1762–96 English composer Born in London of Italian and English parentage, Storace studied in Naples and first worked in Florence. He was back in London in the 1780s and spent time in Vienna, where his sister Nancy was a singer (she was the first Susanna in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro); he was a friend of Mozart’s. Back in London ...
1762–96, English The English composer Stephen Storace wrote his first two operas – Gli sposi malcontenti (‘The Discontented Newlyweds’, 1785) and Gli equivoci (‘The Misunderstandings’, 1786) – for Vienna. His next two works, written for London after 1787, were not particularly successful, and subsequently Storace concentrated on English dialogue operas, either full-length or in the form ...
Stephen Stills (b. 1945) turned acoustic guitar into a fiery blues instrument as a solo artist and performer. That alone might have made him a rock icon, but of course Stills was also busy producing, composing and singing with the most popular rock vocal group of all time, creating hit singles on his own, teaming up with ...
1766–1817, English The English soprano Nancy Storace was the sister of the composer Stephen Storace and sang in his operas at Drury Lane, London, from 1789 until his death in 1796. Nancy was only 10 years old when she made her debut as Cupid in Le ali d’amore by Venanzio Rauzzini (1746–1810). Five years later, in Florence ...
b. 1930 American composer and lyricist Sondheim studied with Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) and Babbitt. Early work as a lyricist for Jules Styne’s (1905–89) Gypsy (1959) and Bernstein’s West Side Story (1957) brought his name to public attention, but it was not until Follies (1971) that he achieved recognition as a composer. His work is marked by a biting wit ...
(Yo’-han Vent’-zel An’-ton Shta’-mit) 1717–57 Bohemian composer Born in Bohemia, by 1741 Stamitz was working at the Mannheim court, where he became leading violinist in 1743, Konzertmeister soon after, and director in 1750. He made the Mannheim orchestra the most famous in Europe for its discipline and its capacity to achieve new effects. Although he composed concertos and ...
1748–1829, English William Shield, who was both composer and librettist, belonged to a trio of musicians (with Charles Dibdin and Stephen Storace) who dominated the English comic opera stage in the late eighteenth century. Shield started out as an apprentice boat builder, but moved on to become a violinist. In 1772, he arrived in London from ...
Sound effects and instruments trouvés include found objects and specialist machines for making noises. Composers have made extensive use of both sound effects and found objects in orchestral music, especially in music for theatre, dance and opera. Sound Effects The wind machine was originally a theatrical sound effect, and is a cylinder of wooden slats with a canvas ...
This section encompasses styles that were, at least initially, designed to work in tandem with other forms of expression, deepening or enhancing their impact. The scores of musical theatre are woven into stories played out by the characters on stage. A film soundtrack is composed to interlock with the action on a cinema screen, while cabaret songs ...
‘The Trojans’ Composed: 1856–58 Premiered: 1890, Karlsruhe Libretto by the composer, after the Aeneid by Virgil Act I The Trojans celebrate peace and admire the wooden horse left by the Greeks after the siege. Cassandre (Cassandra), King Priam’s daughter, forsees the fall of Troy. Her husband Chorèbe (Coroebus) urges her to join the celebrations, but she begs ...
New-wave guitarist Bernard Sumner (b. 1956) was born in Salford, Manchester. Seeing the Sex Pistols in Manchester in June 1976 inspired Sumner and Peter Hook to acquire their first instruments, guitar and bass respectively. Originally called Warsaw, later Joy Division, they recruited drummer Stephen Morris and singer Ian Curtis for their band, making some self-produced records ...
(Vocal group, 1993–2000) This Irish answer to Take That racked up seven Top 10 singles and spawned an equally successful solo star in Ronan Keating. Mikey Graham, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch, Stephen Gately (1976–2009) and Keating were mustered by future X-Factor svengali Louis Walsh in 1993. Their first UK hit was a cover version of The Osmonds’ ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1966–68) Migrating from New York to Los Angeles, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay rehearsed with a third singing guitarist, Canadian Neil Young, who recommended Bruce Palmer (bass) and Dewey Martin (drums). 1967’s Buffalo Springfield was remarkable for an acoustic bias and clever vocal harmonies. A hit single, ‘For What It’s Worth’, and healthy sales ...
(Experimental vocal/instrumental group, 1973–94) Founded in Sheffield by Krautrock fans Chris Watson, Richard H. Kirk and Stephen Mallinder. The trio manipulated tapes and played conventional instruments against and over them. Signed to Rough Trade in 1978, an underground hit ‘Nag Nag Nag’ emerged. The group became more interested in danceable beats, but still retained an experimental edge. ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1968–70) When on a US tour with The Hollies, Graham Nash (vocals, guitar) had sown the seeds of a ‘supergroup’ with ex-Byrd Dave Crosby (vocals, guitar) and Stephen Stills (vocals, guitar) from Buffalo Springfield. The new combine rehearsed in London for an eponymous album that featured hippy lyricism, flawless vocal harmonies and neo-acoustic ...
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.