• Aerosmith
• Agogô
• Agung
• Alceste (Gluck)
• Alloy
• Armida (Rossini)
• Ashiko
• Babendil
• Balafon
• Bali
• Bangu (drum)
• Banhu
• Baschet Brothers
• Bass drum
• Batá drum
• Bawu
• Beat (acoustics)
• Bell (instrument)
• Bell tree
• BElls
• Bianqing
• Bianzhong
• Bock-a-da-bock
• Bodhrán
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• Bonang
• Bongo drum
• Boxing ring
• Brass
• Bronze
• Bumbu
• Burma
• Cabasa
• Cable car (railway)
• Caisa (instrument)
• Cajón
• Canberra
• Carillon
• Carl Palmer
• Castanets
• Celesta
• Chau gong
• China
• China cymbal
• Chinese language
• Chinese opera
• Chácaras
• Clapsticks
• Claves
• Coil gong
• Conga
• Copper
• Cowbell (instrument)
• Crash cymbal
• Crotales
• Cymbal
• Cymbal alloys
• Cymbal manufacturers
• Cymbals
• Dadihu
• Darabouka
• Dayereh
• Dihu
• Diyingehu
• Djembe
• Dmitri Shostakovich
• Dong Son drum
• Drummer
• Dunun
• Duxianqin
• East Asia
• Erhu
• Erxian
• Estonians
• Europe
• Evelyn Glennie
• Fangxiang
• Feng gong
• Flat gong
• Flexatone
• Floor tom
• Fou
• France
• Gambang
• Game show
• Gamelan
• Gamelan Gong Kebyar
• Gandingan
• Ganges
• Gaohu
• Gaspare Spontini
• Gehu
• George Crumb
• Gioachino Rossini
• Glockenspiel
• Gluck
• Gong
• Gong (band)
• Gong ageng
• Gongman
• Guan (instrument)
• Guban (instrument)
• Gudi (instrument)
• Gungsa
• Guqin
• Gustav Mahler
• Guzheng
• Güiro
• Handbell
• Handchime
• Hang (instrument)
• Headless tambourine
• Hi-hat
• Hong Kong Phooey
• Honoré Mirabeau
• Huang Chunming
• Hulusheng
• Hulusi
• Huqin
• Indonesia
• Isan
• Italy
• Jal tarang
• Jam block
• Janggu
• Java
• Java (island)
• Javanese language
• Jiaohu
• Jinghu (instrument)
• Junjung
• Keith Moon
• Kempul
• Kempyang and ketuk
• Kenong
• Khong mon
• Komodong
• Konghou
• Korea
• Koudi
• Kouxian
• Kulintang
• Kulintang a kayo
• Lagerphone
• Laruan
• Lathe (tool)
• Led Zeppelin
• Leiqin
• Light rail
• Liuqin
• Luo (instrument)
• Lusheng
• Malay language
• Mangtong
• Manjira
• Maraca
• Marc Bolan
• Marimba
• Mark tree
• Metropolitan Opera
• Meyerbeer
• Momente
• Morin khuur
• Morrissey
• Motorman
• Musical instrument
• Napoleon
• Neil Peart
• Nipple gong
• Norma (opera)
• Octoban
• Ogham
• Orchestra
• Orfeo ed Euridice
• Organology
• Pacific Codex
• Paiban
• Paigu
• Paiste
• Paiste symphonic
• Paixiao
• Pandeiro
• Parsifal
• Paul Winter
• Philippines
• Pink Floyd
• Pinyin
• Pipa
• Pistoia
• Pitch (music)
• Portal Percussion
• Qinqin
• Queen (band)
• Railroad crossing
• Rain Stick
• Rank Organisation
• Ratchet (instrument)
• Richard Wagner
• Ride cymbal
• Rienzi
• Rock gong
• Rock music
• Roger Waters
• Roi Et
• Rototom
• Ruan
• Rush (band)
• Rute (music)
• Sabian
• Sanhu
• Sanxian
• Se (instrument)
• Sergei Rachmaninov
• Sheng (instrument)
• Sihu (instrument)
• Simantra
• Singing bowl
• Sizzle cymbal
• Skrabalai
• Slit gong
• Snare drum
• South East Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Space rock
• Splash cymbal
• Staccato
• Steel
• Steelpan
• Streetcar
• Suona
• Swish cymbal
• Swiss
• Symphony orchestra
• Tabor (instrument)
• Taiwan
• Tam tam
• Tambourine
• Tanggu (drum)
• Tank drum
• Taste of Apples
• Tempering
• Template Percussion
• Temple block
• Thailand
• The Flaming Lips
• The Gong Show
• The Moody Blues
• Thunder sheet
• Tibet
• Tihu (instrument)
• Timbales
• Timbrels
• Timpani
• Tin
• Tiqin
• Tom-tom drum
• Toto (band)
• Traffic signal
• Tram
• Tram controls
• Tubophon
• Tubular bell
• Tuhu
• Turkey
• UFIP
• Umpan
• United States
• Variety show
• Vibraphone
• Vibraslap
• Vincenzo Bellini
• Washboard
• Wayne Coyne
• Welsh people
• Whip (instrument)
• Whole Lotta Love
• Wigwag (railroad)
• Wind chime
• Wood block
• Wooden fish
• Xiao (flute)
• Xiaodihu
• Xun (instrument)
• Xylophone
• Yangqin
• Yazheng
• Yehu
• Yu (wind instrument)
• Yueqin
• Yunluo
• Zhongdihu
• Zhonghu
• Zhuihu
• Zhuiqin
• Zildjian
• 
  

• 
  Bali
  Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island. The province covers a few small neighbouring islands as well as the isle of Bali.
  With a population recorded as 3,891,428 in the 2010 census, the island is home to most of Indonesia's Hindu minority. In the 2000 census about 92.29% of Bali's population adhered to Balinese Hinduism while most of the remainder follow Islam. It is also the largest tourist destination in the country and is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. Bali, a tourist haven for decades, has seen a further surge in tourist numbers in recent years.
  Bali was inhabited by around 2000 BC by Austronesian peoples who migrated originally from Taiwan through Maritime Southeast Asia. Culturally and linguistically, the Balinese are thus closely related to the peoples of the Indonesian archipelago, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Oceania. Stone tools dating from this time have been found near the village of Cekik in the island's west.
  
  wn.com/Bali
• 
  Bumbu
  Bumbu is a municipality (commune) in the Funa district of Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  The town is in the hilled southern portion of Kinshasa and settlement there is relatively new. It lies in the vicinity of the Kasa-Vubu and Kalamu boulevards.
  
