Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Coltrane, John

(Encyclopedia)Coltrane, John kōltrānˈ, kōlˈtrān [key], 1926–67, American jazz musician, b. Hamlet, N.C. He began ...

Menotti, Gian-Carlo

(Encyclopedia)Menotti, Gian-Carlo jänˈ-kärˈlō mānôtˈtē [key], 1911–2007, Italian composer. Menotti was taught music by his mother and composed his first opera at 10. He studied at the Verdi Conservatory,...

Grateful Dead, The

(Encyclopedia)Grateful Dead, The, American rock music group formed in 1965 by guitarists Jerry Garcia, 1942–95, and Bob Weir, 1947–, harmonica player Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, 1945–73, bassist Phil Lesh, 194...

Furtwängler, Wilhelm

(Encyclopedia)Furtwängler, Wilhelm fo͝ortˈvĕng-lər [key], 1886–1954, German conductor, b. Berlin; son of Adolf Furtwängler. One of the greatest orchestral conductors of the 20th cent., he studied music in ...

song

(Encyclopedia)song, relatively brief, simple vocal composition, usually a setting of a poetic text, often strophic, for accompanied solo voice. The song literature of Western music embodies two broad classification...

Memorial University of Newfoundland

(Encyclopedia)Memorial University of Newfoundland, at St. John's, N.L., Canada; provincially supported; coeducational; founded 1925 as Memorial Univ. College. It achieved university status in 1949. The school has f...

Persichetti, Vincent

(Encyclopedia)Persichetti, Vincent, 1915–87, American composer, b. Philadelphia. Persichetti taught at the Philadelphia Conservatory and at Juilliard. His music is notable for polytonal combinations, contrapuntal...

Handel, George Frideric

(Encyclopedia)Handel, George Frideric hănˈdəl [key], 1685–1759, English composer, b. Halle, Germany. Handel was one of the greatest masters of baroque music, most widely celebrated for his majestic oratorio Me...

Alberti, Domenico

(Encyclopedia)Alberti, Domenico dōmāˈnēkō älbĕrˈtē [key], c.1710–c.1740, Venetian singer, harpsichordist, and composer. The Alberti bass (which he used but probably did not invent) is a broken, left-hand...

Muir, Alexander

(Encyclopedia)Muir, Alexander myo͞or [key], 1830–1906, Canadian songwriter, b. Scotland. In 1867 he wrote the words and music for “The Maple Leaf Forever,” which is regarded by many as the national hymn of C...