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Braun, Eva

(Encyclopedia)Braun, Eva āˈvä broun [key], 1912–45, mistress and later wife of the German dictator Adolf Hitler. She was a shop assistant to a Nazi photographer, through whom she met Hitler. She entered his ho...

Albert I, Holy Roman Emperor

(Encyclopedia)Albert I, c.1250–1308, Holy Roman Emperor (1298–1308), son of Rudolf I. Albert was invested with Austria and Styria in 1282 by his father, who also hoped to secure the succession as king of the Ge...

Yverdon-les-Bains

(Encyclopedia)Yverdon-les-Bains ēvĕrdôNˈ-lā-bĕNˈ [key], Ger. Iferten, town (1990 pop. 22,758), Vaud canton, W Switzerland, at the south end of the Lake of Neuchâtel. It is an old spa with Roman ruins. Machi...

motive

(Encyclopedia)motive or motif mōtēfˈ [key], in music, a short phrase or passage of two or more notes and repeated or elaborated throughout the composition. The term is usually used synonymously with figure. A sp...

Nilsson, Birgit

(Encyclopedia)Nilsson, Birgit bĭrˈgĭt nĭlˈsôn [key], 1918–2005, Swedish soprano. Her powerful voice first came to international attention at the Munich Opera, where she was heard (1954–55) as Brünnhilde ...

Valkyries

(Encyclopedia)Valkyries vălkērˈēz [key], in Germanic mythology, warrior maidens of Odin. They presided over battles, chose those who were to die, and brought the souls of the dead heroes back to Valhalla. Chief...

Boito, Arrigo

(Encyclopedia)Boito, Arrigo ärrēˈgo bôˈētō [key], 1842–1918, Italian composer and librettist. His opera Mefistofele (1868, rev. 1875), influenced by Wagner's music-drama, helped to bring about a new dramat...

Marlboro Music Festival

(Encyclopedia)Marlboro Music Festival, chamber music festival held on the campus of Marlboro College, Marlboro, Vt., annually in July and August. Founded in 1951 by Adolf Busch, Rudolf Serkin, and several others an...

Charles XVI Gustavus

(Encyclopedia)Charles XVI Gustavus (Carl Gustaf), 1946–, king of Sweden (1973–), grandson and successor of Gustavus VI; son of Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden and Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Brought up...

Raeder, Erich

(Encyclopedia)Raeder, Erich āˈrĭkh rāˈdər [key], 1876–1960, German admiral. As chief of staff to Admiral Franz von Hipper in World War I, he took part in the battles of Dogger Bank (1915) and Jutland (1916)...