Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Zukerman, Pinchas

(Encyclopedia)Zukerman, Pinchas, 1948–, Israeli violinist and conductor, b. Tel Aviv. A violin protégé of Isaac Stern, he came to the United States in 1962 and made his New York City debut the following year. Z...

symphonic poem

(Encyclopedia)symphonic poem, type of orchestral composition created by Liszt, also called tone poem. Discarding classical principles of form, it begins with a poetic or other literary inspiration. Although it is u...

Adès, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Adès, Thomas ădˈĭs [key], 1971–, British composer, conductor, and pianist, b. London, studied Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and King's College, Cambridge. An accomplished composer...

cymbals

(Encyclopedia)cymbals sĭmˈbəlz [key], percussion instruments of ancient Asian origin. They consist of a pair of slightly concave metal plates which produce a vibrant sound of indeterminate pitch. Known in Europe...

Rodrigo, Joaquín

(Encyclopedia)Rodrigo, Joaquín, 1902–99, Spanish composer, b. Sagunto, Valencia. He lost his sight as a child and wrote his music in Braille. After his musical talent was recognized, Rodrigo studied in Paris wit...

Reger, Max

(Encyclopedia)Reger, Max mäks rāˈgər [key], 1873–1916, German composer; he studied with Hugo Riemann in Wiesbaden. Through his sensitive interpretations of Mozart and Bach he won acclaim as a pianist. In 1901...

Kansas City

(Encyclopedia)Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc...

instrumentation

(Encyclopedia)instrumentation, in music: see orchestra and orchestration. ...

Pousseur, Henri

(Encyclopedia)Pousseur, Henri äNrēˈ po͞osörˈ [key], 1929–2009, Belgian composer, b. Malmédy. Considered the leader of the Belgian avant-garde, he studied composition with André Souris and Pierre Boulez an...

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...