  
  
  wn.com/Bumbu
• 
  Burma
  Burma ⁱ/ˈbɜrmə/ BUR-mə, also known as Myanmar ⁱ/ˌmjɑːnˈmɑr/ MYAHN--MAR, is a country in South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is bordered by India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. One-third of Burma's total perimeter of 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. At 676,578 km² (261,227 sq mi), it is the 40th largest country in the world and the second largest country in Southeast Asia. Burma is also the 24th most populous country in the world with over 60.28 million people.
  Burma is home to some of the early civilizations of Southeast Asia including the Pyu and the Mon. In the 9th century, the Burmans of the Kingdom of Nanzhao, entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Empire in the 1050s, the Burmese language and culture slowly became dominant in the country. During this period, Theravada Buddhism gradually became the predominant religion of the country. The Pagan Empire fell due to the Mongol invasions (1277–1301), and several warring states emerged. In the second half of the 16th century, the country was reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty which for a brief period was the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Burma as well as Manipur and Assam. The country was colonized by Britain following three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885).
  
  wn.com/Burma
• 
  Canberra
  Canberra ( /ˈkænbᵊrə/ or /ˈkænbɛrə/) is the capital city of Australia. With a population of 358,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a "Canberran".
  The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a blueprint by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and was centred around axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory.
  
  wn.com/Canberra
• 
  China
  China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
  The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
  
  wn.com/China
• 
  France
  France (English ⁱ/ˈfræns/ FRANSS or /ˈfrɑːns/ FRAHNSS; French: [fʁɑ̃s] ( listen)), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. It is often referred to as l’Hexagone ("The Hexagon") because of the geometric shape of its territory. It is the largest western European country and it possesses the second-largest exclusive economic zone in the world, covering 11,035,000 km² (4,260,000 sq mi), just behind that of the United States (11,351,000 km² / 4,383,000 sq mi).
  Over the past 500 years, France has been a major power with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and around the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America and Southeast Asia; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, France built the second largest colonial empire of the time, including large portions of North, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
  
  wn.com/France
• 
  Indonesia
  Indonesia (ⁱ/ˌɪndəˈniːʒə/ IN-də-NEE-zhə or /ˌɪndoʊˈniːziə/ IN-doh-NEE-zee-ə), officially the Republic of Indonesia (Indonesian: Republik Indonesia Indonesian pronunciation: [rɛpʊblɪk ɪndɔnɛsɪa]), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 17,508 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world's 17th largest economy by nominal GDP.
  The Indonesian archipelago has been an important trade region since at least the 7th century, when Srivijaya and then later Majapahit traded with China and India. Local rulers gradually absorbed foreign cultural, religious and political models from the early centuries CE, and Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms flourished. Indonesian history has been influenced by foreign powers drawn to its natural resources. Muslim traders brought Islam, and European powers brought Christianity and fought one another to monopolize trade in the Spice Islands of Maluku during the Age of Discovery. Following three and a half centuries of Dutch colonialism, Indonesia secured its independence after World War II. Indonesia's history has since been turbulent, with challenges posed by natural disasters, corruption, separatism, a democratization process, and periods of rapid economic change.
  
  wn.com/Indonesia
• 
  Isan
  Isan (Isan/Thai: อีสาน [ʔiːsǎːn]; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issan, or Esarn;) is the northeastern region of Thailand. It is located on the Khorat Plateau, bordered by the Mekong River (along the border with Laos) to the north and east, by Cambodia to the southeast and the Prachinburi mountains south of Nakhon Ratchasima. To the west it is separated from Northern and Central Thailand by the Phetchabun mountain range.
  Since the beginning of the 20th century, northeastern Thailand has been officially known as Isan, a term adopted from Sanskrit Ishan, meaning in a “north east direction.” The term "Isan" was derived from Isanapura, the capital of the Chenla kingdom. The Lao-speaking population of the region, who comprise the majority, distinguish themselves not only from the Lao of Laos but also from the central Thai by calling themselves Khon Isan or Thai Isan. The Khmer-speaking minority and Kuy (Suai), who live in the south of Isan, speak dialects and follow customs more similar to those of Cambodia than either the Thai people or the Lao people.
  
  wn.com/Isan
• 
  Italy
  Italy ⁱ/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
  Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
  
  wn.com/Italy
• 
  Korea
  Korea (/kəˈriːə/ kə-REE-ə; Korean: 한국 Hanguk [hanɡuːk] or 조선 Joseon [tɕosʌn] – (see etymology) is an East Asian region that is divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and separated from Taiwan to the south by the East China Sea.
  Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggest the origins of the Korean people might have been Altaic language-speaking people from south-central Siberia,^{[dubious – discuss]} who populated ancient Korea in successive waves from the Neolithic age to the Bronze Age. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd century BC, and Buddhism in the 4th century AD, had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
  The Three Kingdoms of Korea was first united during the Silla dynasty under the king Munmu of Silla. The united Silla dynasty fell to Goryeo Dynasty in 935 at the end of Later Three Kingdoms of Korea era. Goryeo was a highly cultural state and created the Jikji in the 14th century, using the world's first movable metal type printing press. The Mongol invasions in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation which was forced to become a tributary state. After the Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed and Goryeo was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1388.
  
  wn.com/Korea
• 
  Philippines
  The Philippines ⁱ/ˈfɪlɨpiːnz/ FI-lə-peenz (Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
  With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day.
  
  wn.com/Philippines
• 
  Swiss
  Switzerland (German: die Schweiz[ˈʃvaɪts]; French: Suisse [sɥis(ə)]; Italian: Svizzera [ˈzvit͡sːɛra]; Romansh: Svizra [ˈʒviːtsrɐ] or [ˈʒviːtsʁːɐ]), in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
  Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km² (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.
  The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality—it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815—and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area – although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.
  
