use of the dulcian as a "basso continuo" instrument meant that it began to be included in opera orchestras, in works such as those by Reinhard Keiser and Jean-Baptiste Lully. Meanwhile, as the dulcian advanced technologically and was able to achieve more virtuosity, composers such as Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, Johann Ernst Galliard, Johann Friedrich Fasch and Georg Philipp Telemann wrote demanding solo and ensemble music for the instrument. Antonio Vivaldi brought it to prominence by featuring it in thirty-nine concerti.


title: Bassoon

text: While the bassoon was still often used to give clarity to the bassline due to its sonorous low register, the capabilities of wind instruments grew as technology advanced during the Classical era. This allowed the instrument to play in more keys than the dulcian. Joseph Haydn took advantage of this in his Symphony No. 45 ("Farewell Symphony"), in which the bassoon plays in F-sharp minor. Following with these advances, composers also began to exploit the bassoon for its unique color, flexibility, and virtuosic ability, rather than for its perfunctory ability to double the bass line. Those who did this include Ludwig van Beethoven in his three Duos for Clarinet and Bassoon (WoO 27) for clarinet and bassoon and Niccolo Paganini in his duets for violin and bassoon. In his Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191, W. A. Mozart utilized all aspects of the bassoon's expressiveness with its contrasts in register, staccato playing, and expressive sound, and was especially noted for its singing quality in the second movement. This concerto is often considered the one of the most important works in all of the bassoon's repertoire, even today.


title: Bassoon

text: The bassoon's similarity to the human voice, in addition to its newfound virtuosic ability, was another quality many composers took advantage of during the classical era. After 1730, the German bassoon's range expended up to B♭, and much higher with the French instrument. Technological advances also caused the bassoon's tenor register sound to become more resonant, and playing in this register grew in popularity, especially in the Austro-Germanic musical world. Pedagogues such as Josef Frohlich instructed students to practice scales, thirds, and fourths as vocal students would. In 1829, he wrote that the bassoon was capable of expressing "the worthy, the virile, the solemn, the great, the sublime, composure, mildness, intimacy, emotion, longing, heartfulness, reverence, and soulful ardour." In G.F. Brandt's performance of Carl Maria von Weber's Concerto for Bassoon in F Major, Op. 75 (J. 127) it was also likened to the human voice. In France, Pierre Cugnier described the bassoon's role as encompassing not only the bass part, but also to accompany the voice and harp, play in pairs with clarinets and horns in Harmonie, and to play in "nearly all types of music," including concerti, which were much more common than the sonatas of the previous era. Both Cugnier and Étienne Ozi emphasized the importance of the bassoon's similarity to the singing voice.


title: Bassoon

text: The role of the bassoon in the orchestra varied depending on the country. In the Viennese orchestra the instrument offered a three-dimensional sound to the ensemble by doubling other instruments such as violins, as heard in Mozart's overture to "The Marriage of Figaro," K 492. where it plays a rather technical part alongside the strings. He also wrote for the bassoon to change its timbre depending on which instrument it was paired with; warmer with clarinets, hollow with flutes, and dark and dignified with violins. In Germany and Scandinavian countries, orchestras typically featured only two bassoons. But in France, orchestras increased the number to four in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In England, the bassoonist's role varied depending on the ensemble. Johann Christian Bach wrote two concertos for solo bassoon, and it also appeared in more supportive roles such as accompanying church choirs after the Puritan revolution destroyed most church organs. In the American colonies, the bassoon was typically seen in a chamber setting. After the Revolutionary War, bassoonists were found in wind bands that gave public performances. By 1800, there was at least one bassoon in the United States Marine Band. In South America, the bassoon also appeared in small orchestras, bands, and military musique (similar to Harmonie ensembles).


title: Bassoon

text: The role of the bassoon during the Romantic era varied between a role as a supportive bass instrument and a role as a virtuosic, expressive, solo instrument. In fact, it was very much considered an instrument that could be used in almost any circumstance. The comparison of the bassoon's sound to the human voice continued on during this time, as much of the pedagogy surrounded emulating this sound. Giuseppe Verdi used the instrument's lyrical, singing voice to evoke emotion in pieces such as his "Messa da Requiem". Eugene Jancourt compared the use of vibrato on the bassoon to that of singers, and Luigi Orselli wrote that the bassoon blended well with human voice. He also noted the function of the bassoon in the French orchestra at the time, which served to support the sound of the viola, reinforce staccato sound, and double the bass, clarinet, flute, and oboe. Emphasis also began to be placed on the unique sound of the bassoon's staccato, which might be described as quite short and aggressive, such as in Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14" in the fifth movement. Paul Dukas utilized the staccato to depict the image of two brooms coming to life in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice."


title: Bassoon

text: It was common for there to be only two bassoons in German orchestras. Austrian and British military bands also only carried two bassoons, and were mainly used for accompaniment and offbeat playing. In France, Hector Berlioz also made it fashionable to use more than two bassoons; he often scored for three or four, and at time wrote for up to eight such as in his "l’Impériale".


title: Bassoon

text: At this point, composers expected bassoons to be as virtuosic as the other wind instruments, as they often wrote solos challenging the range and technique of the instrument. Examples of this include Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's bassoon solo and cadenza following the clarinet in "Sheherazade," Op. 35 and in Richard Wagner's "Tannhäuser", which required the bassoonist to triple tongue and also play up to the top of its range at an E. Wagner also used the bassoon for its staccato ability in his work, and often wrote his three bassoon parts in thirds to evoke a darker sound with noticeable tone color. In Modest Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", the bassoons play fortissimo alongside other bass instruments in order to evoke "the voice of the Devil."


title: Bassoon

text: At this point in time, the development of the bassoon slowed. Rather than making large leaps in technological improvements, tiny imperfections in the instrument's function were corrected. The instrument became quite versatile throughout the twentieth century; the instrument was at this point able to play three octaves, a variety of different trills, and maintained stable intonation across all registers and dynamic levels. The pedagogy among bassoonists varied among different countries, and so the overall instrument itself played a variety of roles. As was a common theme in previous eras, the bassoon was valued by composers for its unique voice, and its use rose higher in pitch. A famous example of this is in Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" in which the bassoon must play in its highest register in order to mimic the Russian dudka. Composers also wrote for the bassoon's middle register, such as in Stravinsky's "Berceuse" in The "Firebird" and Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, op. 82 by Jean Sibelius's. They also continued to highlight the staccato sound of the bassoon, as heard in Sergei Prokofiev's "Humorous Scherzo". In Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, the part of the grandfather is played by the bassoon.


title: Bassoon

text: In orchestral settings, most orchestras from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present have three or four bassoonists, with the fourth typically covering contrabassoon as well. Greater emphasis on the use of timbre, vibrato, and phrasing began to appear in bassoon pedagogy, and many followed Marcel Tabuteau's philosophy on musical phrasing. Vibrato began to be used in ensemble playing, depending on the phrasing of the music. The bassoon was, and currently is, expected to be fluent with other woodwinds in terms of virtuosity and technique. Examples of this include the cadenza for bassoons in Maurice Ravel's "Rapsodie espagnole" and the multi-finger trills used in Stravinsky's Octet.


title: Bassoon

text: In the twentieth century, the bassoon was less of a concerto soloist, and when it was, the accompanying ensemble was made softer and quieter. In addition, it was no longer used in marching bands, though still existed in concert bands with one or two of them. Orchestral repertoire remained very much the same Austro-Germanic tradition throughout most Western countries. It mostly appeared in solo, chamber, and symphonic settings. By the mid-1900s, broadcasting and recording grew in popularity, allowing for new opportunities for bassoonists, and leading to a slow decline of live performances. Much of the new music for bassoon in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, often included extended techniques and was written for solo or chamber settings. One piece that included extended techniques was Luciano Berio's "Sequenza XII", which called for microtonal fingerings, glissandos, and timbral trills. Double and triple tonguing, flutter tonguing, multiphonics, quarter-tones, and singing are all utilized in Bruno Bartolozzi's "Concertazioni." There were also a variety of concerti and bassoon and piano pieces written, such as John Williams's "Five Sacred Trees" and André Previn's "Sonata for bassoon and piano". There were also "performance" pieces such as Peter Schickele's "Sonata Abassoonata", which required the bassoonist to be both a musician and an actor. The bassoon quartet became prominent at this time, with pieces such as Daniel Dorff's "It Takes Four to Tango".


title: Bassoon

text: The bassoon is infrequently used as a jazz instrument and rarely seen in a jazz ensemble. It first began appearing in the 1920s, when Garvin Bushell began incorporating the bassoon in his performances. Specific calls for its use occurred in Paul Whiteman's group, the unusual octets of Alec Wilder, and a few other session appearances. The next few decades saw the instrument used only sporadically, as symphonic jazz fell out of favor, but the 1960s saw artists such as Yusef Lateef and Chick Corea incorporate bassoon into their recordings. Lateef's diverse and eclectic instrumentation saw the bassoon as a natural addition (see, e.g., "The Centaur and the Phoenix" (1960) which features bassoon as part of a 6-man horn section, including a few solos) while Corea employed the bassoon in combination with flautist Hubert Laws.


title: Bassoon

text: More recently, Illinois Jacquet, Ray Pizzi, Frank Tiberi, and Marshall Allen have both doubled on bassoon in addition to their saxophone performances. Bassoonist Karen Borca, a performer of free jazz, is one of the few jazz musicians to play only bassoon; Michael Rabinowitz, the Spanish bassoonist Javier Abad, and James Lassen, an American resident in Bergen, Norway, are others. Katherine Young plays the bassoon in the ensembles of Anthony Braxton. Lindsay Cooper, Paul Hanson, the Brazilian bassoonist Alexandre Silvério, Trent Jacobs and Daniel Smith are also currently using the bassoon in jazz. French bassoonists Jean-Jacques Decreux and Alexandre Ouzounoff have both recorded jazz, exploiting the flexibility of the Buffet system instrument to good effect.


