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New Year's Day

(Encyclopedia)New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated amo...

New Zealand literature

(Encyclopedia)New Zealand literature. In the 20th cent. New Zealand developed a vital literary tradition, though only a few of its authors are well-known outside its islands: Katherine Mansfield, short-story writer...

New Zealand spinach

(Encyclopedia)New Zealand spinach, succulent annual (Tetragonia expansa) of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and S South America, grown for the edible leaves. The plant grows prostrate, often spreading to cover sever...

Papua New Guinea

(Encyclopedia)Papua New Guinea păpˈo͞oə, –yo͞oə, gĭnˈē [key], officially Independent State of Papua New Guinea, independent Commonwealth nation (2015 est. pop. 6,672,000), 183,540 sq mi (475,369 sq km), ...

Lieberson, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Lieberson, Peter. 1946–2011, American composer, b. New York City. Lieberson studied composition at Columbia, where his teachers included modernists Milton Babbitt and Charles Wuorinen. While in scho...

Koussevitzky, Serge

(Encyclopedia)Koussevitzky, Serge (Sergei Aleksandrovich Koussevitzky) sĕrzh ko͞osəvĭtˈskē; Rus. syĭrgāˈ əlyĭksänˈdrəvĭch ko͝osyĭvētˈskē [key], 1874–1951, Russian-American conductor, studied i...

Piazzolla, Ástor Pantaleón

(Encyclopedia)Piazzolla, Ástor Pantaleón, 1921–92, Argentinian composer and player of the bandoneón (a large accordionlike instrument), b. Mar del Plata. He spent much of his childhood in New York, returned (1...

Puente, Tito

(Encyclopedia)Puente, Tito (Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr.) tēˈtō pwĕnˈtā [key], 1923–2000, American musician, b. New York City. One of the premier composers and players of Latin music, he was a bandleader, pi...

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