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Petrucci, Ottaviano dei

(Encyclopedia)Petrucci, Ottaviano dei ōtˌtävyäˈnō dāˈē pātro͞otˈchē [key], 1466–1539, Venetian printer. Petrucci was the inventor of printing music by movable metal type. His patent for the process w...

castanets

(Encyclopedia)castanets kăsˌtənĕtsˈ [key], percussion instruments known to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, possibly of Middle Eastern origin, now used primarily in Spanish dance music or imitations of it. Th...

Chadwick, George Whitefield

(Encyclopedia)Chadwick, George Whitefield, 1854–1931, American composer, b. Lowell, Mass., studied in Germany. In 1882 he joined the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, of which he was director from...

Bortniansky, Dmitri Stepanovich

(Encyclopedia)Bortniansky, Dmitri Stepanovich dəmēˈtrē styĭpäˈnəvĭch bûrtnyänˈskē [key], 1751–1825, Russian composer, studied with Galuppi in St. Petersburg and Venice. After producing two operas in ...

Tippett, Sir Michael

(Encyclopedia)Tippett, Sir Michael, 1905–98, English composer, b. London. Tippett studied at the Royal College of Music. During World War II he was briefly imprisoned as a conscientious objector. His strongly hel...

Puente, Tito

(Encyclopedia)Puente, Tito (Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr.) tēˈtō pwĕnˈtā [key], 1923–2000, American musician, b. New York City. One of the premier composers and players of Latin music, he was a bandleader, pi...

Honegger, Arthur

(Encyclopedia)Honegger, Arthur hŭnˈēgər, Fr. ärtür ônāgĕrˈ [key], 1892–1955, Swiss-French composer, studied at the conservatories of Zürich and Paris. One of the group of Parisian composers called Les ...

Stokowski, Leopold

(Encyclopedia)Stokowski, Leopold stəkŏfˈskē [key], 1882–1977, American conductor, b. London. Stokowski studied in England and at the Paris Conservatory. He was organist and choirmaster at St. Bartholomew's Ch...

Caccini, Francesca

(Encyclopedia)Caccini, Francesca fränchĕsˈkä kät-chēˈnē [key] b. 1587, d. after 1641, Italian composer and singer, known as La Cecchina; daughter of Giulio Caccini. For most of her career she was a musician...

Piazzolla, Ástor Pantaleón

(Encyclopedia)Piazzolla, Ástor Pantaleón, 1921–92, Argentinian composer and player of the bandoneón (a large accordionlike instrument), b. Mar del Plata. He spent much of his childhood in New York, returned (1...

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