Portal:Music

The Music Portal

Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all human societies. Definitions of music vary widely in substance and approach. While scholars agree that music is defined by a small number of specific elements, there is no consensus as to what these necessary elements are. Music is often characterized as a highly versatile medium for expressing human creativity. Diverse activities are involved in the creation of music, and are often divided into categories of composition, improvisation, and performance. Music may be performed using a wide variety of musical instruments, including the human voice. It can also be composed, sequenced, or otherwise produced to be indirectly played mechanically or electronically, such as via a music box, barrel organ, or digital audio workstation software on a computer.

Music often plays a key role in social events and religious ceremonies. The techniques of making music are often transmitted as part of a cultural tradition. Music is played in public and private contexts, highlighted at events such as festivals and concerts for various different types of ensembles. Music is used in the production of other media, such as in soundtracks to films, TV shows, operas, and video games.

Listening to music is a common means of entertainment. The culture surrounding music extends into areas of academic study, journalism, philosophy, psychology, and therapy. The music industry includes songwriters, performers, sound engineers, producers, tour organizers, distributors of instruments, accessories, and publishers of sheet music and recordings. Technology facilitating the recording and reproduction of music has historically included sheet music, microphones, phonographs, and tape machines, with playback of digital music being a common use for MP3 players, CD players, and smartphones. (Full article...)

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various music-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Frances Densmore at the Smithsonian Institution in 1916 where she was recording Blackfoot chief Mountain Chief for the Bureau of American Ethnology. In this picture, Mountain Chief is listening to a recording. (from Music industry)
Image 2A young couple listening to music on an iPod Mini, 2006 (from Album era)
Image 3Sheet music for part of the Missa Papae Marcelli by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (from History of music)
Image 4An audience watching a concert (from Music industry)
Image 5The Beatles have been credited by music historians for heralding the album era. (from Album era)
Image 6Stevie Wonder, among the era's innovative artists (from Album era)
Image 7A musician in a recording studio (from Music industry)
Image 8A radio broadcasting system from 1906 (from Music industry)
Image 9An LP record on a phonograph (from Album era)
Image 10Alleluia nativitas by Perotin from the Codex Guelf.1099 (from History of music)
Image 11The Rolling Stones in 1967 (from Album era)
Image 12Kanye West (2007) emerged during the decade as an important hip-hop producer and album artist. (from Album era)
Image 13Pink Floyd (1973) performing The Dark Side of the Moon, a leading commercial success of the LP era (from Album era)
Image 14The portable Discman CD player, which was released in 1984 and precipitated the displacement of LPs (from Album era)
Image 15An ancient Egyptian mural of people playing music. (from History of music)
Image 16Frank Sinatra (c. 1955), an early pop album artist (from Album era)
Image 17Terracotta statue of a Parthian lute player (from History of music)
Image 18Tin Pan Alley plaque on 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth (from Music industry)
Image 19A studio engineer working with an audio mixer in a recording studio (from Music industry)
Image 20A smartphone displaying playlists on Spotify, 2010. The streaming service became a dominant and redefining platform for music consumption through the decade. (from Album era)
Image 21The logo for Apple Inc.'s online iTunes store, which sells digital files of songs and musical pieces–along with a range of other content, such as digital files of TV shows and movies (from Music industry)
Image 22An HMV record shop in Wakefield, England closing its operation in 2013 (from Album era)
Image 23Musicians working in a recording studio (from Music industry)
Image 24The Bull Headed Lyre of Ur, found in the Royal Cemetery at Ur, is the best known of the ancient Lyres of Ur (from History of music)
Image 25Drawing of the tablet with the Hymn to Nikkal (c. 1400 BCE), the oldest of the Hurrian songs (from History of music)
Image 26A young man browsing through a record store in Bonn, West Germany, June 1988 (from Album era)
Image 27J. S. Bach (from History of music)
Image 28The Japanese boy band Arashi, who had the world's best-selling album (5x20 All the Best!!) in 2019 (from Album era)
Image 29Circular definition of "musicality" (from Elements of music)
Image 30Guillaume Du Fay (left), with Gilles Binchois (right) in a c. 1440 Illuminated manuscript copy of Martin le Franc's Le champion des dames (from History of music)
Image 31Platinum records by Elvis Presley, Prince, Madonna, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bruce Springsteen, at Julien's Auctions (from Album era)
Image 32As LPs fell out of favor to CDs, hip hop producers repurposed them as sampling sources, contributing to the development of record collecting. (from Album era)
Image 33Beyoncé (2016) popularized the surprise-album strategy of the 2010s. (from Album era)
Image 34US vinyl sales in units, 1995–2020; while album sales overall declined, those in the vinyl format rose toward the end of the 2010s. (from Album era)
Image 35An example of mechanically printed sheet music (from Music industry)
Image 36A Rhodes College student listening to the 1969 Yes LP on campus, c. 1970 (from Album era)
Image 37Clara and Robert Schumann (from History of music)
Image 38c. 379 CE Bas relief of Sassanid women playing the chang in Taq-e Bostan, Iran (from History of music)
Image 39The monumental Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng, c. 5th century BCE, from Hubei (from History of music)
Image 40Two musicians of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE), Shanghai Museum (from History of music)
Image 41Notation indicating differing pitch, dynamics, articulation, and instrumentation (from Elements of music)

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Featured articles - load new batch

Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

Image 1
"Rehab" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). Def Jam Recordings serviced the song to contemporary hit radio in the United States on October 6, 2008, as the fifth and final single from the album. It was released in the United Kingdom as a CD single on December 8, 2008.