  wn.com/Swiss
• 
  Taiwan
  Taiwan (ⁱ/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
  The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
  
  wn.com/Taiwan
• 
  Temple block
  The temple block is a percussion instrument originating in China, Japan and Korea where it is used in religious ceremonies.
  It is a carved hollow wooden instrument with a large slit. In its traditional form, the wooden fish, the shape is somewhat bulbous; modern instruments are also used which are rectangular in shape. Several blocks of varying sizes are often used together to give a variety of pitches. In Western music, their use can be traced back to early jazz drummers, and they are not uncommon in modern orchestral music, where they are also called dragons' mouths.
  Its sound is similar to that of the wood block, although temple blocks have a darker, more "hollow" timbre.
  It can be clearly heard in Leroy Anderson's The Syncopated Clock and is also used in Olivier Messiaen's only symphony, Turangalîla, and his only opera, Saint-François d'Assise. Harrison Birtwistle calls for 4 temple blocks in his 2008 opera The Minotaur, Magnus Lindberg calls for 5 in Seht die Sonne and Pierre Boulez for one in Notations I-IV. Leonard Bernstein, George Benjamin and David Horne also used it in their compositions. Rush's songs Xanadu from their 1977 album A Farewell To Kings and The Trees from their 1978 album Hemispheres also use temple blocks - the blocks that Neil Peart is striking in these tracks can be heard very clearly.
  
  wn.com/Temple_block
• 
  Thailand
  Thailand ( /ˈtaɪlænd/ TY-land or /ˈtaɪlənd/;Thai: ประเทศไทย, RTGS: Prathet Thai), officially the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: ราชอาณาจักรไทย, RTGS: Ratcha Anachak Thai; IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] ( listen)), formerly known as Siam (Thai: สยาม; RTGS: Sayam), is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
  The country is a constitutional monarchy, headed by King Rama IX, the ninth king of the House of Chakri, who, having reigned since 1946, is the world's longest-serving head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. The king of Thailand is titled Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, the Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths.
  
  wn.com/Thailand
• 
  Turkey
  Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
  Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
  
  wn.com/Turkey
• 
  United States
  The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
  At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km²) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
  
  wn.com/United_States

• 
  Aerosmith
  Aerosmith is an American rock band, formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970. Guitarist Joe Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton, originally in a band together called the Jam Band, met up with singer Steven Tyler, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarist Ray Tabano, and formed Aerosmith. In 1971, Tabano was replaced by Brad Whitford, and the band began developing a following in Boston. Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop,heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many subsequent rock artists.
  They were signed to Columbia Records in 1972, and released a string of multi-platinum albums, beginning with their 1973 eponymous debut album, followed by their 1974 album Get Your Wings. In 1975, the band broke into the mainstream with the album Toys in the Attic, and their 1976 follow-up Rocks cemented their status as hard rock superstars. The band released two more albums, toured extensively, and charted a string of Hot 100 singles. By the end of the 1970s, they were among the most popular hard rock bands in the world and developed a loyal following of fans, often referred to as the "Blue Army". However, drug addiction and internal conflict took their toll on the band, which resulted in the departures of Perry and Whitford in 1979 and 1981, respectively; they were replaced by Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay. The band did not fare well between 1980 and 1984, releasing a lone album, Rock in a Hard Place, which went gold but failed to match their previous successes.
  
  wn.com/Aerosmith
• 
  Baschet Brothers
  The Baschet Brothers are two French brothers named François Baschet (born 30 March 1920, in Paris) and Bernard Baschet (born 24 August 1917, Paris) who collaborate on creating sound sculptures and inventing musical instruments, such as the cristal Baschet. François Baschet is a sculptor and Bernard Baschet is an engineer. The Baschet Brothers invented the inflatable guitar, the aluminum piano and many other experimental musical instruments. They created an "educational instrumentarium" for exposing young people to musical concepts.
  François had wanted to be an artist, but his father warned him against pursuing the unstable life of an artist. He decided to study business in college, but felt no passion for it. After World War II, which had interrupted his education, he decided to travel around the world. He brought with him on his trip a guitar to help him earn a living, but wanting something more portable he invented an inflatable guitar using a balloon and a collapsible wood neck. He continued to perform with this guitar upon his return to Paris. Soon he and his brother, who had studied engineering, began collaborating on sculptural musical instruments.
  
  wn.com/Baschet_Brothers
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  China
  China (ⁱ/ˈtʃaɪnə/; Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó; see also Names of China), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is the world's most-populous country, with a population of over 1.3 billion. Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometres, the East Asian state is the world's second-largest country by land area, and the third- or fourth-largest in total area, depending on the definition of total area.
  The People's Republic of China is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party of China. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). Its capital city is Beijing. The PRC also claims Taiwan—which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity—as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War. The PRC government denies the legitimacy of the ROC.
  
  wn.com/China
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  Dmitri Shostakovich
  Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich Russian pronunciation: [ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ˈdmʲitrʲɪɪvʲɪt͡ɕ ʂəstɐˈkovʲɪt͡ɕ] (Russian: Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович; 25 September 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet Russian composer and pianist and was one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century.
  Shostakovich achieved fame in the Soviet Union under the patronage of Leon Trotsky's chief of staff Mikhail Tukhachevsky, but later had a complex and difficult relationship with the government. Nevertheless, he received accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947–1962) and the USSR (from 1962 until death).
  After a period influenced by Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky, Shostakovich developed a hybrid style, as exemplified by Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District (1934). This single work juxtaposed a wide variety of trends, including the neo-classical style (showing the influence of Stravinsky) and post-Romanticism (after Gustav Mahler). Sharp contrasts and elements of the grotesque characterize much of his music.
  
  wn.com/Dmitri_Shostakovich
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  Estonians
  Estonians (Estonian: eestlased) are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian. Although Estonia is traditionally grouped as one of the Baltic countries, Estonians are linguistically unrelated to the Baltic peoples of Latvia and Lithuania.
  Estonia was first inhabited about 10,000 years ago, just after the Baltic ice lake had retreated from Estonia. While it is not certain what languages were spoken by the first settlers, it is often maintained that speakers of early Uralic languages related to modern Estonian had arrived in what is now Estonia by about 5000 years ago. Living in the same area for more than 5000 years would put the ancestors of Estonians among the oldest permanent inhabitants in Europe. On the other hand, some recent linguistic estimations suggest that Fenno-Ugrian language arrived around the Baltic Sea considerably later, perhaps during the Early Bronze Age (ca. 1800 BCE).
  The name "Eesti", or Estonia, is thought to be derived from the word Aestii, the name given by the ancient Germanic people to the Baltic people living northeast of the Vistula River. The Roman historian Tacitus in 98 A.D. was the first to mention the "Aestii" people, and early Scandinavians called the land south of the Gulf of Finland "Eistland" ("Eistland" is also the current word in Icelandic for Estonia), and the people "eistr". Proto-Estonians (as well as other speakers of the Finnish language group) were also called Chuds (чудь) in Old East Slavic chronicles.
  