title: Bassoon

text: In conjunction with the use of electronic pickups and amplification, the instrument began to be used more somewhat in jazz and rock settings. However, the bassoon is still quite rare as a regular member of rock bands. Several 1960s pop music hits feature the bassoon, including "The Tears of a Clown" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (the bassoonist was Charles R. Sirard), "Jennifer Juniper" by Donovan, "59th Street Bridge Song" by Harpers Bizarre, and the oompah bassoon underlying The New Vaudeville Band's "Winchester Cathedral". From 1974 to 1978, the bassoon was played by Lindsay Cooper in the British avant-garde band Henry Cow. The Leonard Nimoy song "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" features the bassoon. In the 1970s it was played, in the British medieval/progressive rock band Gryphon, by Brian Gulland, as well as by the American band Ambrosia, where it was played by drummer Burleigh Drummond. The Belgian Rock in Opposition-band Univers Zero is also known for its use of the bassoon.


title: Bassoon

text: More recently, These New Puritans's 2010 album "Hidden" makes heavy use of the instrument throughout; their principal songwriter, Jack Barnett, claimed repeatedly to be "writing a lot of music for bassoon" in the run-up to its recording. The rock band Better Than Ezra took their name from a passage in Ernest Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast" in which the author comments that listening to an annoyingly talkative person is still "better than Ezra learning how to play the bassoon", referring to Ezra Pound.


title: Bassoon

text: British psychedelic/progressive rock band Knifeworld features the bassoon playing of Chloe Herrington, who also plays for experimental chamber rock orchestra Chrome Hoof.


title: Bassoon

text: In 2016, the bassoon was featured on the album "Gang Signs and Prayers" by UK ”grime" artist Stormzy. Played by UK bassoonist Louise Watson, the bassoon is heard in the tracks "Cold" and "Mr Skeng" as a complement to the electronic synthesizer bass lines typically found in this genre.


title: Bassoon

text: The bassoon is held diagonally in front of the player, but unlike the flute, oboe and clarinet, it cannot be easily supported by the player's hands alone. Some means of additional support is usually required; the most common ones are a seat strap attached to the base of the boot joint, which is laid across the chair seat prior to sitting down, or a neck strap or shoulder harness attached to the top of the boot joint. Occasionally a spike similar to those used for the cello or the bass clarinet is attached to the bottom of the boot joint and rests on the floor. It is possible to play while standing up if the player uses a neck strap or similar harness, or if the seat strap is tied to the belt. Sometimes a device called a "balance hanger" is used when playing in a standing position. This is installed between the instrument and the neck strap, and shifts the point of support closer to the center of gravity, adjusting the distribution of weight between the two hands.


title: Bassoon

text: The bassoon is played with both hands in a stationary position, the left above the right, with five main finger holes on the front of the instrument (nearest the audience) plus a sixth that is activated by an open-standing key. Five additional keys on the front are controlled by the little fingers of each hand. The back of the instrument (nearest the player) has twelve or more keys to be controlled by the thumbs, the exact number varying depending on model.


title: Bassoon

text: To stabilize the right hand, many bassoonists use an adjustable comma-shaped apparatus called a "crutch", or a hand rest, which mounts to the boot joint. The crutch is secured with a thumb screw, which also allows the distance that it protrudes from the bassoon to be adjusted. Players rest the curve of the right hand where the thumb joins the palm against the crutch. The crutch also keeps the right hand from tiring and enables the player to keep the finger pads flat on the finger holes and keys.


title: Bassoon

text: An aspect of bassoon technique not found on any other woodwind is called "flicking". It involves the left hand thumb momentarily pressing, or "flicking" the high A, C and D keys at the beginning of certain notes in the middle octave to achieve a clean slur from a lower note. This eliminates cracking, or brief multiphonics that happens without the use of this technique. The alternative method is "venting", which requires that the register key be used as part of the full fingering as opposed to being open momentarily at the start of the note. This is sometimes called the "European style"; venting raises the intonation of the notes slightly, and it can be advantageous when tuning to higher frequencies. Some bassoonists flick A and B when tongued, for clarity of articulation, but flicking (or venting) is practically ubiquitous for slurs.


title: Bassoon

text: While flicking is used to slur up to higher notes, the whisper key is used for lower notes. From the A right below middle C and lower, the whisper key is pressed with the left thumb and held for the duration of the note. This prevents cracking, as low notes can sometimes crack into a higher octave. Both flicking and using the whisper key is especially important to ensure notes speak properly during slurring between high and low registers.


title: Bassoon

text: While bassoons are usually critically tuned at the factory, the player nonetheless has a great degree of flexibility of pitch control through the use of breath support, embouchure, and reed profile. Players can also use alternate fingerings to adjust the pitch of many notes. Similar to other woodwind instruments, the length of the bassoon can be increased to lower pitch or decreased to raise pitch. On the bassoon, this is done preferably by changing the bocal to one of a different length, (lengths are denoted by a number on the bocal, usually starting at 0 for the shortest length, and 3 for the longest, but there are some manufacturers who will use other numbers) but it is possible to push the bocal in or out slightly to grossly adjust the pitch.


title: Bassoon

text: The bassoon embouchure is a very important aspect of producing a full, round, and rich sound on the instrument. The lips are both rolled over the teeth, often with the upper lip further along in an "overbite". The lips provide micromuscular pressure on the entire circumference of the reed, which grossly controls intonation and harmonic excitement, and thus must be constantly modulated with every change of note. How far along the reed the lips are placed affects both tone (with less reed in the mouth making the sound more edged or "reedy", and more reed making it smooth and less projectile) and the way the reed will respond to pressure.


title: Bassoon

text: The musculature employed in a bassoon embouchure is primarily around the lips, which pressure the reed into the shapes needed for the desired sound. The jaw is raised or lowered to adjust the oral cavity for better reed control, but the jaw muscles are used much less for upward vertical pressure than in single reeds, only being substantially employed in the very high register. However, double reed students often "bite" the reed with these muscles because the control and tone of the labial and other muscles is still developing, but this generally makes the sound sharp and "choked" as it contracts the aperture of the reed and stifles the vibration of its blades.


title: Bassoon

text: Apart from the embouchure proper, students must also develop substantial muscle tone and control in the diaphragm, throat, neck and upper chest, which are all employed to increase and direct air pressure. Air pressure is a very important aspect of the tone, intonation and projection of double reed instruments, affecting these qualities as much, or more than the embouchure does.


title: Bassoon

text: Attacking a note on the bassoon with imprecise amounts of muscle or air pressure for the desired pitch will result in poor intonation, cracking or multiphonics, accidentally producing the incorrect partial, or the reed not speaking at all. These problems are compounded by the individual qualities of reeds, which are categorically inconsistent in behaviour for inherent and exherent reasons.


title: Bassoon

text: The muscle requirements and variability of reeds mean it takes some time for bassoonists (and oboists) to develop an embouchure that exhibits consistent control across all reeds, dynamics and playing environments.


title: Bassoon

text: The fingering technique of the bassoon varies more between players, by a wide margin, than that of any other orchestral woodwind. The complex mechanism and acoustics mean the bassoon lacks simple fingerings of good sound quality or intonation for some notes (especially in the higher range), but, conversely, there is a great variety of superior, but generally more complicated, fingerings for them. Typically, the simpler fingerings for such notes are used as alternate or trill fingerings, and the bassoonist will use as "full fingering" one or several of the more complex executions possible, for optimal sound quality. The fingerings used are at the discretion of the bassoonist, and, for particular passages, he or she may experiment to find new alternate fingerings that are thus idiomatic to the player.


title: Bassoon

text: These elements have resulted in both "full" and alternate fingerings differing extensively between bassoonists, and are further informed by factors such as cultural difference in what sound is sought, how reeds are made, and regional variation in tuning frequencies (necessitating sharper or flatter fingerings). Regional enclaves of bassoonists tend to have some uniformity in technique, but on a global scale, technique differs such that two given bassoonists may share no fingerings for certain notes. Owing to these factors, ubiquitous bassoon technique can only be partially notated.


title: Bassoon

text: The left thumb operates nine keys: B, B, C, D, D, C (also B), two keys when combined create A, and the whisper key. The whisper key should be held down for notes between and including F and G and certain other notes; it can be omitted, but the pitch will destabilise. Additional notes can be created with the left thumb keys; the D and bottom key above the whisper key on the tenor joint (C key) together create both C and C. The same bottom tenor-joint key is also used, with additional fingering, to create E and F. D and C together create C. When the two keys on the tenor joint to create A are used with slightly altered fingering on the boot joint, B is created. The whisper key may also be used at certain points throughout the instrument's high register, along with other fingerings, to alter sound quality as desired.


title: Bassoon

text: The right thumb operates four keys. The uppermost key is used to produce B and B, and may be used in B,F, C, D, F, and E. The large circular key, otherwise known as the "pancake key", is held down for all the lowest notes from E down to B. It is also used, like the whisper key, in additional fingerings for muting the sound. For example, in Ravel's "Boléro", the bassoon is asked to play the ostinato on G. This is easy to perform with the normal fingering for G, but Ravel directs that the player should also depress the E key (pancake key) to mute the sound (this being written with Buffet system in mind; the G fingering on which involves the Bb key – sometimes called "French" G on Heckel). The next key operated by the right thumb is known as the "spatula key": its primary use is to produce F and F. The lowermost key is used less often: it is used to produce A (G) and A (G), in a manner that avoids sliding the right fourth finger from another note.


