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feldspar

(Encyclopedia)feldspar fĕlˈspär [key], an abundant group of rock-forming minerals which constitute 60% of the earth's crust. Chemically the feldspars are silicates of aluminum, containing sodium, potassium, iron...

Shostakovich, Dmitri

(Encyclopedia)Shostakovich, Dmitri dyĭmēˈtrē shŏstŏkôˈvĭch [key], 1906–75, Russian composer, b. St. Petersburg. Shostakovich studied at the Leningrad Conservatory (1919–25). The early success of his Fi...

plover

(Encyclopedia)plover plŭvˈər [key], common name for some members of the large family Charadriidae, shore birds, small to medium in size, found in ice-free lands all over the world. Plovers are plumpish wading bi...

Piero della Francesca

(Encyclopedia)Piero della Francesca pyĕˈrō dĕlˈlä fränchāsˈkä [key], c.1420–1492, major Italian Renaissance painter, b. Borgo San Sepolcro (modern Sansepolcro). All his masterpieces were created in town...

Philip the Good

(Encyclopedia)Philip the Good, 1396–1467, duke of Burgundy (1419–67); son of Duke John the Fearless. After his father was murdered (1419) at a meeting with the dauphin (later King Charles VII of France), Philip...

Rimsky-Korsakov, Nicolai Andreyevich

(Encyclopedia)Rimsky-Korsakov, Nicolai Andreyevich nyĭkəlī əndrāˈəvĭch rĭmˈskē-kôrˈsəkôf [key], 1844–1908, Russian composer; one of the group of nationalist composers called The Five. He prepared h...

Vancouver Island

(Encyclopedia)Vancouver Island (1991 pop. 579,921), 12,408 sq mi (32,137 sq km), SW British Columbia, Canada, in the Pacific Ocean; largest island off W North America. It is c.285 mi (460 km) long and c.30 to 80 mi...

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...

Volga

(Encyclopedia)Volga vŏlˈgə, Rus. vôlˈgə [key], river, c.2,300 mi (3,700 km) long, central and E European Russia. It is the longest river of Europe and the principal waterway of Russia, being navigable (with l...

Las Vegas

(Encyclopedia)Las Vegas läs vāˈgəs [key], city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United ...