  wn.com/Estonians
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  Evelyn Glennie
  Dame Evelyn Elizabeth Ann Glennie,DBE (born 19 July 1965) is a Scottish virtuoso percussionist. She was the first full-time solo percussionist in 20th-century western society.
  Glennie was born and raised in Aberdeenshire. Her father was Herbert Arthur Glennie, an accordionist in a Scottish country dance band, and the strong, indigenous musical traditions of north-east Scotland were important in the development of the young musician, whose first instruments were the mouth organ and the clarinet. Other major influences were Glenn Gould, Jacqueline du Pré and Trilok Gurtu. She studied at Ellon Academy and the Royal Academy of Music, and was also a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland.
  Glennie tours extensively in the northern hemisphere, spending up to four months each year in the United States, and performs with a wide variety of orchestras and contemporary musicians, giving over 100 concerts a year as well as master classes and "music in schools" performances;she frequently commissions percussion works from composers and performs them in her concert repertoire.
  
  wn.com/Evelyn_Glennie
• Feng gong
  wn.com/Feng_gong
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  Gaspare Spontini
  Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 1774 – 24 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor, extremely celebrated in his time, though largely forgotten after his death.
  Born in Maiolati in the province of Ancona, now Maiolati Spontini, he spent most of his career in Paris and Berlin, but returned to his place of birth at the end of his life. During the first two decades of the 19th century, Spontini was an important figure in French opera. In his more than twenty operas, Spontini strove to adapt Gluck's classical tragédie lyrique to the contemporary taste for melodrama, for grander spectacle (in Fernand Cortez for example), for enriched orchestral timbre, and for melodic invention allied to idiomatic expressiveness of words. His single great masterpiece and success was La vestale.
  As a youth, Spontini studied at the Conservatorio della Pietà de' Turchini in Naples. In 1803, he went to Paris, where he was appointed court composer in 1805.
  In 1807, Spontini wrote La vestale, his best known work. Written with the encouragement of Empress Joséphine, its premiere at the Opéra in Paris established Spontini as one of the greatest Italian composers of his age. His contemporaries Cherubini and Meyerbeer considered it a masterpiece, and later composers like Berlioz and Wagner admired it.
  
  wn.com/Gaspare_Spontini
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  Gioachino Rossini
  Gioachino Antonio Rossini (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoaˈkiːno anˈtɔːnjo rosˈsiːni] (Giovacchino Antonio Rossini in the baptismal certificate) (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces. His best-known operas include the Italian comedies Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) and La Cenerentola and the French-language epics Moïse et Pharaon and Guillaume Tell (William Tell). A tendency for inspired, song-like melodies is evident throughout his scores, which led to the nickname "The Italian Mozart". Until his retirement in 1829, Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history.
  Gioachino Antonio Rossini was born into a family of musicians in Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic coast of Italy which was then part of the Papal States. His father, Giuseppe, was a horn player and inspector of slaughterhouses. His mother, Anna, was a singer and a baker's daughter. Rossini's parents began his musical training early, and by the age of six he was playing the triangle in his father's musical group.
  
  wn.com/Gioachino_Rossini
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  Gluck
  Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck (2 July 1714 in Erasbach near Berching (Upper Palatinate), Germany – 15 November 1787 in Vienna) was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years. With a series of radical new works in the 1760s, among them Orfeo ed Euridice and Alceste, he broke the stranglehold that Metastasian opera seria had enjoyed for much of the century.
  The strong influence of French opera in these works encouraged Gluck to move to Paris, which he did in November 1773. Fusing the traditions of Italian opera and the French national genre into a new synthesis, Gluck wrote eight operas for the Parisian stages. One of the last of these, Iphigénie en Tauride, was a great success and is generally acknowledged to be his finest work. Though he was extremely popular and widely credited with bringing about a revolution in French opera, Gluck's mastery of the Parisian operatic scene was never absolute, and after the poor reception of his Echo et Narcisse he left Paris in disgust and returned to Vienna to live out the remainder of his life.
  
  wn.com/Gluck
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  Gustav Mahler
  Gustav Mahler (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʊstaf ˈmaːlɐ]; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then the Austrian Empire, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic. Then his family moved to nearby Iglau (now Jihlava) where Mahler grew up.
  As a composer, he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 the music was discovered and championed by a new generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century.
  Born in humble circumstances, Mahler displayed his musical gifts at an early age. After graduating from the Vienna Conservatory in 1878, he held a succession of conducting posts of rising importance in the opera houses of Europe, culminating in his appointment in 1897 as director of the Vienna Court Opera (Hofoper). During his ten years in Vienna, Mahler—who had converted to Catholicism from Judaism to secure the post—experienced regular opposition and hostility from the anti-Semitic press. Nevertheless, his innovative productions and insistence on the highest performance standards ensured his reputation as one of the greatest of opera conductors, particularly as an interpreter of the stage works of Wagner and Mozart. Late in his life he was briefly director of New York's Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic.
  
  wn.com/Gustav_Mahler
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  Honoré Mirabeau
  Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (9 March 1749 – 2 April 1791) was a French revolutionary, as well as a writer, diplomat, freemason, journalist and French politician. He was a popular orator and statesman. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on the model of Great Britain. He unsuccessfully conducted secret negotiations with the French monarchy in an effort to reconcile it with the Revolution. In the years leading up to the Revolution, he communicated with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson—who served successively as United States Ministers to France in that period—and used materials provided directly by each of them in several of his pre-Revolution publications.
  The family of Riqueti (sometimes spelled Riquet), originally of the small town of Seyne (but the family has its distant origins in Italy), became wealthy through merchant trading in Marseilles. In 1570, Jean Riqueti bought the château and seigniory of Mirabeau, which had belonged to the great Provençal family of Barras. In 1685, Honoré Riqueti obtained the title marquis de Mirabeau. He died in 1737.
  
