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Beach Boys, The

(Encyclopedia)Beach Boys, The, American rock music band formed in 1961 by brothers Brian Wilson, 1942–, Dennis Wilson, 1944–83, and Carl ...

Tavener, Sir John Kenneth

(Encyclopedia)Tavener, Sir John Kenneth tăvˈənər, –nə [key], 1944–2013, English composer, b. London; studied Royal Academy of Music. Tavener, whose work shows a consistent but evolving tonal or modal style...

Delibes, Léo

(Encyclopedia)Delibes, Léo lāôˈ dəlēbˈ [key], 1836–91, French composer. After studying at the Conservatory in Paris, he became an accompanist at the Théâtre-Lyrique in 1853, and, ten years later, at the ...

Ibert, Jacques

(Encyclopedia)Ibert, Jacques zhäk ēbĕrˈ [key], 1890–1962, French composer. Ibert, a pupil of Fauré, won the Prix de Rome in 1919. His music is generally bright, colorful, and tuneful. Among the most popular ...

Holst, Gustav

(Encyclopedia)Holst, Gustav hŏlst [key], 1874–1934, English composer, studied at the Royal College of Music. Grieg, Richard Strauss, and Ralph Vaughan Williams influenced his early work, but most of his music is...

Gossec, François Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Gossec, François Joseph fräNswäˈ zhôzĕfˈ gôsĕkˈ [key], 1734–1829, Belgian composer; pupil of Rameau. In 1784 he organized the École Royale de Chant and taught (1795–1816) composition at...

obbligato

(Encyclopedia)obbligato ŏbləgäˈtō [key] [Ital.,=obligatory], in music, originally a term by which a composer indicated that a certain part was indispensable to the music. Obbligato was thus the direct opposite...

measure

(Encyclopedia)measure, in music, a metrical unit having a given number of beats, the first of which normally is accented, although the accent may be displaced by syncopation. Measures are separated on the staff by ...

Wolpe, Stefan

(Encyclopedia)Wolpe, Stefan shtĕfˈän vôlˈpə [key], 1902–72, German–American composer. Of Jewish ancestry, he went to live in Palestine in 1933, but settled in the United States in 1938. Wolpe wrote severa...

Buxtehude, Dietrich

(Encyclopedia)Buxtehude, Dietrich dēˈtrĭkh bo͝oksˌtəho͞oˈdə [key], c.1637–1707, Danish composer and organist. From 1668 until his death he was organist at Lübeck, where he established a famous series of...