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(Lo-ren’-tso Da Pon’-te) 1749–1838 Italian librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte was born in Ceneda (now Vittoria Veneto); his real name was Emanuele Conegliano – he took the name Da Ponte when he and his family converted from Judaism. Da Ponte initially trained for the priesthood, but his political and sexual liberalism and his obvious literary gifts led him in a different direction. ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

1749–1838, Italian Young Lorenzo Da Ponte’s career as a priest came to an abrupt end when he was thrown out of his seminary for adultery. After settling in Vienna, he became poet to the imperial theatres without having written a single libretto. Nevertheless, Da Ponte produced an impressive adaptation of Iphigénie en Tauride (1783) by Nicolas-François Guillard (1752–1814). ...

Source: Definitive Opera Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

The government-enforced isolation of Native Americans in the United States has fostered cultural independence, in contrast to the marked musical acculturation between the Hispanic-speaking and Amerindian societies in South America. But in modern times, North American groups have tended to set aside tribal differences and seek a pan-tribal cultural unity. The ‘Ghost Dance’, a religious cult led by Jack ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

(A’-dam de la Al) c. 1250–1300 French Trouvère Adam de la Halle appears as something of a Janus figure at the end of the thirteenth century, at once looking back to his forebears and forwards into the fourteenth century and beyond, and he composed works in amost every genre of the period, including monophonic and polyphonic songs and ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

(Mad’-da-lä-na Ca-sü-la’-na) c. 1540–90 Italian singer and composer Casulana worked as a professional singer and composer in Venice and Milan. The first of several volumes of her madrigals appeared in 1568 – the earliest-known printed collection by a woman. In Casulana’s words, it aimed ‘to show the world... the vain error of men that they alone possess intellectual gifts, ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

(Jo-van’-e Per-loo-e’-je da Pa-les-tre’-na) 1525/6–94 Italian composer Palestrina is named after a small town near Rome, where he is thought to have been born. He was educated in Rome; in 1537 he was a choirboy at the basilica of S Maria Maggiore, one of the city’s principal churches and an important musical establishment. By 1544 he was back in Palestrina ...

Source: Classical Music Encyclopedia, founding editor Stanley Sadie

Davey Graham (b. 1940) (originally Davy Graham) is a guitarist who is credited with sparking the folk-rock revolution in the UK in the Sixties. He inspired many of the famous fingerstyle guitarists, such as Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy, Paul Simon and even Jimmy Page, who heavily based his solo ‘White Summer’ on Graham’s ‘She ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

Jazz and fusion guitarist Stanley Jordan (b. 1959) caught listeners’ attention with his touch technique, an advanced form of two-handed tapping, for playing guitar. By quickly tapping (or ‘hammering’) his finger down behind the appropriate fret with varying force, Jordan produced a unique legato sound not usually associated with tapping. Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois. He ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

As the guitarist in Pink Floyd, David Gilmour’s place in the pantheon of guitar heroes is guaranteed. But it’s not simply his playing on albums like The Dark Side Of The Moon that has assured his status. His meticulous attention to the sound and tone of his guitar in the studio and in concert has earned the universal admiration of ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

‘King of the Surf Guitar’ Dick Dale was born Richard Monsour in Boston, Massachusetts in 1937. Dale learned to play drums, ukulele and trumpet before taking up the guitar, inspired by country music. His first break in music was winning an Elvis Presley soundalike contest. Dale began playing guitar in clubs, solo at first, but later ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

Trailblazing Kinks lead guitarist Dave Davies was born in Muswell Hill, London in 1947. The Davies were a close-knit, musical family and Dave acquired his first guitar, a Harmony Meteor, at the age of 11. He taught himself to play, citing blues pioneer Big Bill Broonzy as his earliest influence. Other inspirations were James Burton, ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

Despite a life cut tragically short by violence, Darrell Lance Abbott (1966–2004), known as ‘Dimebag Darrell,’ achieved stardom not only as a founding member of the bands Pantera and Damageplan, but also in death as an icon who succumbed onstage and carried his passions to the grave. Darrell Abbott took up guitar when he was 12. He was ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

Guitar One magazine declared him a ‘modern-day master of the Telecaster’. In the 2007 Guitar World readers’ poll, his instrumental guitar tour de terror The Devil Knows My Name was named Best Shred Album of 2007. Also in 2007, he graced the covers of Guitar Player and Guitarist magazines, while in 2008, he was featured on the ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

More than any other hard-rock or heavy-metal duo, Iron Maiden guitarists Adrian Smith and Dave Murray (b. 1956) set the standard for twin-guitar harmony lines and riffs. Indeed, their killer riffs and epic songs have helped to make Iron Maiden one of the most influential metal bands of all time. Murray was born in Edmonton, England. Inspired by ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin

Dave Mustaine (b. 1961) was the original lead guitarist for the heavy-metal band Metallica and the co-founder, lead guitarist and lead singer of the thrash-metal band Megadeth. He was born in La Mesa, California. Brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness, by the age of 17, he was surviving financially by dealing drugs. In the 1970s, Mustaine ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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