No close family anniversaries. Born in LeHavre, France, this day in 1892: composer Arthur Honnegger.
So why the locomotive motif? Because of Honnegger’s short orchestral piece, Pacific 231, composed in 1923. It was a modernistic tribute to the pleasure and excitement of rail travel. “Pacific” is the nickname for a certain class of steam locomotives, large and very fast. Below is a YouTube video of scenes featuring this type of locomotive, set to Honnegger’s music. The engines shown have differing body styles, but all are of the “Pacific” class.