title: Bassoon

text: The four fingers of the left hand can each be used in two different positions. The key normally operated by the index finger is primarily used for E, also serving for trills in the lower register. Its main assignment is the upper tone hole. This hole can be closed fully, or partially by rolling down the finger. This half-holing technique is used to overblow F, G and G. The middle finger typically stays on the centre hole on the tenor joint. It can also move to a lever used for E, also a trill key. The ring finger operates, on most models, one key. Some bassoons have an alternate E key above the tone hole, predominantly for trills, but many do not. The smallest finger operates two side keys on the bass joint. The lower key is typically used for C, but can be used for muting or flattening notes in the tenor register. The upper key is used for E, E, F, F, A, B, B, C, C, and D; it flattens G and is the standard fingering for it in many places that tune to lower Hertz levels such as A440.


title: Bassoon

text: The four fingers of the right hand have at least one assignment each. The index finger stays over one hole, except that when E is played a side key at the top of the boot is used (this key also provides a C trill, albeit sharp on D). The middle finger remains stationary over the hole with a ring around it, and this ring and other pads are lifted when the smallest finger on the right hand pushes a lever. The ring finger typically remains stationary on the lower ring-finger key. However, the upper ring-finger key can be used, typically for B and B, in place of the top thumb key on the front of the boot joint; this key comes from the oboe, and some bassoons do not have it because the thumb fingering is practically universal. The smallest finger operates three keys. The backmost one, closest to the bassoonist, is held down throughout most of the bass register. F may be created with this key, as well as G, B, B, and C (the latter three employing solely it to flatten and stabilise the pitch). The lowest key for the smallest finger on the right hand is primarily used for A (G) and A (G) but can be used to improve D, E, and F. The frontmost key is used, in addition to the thumb key, to create G and G; on many bassoons this key operates a different tone hole to the thumb key and produces a slightly flatter F ("duplicated F"); some techniques use one as standard for both octaves and the other for utility, but others use the thumb key for the lower and the fourth finger for the higher.


title: Bassoon

text: Many extended techniques can be performed on the bassoon, such as multiphonics, flutter-tonguing, circular breathing, double tonguing, and harmonics. In the case of the bassoon, flutter-tonguing may be accomplished by "gargling" in the back of the throat as well as by the conventional method of rolling Rs. Multiphonics on the bassoon are plentiful, and can be achieved by using particular alternative fingerings, but are generally heavily influenced by embouchure position. Also, again using certain fingerings, notes may be produced on the instrument that sound lower pitches than the actual range of the instrument. These notes tend to sound very gravelly and out of tune, but technically sound below the low B.


title: Bassoon

text: The bassoonist may also produce lower notes than the bottom B by extending the length of bell. This can be achieved by inserting a specially made "low A extension" into the bell, but may also be achieved with a small paper or rubber tube or a clarinet/cor anglais bell sitting inside the bassoon bell (although the note may tend sharp). The effect of this is to convert the lower B into a lower note, almost always A natural; this broadly lowers the pitch of the instrument (most noticeably in the lower register) and will often accordingly convert the lowest B to B (and render the neighbouring C very flat). The idea of using low A was begun by Richard Wagner, who wanted to extend the range of the bassoon. Many passages in his later operas require the low A as well as the B-flat immediately above it - this is possible on a normal bassoon using an extension which also flattens low B to B, but all extensions to the bell have significant effects on intonation and sound quality in the bottom register of the instrument, and passages such as this are more often realised with comparative ease by the contrabassoon.


title: Bassoon

text: Some bassoons have been specially made to allow bassoonists to realize similar passages. These bassoons are made with a "Wagner bell" which is an extended bell with a key for both the low A and the low B-flat, but they are not widespread; bassoons with Wagner bells suffer similar intonational problems as a bassoon with an ordinary A extension, and a bassoon must be constructed specifically to accommodate one, making the extension option far less complicated. Extending the bassoon's range even lower than the A, though possible, would have even stronger effects on pitch and make the instrument effectively unusable.


title: Bassoon

text: Despite the logistic difficulties of the note, Wagner was not the only composer to write the low A. Another composer who has required the bassoon to be chromatic down to low A is Gustav Mahler. Richard Strauss also calls for the low A in his opera "Intermezzo". Some works have optional low As, as in Carl Nielsen's Wind Quintet, op. 43, which includes an optional low A for the final cadence of the work.


title: Bassoon

text: The complicated fingering and the problem of reeds make the bassoon more of a challenge to learn than some of the other woodwind instruments. Cost is another big factor in a person's decision to pursue the bassoon. Prices range from US$7,000 to over $45,000 for a good-quality instrument. In North America, schoolchildren typically take up bassoon only after starting on another reed instrument, such as clarinet or saxophone.


title: Bassoon

text: Students in America often begin to pursue the study of bassoon performance and technique in the middle years of their music education. Students are often provided with a school instrument and encouraged to pursue lessons with private instructors. Students typically receive instruction in proper posture, hand position, embouchure, and tone production.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: Constantine (stylized as Cons♰antine) is an American occult detective drama television series developed by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer for NBC. Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, it stars Matt Ryan as the eponymous John Constantine, an English exorcist and occult detective who hunts supernatural entities. The series premiered on October 24, 2014, and aired for one season, concluding on February 13, 2015.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: Although the series was canceled after its first season, Ryan would reprise his role in the Arrowverse franchise, which retroactively established "Constantine" as part of the same continuity. Ryan also returned as Constantine in the DC Animated Movie Universe and its animated spin-off series "".


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: John Constantine, a demon hunter and dabbling master of the occult, must struggle with his past sins while protecting the innocent from the converging supernatural threats that constantly break through to our world due to the "Rising Darkness". Balancing his actions upon the line of good and evil, Constantine uses his skills and a supernatural scry map to journey across the nation to send these terrors back to their own world, all for the hope of redeeming his soul from eternal torment.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: On October 30, 2015, Daniel Cerone released a script for the fourteenth episode, titled "Final Girl", which would have aired if the series had not been canceled.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: The series was developed by Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer, with the pilot episode directed by Neil Marshall. The on-screen depiction of Constantine's chain-smoking habit was said to be curtailed because of broadcast television restrictions (the network eventually becomes more lenient and John is shown smoking on screen in later episodes). Additionally, the character's bisexuality was not referenced on screen, with Cerone saying, "In those comic books, John Constantine aged in real time. Within this tome of three decades [of comics] there might have been one or two issues where he's seen getting out of bed with a man. So [maybe] 20 years from now? But there are no immediate plans". This was met with criticism from the LGBTQ community.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: Griffiths was cast as the original female lead Liv Aberdine, the daughter of a late friend of John's called Jasper Winters, who comes to discover that she has the ability of seeing the supernatural world among us. She teams up with Constantine to fight the demons who have targeted her and learn more about her late father. Griffiths was dropped after Goyer and Cerone decided to take the series in a different creative direction. The comic character Zed was chosen as a replacement for the female lead. Angélica Celaya was later announced to fill the role. Some of Griffiths' final scenes from the pilot were reshot, explaining why she does not join Constantine in his adventures as originally intended. Both Goyer and Cerone have talked about a possible return for Liv.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: In November 2014, NBC announced that they would not be ordering more episodes past the initial order of 13 for the first season, though a second season renewal was not ruled out. When questioned about the chances of the series return in January 2015, NBC president Jennifer Salke said, "We wish the show would've done better live. It has a big [delayed] viewership and a younger audience. We love the show and it's safe to say we're still talking about it". NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt added, "We got on the comic books bandwagon. Maybe, there are too many of them". In February 2015, Cerone reconfirmed that the series had not been cancelled and that the producers would pitch their ideas for an additional season to NBC in May 2015. In mid-April 2015, Cerone stated it was "a long shot" that the series would be renewed, adding "While we marginally improved a tough time slot for NBC, we're a very expensive show to produce. A lot of NBC's decision making will not doubt hinge on their new pilots and how they feel those new shows would fare as a companion piece to "Grimm", versus a second season of "Constantine"". On April 23, Cerone tweeted that the producers would pitch their ideas for a second season on April 27, which was earlier than he had previously announced in February, with NBC making their decision in early May. Following the meeting, Cerone tweeted that the "NBC exec said [to] tell the fans it went well" and that "If this show comes back for more, I can honestly say it was the fans".


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: On May 8, 2015, NBC declined to renew the series for a second season, prompting Warner Bros. Television to shop the series around in an attempt to get it picked up by another network. A month later, Cerone revealed that the cast and crew were released from their contracts after Warner Bros. Television had "tried to find a new home for the show... but those efforts didn't pan out", and stated "that the show is over". On the many fans who voiced their support for the series in attempting to get it renewed, Cerone said, "we're leaving behind wild and passionate fans who believe in and were moved by what we tried to do. To leave such a significant, dedicated and active fan base on the table—that's the real sadness. You all deserve many years of the series we set out to make, and we're disappointed that we couldn't deliver that to you".


