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Smith, Bessie

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Bessie, 1894–1937, American singer, b. Chattanooga, Tenn. About 1910 Smith became the protégée of Gertrude (Ma) Rainey, one of the earliest b...

Montale, Eugenio

(Encyclopedia)Montale, Eugenio āo͞ojĕˈnyō mōntäˈlā [key], 1896–1981, Italian poet, critic, and translator. After working as an editor, Montale became chief librarian of the Gabinetto Vieusseux in Florenc...

Haydn, Franz Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Haydn, Franz Joseph fränts yōˈzĕf hīˈdən [key], 1732–1809, Austrian composer, one of the greatest masters of classical music. As a boy he sang in the choir at St. Stephen's, Vienna, where he ...

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...

Ponge, Francis

(Encyclopedia)Ponge, Francis fräNsēsˈ pôNzh [key], 1899–1988, French essayist and poet. A controversial figure, he was opposed to emotional and symbolic poetic methods. His method was to observe things meticu...

spiritism

(Encyclopedia)spiritism or spiritualism, belief that the human personality continues to exist after death and can communicate with the living through the agency of a medium or psychic. The advocates of spiritism ar...

harmonic

(Encyclopedia)harmonic. 1 Physical term describing the vibration in segments of a sound-producing body (see sound). A string vibrates simultaneously in its whole length and in segments of halves, thirds, fourths, e...

Li Ch'ing-chao

(Encyclopedia)Li Ch'ing-chao lēˈ chĭngˌ-chouˈ [key], 1084?–c.1151, Chinese poet. Li's 78 extant song lyrics [tz'u] have earned her a reputation as a master of lyrical poetry. She achieves a simple, natural v...

Crespin, Régine

(Encyclopedia)Crespin, Régine rāzhēnˈ krĕspăNˈ [key], 1927–2007, French soprano. She made her major debut at the Paris Opéra in 1950. The range, flexibility, subtlety, and richness of her voice were criti...

Burton, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Richard, 1925–84, British actor, b. Pontrhydfen, Wales; his original name was Richard Jenkins. A dark, introspective actor with a splendid speaking voice, Burton specialized in portraying co...