(Vocals, b. 1986) Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, alias Lady Gaga, made an impact on pop music reminiscent of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera a decade earlier when her infectious, electronic debut single ‘Just Dance’ went straight to No. 1 in the UK and US in 2008. The extrovert New Yorker’s eccentric fashion style further added to her ...
Composed: 1930–32 Premiered: 1934, Leningrad Libretto by the composer and Alexander Preys, after the short story by Nikolay Leskov Act I Katerina is married to Zinovy Ismailov. Despite his great wealth, she is bored. She has no children and Boris, her father-in-law, accuses her of being frigid. Zinovy has to go away on business. Boris makes ...
(Vocal group, 1952–88) One of many 1950s doo-wop groups scraping a reputation on the R&B circuit, Gladys Knight and The Pips (brother Merald and cousins William Guest and Edward Patten) only came to mainstream attention on signing with Motown in 1966, where they had minor hits and the 1967 million-seller original of ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine’. ...
Queen guitarist Brian May is among the most recognizable players in the world. His distinctive tones, created by the home-made guitar he built when he was 16 and has used throughout his career, are integral to the sound of Queen. Many of the sounds he produced were so innovative that the first seven Queen albums pointedly stated that no ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 2008–present) Eighties-influenced synth-pop duo La Roux, fronted by outspoken Elly Jackson, arrived on the scene with 2009 monster hit ‘In For The Kill’. The singer is instantly recognizable by her gravity-defying hairstyle, but it was her music, created with partner Ben Langmaid, that did the talking; their self-titled debut LP shot to No. ...
Despite initial comparisons to her fellow Londoner, the late Amy Winehouse, and other female soul acts – Adele has been likened to everyone from the late Whitney Houston to a combination of Joni Mitchell and Carole King – there’s no denying she is now widely thought of as a unique talent. ‘I keep getting called “the new Amy Winehouse” and ...
David Bowie has inspired more musicians than most recording artists, but he naturally also had his own formative influences. Who Does He Love ? It almost goes without saying that Elvis Presley was important to him: few of the musicians who became teenagers in the Sixties weren’t overwhelmed by The King’s stunning larynx and greaseball beauty. Perhaps revealingly, Bowie ...
January Grammy For Best Rock Album ‘Is this old hat now ?’ an interviewer from TV Guide asked the band after 21st Century Breakdown won a Grammy for Best Rock Album, ‘No, no, this is never old hat,’ replied Billie Joe, ‘when you put that much effort into a record nothing is old hat.’ At ...
In March 2013 it was announced that ‘David Bowie is’ – an exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum – had become the fastest-selling in the institution’s history. The traditionally minded V&A had clearly cottoned on to the fact that Bowie, more than any music icon, enabled them to fulfil their remit of exploring art and design in the ...
Adele’s second offering, 21 (again, named for the age at which she wrote it), was released in January 2011. Though still a ‘break-up’ album inspired by heartbreak – this time a different ex – it differs slightly in style from 19, as it contains Nashville country and blues influences she picked up while touring the US. The new ...
Adele is in a league of her own when compared to the likes of Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. The differences are not limited to their music styles either. An ardent fan of comfortable elegance and the colour black, when Adele’s touring, there’s no need to worry about 11 costume changes and the possibility of a wardrobe malfunction. She ...
Sir Walter Scott was perhaps the most popular literary figure in Europe in the 1820s. His adventurous tales set in chivalrous times captured an atmosphere of romance and mysticism, and exploited the vogue for Scottish subjects which was enveloping Europe. Rossini’s La donna del lago (‘The Lady of the Lake’, 1819), was the first successful opera derived from Scott’s works. ...
One of the oldest keyboard instruments, the clavichord has its origins in the late-fourteenth century, and was used throughout Western Europe during the Renaissance. It maintained its popularity in German lands into the first quarter of the nineteenth century, when, like its cousin the harpsichord, it was decisively superseded by the piano. Pitch and Timbre The ...
Computer music can be defined as music that is generated by, or composed and produced by means of, a computer. The idea that computers might have a role to play in the production of music actually goes back a lot further than one might think. As early as 1843, Lady Ada Lovelace suggested in a published article that ...
During the sixteenth century the harp was in danger of falling into disuse as chromatic keyboards raised composers’ expectations of what plucked strings could achieve. But in the third quarter of the century, instrument-builders began to experiment with the double harp, constructed with a second row of strings running next to the first. Arrangements of strings varied as makers ...
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...
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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.