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: "Constantine" aired simultaneously on Global in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the series was acquired by Amazon Video. The series is available to stream in Australia on Stan. It is also available in Canada on Shomi starting September 24, 2015. On July 1, 2016, the series was made available to stream on CW Seed.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: The complete series, along with bonus material, was released on Blu-ray, DVD and digitally on October 4, 2016 by the Warner Archive Collection.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 72% critic approval rating with an average rating of 6.2/10 based on 46 reviews. The website's consensus reads, ""Constantine"s creepy atmosphere, high-stakes action, and splendid special effects combine with a welcome touch of humor to overcome narrative flaws and present a version of the title character that's close to his comics counterpart". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 53 out of 100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: Kylie Peters of Den of Geek, reviewing the pilot episode, said ""Constantine" is worth sticking around for. It may not have achieved greatness yet, but it's not half bad either". Matt Fowler of IGN gave the pilot episode "Non Est Asylum" a 7.5/10, praising Matt Ryan's performance as Constantine saying that the episode is a good set up for the series, but criticized the pacing. Reviewing the entire season, Fowler again praised Ryan's performance, described the season as engaging, and praised the adaptations of arcs from the comics ("A Feast of Friends", "The Saint of Last Resorts" and "Waiting for the Man"), but criticized the episode shifting and team members randomly disappearing. Ultimately, Fowler called the season uneven and awarded it a 7.2/10. Jonathan Bernstein of "The Telegraph" gave the pilot episode 2 stars out of 5, calling it "an endurance test". He criticized Lucy Griffiths performance, saying that "unless she was being bribed to kill the show stone dead like an old-time boxer paid to take a fall, there's no way she could have been worse in the part", but praised Ryan, saying that he "brought a certain gravelly charm to the role".


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: The premiere episode "Non Est Asylum" received an additional 2.90 million viewers from DVR viewing, to create a total of 7.14 million viewers for the episode.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: DC Entertainment released a clay stop motion animation web series called "John Con Noir". The web series was developed by Cool Town Creations to support the petition for the television series to be renewed for a second season. The first chapter was released on January 16, 2015 on the DC Comics official website and YouTube account, in addition to the mid-season premiere on NBC.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: In May 2015, Stephen Amell, who portrays Oliver Queen / Green Arrow on The CW's "Arrow", revealed he had discussions with DC Entertainment to portray the character on the show, saying, "The reason that I was going to guest star on "Constantine", at least the idea that we were throwing around was [Constantine's] an expert when it comes to the Lazarus Pit, which is now something that is a part of and will continue to be a part of "Arrow"". Additionally, "Arrow" showrunner Marc Guggenheim revealed a desire to integrate Constantine into the universe that had been created with "Arrow", saying, "A lot of the pieces are in place, except for that one final piece, which is what's the fate of "Constantine"? That's the tricky thing. But it comes up in the writers' room constantly—we have a number of ideas, one idea that's particularly exciting to me. We're in a little bit of a wait-and-see mode". In July 2015, additional "Arrow" showrunner Wendy Mericle added, "We really want to [include Constantine]. It's something we've been talking to DC about and it's just a question of some political things, but also the actor's schedule. We're trying to work it out, but we don't know 100 percent if it's going to happen. But we're really optimistic and we would love to have him", presumably talking about Matt Ryan.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: In August 2015, it was confirmed that Ryan would appear on "Arrow" in the fourth season episode "Haunted", that involved his character being "brought in to deal with the fallout of the resurrection of Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) via Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pit". Guggenheim said, "This is something the fans were clamoring for", praising DC for being so "magnanimous and generous in giving us this one-time dispensation". John Badham, who directed the fifth episode of "Constantine", "Danse Vaudou", directed the "Arrow" episode. In addition, Mericle revealed that the version of Constantine that Matt Ryan portrayed on "Arrow" is the same version of the character that was portrayed on "Constantine", therefore retroactively establishing the two shows in a shared universe. On filming the episode, Guggenheim stated it felt like the production team was "doing a "Constantine"/"Arrow" crossover, and it's so exciting... We're just really glad we got the chance to extend Matt Ryan's run as Constantine by at least one more hour of television. I think you'll see he fits very neatly into our universe. It never feels forced, it feels right".


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: It was revealed in October 2017 that Ryan would appear in two episodes of the third season of "Legends of Tomorrow", with the appearance taking place chronologically after "Haunted", revisiting the setting of "Arrow"s fourth season and the events following that season's final episode. Bailey Tippen also reprised her role as Astra Logue from "Constantine" for a brief voiceover in “Necromancing the Stone”. After the positive reception of his appearance in "Legends of Tomorrow", The CW announced that Ryan would appear in the season finale, and later, it was announced ahead of the series' renewal for a fourth season that Ryan's role as Constantine would be upgraded to series regular. Olivia Swann took over the role of Astra, guest starring in the fourth season before becoming a series regular in the fifth season. Ryan left the role of Constantine in the sixth season, and portrayed a new character, Dr. Gwyn Davies, in the final season.


title: Constantine (TV series)

text: In January 2017, the animated web-series "Constantine" was announced, for The CW Seed, with Ryan returning to voice the character. CW President Mark Pedowitz noted there had yet to be discussions regarding if any other characters that appeared in the cancelled live-action series to appear in the web series, nor if this version of the character would "connect back to the live action storylines he's been a part of". Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter and Goyer serve as executive producers and Butch Lukic serves as producer. J.M. DeMatteis wrote the series, which was directed by Dough Murphy. The series premiered on March 24, 2018.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainment and a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: SPT's history goes back to 1947, when Pioneer Telefilms was founded by Ralph Cohn, whose father Jack and uncle Harry co-founded Columbia Pictures. Pioneer was bought by Columbia and renamed in November 1948, reincorporated as Columbia Pictures Television on May 6, 1974,


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: and merged with sister studio TriStar Television (formed in 1986 and relaunched in 1991) to form Columbia TriStar Television on February 21, 1994.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On September 16, 2002, Sony Pictures Entertainment renamed the American studio as Sony Pictures Television and its international division as Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI)).


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: In summer 2007, SPT introduced The Minisode Network, a digital channel for MySpace airing shows from the 1960s to early 2000s from four to five minutes. In winter 2007, The Minisode Network was also added to a few more sites including AOL TV, YouTube, and its then-sister site Crackle.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: In 2008, SPT bought Hilversum, Netherlands-based production company 2waytraffic, international holders of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" franchise.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On January 14, 2009, SPT acquired Embassy Row, a television and digital production company by British television producer Michael Davies. Fourteen days later, SPTI acquired a 50% stake in Colombian independent TV production company Teleset.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: Three months later on April 1, Sony Pictures consolidated its US and international television divisions under one roof under SPT brand. Sony Pictures Television International now operates in-name-only.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On June 23, 2011, SPT formed Victory Television, a London-based television production company jointly owned by Victoria Ashbourne, SPT's senior vice president of creative development for international production (not to be confused with Jim Victory Television, a defunct syndication company previously owned by MTM Enterprises). On September 25, 2011, Andrea Wong was tapped to head the international television production division of Sony Pictures Television to oversee all international businesses for the studio.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On January 19, 2012, SPT acquired Dolphin Broadcast Services Ltd. and merged it into its existing UK networks business. SPT also took a majority stake in Dolphin's advertising sales business. On March 1, 2012, SPT acquired a majority stake in UK independent production company Silver River Productions. On May 31, SPT launched Sony Movie Channel and AXN in Canada in partnership with Hollywood Suite. Two of Hollywood Suite's networks: Hollywood Festival re-launched as Sony Movie Channel and Hollywood Storm as AXN Movies on September 4, 2012. On August 23, 2012, SPT acquired a majority stake in Left Bank Pictures, a UK production company founded by Andy Harries, Francis Hopkinson, and Marigo Kehoe.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On August 22, 2013, Sony Pictures Television acquired a majority stake in Simon Andrae's new production company Scarlet Media. However, two months later, Andrae dropped his plans for Scarlet and was tapped to become executive vice-president of alternative entertainment for Fox. On December 16, 2013, Tuvalu Media joined forces with financing firm Karmign and acquired SPT's 60% stakes to regain independence. SPT acquired 60% in Tuvalu in 2008.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On June 26, 2014, SPT announced the decision to acquire CSC Media Group including 16 of its cable channels. the deal closed on August 15, 2014. On November 6, 2014, Daisy Goodwin stepped down from Silver River Productions amid Sony's restructuring. The studio had restructured its operations to SPT's streamline operations. She was less active in her production company and had been focusing on her books. On December 1, 2014, SPT acquired Australian drama production company, Playmaker Media.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On July 26, 2014, Liberty Global announced that it had put Film1 up for sale. Liberty Global agreed to sell Film1 to Sony Pictures Television on March 27, 2015. The sale was completed on July 21, 2015.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On May 28, 2015, TriStar Television was re-launched as a boutique production label for Sony Pictures Television. The first new series was "Good Girls Revolt" and was piloted for Amazon Prime Video.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: As of September 2015, it was the world's largest television production and distribution company measured by library and revenue (along with Time Warner's Warner Bros. Television).