  wn.com/Honoré_Mirabeau
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  Huang Chunming
  Huang Chunming (黃春明, also Hwang Chun-ming) (born February 13, 1935) is a Taiwanese literary figure and teacher. Huang writes mainly about the tragic and sometimes humorous lives of ordinary Taiwanese people, and many of his short stories have been turned into films, including The Sandwich Man (1983).
  Born in Ilan, Taiwan, Huang began his higher education career at a college in Taipei but, after a series of transfers, ended up graduating from National Pingtung University of Education in southern Taiwan. He is a writer of broad interests and remarkable versatility, but he is first of all a short story writer. During the 1960s as a major contributor to the influential Literature Quarterly, Huang was hailed as a representative of hsiang-t'u wen-hsueh, the "nativist literature movement" that focused on the lives of rural Taiwanese people. In more recent works he has turned his attention to urban culture and life in Taiwan's growing cities.
  Huang has said that in his early years he had limited access to literature in Chinese and that significant influences were Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea and "The Killers"; Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"; William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily," "The Bear," The Wild Palms, and other American literature. Two other important influences were an anthology of short stories by Shen Congwen and a Chinese translation of stories by Anton Chekhov.
  
  wn.com/Huang_Chunming
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  Keith Moon
  Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon joined The Who in 1964. He played on all albums and singles from their debut, 1964's "Zoot Suit", to 1978's Who Are You, which was released three weeks before his death.
  Moon was known for dramatic, suspenseful drumming—often eschewing basic back beats for a fluid, busy technique focused on fast, cascading rolls across the toms, ambidextrous double bass drum work and wild cymbal crashes and washes. He is mentioned in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the greatest of all rock and roll drummers, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock Hall as a member of The Who in 1990.
  Moon's legacy, as a member of The Who, as a solo artist, and as an eccentric personality, continues to garner awards and praise, including a Rolling Stone readers' pick placing him in second place of the magazine's "best drummers of all time" in 2011, nearly 35 years after his death.
  
  wn.com/Keith_Moon
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  Marc Bolan
  Marc Bolan (born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the frontman of glam rock group T. Rex.
  Bolan grew up in post-war Hackney, northeast London, the son of Phyllis Winifred (née Atkins) and Simeon Feld, a lorry driver. His father was Jewish (of Russian and Polish origin) and his mother was from a Christian background. Later moving to Wimbledon, southwest London, he fell in love with the rock and roll of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran, Arthur Crudup and Chuck Berry^{[citation needed]} and was considered a mod because of dress, hanging around coffee bars such as the 2 I's in Soho.^{[citation needed]} He appeared as an extra in an episode of the television show Orlando, dressed as a mod. At the age of nine, Bolan was given his first guitar and began a skiffle band. While at school, he played guitar in "Susie and the Hoops," a trio whose vocalist was a 12-year old Helen Shapiro. At 15, he left school "by mutual consent".^{[citation needed]}
  
  wn.com/Marc_Bolan
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  Meyerbeer
  Giacomo Meyerbeer (5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.
  He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf (now a part of Rüdersdorf), near Berlin with the name Jacob Liebmann Beer. His father was the enormously wealthy financier Jacob Judah Herz Beer (1769-1825) and his much-beloved mother, Amalia Liebmann Meyer Wulff (1767-1854) also came from the wealthy elite. Their other children included the astronomer Wilhelm Beer and the poet Michael Beer.
  Beer's first keyboard instructor was Franz Lauska, a pupil of Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and a favoured teacher at the Berlin court. Beer also became one of Muzio Clementi's pupils while Clementi was in Berlin, and old Clementi himself, although he had long given up teaching, was so much struck, during a visit to Berlin, with the promise displayed in the boy's performance as to consent to give Beer lessons. Beer made his public debut in 1801 playing Mozart's D minor Piano Concerto in Berlin. The Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung reported: 'The amazing keyboard playing of young Bär (a Jewish lad of 9), who carried off the difficult passages and other solo parts with aplomb, and has fine powers of rendition even more rarely found in one of his age, made the concert even more interesting'.
  
  wn.com/Meyerbeer
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  Morrissey
  Steven Patrick Morrissey (born 22 May 1959), known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career, making the top ten of the UK Singles Chart on ten occasions. Widely regarded as an important innovator in indie music, Morrissey has been described by music magazine NME as "one of the most influential artists ever," and The Independent has stated "most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status he has reached in his lifetime."Pitchfork Media has called him "one of the most singular figures in Western popular culture from the last twenty years."
  Morrissey's lyrics have been described as "dramatic, bleak, funny vignettes about doomed relationships, lonely nightclubs, the burden of the past and the prison of the home." He is also noted for his unusual baritone vocal style (though he sometimes uses falsetto), his quiff haircut and his dynamic live performances. His forthright and often contrarian opinions have led to a number of media controversies, and he has also attracted media attention for his advocacy of vegetarianism and animal rights. Morrissey moved to Los Angeles, California in the early 1990s.
  
  wn.com/Morrissey
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  Napoleon
  Napoleon Bonaparte (French: Napoléon Bonaparte [napoleɔ̃ bɔnɑpaʁt]) (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the latter stages of the French Revolution. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. His legal reform, the Napoleonic Code, has been a major influence on many civil law jurisdictions worldwide, but he is best remembered for his role in the wars led against France by a series of coalitions, the so-called Napoleonic Wars. He established hegemony over most of continental Europe and sought to spread the ideals of the French Revolution, while consolidating an imperial monarchy which restored aspects of the deposed Ancien Régime. Due to his success in these wars, often against numerically superior enemies, he is generally regarded as one of the greatest military commanders of all time and his campaigns are studied at military academies throughout much of the world.
  Napoleon was born in Corsica to parents of noble Genoese ancestry, and trained as an artillery officer in mainland France. He rose to prominence under the French First Republic and led successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalitions arrayed against France. In 1799, he staged a coup d'état and installed himself as First Consul; five years later the French Senate proclaimed him emperor. In the first decade of the 19th century, the French Empire under Napoleon engaged in a series of conflicts—the Napoleonic Wars—involving every major European power.
  
  wn.com/Napoleon
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  Neil Peart
  Neil Ellwood Peart ( /ˈpɪərt/; born September 12, 1952), OC, is a Canadian musician and author. He is the drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush. Peart has received numerous awards for his musical performances, and is known for his technical proficiency and stamina.
  Peart grew up in Port Dalhousie, Ontario (now part of St. Catharines). During adolescence, he floated from regional band to regional band in pursuit of a career as a full-time drummer. After a discouraging stint in England to concentrate on his music, Peart returned home, where he joined a local Toronto band, Rush, in the summer of 1974.
  Early in his career, Peart's performance style was deeply rooted in hard rock. He drew most of his inspiration from drummers such as Keith Moon and John Bonham, players who were at the forefront of the British hard rock scene. As time passed, however, he began to emulate jazz and big band musicians Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. In 1994, Peart became a friend and pupil of jazz instructor Freddie Gruber. It was during this time that Peart decided to revamp his playing style by incorporating jazz and swing components. Gruber was also responsible for introducing him to the products of Drum Workshop, the company whose products Peart currently endorses.
  
