b. 1954 British composer Born in England to Scottish parents, Weir studied privately with Tavener and at Cambridge University. Various world traditions have informed the narratives of her operas, such as A Night at the Chinese Opera (1987, a Chinese Yuan Dynasty drama), The Vanishing Bridegroom (1990, a story from the Scottish west highlands) and Miss Fortune ...
b. 1954, British Combining stylistic versatility with a strong compositional voice, Weir’s interests in narrative, theatre and folklore are well suited to opera. She also writes her own libretti. With themes ranging from Chinese Yuan Dynasty drama, Icelandic sagas and German romanticism, and a fine understanding of the voice, her operas have earned a secure ...
A conically bored baritone instrument, the serpent is supposed to have been invented by Edmé Guillaume in 1590. Like its close relative, the cornett, it is sounded by buzzing the lips into an ivory-, horn- or metal-cup mouthpiece which, in turn, agitates the air column. Its 213-cm (84-in) length is undulating in appearance, giving it ...
1900–50, German A precocious compositional talent, Weill’s early operatic works Der Protagonist (‘The Protagonist’, 1926) and Der Zar lässt sich photographieren (‘The Tsar has his Photograph Taken’, 1928) strengthened his resolve to invent a style of music theatre that used the finest playwrights and dancers. In 1927, he collaborated with writer Bertolt Brecht on Mahagonny Songspiel, and ...
b. 1960 English composer Turnage studied with Knussen at the Royal College of Music and later at the Tanglewood Music Center with Henze, who secured for him his first operatic commission for Greek, a setting of Steven Berkoff’s modern retelling of the Oedipus myth in London’s East End. Like his first major orchestral work, Night Dances (1980–81), much ...
European culture lay in ruins after the end of World War II. There were many who, in company with the philosopher Theodor Adorno, felt that Nazi atrocities such as Auschwitz rendered art impossible, at least temporarily. Others, though, felt that humanity could only establish itself anew by rediscovering the potency of art, including opera. On ...
Several women composers of the late twentieth century have a particular affinity for opera, while also writing works in a wide variety of other genres. For the Scottish composer Thea Musgrave (b. 1928), writing her first full-length opera, The Decision (1965), led to the development of what she describes as her ‘dramatic-abstract’ instrumental style. Her later operas, which ...
Composed: 1911 (re. 1912; 1918) Premiered: 1918, Budapest Libretto by Béla Balázs, after a fairy-tale by Charles Perrault Bluebeard and Judith appear in the doorway of his castle. She has left her family and declares she will never leave him. He closes the iron door. She offers to warm the stones and let in the light. There are no ...
(Är-tür’ Ô-ne-gâr’) 1892–1955 Swiss composer Honegger studied in Paris, and was soon bracketed with five French contemporaries as ‘Les Six’, but his idiom was tougher and less Gallic than theirs. He made his name with a powerful, neo-Handelian scenic cantata Le roi David (‘King David’; first performed at an outdoor festival in Switzerland, 1921). He wrote orchestral works ...
1881–1945, Hungarian Widely recognized as one of the twentieth century’s most important composers, Bartók was a complete original in terms of his musical language, creating a national style that merged folk melodies with the asymmetric patterns of Hungarian speech. His vocal lines, often punctuated by a heavy chordal style, are evident in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, ...
b. 1945, American Boasting one of the most magnificent voices of her generation, Norman has received praise for her operatic, concert and recital performances. A scholarship student at Howard University at the age of 16, she then studied at the Peabody Institute and received her Masters Degree at the University of Michigan. Her 1969 operatic debut as ...
Rock’s most famous and celebrated hippie band, known more for its anything-goes, drug-hazed concerts and legions of ‘Deadhead’ fans than for its body of studio work, The Grateful Dead grew out of a union between singer-songwriter/lead guitarist Jerry Garcia (1942–95), songwriter/rhythm guitarist Bob Weir (born 16 October 1947) and keyboardist/singer Ron ‘Pigpen’ McKernan (1946–73). They were to become ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.