Music, Contemporary Genres, HEL-LAN

Hey, what's that sound? Music pervades many aspects of contemporary everyday life; it appears in commercials, blares from speakers in stores and restaurants, accompanies commuters on the way to work, and energizes gym-goers when their motivation is flagging. Music festivals such as Lollapalooza (in Chicago) and the Sziget Festival (in Budapest) attract enormous crowds by featuring an extensive lineup of musicians over several days. Today's music can be divided into any number of categories and subcategories, encompassing genres such as pop, jazz, rock, alternative, country, electronic, rap, and much more.
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Music, Contemporary Genres Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Helfgott, David
David Helfgott is an Australian pianist who was a child prodigy but later experienced mental illness to the point......
Henderson, Fletcher
Fletcher Henderson was an American musical arranger, bandleader, and pianist who was a leading pioneer in the sound,......
Hendrix, Jimi
Jimi Hendrix was an American rock guitarist, singer, and composer who fused American traditions of blues, jazz,......
Henry V
Henry V, film score by English composer William Walton for the 1944 Laurence Olivier film of the same name. Walton......
Henselt, Adolf von
Adolf von Henselt was a German pianist and composer, considered to be one of the greatest virtuosos of his time.......
Henze, Hans Werner
Hans Werner Henze was a German composer whose operas, ballets, symphonies, and other works are marked by an individual......
Herman, Woody
Woody Herman was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, bandleader, and singer who was best known as the front......
Herrmann, Bernard
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer and conductor, widely recognized for his film scores. His music for Psycho......
Herz, Henri
Henri Herz was a brilliant Austrian pianist, teacher, and composer. Herz studied with his father and Daniel Hünten,......
Hess, Dame Myra
Dame Myra Hess was an English pianist known for her interpretations of the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and......
Higgins, Billy
Billy Higgins was an American drummer who helped create the free jazz idiom while he was a member of Ornette Coleman’s......
Hindemith, Paul
Paul Hindemith was one of the principal German composers of the first half of the 20th century and a leading musical......
Hinton, Milt
Milt Hinton was an American jazz musician, a highly versatile bassist who came of age in the swing era and became......
Hodes, Art
Art Hodes was an American jazz and blues pianist known for the emotional commitment of his playing. He is regarded......
Hodges, Johnny
Johnny Hodges was an American jazz saxophonist who was a featured soloist in Duke Ellington’s orchestra. Renowned......
Hofmann, Josef Casimir
Josef Casimir Hofmann was a Polish-born American pianist, especially noted for his glittering performances of the......
Honegger, Arthur
Arthur Honegger was a composer associated with the modern movement in French music in the first half of the 20th......
Hooker, John Lee
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-guitarist, one of the most distinctive artists in the electric blues......
Horn, Shirley
Shirley Horn was an American jazz artist whose ballads, sung in a breathy contralto to her own piano accompaniment,......
Horowitz, Vladimir
Vladimir Horowitz was a Russian-born American virtuoso pianist in the Romantic tradition, celebrated for his flawless......
Horst, Louis
Louis Horst was a U.S. pianist, composer, and one of the first persons anywhere to teach choreography as a distinct......
Hotteterre, Jacques
Jacques Hotteterre was a French musician, teacher, and musical-instrument maker. Hotteterre was descended from......
house
house, style of high-tempo, electronic dance music that originated in Chicago in the early 1980s and spread internationally.......
Hubay, Jenö
Jenö Hubay was a Hungarian violinist, teacher, and composer, noted especially for his teaching. He studied as a......
Humfrey, Pelham
Pelham Humfrey was an English composer and lutenist, especially admired for his anthems and sacred solo songs.......
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk
Johann Nepomuk Hummel was an Austrian composer and outstanding virtuoso pianist during the period of transition......
Hunter Hancock
Hunter Hancock is remembered as the first white disc jockey to play rhythm-and-blues records in southern California,......
Imber, Naphtali Herz
Naphtali Herz Imber was an itinerant Hebrew poet whose poem “Ha-Tiqva” (“The Hope”), set to music, was the official......
improvisation
improvisation, in music, the extemporaneous composition or free performance of a musical passage, usually in a......
improvisation
improvisation, in theatre, the playing of dramatic scenes without written dialogue and with minimal or no predetermined......