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On March 1, 2016, Sony announced to shut down Victory Television after Managing Director Victoria Ashbourne announced to step down after five years to pursue other opportunities. SPT retained international distribution rights for all of Victory's productions.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On July 25, 2017, SPE's new chairman and CEO, Tony Vinciquerra tapped Jeff Frost, Chris Parnell, and Jason Clodfelter as co-presidents of SPT. Frost joined SPT in 2008 from ABC Studios, Parnell in 2003 and Clodfelter in 2006.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: The same day, Sony Pictures Television Studios was founded, which later began rolling out for current and future SPT titles starting on January 7, 2020.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On July 31, 2017, Sony Pictures Television announced that it would acquire a 95% controlling stake in anime importer Funimation for $143 million pending approval from the U.S. Department of Justice. Sony touted that the deal would allow Funimation to have synergies with its Animax and Kids Station divisions and "direct access to the creative pipeline". The Department of Justice approved the acquisition on August 22, 2017. The deal was closed on October 27, 2017. On September 24, 2019, Sony Pictures Television later announced that it would be consolidating Funimation with Aniplex's Madman Anime Group and Wakanim, under a joint-venture between the two Sony businesses.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On December 10, 2019, Sony Pictures Television announced that it would acquire the British studio Silvergate Media—creators of "The Octonauts" and the Netflix series "Hilda", for US$175 million.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: Sony had shifted to content licensing as a focus instead of owning the channels, which were previously high-margin earners. Subsequently, the Southeast Asia channels group were identified as potential for sale. Sony Pictures Television agreed in January 2020 to sell its Southeast Asian and Korean television channels, the AXN network, Animax and Sony One, to KC Global Media, which owned by former SPT executives Andy Kaplan and George Chien. The sale was completed, with the addition of the Gem channel, in May 2020.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On May 14, 2021, SPT sold its UK television channels (including some assets of CSC Media Group) to Narrative Capital.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: On October 1, 2021, SPT sold its Central and Eastern Europe television channels and two OTT services to Antenna Group.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: In October 2022, Banijay completed its purchase of Sony Pictures Television Germany, which was renamed Noisy Pictures.


title: Sony Pictures Television

text: These are the channels owned and operated and jointly operated by Sony Pictures Television. For channels owned under CSC Media Group, see CSC Media Group.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep III (, "Amānəḥūtpū" , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different authors, he ruled Egypt from June 1386 to 1349 BC, or from June 1388 BC to December 1351 BC/1350 BC, after his father Thutmose IV died. Amenhotep was Thutmose's son by a minor wife, Mutemwiya.


title: Amenhotep III

text: His reign was a period of unprecedented prosperity and splendour, when Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power. When he died in the 38th or 39th year of his reign he was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV, who later changed his name to Akhenaten.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep was the son of Thutmose IV and his minor wife Mutemwiya. He was born probably around 1401 BC. Later in his life, Amenhotep commissioned the depiction of his divine birth to be displayed at Luxor Temple. Amenhotep claimed that his true father was the god Amun, who had taken the form of Thutmose IV to father a child with Mutemwiya.


title: Amenhotep III

text: In Regnal Year 2, Amenhotep married Tiye, the daughter of Yuya and Thuya. Tiye was Great Royal Wife throughout Amenhotep's reign. Many commemorative scarabs were commissioned and distributed during Amenhotep's reign. On the "marriage scarabs," Amenhotep affirmed his divine power and the legitimacy of his wife. With Tiye, Amenhotep fathered at least two sons, Crown Prince Thutmose and Amenhotep IV (later called Akhenaten). In addition, several daughters are frequently credited to the couple: Sitamun, Henuttaneb, Iset, Nebetah, and Beketaten. Most of the daughters appear frequently on statues and reliefs from Amenhotep's reign. However, Nebetah is attested only once, on a colossal limestone group of statues from Medinet Habu, and Beketaten only appears in Amarna.Amenhotep is also sometimes credited as the father of Smenkhkare or Tutankhamun, with varying proposals for their mothers, but these theories are not as accepted as his other, known children.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Genetic analysis has confirmed he is the father of both the KV55 mummy, identified in the study as Akhenaten, and "The Younger Lady", sibling parents of his grandson, Tutankhamun. A more recent study, published in 2020, traced the family lineage via Y-chromosomes and mtDNA. Although only a partial profile was obtained, he shares his YDNA haplogroup, R1b, with his son and grandson, upholding the family tree outlined in the earlier study. However, the specific clade of R1b was not determined. In 2022, S.O.Y. Keita commented, based on an analysis of 8 Short Tandem loci (STR) data on disease and virus alleles published by Hawass et al. 2010;2012on Rameses III and the Amarna royal mummies which included Tutankhamun showed “a majority to have an affinity with “Sub-Saharan” Africans in one affinity analysis”. Although, he cautioned that this does not mean that the royal mummies “lacked other affiliations” which he argued had been obscured in typological thinking. Keita further added that different “data and algorithms might give different results” which reflected the complexity of biological heritage and the associated interpretation.


title: Amenhotep III

text: In addition to Tiye, Amenhotep had several other wives. In Regnal Year 10, Amenhotep married Gilukhepa, the daughter of Shuttarna II of Mitanni. He later married Tadukhepa, daughter of Tushratta of Mitanni, in or around Regnal Year 36 of his reign. Other wives, whose names are unknown, included: a daughter of Kurigalzu, king of Babylon; a daughter of Kadashman-Enlil, king of Babylon; a daughter of Tarhundaradu, ruler of Arzawa; and a daughter of the ruler of Ammia (modern-day Syria).


title: Amenhotep III

text: Finally, he followed tradition and married at least two of his daughters, Sitamun and Iset, in the last decade of his reign. Jar-label inscriptions from Regnal Year 30 indicate that Sitamun was elevated to the status of Great Royal Wife by that time. Although shunned by common Egyptians, incest was not uncommon among royalty. A sculpture restored by Amenhotep for his grandfather, Amenhotep II, shows Sitamun with a young prince beside her. This has led to theories that Sitamun was the mother of Smekhkare and/or Tutankhamun.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep probably became pharaoh when he was between the ages of 6 and 12. While it is likely that a regent would have ruled until he came of age, none is attested to in the surviving records. In Regnal Year 11, Amenhotep commanded the construction of an artificial lake at Tiye's hometown of Djakaru. He then celebrated a Festival of Opening the Lake in the third month of Inundation, day sixteen, and rowed the royal barge "Aten-tjehen" on the lake. This event was commemorated on at least eleven commemorative scarabs.


title: Amenhotep III

text: From other scarabs, Amenhotep is known to have killed either 102 or 110 lions in the first ten years of his reign.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Despite the martial prowess Amenhotep displayed during the hunt, he is known to have participated in only one military incident. In Regnal Year Five, he led a victorious campaign against a rebellion in Kush. This victory was commemorated by three rock-carved stelae found near Aswan and Saï in Nubia. The official account of Amenhotep's military victory emphasizes his martial prowess with the period-typical hyperbole.


title: Amenhotep III

text: There is a significant attestation for the court officials who served during Amenhotep's reign, primarily through the discovery of their tombs in the Theban Necropolis. Among these court officials were the viziers Ramose, Amenhotep, Aperel, and Ptahmose. Other officials included the treasurers Ptahmose and Merire; the high stewards, Amenemhat Surer and Amenhotep (Huy); and the Viceroy of Kush, Merimose.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep, son of Hapu held many offices during the reign of Amenhotep the pharaoh, but is best known for receiving the right to build his mortuary temple behind that of the king. Amenhotep, son of Hapu, was deified after his death and was one of the few non-royals to be worshiped in such a manner.


title: Amenhotep III

text: The palace of Malkata was built in the 14th century BC and its ancient name was "Per-Hay", "House of Rejoicing". Originally, the palace was known as "the Palace of the Dazzling Aten". Built mostly out of mud-brick, it was Amenhotep's residence throughout most of the later part of his reign. Construction began around Regnal Year 11 and continued until the king moved to the palace permanently around Regnal Year 29. Once completed, it was the largest royal residence in Egypt.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep celebrated three Sed Festivals in Regnal Years 30, 34, and 37, each at Malkata palace in Western Thebes. A temple of Amun and festival hall were built especially for the celebrations. The Sed Festival was a tradition that dated to the Old Kingdom, consisting of a series of tests that demonstrated the pharaoh's fitness for continuing as ruler of Egypt. Based on indications left by Queen Tiye's steward Khenruef, the festival may have lasted two to eight months.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep wanted his Sed Festivals to be far more spectacular than those of the past. He appointed Amenhotep, son of Hapu to plan the ceremony, potentially because he was one of the few courtiers still alive to have served at the last Sed Festival, held for Amenhotep II. In preparation for the first Sed Festival, Amenhotep, son of Hapu enlisted scribes to gather information from records and inscriptions; most of the descriptions were found in ancient funerary temples. In addition to the rituals, they collected descriptions of costumes worn at previous festivals.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Temples were built and statues erected up and down the Nile. Craftsmen and jewelers created ornaments commentating the event including jewelry, ornaments, and stelae. The scribe Nebmerutef coordinated every step of the event. He directed Amenhotep to use his mace to knock on the temple doors. Beside him, Amenhotep-Hapu mirrored his effort like a royal shadow. The king was followed by Queen Tiye and the royal daughters. When moving to another venue, the banner of the jackal god Wepwawet, "Opener of Ways" preceded the King. The king changed his costume at each major activity of the celebration.


title: Amenhotep III

text: One of the major highlights of the Festival was the king's dual coronation. He was enthroned separately for Upper and Lower Egypt. For Upper Egypt, Amenhotep wore the white crown but changed to the red crown for the Lower Egypt coronation.


title: Amenhotep III

text: After the Sed Festival, Amenhotep transcended from being a near-god to one divine. The king may have later traveled across Egypt following the festival, potentially reenacting the ceremony for different audiences. Few Egyptian kings lived long enough for their own celebration. Those who survived used the celebration as the affirmation of transition to divinity.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Diplomatic correspondence from Amenhotep's reign are partially preserved in the Amarna Letters, a collection of documents found near the city of Amarna. The letters come from the rulers of Assyria, Mitanni, Babylon, Hatti, and other states, typically including requests by those rulers for gold and other gifts from Amenhotep. The letters cover the period from Year 30 of Amenhotep until at least the end of Akhenaten's reign. In Amarna Letter EA 4, Amenhotep is quoted by the Babylonian king Kadashman-Enlil I in firmly rejecting the latter's entreaty to marry one of this pharaoh's daughters:


