Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

syenite

(Encyclopedia)syenite sīˈənīt [key], coarse-grained igneous rock, similar in appearance and composition to granite. Unlike granite, it contains little or no quartz. The chief minerals in syenite are the feldspa...

silt

(Encyclopedia)silt, predominantly quartz mineral particles that are between sand size and clay size, i.e., between 1⁄16 and 1⁄256 mm (1⁄406 –1⁄6502 in.) in diameter. Silt, like clay and sand, is a product...

Vogler, Georg Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Vogler, Georg Joseph gāˈôrkh yōˈzĕf fōˈglər [key], 1749–1814, German composer and organist, known as Abbé Vogler. He traveled widely, giving organ concerts and demonstrating his innovation...

Lutosławski, Witold

(Encyclopedia)Lutosławski, Witold, 1913–94, Polish composer, b. Warsaw, studied Univ. of Warsaw, Warsaw Conservatory. His early works were mainly neoclassical and often included elements from Polish folk music, ...

Thomson, Virgil

(Encyclopedia)Thomson, Virgil, 1896–1989, American composer, critic, and organist, b. Kansas City, Mo. Thomson studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. Until about 1926 he wrote in a dissonant, neoclassic style, bu...

Babbitt, Milton

(Encyclopedia)Babbitt, Milton, 1916–2011, American composer, b. Philadelphia. Babbitt turned to music after studying mathematics. He studied composition with Roger Sessions at Princeton, and taught there from 193...

Ireland, John, English composer

(Encyclopedia)Ireland, John, 1879–1962, English composer. Inspired by visits to the Channel Islands, he wrote music of a simple, rugged beauty. His many songs include the cycle Songs of a Wayfarer (1903) and Sea ...

Mathews, Max Vernon

(Encyclopedia)Mathews, Max Vernon, 1926–2011, American engineer known as the father of computer music, b. Columbus, Nebr., grad. California Institute of Technology (B.S., 1950), Massachusetts Institute of Technol...

Vivaldi, Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Vivaldi, Antonio äntôˈnyō vēvälˈdē [key], 1678–1741, Italian composer. He was the greatest master of Italian baroque, particularly of violin music and the concerto grosso. Vivaldi received h...

Fela

(Encyclopedia)Fela (Fela Anikulapo Kuti), 1938–97, Nigerian musician and political activist, b. Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, studied Trinity College of Music, London. He was the originator of Afrobeat,...