Internationale, L’
L’Internationale, former official socialist and communist song. It was the anthem of the First, Second, and Third......
isicathamiya
isicathamiya, a type of secular a cappella choral singing developed in South Africa by migrant Zulu communities.......
Iturbi, José
José Iturbi was a Spanish-born pianist, conductor, and actor, known for his hectic concert schedule and for his......
Jack the Rapper
Jack the Rapper (Jack Gibson) helped open the first African-American-owned radio station in the United States,......
Jackson, Milt
Milt Jackson was an American jazz musician, the first and most influential vibraphone improviser of the postwar,......
Jacquet de la Guerre, Elisabeth-Claude
Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre was a French composer, harpsichordist, and organist, who was the first woman......
James, Elmore
Elmore James was an American blues singer-guitarist noted for the urgent intensity of his singing and guitar playing.......
James, Harry
Harry James was an American jazz musician and bandleader, and one of the most popular and dynamic trumpet players......
Jansch, Bert
Bert Jansch was a Scottish-born guitarist, singer, and songwriter whose innovative and influential guitar technique......
Jarrett, Keith
Keith Jarrett is an American jazz pianist, composer, and saxophonist considered to be one of the most original......
Jefferson, Blind Lemon
Blind Lemon Jefferson was an American country blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, one of the earliest folk-blues......
Jenkins, John
John Jenkins was a composer, lutenist, and string player, most eminent composer in his era of music for chamber......
Joachim, Joseph
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist known for his masterful technique and his interpretations of works of......
Jobim, Antônio Carlos
Antônio Carlos Jobim was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, and arranger who transformed the extroverted rhythms......
Jocko Henderson
For seven years beginning in the mid-1950s, Douglas (“Jocko”) Henderson commuted daily between Philadelphia, where......
Joel, Billy
Billy Joel is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter in the pop ballad tradition whose numerous hit songs......
Joey Reynolds
A pioneer of the brash, no-holds-barred style that came to dominate morning shows on rock radio in the 1990s, Joey......
Jog, V.G.
V.G. Jog was an Indian violinist who is credited with introducing the violin into the Hindustani classical music......
John, Elton
Elton John is a British singer, composer, and pianist who was one of the most popular entertainers of the late......
Johnson, Blind Willie
Blind Willie Johnson was an American gospel blues singer and guitar player who performed on Southern streets and......
Johnson, Bunk
Bunk Johnson was an American jazz trumpeter, one of the first musicians to play jazz and a principal figure of......
Johnson, J.J.
J.J. Johnson was an American jazz composer and one of the genre’s most influential trombonists. Johnson received......
Johnson, James P.
James P. Johnson was a highly influential American jazz pianist who also wrote popular songs and composed classical......
Johnson, Lonnie
Lonnie Johnson was a prolific American musician, singer, and songwriter who was one of the first major blues and......
Johnson, Robert
Robert Johnson was an American blues composer, guitarist, and singer whose eerie falsetto singing voice and masterful......
Johnson, Robert
Robert Johnson was a British composer and lutenist, who wrote music for a number of plays, including several by......
Johnson, Tommy
Tommy Johnson was an American singer-guitarist who was one of the most evocative and influential of blues artists.......
Jones, Elvin
Elvin Jones was an American jazz drummer and bandleader who established a forceful polyrhythmic approach to the......
Jones, Jo
Jo Jones was an American musician, one of the most influential of all jazz drummers, noted for his swing, dynamic......
Jones, Norah
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to international stardom with her debut album......
Jones, Philly Joe
Philly Joe Jones was an American jazz musician, one of the major percussionists of the bop era, and among the most......
Jones, Quincy
Quincy Jones is an American musical performer, producer, arranger, and composer whose work encompasses virtually......
Jones, Robert
Robert Jones was a songwriter of the school of English lutenists that flourished at the turn of the 17th century.......
Joplin, Scott
Scott Joplin was an American composer and pianist who became known as the “king of ragtime” at the turn of the......
Jordan, Louis
Louis Jordan was an American saxophonist-singer prominent in the 1940s and ’50s who was a seminal figure in the......
Joseffy, Rafael
Rafael Joseffy was a Hungarian pianist and teacher and one of the great performers of his day, admired for his......
