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Koechlin, Charles

(Encyclopedia)Koechlin, Charles shärl kāklăNˈ [key], 1867–1950, French composer. Koechlin studied composition with Massenet and Fauré. He composed in all forms and many styles, but his music is rarely perfor...

Gieseking, Walter

(Encyclopedia)Gieseking, Walter välˈtər gēˈzəkĭng [key], 1895–1956, German pianist, b. Lyons, France, grad. Hanover Municipal Conservatory, 1916. He began touring Europe in 1920 and made his American debut...

nocturne

(Encyclopedia)nocturne nŏkˈtûrn [key] [Fr.,=night piece], in music, romantic instrumental piece, free in form and usually reflective or languid in character. John Field wrote the first nocturnes, influencing Cho...

Garden, Mary

(Encyclopedia)Garden, Mary, 1874–1967, Scottish-American operatic soprano, b. Aberdeen, Scotland, studied in Paris. Her debut (1900) occurred when she replaced, without rehearsal, the star of Charpentier's Louise...

K2

(Encyclopedia)K2 or Mount Godwin-Austen, peak, 28,251 ft (8,611 m) high, in the Karakorum range, N Kashmir, on the China-Pakistan border; second highest peak in the world. It was discovered and measured by the Surv...

Ansermet, Ernest

(Encyclopedia)Ansermet, Ernest ĕrnĕstˈ äNsĕrmĕˈ [key], 1883–1969, Swiss conductor. For several years he was a high-school mathematics teacher. He began his conducting career in Germany and toured with Diag...

Chausson, Ernest Amédée

(Encyclopedia)Chausson, Ernest Amédée ĕrnĕstˈ ämādāˈ shōsôNˈ [key], 1855–99, French composer. His music reflects the influence of César Franck and also suggests Debussy. Of his songs, perhaps the bes...

Takemitsu, Toru

(Encyclopedia)Takemitsu, Toru tōˈro͞o täkāˈmĭtso͞o [key], 1930–96, Japanese composer, b. Tokyo. Largely self-taught and particularly influenced by Debussy and Cage, Takemitsu successfully combined serial ...

Dutilleux, Henri

(Encyclopedia)Dutilleux, Henri, 1916–2013, French composer, b. Angers; studied (1933–38) Paris Conservatory, received (1938) the Grand Prix de Rome. After serving in World War II, he was a pianist, teacher, arr...

Mallarmé, Stéphane

(Encyclopedia)Mallarmé, Stéphane stāfänˈ mälärmāˈ [key], 1842–98, French poet. Mallarmé's great importance is as the chief forebear of the symbolists; the influence of his poetry was particularly felt b...