  wn.com/Neil_Peart
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  Paul Winter
  Paul Winter (born August 31, 1939 in Altoona, Pennsylvania) is an American saxophonist (alto and soprano saxophone), and is a six-time Grammy Award nominee.
  Paul Winter attended Altoona Area High School and graduated in 1957. In 1961, while he was in college at Northwestern University, the band that he founded, the Paul Winter Sextet, won the Intercollegiate Jazz Festival and was signed by Columbia Records.
  The next year, the band toured Latin America as cultural ambassadors for the United States State Department, playing 160 concerts in 23 countries. The Sextet was also the first jazz band to perform at the White House.
  Winter returned to Brazil in the mid-1960s and his interest in Brazilian music and the emerging bossa nova led to the 1965 release of the album Rio, with liner notes by Vinicius de Moraes.
  After Winter's band changed its name to the Paul Winter Consort in the late 1960s, it contributed to the development of world music and space music. The Consort's 1972 release, Icarus, was produced by George Martin. Most of the musicians who worked on this album went on to form the jazz group Oregon. The Consort has continued over the years with different musicians.
  
  wn.com/Paul_Winter
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  Richard Wagner
  Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( /ˈvɑːɡnər/; German pronunciation: [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ]; 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and polemicist primarily known for his operas (or "music dramas", as he later called them). Wagner's compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs: musical themes associated with individual characters, places, ideas or plot elements. Unlike most other opera composers, Wagner wrote both the music and libretto for every one of his stage works. Perhaps the two best-known extracts from his works are the Ride of the Valkyries from the opera Die Walküre, and the Wedding March (Bridal Chorus) from the opera Lohengrin.
  Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works such as The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser which were broadly in the romantic vein of Weber and Meyerbeer, Wagner transformed operatic thought through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art"). This would achieve the synthesis of all the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts and was announced in a series of essays between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realized this concept most fully in the first half of the monumental four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. However, his thoughts on the relative importance of music and drama were to change again, and he reintroduced some traditional operatic forms into his last few stage works, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.
  
  wn.com/Richard_Wagner
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  Sergei Rachmaninov
  Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Рахма́нинов) (Russian pronunciation: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej rɐxˈmanʲɪnəf]; 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom that included a pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity, and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colors. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output. He made a point of using his own skills as a performer to explore fully the expressive possibilities of the instrument. Even in his earliest works he revealed a sure grasp of idiomatic piano writing and a striking gift for melody.
  Rachmaninoff was born on 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 in Semyonovo, near Great Novgorod, in north-western Russia into a family of the Russian aristocracy, originally of partly Tatar descent, which had been in the service of the Russian tsars since the 16th century. His parents were both amateur pianists. When he was four, his mother gave him casual piano lessons, but it was his paternal grandfather, Arkady Alexandrovich Rachmaninoff, who brought Anna Ornatskaya, a teacher from Saint Petersburg, to teach the 9 year old Sergei in 1882. Ornatskaya remained for two or three years, until the family's house in Semyonovo had to be sold to settle debts and the Rachmaninoffs moved to Saint Petersburg.
  
  wn.com/Sergei_Rachmaninov
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  Taiwan
  Taiwan (ⁱ/ˌtaɪˈwɑːn/ TY-WAHN; Chinese: 臺灣 or 台灣; pinyin: Táiwān; see below), officially the Republic of China (ROC; Chinese: 中華民國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó), is a state in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China now governs the island of Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other minor islands. Neighboring states include the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east and northeast, and the Philippines to the south. Taipei is the capital city and economic and cultural centre of the country, and New Taipei is the most populous city.
  The earliest evidence of inhabitation of Taiwan dates back to the late Paleolithic era. The island of Taiwan was mainly inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before being colonized in the 17th century by the Dutch and the Spanish Empire. The first Han Chinese polity on Taiwan began when Koxinga's troops defeated Dutch forces and established the Kingdom of Tungning. The island was subsequently ruled by the Qing Dynasty after the kingdom's defeat in the Battle of Penghu in 1683, a period that lasted for over 200 years. Following Japan's victory over the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895.
  
  wn.com/Taiwan
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  Toto (band)
  Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1976. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams (lead vocals), David Paich (keyboards), Steve Porcaro (keyboards), Steve Lukather (guitars, vocals), Mike Porcaro (bass), and Simon Phillips (drums). Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard rock, R&B and jazz. They are regularly associated with the soft rock genre.
  David Paich and Jeff Porcaro had played together as session musicians on several albums and decided to form a band. David Hungate, Steve Lukather, Steve Porcaro and Bobby Kimball were recruited before their first album release. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the late 1970s and 1980s, beginning with the band's self-titled debut released in 1978. With the release of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Toto IV (1982), Toto became one of the best-selling music groups of their era. They are best known for the Top 5 hits "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", "Africa" and "Georgy Porgy". Although their popularity in the United States diminished in the 1990s and 2000s, they remained popular internationally, playing only a small number of shows in the USA. Several changes to the lineup have been made over the years. In 2008, Lukather announced his departure from the band, and the remaining band members later went their separate ways. In the summer of 2010, Toto reformed and went on a short European tour, with a new lineup, to benefit Mike Porcaro, who had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
  
  wn.com/Toto_(band)
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  Vincenzo Bellini
  Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was a Italian opera composer. A native of Catania in Sicily, his greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi (1830), La sonnambula (1831), Norma (1831), Beatrice di Tenda (1833), and I puritani (1835). Known for his long-flowing melodic lines, for which he was named "the Swan of Catania", Bellini was the quintessential composer of bel canto opera. He died in Puteaux, France at the age of 33, nine months after the premiere of his last opera, I puritani.
  Born in Catania, Sicily, Bellini was a child prodigy from a highly musical family and legend has it he could sing an aria of Valentino Fioravanti at eighteen months. He began studying music theory at two, the piano at three, and by the age of five could apparently play well. Bellini's first five pieces were composed when he was just six years old. Regardless of the veracity of these claims, it is certain that Bellini grew up in a musical household and that a career as a musician was never in doubt.
  