Kalkbrenner, Friedrich
Friedrich Kalkbrenner was a German-born French pianist, composer, and teacher whose compositions, mainly for piano,......
Karajan, Herbert von
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian-born orchestra and opera conductor, a leading international musical figure......
karaoke
karaoke, Use of a device that plays instrumental accompaniments to songs with the vocal tracks removed, permitting......
Karg-Elert, Sigfrid
Sigfrid Karg-Elert was an organist and composer, one of the principal German composers for organ of his generation.......
Karm, Dun
Dun Karm was Malta’s national poet, sometimes called “the bard of Malta,” or “the Chaucer of Malta.” His work has......
Kay, Ulysses
Ulysses Kay was an American composer, a prominent representative of the neoclassical school. A nephew of the New......
Kelly, R.
R. Kelly is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who was one of the best-selling......
Kempff, Wilhelm
Wilhelm Kempff was a German pianist who specialized in the 19th-century German Classical and Romantic repertoire—especially......
Kenton, Stan
Stan Kenton was an American jazz bandleader, pianist, and composer who commissioned and promoted the works of many......
Kerll, Johann Caspar von
Johann Caspar von Kerll was an organist and leading master of the middle-Baroque generation of south-German Catholic......
Khachaturian, Aram
Aram Khachaturian was a Soviet Armenian composer best known for his Piano Concerto (1936) and his ballet Gayane......
Khaled
Khaled is an Algerian popular singer who introduced Western audiences to raï—a form of Algerian popular music blending......
Khan, Ali Akbar
Ali Akbar Khan was a composer, virtuoso sarod player, and teacher, active in presenting classical Indian music......
Khan, Bismillah
Bismillah Khan was an Indian musician who played the shehnai, a ceremonial oboelike North Indian horn, with such......
Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was a Pakistani singer who is considered one of the greatest performers of qawwali, a Sufi......
King, Albert
Albert King was an American blues musician who created a unique string-bending guitar style that influenced three......
King, B.B.
B.B. King was an American guitarist and singer who was a principal figure in the development of blues and from......
Kirkpatrick, Ralph
Ralph Kirkpatrick was an American musicologist and one of the most influential harpsichordists of the 20th century.......
Knopfler, Mark
Mark Knopfler is a Scottish guitarist and singer-songwriter, widely known as the front man of the British rock......
Konitz, Lee
Lee Konitz was an American jazz musician, a leading figure in cool jazz and one of the most distinctive alto saxophonists.......
Korngold, Erich Wolfgang
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an American composer of Austro-Hungarian birth, best known as one of the originators......
Koussevitzky, Serge
Serge Koussevitzky was a Russian-born American conductor and publisher, a champion of modern music who commissioned......
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk, German experimental group widely regarded as the godfathers of electronic pop music. The original members......
Krauss, Alison
Alison Krauss is an American bluegrass fiddler and singer who—alone and in collaboration with her band, Union Station—performed......
Kreisler, Fritz
Fritz Kreisler was an Austrian-born violinist who was a “secret” composer of short violin pieces. At age seven......
Krenek, Ernst
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian-American composer, one of the prominent exponents of the serial technique of musical......
Kreutzer, Rodolphe
Rodolphe Kreutzer was a composer and violinist, one of the founders of the French school of violin playing, and......
Krupa, Gene
Gene Krupa was an American jazz drummer who was perhaps the most popular percussionist of the swing era. After......
Kuhnau, Johann
Johann Kuhnau was a German composer of church cantatas and early keyboard sonatas. Kuhnau studied music from boyhood......
Kumar, Kishore
Kishore Kumar was an Indian actor, playback singer, composer, and director known for his comic roles in Indian......
Kölcsey, Ferenc
Ferenc Kölcsey was a Hungarian Romantic poet whose poem “Hymnusz” (1823), evoking the glory of Hungary’s past,......
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo, South African music group founded in 1964 by Joseph Shabalala, a young musician who hoped......
Landowska, Wanda
Wanda Landowska was a Polish-born harpsichordist who helped initiate the revival of the harpsichord in the 20th......
Lang Lang
Lang Lang is a Chinese virtuoso pianist who won international acclaim while a teenager and whose expressiveness......

Music, Contemporary Genres Encyclopedia Articles By Title