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Knussen, Oliver

(Encyclopedia)Knussen, Oliver (Stuart Oliver Knussen), 1952–2018, British composer, conductor, and teacher, b. Glasgow, Scotland. A musical prodigy, he began to compose at age 6 and studied with, among others, Gu...

Diddley, Bo

(Encyclopedia)Diddley, Bo, 1928–2008, African-American singer, guitarist, and songwriter who was one of the founders of rock and roll, b. near McComb, Miss., as Otha Ellas Bates. He and his cousin, Gussie McDanie...

Strauss

(Encyclopedia)Strauss strous, Ger. shtrous [key], family of Viennese musicians. Johann Strauss, 1804–49, learned to play the violin against his parents' wishes. In 1819 he joined the dance orchestra of Josef Lann...

Mendelssohn, Felix

(Encyclopedia)Mendelssohn, Felix (Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn) mĕnˈdəlsən, Ger. yäˈkôp lo͝otˈvĭkh fāˈlĭks mĕnˈdəls-zōnˌ [key], 1809–47, German composer; grandson of the Jewish philosopher Mos...

Bartók, Béla

(Encyclopedia)Bartók, Béla bāˈlə bärˈtŏk, Hung. bāˈlô bôrˈtōk [key], 1881–1945, Hungarian composer and collector of folk music. He studied (1899–1903) and later taught piano at the Royal Academy, ...

Henze, Hans Werner

(Encyclopedia)Henze, Hans Werner häns vĕrˈnər hĕnˈtsə [key], 1926–2012, German composer, b. Gütersloh. Henze was a pupil of Wolfgang Fortner and René Leibowitz. His early works were influenced by Stravin...

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich

(Encyclopedia)Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich ĭlyēchˈ chīkôfˈskē [key], 1840–93, Russian composer, b. Kamsko-Votkinsk. Variant transliterations of his name include Tschaikovsky and Chaikovsky. He is a towering f...

Toscanini, Arturo

(Encyclopedia)Toscanini, Arturo ärto͞oˈrō tōskänēˈnē [key], 1867–1957, Italian conductor, internationally recognized as one of the world's great conductors. He studied cello at the Parma Conservatory, fr...

Berg, Alban

(Encyclopedia)Berg, Alban älˈbän bĕrk [key], 1885–1935, Austrian composer. In his youth he taught himself music but in 1904 he became the pupil and close friend of Arnold Schoenberg. Later Berg himself taught...

Adams, John, American composer

(Encyclopedia)Adams, John (John Coolidge Adams), 1947–, American composer, b. Worcester, Mass. A clarinetist, he studied composition at Harvard (B.A. 1969, M.A. 1971). Often regarded as the most outstanding, tech...