Help With Hallmarks

A celebrated singer, songwriter and actor, Kris Kristofferson emerged after a period of struggle as one of the major artists of the 1970s, eventually translating that acclaim into a fruitful career in Hollywood. His songs "Me and Bobby McGee," "Help Me Make It Through the Night," "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," and "For the Good Times," all chart-topping hits, redefined the sound of country music, making it more personal and serious — hallmarks of the outlaw country movement he helped create.

Count Razumovsky, the Russian ambassador to Vienna, commissioned Beethoven to write the three quartets of Op.59 in 1805 for the Schuppanzigh Quartet. The Count was an amateur violinist and frequently played as second violinist with the Schuppanzigh Quartet, a group he funded and whose members were considered to be some of Vienna’s finest string players. In his commission, Count Razumovsky’s only specific request of Beethoven was that Russian folk tunes be significantly featured in the music.