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep's refusal to allow one of his daughters to be married to the Babylonian monarch may indeed be connected with Egyptian traditional royal practices that could provide a claim upon the throne through marriage to a royal princess, or it could be viewed as a shrewd attempt on his part to enhance Egypt's prestige over those of her neighbours in the international world. Despite the refusal for his daughters to be married off to other kings, Amenhotep married several foreign princesses.


title: Amenhotep III

text: The Amarna Letters also reference the exchange between Amenhotep and the Mitanni King Tushratta of the statue of a healing goddess, Ishtar of Nineveh, late in Amenhotep's reign. Scholars have generally assumed that the statue's sojourn to Egypt was requested by Amenhotep in order to cure him of his various ailments, which included painful abscesses in his teeth. However, William L. Moran's analysis of Amarna Letter EA 23, relating to the dispatch of the statue to Thebes, discounts this theory.


title: Amenhotep III

text: The arrival of the statue is known to have coincided with Amenhotep's marriage with Tadukhepa, Tushratta's daughter, in the pharaoh's 36th year; letter EA 23's arrival in Egypt is dated to "regnal year 36, the fourth month of winter, day 1" of his reign. Furthermore, Tushratta never mentions in EA 23 that the statue's dispatch was meant to heal Amenhotep of his maladies. Instead, Tushratta writes in part:


title: Amenhotep III

text: The likeliest explanation is that the statue was sent to Egypt "to shed her blessings on the wedding of Amenhotep and Tadukhepa, as she had been sent previously for Amenhotep and Gilukhepa." Moran explained the visit of the statue might be to heal the king, but that it is more likely that it was sent in connection with the solemnities of the marriage of Tadukhepa to Amenhotep. Further, Moran argues that the contents of Amarna Letter EA 21 support this claim, wherein Tushratta asks the gods, including Ishtar, for their blessing of the marriage.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Thutmose, the eldest son of Amenhotep with his wife Tiye, spent at least part of his life as the Crown Prince. However, Thutmose predeceased his father and Amenhotep was ultimately succeeded by his second son, also named Amenhotep.


title: Amenhotep III

text: It has long been theorized that Amenhotep III shared a coregency with his son and successor, Amenhotep IV (later called Akhenaten). Writing in 1998, Lawrence Berman claimed that proponents of the coregency theory tended to be art historians, while historians remained unconvinced. Whether this remains true is unclear.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Eric Cline, Nicholas Reeves, Peter Dorman, and other scholars argue strongly against the establishment of a long coregency between the two rulers and in favor of either no coregency or one lasting at most two years. Donald B. Redford, William J. Murnane, Alan Gardiner, and Lawrence Berman contest the view of any coregency whatsoever between Akhenaten and his father.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Evidence against a coregency includes Amarna Letter EA 27, which is dated to Regnal Year 2 of Amenhotep IV. The subject of the letter involves a complaint from the Mitannian king Tushratta, claiming that Amenhotep IV did not honor his father's promise to send Tushratta gold statues as part of the marriage arrangement between Tadukhepa, and Amenhotep III. This correspondence implies that if any coregency occurred between Amenhotep and Akhenaten, it lasted no more than a year.


title: Amenhotep III

text: However in February 2014, Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities announced that findings from the tomb of Vizier Amenhotep-Huy gave "conclusive evidence" of a coregency that lasted at least eight years. In the tomb, the cartouches of the two pharaohs were carved side by side. However, this conclusion has since been called into question by other egyptologists, according to whom the inscription means only that construction on Amenhotep-Huy's tomb started during Amenhotep III's reign and ended under Akhenaten's, and Amenhotep-Huy thus simply wanted to pay his respects to both rulers.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep's greatest attested regnal date is Year 38, which appears on wine jar-label dockets from Malkata. He may have lived briefly into an unrecorded Year 39 and died before the wine harvest of that year. Reliefs from the wall of the temple of Soleb in Nubia and scenes from the Theban tomb of Kheruef, Steward of the King's Great Wife, Tiye, depict Amenhotep as a visibly weak and sick figure. Scientists believe that in his final years he suffered from arthritis and became obese. Further, a forensic examination of his mummy shows that he was probably in constant pain during his final years owing to his worn and cavity-pitted teeth. An examination of his mummy by the Australian anatomist Grafton Elliot Smith concluded that the pharaoh had died at between 40 and 50 year.


title: Amenhotep III

text: He was survived by at least one child, his successor, Amenhotep IV, and by his wife Tiye, who is known to have outlived him by at least twelve years, as she is mentioned in several Amarna letters that are dated from her son's reign as well as depicted at a dinner table with Akhenaten and his royal family in scenes from the tomb of Huya, which were made during Year 9 and Year 12 of her son's reign.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep was buried in the Western Valley of the Valley of the Kings, in Tomb WV22. Sometime during the Third Intermediate Period, his mummy was moved from this tomb and was placed in a side chamber of KV35 along with several other pharaohs of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, where it lay until it was discovered by Victor Loret in 1898.


title: Amenhotep III

text: For the 18th dynasty, the mummy shows an unusually heavy use of subcutaneous stuffing to make the mummy look more lifelike. Amenhotep was buried in the Valley of the Kings outside of Thebes, in the tomb labeled WV 22. The tomb is the largest in the West Valley of the Kings and includes two side chambers for his Great Royal Wives, Tiye and Sitamun. However, it does not seem as if either woman was buried there. Amenhotep's mummy was later moved, during the reign of Smendes.


title: Amenhotep III

text: In 1980, James Harris and Edward F. Wente conducted X-ray examinations of New Kingdom Pharaoh's crania and skeletal remains, which included the mummified remains of Amenhotep III. The authors determined that the royal mummies of the 18th Dynasty bore strong similarities to contemporary Nubians with slight differences.


title: Amenhotep III

text: In April 2021, his mummy was moved from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, along with those of 17 other kings and 4 queens in an event termed the Pharaohs' Golden Parade.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep has the distinction of having the most surviving statues of any Egyptian pharaoh, with over 250 of his statues having been discovered and identified. Since these statues span his entire life, they provide a series of portraits covering the entire length of his reign.


title: Amenhotep III

text: When Amenhotep died, he left behind a country that was at the very height of its power and influence, commanding immense respect in the international world; however, he also bequeathed an Egypt that was wedded to its traditional political and religious certainties under the Amun priesthood.


title: Amenhotep III

text: The resulting upheavals from his son Akhenaten's reforming zeal shook these old certainties to their very foundations and brought forth the central question of whether a pharaoh was more powerful than the existing domestic order as represented by the Amun priests and their numerous temple estates. Akhenaten even moved the capital away from the city of Thebes in an effort to break the influence of that powerful temple and assert his own preferred choice of deities, the Aten. Akhenaten moved the Egyptian capital to the site known today as Amarna (though originally known as Akhetaten, 'Horizon of Aten'), and eventually suppressed the worship of Amun.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Amenhotep built extensively at the temple of Karnak including the Luxor temple which consisted of two pylons, a colonnade behind the new temple entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Ma'at. Amenhotep dismantled the Fourth Pylon of the Temple of Amun at Karnak to construct a new pylon — the Third Pylon — and created a new entrance to this structure where he erected two rows of columns with open papyrus capitals down the centre of this newly formed forecourt. The forecourt between the Third and Fourth Pylons, sometimes called an obelisk court, was also decorated with scenes of the sacred barque of the deities Amun, Mut, and Khonsu being carried in funerary boats. The king also started work on the Tenth Pylon at the Temple of Amun there. Amenhotep's first recorded act as king — in his Years 1 and 2 — was to open new limestone quarries at Tura, just south of Cairo and at Dayr al-Barsha in Middle Egypt in order to herald his great building projects. He oversaw the construction of another temple to at Luxor and virtually covered Nubia with numerous monuments.


title: Amenhotep III

text: His enormous mortuary temple on the west bank of the Nile was, in its day, the largest religious complex in Thebes, but unfortunately the king chose to build it too close to the floodplain, and less than two hundred years later it stood in ruins. Much of the masonry was purloined by Merneptah and later pharaohs for their own construction projects. The Colossi of Memnon — two massive stone statues, high, of Amenhotep that stood at the gateway of his mortuary temple — were the only elements of the complex that remained standing. Amenhotep also built the Third Pylon at Karnak and erected 600 statues of the goddess Sekhmet in the Temple of Mut, south of Karnak. Some of the most magnificent statues of New Kingdom Egypt date to his reign "such as the two outstanding couchant rose granite lions originally set before the temple at Soleb in Nubia" as well as a large series of royal sculptures. Several beautiful black granite seated statues of Amenhotep wearing the "nemes" headress have come from excavations behind the Colossi of Memnon as well as from Tanis in the Delta. In 2014, two giant statues of Amenhotep that were toppled by an earthquake in 1200 BC were reconstructed from more than 200 fragments and re-erected at the northern gate of the king's funerary temple.


title: Amenhotep III

text: One of the most stunning finds of royal statues dating to his reign was made as recently as 1989 in the courtyard of Amenhotep 's colonnade of the Temple of Luxor where a cache of statues was found, including a -high pink quartzite statue of the king wearing the Double Crown found in near-perfect condition. It was mounted on a sled, and may have been a cult statue. The only damage it had sustained was that the name of the god Amun had been hacked out wherever it appeared in the pharaoh's cartouche, clearly done as part of the systematic effort to eliminate any mention of this god during the reign of his successor, Akhenaten.