  wn.com/Vincenzo_Bellini
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  Wayne Coyne
  Wayne Michael Coyne (born January 13, 1961) is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band The Flaming Lips.
  Coyne was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on January 13, 1961, the son of Thomas Coyne and Dolores "Dolly" Jackson. The fifth of six children, Coyne moved with his family from Pittsburgh's Troy Hill neighborhood to Oklahoma in early-1961. Coyne grew up in Norman, OK. Coyne preferred listening to music and playing pickup football. He and his brothers dubbed themselves “The Fearless Freaks” for their brutal backyard football games. Tommy Coyne, Coyne's older brother, described the games as a "semi-civilized gang fight."
  Coyne earned money in high school as a fry cook for a Long John Silver's restaurant in Oklahoma City. During his second year of employment there was a rash of robberies in Oklahoma City. The restaurant was robbed and Coyne and other employees were held at gunpoint and forced to lie on the ground. Coyne was certain he was going to die. The assistant manager couldn't open the restaurant's safe, however, and the robbers eventually fled. Coyne believes "this is really how you die...one minute you're just cooking up someone's order of french fries and the next minute you're laying on the floor and they blow your brains out. There's no music, there's no significance, it's just random."
  
  wn.com/Wayne_Coyne

• Eat That Phonebook
• End of the Day
• A P.H.P.'s Advice
• Om Riff
• Flowers Gone
• I Been Stoned Before
• Long Shanks
• O Mother
• Holy Mystery
• Tropical Fish (studio rehearsal)
• Selene
• Never Glid Before (home rehearsal)
• Oily Way (home rehearsal)
• Blues for Finlay
• Benamou's Announcement
• "I Don't Know" Encore

• City of Self Fascination
• Digital Girl
• How to Stay Alive
• Escape Control Delete
• Yoni Poem
• Dance with the Pixies
• Wacky Baccy Banker
• The Year 2032
• Robo-Warriors
• Guitar Zero
• The Gris Gris Girl
• Wave and a Particle
• Pinkle Ponkle
• Portal

• Ard Na Greine
• Earthrise
• Supermarket
• Faerie Steps
• American in England
• Organ Grinder
• Sugar Street
• Bender
• Arabesque Intro & Arabesque
• Esnuria Two
• Time Is the Key

• Flying Teacup
• 1989
• Titti-Caca
• Tablas Logorhythmique
• Negotiate
• We Circle Around
• Flying Teadance Sillymix

• Other Side of the Sky
• Sold to the Highest Buddha
• Castle in the Clouds
• Prostitute Poem
• Givin' My Luv to You
• Selene
• Flute Salad
• Oily Way
• Outer Temple
• Inner Temple
• Percolations
• Love Is How Y Make It
• I Never Glid Before
• Eat That Phone Book Coda
• Other Side of the Sky (single version)
• Ooby-Scooby Doomsday or the D-Day DJ's Got the D.D.T. Blues
• Love Is How Y Make It (1973 vocal mix)
• Eat That Phone Book Coda (early version)

• Ocean of Molasses
• Supercotton
• Olde Fooles Game
• Zeroina
• Brainwash Me
• Monstah!
• Bible Study
• Bazuki Logix
• Waving
• Makototen
• Schwitless in Molasses

• Thoughts for Naught
• A P.H.P.'s Advice
• Magick Mother Invocation
• Master Builder
• A Sprinkling of Clouds
• Perfect Mystery
• The Isle of Everywhere
• You Never Blow Your Trip Forever
• A P.H.P.'s Advice (alternate version)

• Oily Way
• Zero the Hero and the Witches Spell
• You Never Blow Your Trip Forever
• Outer Temple
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Flute Salad
• Inner Temple
• Master Builder
• The Isle of Everywhere
• You Can't Kill Me
• Dynamite I Am Your Animal
• Eat That Phone Book Coda

• Radio Gnome
• You Can't Kill Me
• I've Bin Stone Before
• Mister Long Shanks: O Mother I Am Your Fantasy
• Dynamite: I Am Your Animal
• Wet Cheese Delirium
• Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen's Heads
• Fohat Digs Holes in Space
• Tried So Hard
• Tropical Fish: Selene
• Gnome the Second

• Can't Kill Me
• I've Been Stoned Before
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Zero the Hero & the Witch's Spell
• Flute Salade Oily Way, Outer Temple
• Inner Temple
• Iao Chant & Master Builder
• Sprinkling of Clouds
• From the Isle of Everywhere
• You Never Blow Your Trio Forever

• Foolefare
• Magdalene
• The Invisible Temple
• Zeroid
• Wise Man in Your Heart
• The Mad Monk
• Yoni on Mars
• Damaged Man
• Bodilingus
• Tali's Song
• Infinitea

• Intro
• Captain Shaw and Mr. Gilbert (feat. Daevid Allen)
• Love Makes Sweet Music (feat. Daevid Allen & Soft Machine)
• Riot 1969 (feat. Soft Machine)
• Dreaming It (Live9)
• I Feel So Lazy (live)
• And I Tried So Hard (live)
• Radio Gnome Pre-Mix
• Pot Head Pixies (live)
• Clarence in Wonderland (feat. Kevin Ayers)
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone
• Gong Poem (feat. Clive Williamson)
• Deva Goddess
• Opium for the People
• Red Alert (feat. Mother Gong)
• 13-8 (feat. Guy Evans & Dave Sawyer)
• Gliss U-Well (feat. Didier)
• Future
• The Dream (feat. Gilli Smyth & Tom the Poet)
• Chernobyl Rain (Kansas Mix Invisible Opera Co.)
• Let Me Be One (live)

• Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen's Heads / Fohat Digs Holes in Space
• I Never Glid Before
• Opium for the People
• Thoughts for Naught / A P.H.P.'s advice / Magick Mother Invocation / Master Builder
• Tropical Fish / Selene
• The Pot Head Pixies
• A Sprinkling of Clouds
• Tried So Hard
• Flute Salad / Oily Way / Outer Temple / Inner Temple
• Materialism
• Eat That Phone Book Coda

• Thoughts for Naught (Flute Salad remix)
• A PHP's Advice (Gong With the Wind)
• Master Builder (Shamen remix)
• A Sprinkling of Clouds (full length edit)
• Perfect Mystery (A PHP's Mystery Trip: Acidpunk mix)
• Isle of Everywhere (Total Eclipse mix)
• You Never Blow Your Trip Forever (Or Wilja mix)
• You Are I and I Am You (Wild mix)

