Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Berkeley, Busby

(Encyclopedia)Berkeley, Busby bŭzˈbē bûrˈklē [key], 1895–1975, American film director and choreographer, b. Los Angeles as William Berkeley Enos. Self-taught, he choreographed several Broadway revues before...

Gallen-Kallela, Akseli Valdemar

(Encyclopedia)Gallen-Kallela, Akseli Valdemar äkˈsālē välˈdāmär gälānˈ-kälˈlālä [key], 1865–1931, Finnish painter. He was a student of Bouguereau. His series of stark, linear paintings of the Kalev...

Baryshnikov, Mikhail

(Encyclopedia)Baryshnikov, Mikhail mĭˈkhail bərĭˌshnĭkävˈ [key], 1948–, Russian-American dancer and choreographer, b. Riga, Latvia (then in the USSR). He studied in Riga and performed with the Kirov Balle...

Cunningham, Merce

(Encyclopedia)Cunningham, Merce (Mercier Philip Cunningham), 1919–2009, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Centralia, Wash. Cunningham studied modern dance with Martha Graham and ballet at Balanchine's ...

Alecsandri, Vasile

(Encyclopedia)Alecsandri, Vasile väsēˈlē älĕksänˈdrē [key], 1821–90, Romanian poet, dramatist, and statesman. He was (1858) provisional foreign minister and subsequently served in various diplomatic post...

Czuczor, Gergely

(Encyclopedia)Czuczor, Gergely gĕrˈgĕlĭ tso͝oˈtsôr [key], 1800–1866, Hungarian philologist and poet, a Benedictine monk. With John Fogarasi he compiled a Hungarian dictionary (completed 1861). He also wrot...

Humperdinck, Engelbert

(Encyclopedia)Humperdinck, Engelbert hŭmˈpərdĭngk, Ger. ĕngˈəlbĕrt ho͝omˈpərdĭngk [key], 1854–1921, German composer and teacher. He is known chiefly for his first opera, Hänsel und Gretel (1893), suc...

Kabalevsky, Dmitri

(Encyclopedia)Kabalevsky, Dmitri dəmēˈtrē käˌbəlĕfˈskē [key], 1904–87, Soviet composer. His large output includes the opera Colas Breugnon (1938); The Commedians suite (1940); a Requiem (1963); concerto...

Robert, Léopold

(Encyclopedia)Robert, Léopold lāôpôldˈ rōbĕrˈ [key], 1794–1835, French genre painter, b. Switzerland; pupil of J. L. David. He excelled in depicting Italian folk life in a classical style. His two best-kn...

Dvořák, Antonín

(Encyclopedia)Dvořák, Antonín änˈtônēn dvôrˈzhäk [key], 1841–1904, Czech composer. He studied at the Organ School, Prague (1857–59) and played viola in the National Theater Orchestra (1861–71) under...