title: Amenhotep III

text: In 2021, excavations revealed a settlement near Amenhotep's mortuary temple, called the "Dazzling Aten", which is believed to have been built by Amenhotep. It is presumed to have housed craftsmen and labourers working on royal monuments and projects at Thebes, as well as in the ancillary industries needed to support such an administrative and skilled-worker population, and had its own bakery and cemetery.


title: Amenhotep III

text: One of the king's most popular epithets was "Aten-tjehen" which means "the Dazzling Sun Disk"; it appears in his titulary at Luxor temple and, more frequently, was used as the name for one of his palaces as well as the Year 11 royal barge, and denotes a company of men in Amenhotep's army.


title: Amenhotep III

text: A Sed Festival Stela of Amenhotep III was taken from Egypt to Europe by an art dealer. It is now believed to be in the United States but not on public display. In Europe, Dr. Eric Cassirer at one time owned the stela. The dimensions of the white alabaster stela are 10 × 9 cm (3.94 × 3.54 in), but only the upper half of the stela survived. It was shaped in the form of a temple pylon with a gradual narrowing near the top.


title: Amenhotep III

text: "Front view:" The god Heh, who represents the number one million, holds notched palm leaves signifying years. Above his head, Heh appears to support the cartouche of Amenhotep symbolically for a million years.


title: Amenhotep III

text: "Side view:" A series of festival (ḥb) emblems together with a Sed (sd) emblem identifying the stela as one made for Amenhotep 's Sed Festival royal jubilee.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Cassirer suggests Akhenaten, Amenhotep's son and successor, was responsible for defacing the king's name on the stela. Akhenaten detested his royal family name so much, he changed his own name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten; he vandalized any reference to the god Amun since he had chosen to worship another god, the Aten. Other gods displayed on the stela, Re and Ma’at, showed no sign of vandalism.


title: Amenhotep III

text: The stela is believed to have been displayed prominently in Akhenaten's new capital city of Akhetaten (current day Amarna). With the royal name and Amun references removed, it probably had a prominent place in a temple or palace of Akhenaten. Akhenaten could then display the stela without reminders of his old family name or the false god Amun, yet celebrate his father's achievement.


title: Amenhotep III

text: Another striking characteristic of Amenhotep's reign is the series of over 200 large commemorative stone scarabs that have been discovered over a large geographic area ranging from Syria (Ras Shamra) through to Soleb in Nubia. Similarly, five other scarabs state that his wife Gilukhepa of Mitanni arrived in Egypt with a retinue of 317 women. She was the first of many such princesses who would enter the pharaoh's household.


title: Kristofer Hivju

text: Kristofer Hivju (; born 7 December 1978) is a Norwegian actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Tormund Giantsbane in the HBO fantasy series "Game of Thrones" and Connor Rhodes in "The Fate of the Furious".


title: Kristofer Hivju

text: In 2004, he graduated from the Danish (Aarhus) subdivision of the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS).


title: Kristofer Hivju

text: Hivju is the son of Norwegian actors Erik Hivju and Lieselotte Holmene and is the cousin of French actress Isabelle Nanty. He is married to Gry Molvær Hivju. Together they have two daughters, Noor (born in 2007) and Sylja (born in 2008).


title: Kristofer Hivju

text: On 16 March 2020, Hivju announced he had tested positive for COVID-19 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On 15 April, Hivju said he had made a full recovery.


title: Kristofer Hivju

text: Hivju also has a big interest for disc golf, being an active player and community enforcer. In 2022, Innova Champion Discs released Hivju's own signature roc, a mid-range disc golf disc.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The franchise was established as an expansion team and began play in 1998. The team plays its home games at Chase Field, formerly known as Bank One Ballpark. Along with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Diamondbacks are one of the newest teams in MLB.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: After a fifth-place finish in their inaugural season, the Diamondbacks made several off-season acquisitions, including future Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, who won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in his first four seasons with the team. In 1999, Arizona won 100 games and their first division championship. In 2001, they won the World Series over the three-time defending champion New York Yankees, becoming the fastest expansion team in major league history to win the World Series, and the only major professional sports team in the state of Arizona to win a championship.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: On March 9, 1995, Phoenix was awarded an expansion franchise to begin play for the season. A $130 million franchise fee was paid to Major League Baseball and on January 16, 1997, the Diamondbacks were officially voted into the National League. The Diamondbacks' first major league game was played against the Colorado Rockies on March 31, 1998, at Bank One Ballpark. The ballpark was renamed Chase Field in 2005, as a result of Bank One Corporation's merger with JPMorgan Chase & Co.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: Since their debut, the Diamondbacks have won five NL West division titles, one NL pennant, one Wild Card game, and the 2001 World Series.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The Diamondbacks' original colors were purple, black, teal and copper. Their first logo was an italicized block letter "A" with a diamond pattern, and the crossbar represented by a snake's tongue. This period saw the Diamondbacks wear various uniform combinations.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: At home, the Diamondbacks wore cream uniforms with purple pinstripes. The primary sleeved uniform, worn from 1998 to 2000, featured the full team name ("Diamond" and "Backs" stacked together) in front and chest numbers. The alternate sleeveless version contained the "A" logo on the right chest, and was paired with purple undershirts. Before the 2001 season, the sleeved uniform was changed to feature the "A" logo. In all three uniforms, player names were teal with purple trim, and numbers were purple with white with teal trim.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The Diamondbacks' primary road gray uniform also contained purple pinstripes. The first version featured "Arizona" in purple with white and teal trim along with black drop shadows. Chest numbers were also added. Player names were in purple with white trim, and numbers were teal with white and purple trim. In 2001, the uniform became sleeveless with black undershirts, and the lettering scheme was changed to purple with white, copper and black accents.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The alternate home purple uniform featured "Arizona" in teal with white and copper trim and black drop shadows. Originally the letters were rendered in teal with copper and white trim, but was changed to copper with teal and white trim after only one season. This set was worn until 2002.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The alternate road black uniform initially featured the "A" logo on the right chest, while letters were in purple with white trim and numbers in teal with white and purple trim. A zigzag pattern of teal, copper and purple was also featured on the sleeves. In 2001, the uniform was changed to feature "Arizona" in front. Letters were now purple with white and copper trim.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The Diamondbacks initially wore four different cap versions. The primary home cap is all-purple, while the road cap is black with a teal brim. They also wore a cream cap with purple brim, and a teal cap with purple brim. All designs featured the primary "A" logo. In 1999, the road cap became all-black and contained the alternate "D-snake" logo rendered in copper. Also, the teal and cream alternate caps were dropped.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The left sleeve of all four uniforms initially contained the snake logo with the full team name, but became only exclusive to the road black uniform after the 2003 season.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The franchise unveiled new uniforms and colors of Sedona red, Sonoran sand and black on November 8, 2006. The red shade is named for the sandstone canyon at Red Rock State Park near Sedona, while the beige (sand) shade is named for the Sonoran Desert. A sleeve patch was added featuring a lowercase "d" and "b" configured to look like a snake's head. The team also kept the "D" logo, which was slightly altered and put on an all-red cap to be used as their game cap. They also kept the "A" logo with the new colors applied to it, with a solid black cap used as the alternate cap. Arizona's updated color scheme bore a striking resemblance to the Houston Astros' then-current color scheme (brick red, sand and black) that the latter used until 2012, as well as the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, whose adoption of said colors predate the Diamondbacks by four years.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The white home uniform featured "D-Backs" in red with sand and black trim. The road gray uniform featured "Arizona" in red with sand and black trim. Player names were red with black trim while numbers were black with red trim.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The alternate red uniform contained "D-Backs" in sand with red and black trim, with player names in sand with black trim and numbers in black with sand trim.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: There were two versions of the alternate black uniform. One design has the alternate "A" logo on the right chest, while the other has "Arizona" written in red with black and sand trim. The latter was introduced in 2013 as a tribute to the victims of the Yarnell Hill Fire. On both uniforms, player names were sand with red trim, and numbers in red with sand trim.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: Prior to the 2016 season, the Diamondbacks reincorporated teal into its color scheme while keeping Sedona Red, Sonoran Sand and black. They also unveiled eight different uniform combinations, including two separate home white and away grey uniforms. One major difference between the two sets is that the non-teal uniforms feature a snakeskin pattern on the shoulders, while the teal-trimmed uniforms include a charcoal/grey snakeskin pattern on the back. Arizona also kept the throwback pinstriped sleeveless uniforms from their 2001 championship season for use during Thursday home games.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: Starting with the 2020 season, the Diamondbacks made slight redesigns to their current uniforms. The snakeskin patterns were removed while the teal-trimmed grey uniforms were retired. The team also reverted to a standard grey uniform after wearing a darker shade on the previous set. Two home white uniforms remain in use: the primary Sedona Red and the alternate teal. They would also wear two black uniforms: one with the primary "A" logo on the left chest and the other with "Los D-Backs" trimmed in teal. Three cap designs were also unveiled, all with a black base: the primary "A" cap, the teal-trimmed "snake" cap (paired exclusively on the teal alternates), and the sand-trimmed "snake" cap with red brim (paired exclusively on the Sedona Red alternates). The Nike swoosh logo is also placed on the right chest near the shoulder. In 2022, the Diamondbacks introduced a red "A" cap with black brim.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: In 2021, the Diamondbacks were one of seven teams to wear Nike "City Connect" uniforms. The design is primarily sand and has "Serpientes" in black script lettering emblazoned in front. The first "S" in "Serpientes" was shaped to resemble a rattlesnake. The right sleeve has the flag of Arizona patch recolored to the Diamondbacks' current red, sand and black scheme, and the left sleeve has the "A" logo recolored to black and sand. Numerals are in red. The cap is primarily sand with black brim and has the "A" logo in black and sand; the regular batting helmet is used with the uniform. Initially, the Diamondbacks wore white pants with this uniform, but has since switched to sand pants.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The primary television play-by-play voice for the team's first nine seasons of play was Thom Brennaman, who also broadcast baseball and college football games nationally for Fox Television. Brennaman was the TV announcer for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds (along with his father Marty Brennaman) before being hired by Diamondbacks founder Jerry Colangelo in 1996, two years before the team would begin play.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: In October 2006, Brennaman left the Diamondbacks to call games with his father for the Reds beginning in 2007, signing a four-year deal (his Fox duties remained unchanged).