• Seven Year Itch
• Second Wind Live
• Cyberwhale
• So What
• Little House I Used to Live In
• Radio Gnome Transmission
• Master Builder (Guitar Solo)
• Farewell Flagship
• Say No More
• Master Builder (Sax Solo)
• Kan't Kill Me (Jam)
• You Are I and I

• Dynamite I Am Your Animal
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Zero the Hero and the Witches' Spell
• Flute Salad
• Oily Way
• Outer Temple
• Inner Temple
• I Never Glid Before
• The Isle of Everywhere
• You'll Never Blow Yer Trip Forever
• Eat that Phonebook Coda
• Stone Innocent Frankenstein

• Wet Cheese Delirium
• Mister Long Shanks: O Mother I Am Your Fantasy
• Squeezing Sponges Over Policemen's Heads
• Tropical Fish: Selene
• The Octave Doctors and the Crystal Machine
• Zero the Hero and the Witch's Spell
• Flying Teapot
• The Pot Head Pixies
• Castle in the Clouds
• Outer Temple
• Inner Temple
• Eat That Phone Book Coda
• Magick Mother Invocation
• A Sprinkling of Clouds
• Master Builder
• Much Too Old
• Opium for the People
• Tried Too Hard

• Thorn Intro
• Floating Into a Birthday Gig
• You Can't Kill Me
• Radio Gnome 25
• I Am Your Pussy
• Pot Head Pixies
• Never Glid Before
• Sad Street
• Eat That Phonebook
• Gnomic Address
• Flute Salad
• Oily Way
• Outer Temple-Inner Temple
• She Is the Great Goddess
• IAOM Riff

• Magick Brother
• Clarence in Wonderland
• Tropical Fish / Selene
• You Can't Kill Me
• Radio Gnome Direct Broadcast
• Crystal Machine
• Zero the Hero and the Orgasm Witch
• Captain Capricorns Dream Saloon / Radio Gnome Invisible
• Oily Way

• Crystal Gnome
• Radio Gnome I & II
• Mister Pyxie
• Deep in the Sky
• Flying Teapot
• Wet Drum Sandwich
• Mange Ton Calepin
• You Can't Kill Me
• Titicaca

• You Can't Kill Me
• Zero the Hero & The Witch's Spell
• Flying Teapot
• Dynamite / I Am Your Animal
• 6/8 Tune
• Est-ce que je suis
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Oily Way
• Outer Temple
• Inner Temple
• Where Have All the Flowers Gone
• Isle of Everywhere
• Get It Inner
• Master Builder
• Flying Teapot (reprise)

• Expresso
• Night Illusion
• Percolations, Part 1
• Percolations, Part 2
• Shadows of
• Esnuria
• Mireille

• Wingful of Eyes
• Chandra
• Bombooji
• Cat in Clark's Shoes
• Mandrake
• Shamal

• Mystic Sister: Magick Brother
• Glad to Sad to Say
• Rational Anthem
• Chainstore Chant: Pretty Miss Titty
• Fable of a Fredfish: Hope You Feel Ok
• Ego
• Gong Song
• Princess Dreaming
• 5 & 20 Schoolgirls
• Cos You Got Green Hair

• Magick Mother Invocation
• Master Builder
• Perfect Mystery
• Tropical Fish: Seleme
• I Never Glid Before
• [unknown]
• [unknown]
• Flute Salad / Oily Way, Part 1
• Oily Way, Part 2
• Inner Temple
• Outer Temple
• A Sprinkling of Clouds
• Improv / You Can't Kill Me
• The Isle of Everywhere
• You Never Blow Your Trip Forever, Part 1
• You Never Blow Your Trip Forever, Part 2
• Flying Teapot, Part 1
• Flying Teapot, Part 2

• PHP's
• This Microphone
• Zero the Hero
• I Am Your Animal/Bamboolay
• You Can't Kill Me
• Dreaming It
• Tropical Fish

• Introduction - Tout Va Bien
• Dynamite - I'm Your Animal
• Tic Toc
• Taliesin
• Inside Your Head
• You Can't Kill Me
• Flute Salad
• Pussy
• Radio Gnome I & II
• Flying Teapot
• Wet Drum Sandwich (Encore)

• Heavy Tune
• Golden Dilemma
• Sleepy
• Soli
• Boring
• Three Blind Mice

• Gnomerique
• Shapeshifter
• Hymnalayas
• Dog-o-matic
• Spirit With Me
• Mr. Albert Parkin
• Raindrop Tablas
• Give My Mother a Soul Call
• Heaven's Gate
• Snake Tablas
• Loli
• Can You: You Can
• Confiture De Rhubarbier
• Parkin Triumphant
• Longhaired Tablas
• Éléphant La Tête
• Mother's Gone
• Éléphant La Cuisse
• White Doves
• Gnomoutro
• Goddess Invocation Om Riff

• Planetary Introduction
• You Can't Kill Me
• I Bin Stoned Before
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Pot Head Pixies
• Voix Lactee
• Outer Vision
• Inner Vision
• Gorbachev Cocktail / I Am Your Animal
• Flying Teacup
• I Am You

• Radio Gnome
• You Can't Kill Me
• Fohat Digs Holes in Space
• Tried So Hard
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Flying Teapot
• I Never Glid Before
• Masterbuilder
• A Sprinkling of Clouds
• Tic Toc
• Deep in the Sky
• White Neckblues
• Chrysler Rose

• Foolefare
• Zeroid
• Magdalene-Intro
• Magdalene
• Infinitea
• The Mad Monk
• Zero The Hero And The Witche's Spell
• Bodilingus-Intro
• Bodilingus
• Inner Temple
• Yoni on Mars
• Tropical Fish
• Invisible Temple
• Selene

• Mystic Sister
• Magick Brother
• Mister Long Shanks: O Mother I Am Your Fantasy
• Dynamite: I Am Your Animal
• Wet Cheese Delirium
• Tropical Fish: Selene
• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Flying Teapot
• The Pot Head Pixies
• Zero The Hero And The Witch's Spell
• Castle In The Clouds

• Heavy Tune
• Cat in Clark's Shoes
• Night Illusion
• Golden Dilemma
• Wingful of Eyes
• Three Blind Mice
• Expresso
• Soli
• Shadows Of
• Mandrake
• Bambooji

• Radio Gnome Invisible
• Flying Teapot
• The Pot Head Pixies
• The Octave Doctors and the Crystal Machine
• Zero the Hero and the Witch's Spell
• Witch's Song, I Am Your Pussy

• timeline:
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001

• timeline:
• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004
• 2003
• 2002
• 2001