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: On November 1, 2006, the team announced that the TV voice of the Milwaukee Brewers since 2002, Daron Sutton, would be hired as the Diamondbacks primary TV play-by-play voice. Sutton was signed to a five-year contract with a team option for three more years. Sutton is considered one of the best of the younger generation of baseball broadcasters. His signature chants include "let's get some runs" when the D-backs trail in late innings. Sutton's father was Hall of Fame pitcher and Atlanta Braves broadcaster Don Sutton.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: Former Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs first baseman Mark Grace and former Major League knuckleball pitcher Tom Candiotti were the Diamondbacks primary color analysts for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Former Diamondbacks third baseman Matt Williams also did color commentary on occasion, as did former Cardinals and NBC broadcast legend Joe Garagiola, Sr., a longtime Phoenix-area resident and father of Joe Garagiola, Jr., the first GM of the Diamondbacks (as head of the Maricopa County Sports Authority in the early 1990s, Garagiola, Jr. was one of the primary people involved in Phoenix obtaining a Major League Baseball franchise).


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The Diamondbacks announced in July 2007 that for the 2008 season, all regionally broadcast Diamondbacks TV games would be shown exclusively on Fox Sports Arizona (now Bally Sports Arizona) and a few could possibly be shown on the national "MLB on Fox" telecasts. Bally Sports Arizona is currently seen in 2.8 million households in Arizona and New Mexico. The previous flagship station since the inaugural 1998 season was KTVK (Channel 3), a popular over-the-air independent station (and former longtime ABC affiliate) in Phoenix.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: From 2009 to 2012, Mark Grace and Daron Sutton were tagged as the main broadcasters of the Diamondbacks with pre-game and postgame shows on Fox Sports Arizona, being hosted by former big-league closer Joe Borowski.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: On June 21, 2012, Daron Sutton was suspended indefinitely, amid rumors of insubordination. Then on August 24, the team announced that Mark Grace had requested an indefinite leave of absence after being arrested for his second DUI in less than two years (Grace was later indicted on four DUI counts). For the remainder of the 2012 season, Sutton was replaced by Greg Schulte (Jeff Munn replaced Schulte on the radio broadcast) and Grace was replaced by Luis Gonzalez. At the end of the 2012 season, the team announced that neither Sutton nor Grace would be returning for the 2013 season.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: On October 18, 2012, the team announced that Bob Brenly would be returning as a broadcaster to replace Grace and that he would be joined by then-ESPN personality Steve Berthiaume.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The English language flagship radio station is KTAR. Greg Schulte is the regular radio play-by-play voice, a 25-year veteran of sports radio in the Phoenix market, also well known for his previous work on Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals and Arizona State University (ASU) broadcasts. He calls games with analyst Tom Candiotti.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: Jeff Munn served as a backup radio play-by-play announcer until 2016; he served as the regular public address announcer at Chase Field in the early days of the franchise. He is well known to many Phoenix area sports fans, having also served as the public address announcer for the Suns at what's now Footprint Center in the 1990s. He is also the play-by-play radio voice for ASU women's basketball. Mike Ferrin served in the same role for 6 years before parting ways with the team, and he was replaced by Chris Garagiola in December 2021.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: The flagship Spanish language radio station is KHOV-FM 105.1 with Oscar Soria, Rodrigo López, and Richard Saenz.


title: Arizona Diamondbacks

text: Games were televised in Spanish on KPHE-LP—with Oscar Soria and Jerry Romo as the announcers—but this arrangement ended prior to the 2009 season due to the team switching fully to Fox Sports Arizona and the lack of carriage of KPHE-LP on the Cox cable system.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in a gala celebrating five honorees in the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, D.C. While the awards are primarily given to individuals, they have occasionally been given to couples or musical groups, as well as to one Broadway musical and one television show.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: George Stevens Jr. created the Kennedy Center Honors with Nick Vanoff and produced the first gala in 1978. He was the producer and co-writer through the 2014 awards, after which he sold the production rights to the Kennedy Center.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: The Kennedy Center Honors started in 1977, after that year's 10th-anniversary White House reception and Kennedy Center program for the American Film Institute (AFI). Roger L. Stevens, the founding chairman of the Kennedy Center, asked George Stevens Jr. (no relation), the founding director of the AFI, to hold an event for the center. Stevens Jr. asked Isaac Stern to become involved, and then pitched the idea to the television network CBS, who bought it. With the first honors event and honorees, CBS vice president for specials, Bernie Sofronski, stated:


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: The first host was Leonard Bernstein in 1978, followed by Eric Sevareid in 1979 (with Gene Kelly closing it) and Beverly Sills in 1980. Walter Cronkite hosted from 1981 to 2002 and Caroline Kennedy hosted from 2003 to 2012. Glenn Close hosted in 2013 and Stephen Colbert hosted from 2014 to 2016. Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment were the Executive Producers of the 38th annual Kennedy Center Honors (2015) after George Stevens Jr. stepped down. There was no formal host in 2017, although Caroline Kennedy delivered an introduction. In 2018 and mid-2021, Gloria Estefan hosted, LL Cool J hosted in 2019, and David Letterman hosted in late 2021.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: This awards show does not air live (with the exception of closed-circuit venues), but an edited version lasting approximately two hours is normally televised on CBS after Christmas. Normally, the show has been aired between Christmas and New Year's on CBS television, but, in a departure from this tradition, the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors aired on regular television in early December and was later made available on CBS All Access. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition was postponed and eventually held between May 17 and May 22, 2021, and the edited broadcast aired on June 6, 2021.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: Honoree recommendations are accepted from the general public, and the Kennedy Center initiated a Special Honors Advisory Committee, which comprises two members of the board of trustees as well as past honorees and distinguished artists. The executive committee of the board of trustees selects the honoree recipients based on excellence in music, dance, theater, opera, motion pictures or television. The selections are typically announced sometime between July and September.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: The invitation-only, weekend-long ceremony includes the Chairman's Luncheon, the State Department dinner, White House reception, and the Honors gala performances and supper.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: The Chairman's Luncheon is held on Saturday at the Kennedy Center. Surrounded by the Honorees, the chairman of the board of trustees launches the event with a welcoming speech. At that evening's reception and dinner at the State Department, presided over by the Secretary of State, the Honorees are introduced and the Honors medallions are presented by the chairman of the board. The wide rainbow-colored ribbon then hung around the necks of the recipients and prominently noticeable when the events are televised, symbolizes "a spectrum of many skills within the performing arts" according to creator Ivan Chermayeff.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: On Sunday, there is an early-evening White House reception, traditionally hosted by the President of the United States and the First Lady, followed by the Honors gala performance at the Kennedy Center and supper.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: Prior to 2017, there had been three occasions in which the president did not attend the gala performance. President Jimmy Carter did not attend in 1979 during the Iran hostage crisis; First Lady Rosalynn Carter served as his surrogate. President George H. W. Bush was on a trip to Brussels and could not attend in 1989; First Lady Barbara Bush served as his surrogate. President Bill Clinton was on a trip to Budapest and could not attend in 1994; First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton served as his surrogate.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: For the 2015 gala performance, President Barack Obama joined First Lady Michelle Obama late after addressing the nation in a live telecast from the White House.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: In 2017, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump decided not to participate in events honoring recipients of the 2017 Kennedy Center Honors awards to "allow the honorees to celebrate without any political distraction." The 2017 ceremony was held on December 3, 2017 without them, marking the first time that neither the president nor the first lady attended; Caroline Kennedy was the host and presented the honorees. The traditional dinner at the State Department on the Saturday evening before the ceremony was hosted by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and the White House reception was canceled. Donald and Melania Trump also did not participate in any of the events of the 2018 or 2019 editions.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: Because of changes imposed on the delayed and abbreviated 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden welcomed that year's Honorees to the White House in May of 2021 but did not attend any other events.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: For the 2021 edition, Joe and Jill Biden attended the gala performance on December 5, 2021, marking the first time since 2016 that a sitting president and first lady had attended the event.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: Two hundred forty-eight Kennedy Center Honors have been awarded as of 2022. One award, given to stand-up comedian and actor Bill Cosby in 1998, was rescinded in 2018, following a sexual assault conviction. The vast majority have been bestowed on individuals. On twelve occasions since 1985, awards have been presented to duos or groups, including three married couples who were actors: Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy; Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; and Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. Dancers The Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold were honored, along with three musical theater songwriting duos: Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and John Kander and Fred Ebb. Members of five music groups were awarded: Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who; John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin; Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh and (posthumously) Glenn Frey of the Eagles; Philip Bailey, Verdine White, Ralph Johnson and (posthumously) Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire; and Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. of U2.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: In 2018, the award for "trailblazing creators of a transformative work that defies category" was created and presented at the annual ceremony to the creators of the musical "Hamilton": Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Andy Blankenbuehler and Alex Lacamoire.


title: Kennedy Center Honors

text: The 2019 honorees included, for the first time, a television program; the co-founders of "Sesame Street", Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, accepted the Kennedy Center Honors on behalf of all of the creators.