Development of "Rehab" began while Rihanna was accompanying Timbaland on Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow tour in 2007. Timberlake wrote the song in collaboration with his producers, Hannon Lane and Timbaland, and provided additional vocals. "Rehab" is a mid-paced R&B song with an emotional, melancholy chorus; the lyrics are about the protagonist's painful memories of her former lover, who is portrayed metaphorically as a disease. (Full article...)
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Stereolab performing at the London Pitchfork Festival in 2021

Stereolab are a British-French band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates vintage electronic keyboards and repetitive motorik beats with female vocals sung in English and French, drawing influence from styles such as krautrock, lounge music, jazz, and 1960s French pop. Their lyrics have left-wing political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements.

Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members included 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances. (Full article...)
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Laborintus II is an album by the Belgian orchestra Ictus Ensemble, the vocal group Nederlands Kamerkoor, and the American vocalist Mike Patton, which was recorded live at the 2010 Holland Festival. It was released on July 10, 2012, by Ipecac Recordings, and debuted at number 23 on the American Billboard Classical Albums Chart. It was not well received by critics.

The album is a recording of the 1965 work of the same name by Italian composer Luciano Berio, whose composition employs elements of jazz and electronic music. The libretto by Edoardo Sanguineti borrows ideas from the works of Dante Alighieri, T. S. Eliot and Ezra Pound, and his own 1956 poem "Laborintus". Berio named "memory, death and usury" as the work's main concerns, believing these themes to be present in Dante's work. (Full article...)
Image 4

Portrait of Frederick II of Prussia (1763)

Frederick II (German: Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 – 17 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. His most significant accomplishments include military successes in the Silesian wars, reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Prussia greatly increased its territories and became a major military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great (German: Friedrich der Große) and was nicknamed "Old Fritz" (German: der Alte Fritz).

In his youth, Prince Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than war, which led to clashes with his authoritarian father, Frederick William I of Prussia. However, upon ascending to the throne, he attacked and annexed the rich Austrian province of Silesia in 1742, winning military acclaim. He became an influential military theorist, whose analyses emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. (Full article...)
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"Christmas Tree Farm" is a Christmas song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. She wrote it on December 1, 2019, inspired by her affection for the holiday season, and produced it with Jimmy Napes. Republic Records released the track as a single on December 6 of that year. Opening with a 1950s-inspired jazzy intro, "Christmas Tree Farm" is a pop ballad driven by an upbeat arrangement, orchestral treatment, and jingle bells. The lyrics are about Swift's childhood memories of Christmas.

Music critics have praised "Christmas Tree Farm" as catchy and its lyricism as nostalgia-inducing; they have retrospectively listed it as one of the best Christmas songs. It reached number 91 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and the top 30 on the national charts of Croatia, Flanders, Hungary, and Scotland. The track received gold certifications in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
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OK Computer is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released on 21 May 1997. With their producer, Nigel Godrich, Radiohead recorded most of OK Computer in their rehearsal space in Oxfordshire and the historic mansion of St Catherine's Court in Bath in 1996 and early 1997. They distanced themselves from the guitar-centred, lyrically introspective style of their previous album, The Bends. OK Computer's abstract lyrics, densely layered sound and eclectic influences laid the groundwork for Radiohead's later, more experimental work.

The lyrics depict a dystopian world fraught with rampant consumerism, social alienation, technological anxiety and political corruption, while also exploring themes of transport, conformity, paranoia, death, modern British life and globalisation. In this capacity, OK Computer is said to have prescient insight into the mood of 21st-century life. Radiohead used unconventional production techniques, including natural reverberation, and no audio separation. Strings were recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. Most of the album was recorded live. (Full article...)
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Jackson in 2015

Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. An influential figure in popular culture, she is known for her innovative works that incorporate socially conscious and sexually provocative themes, as well as her elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreography became a catalyst in the growth of MTV, breaking American gender and racial barriers and enabling her rise to prominence. Lyrical content that concerned social issues and deeply felt experiences contributed to the appeal of Jackson's work to the youth audience.

The tenth and youngest child of the Jackson family, Jackson starred in multiple television shows throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, including Good Times, Diff'rent Strokes and Fame. After signing with A&M Records in 1982, Jackson achieved global stardom with the albums Control (1986) and Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). These projects led to crossover success in popular music and influenced the development of the new jack swing fusion genre. In the 1990s, Jackson became one of the highest-paid musicians, signing two of the largest music deals of all time with Virgin Records. She cemented her sex symbol status with a leading role in the film Poetic Justice (1993) and the albums Janet (1993) and The Velvet Rope (1997). (Full article...)
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"Obsessed" is a song by American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo from Guts (Spilled), the 2024 deluxe edition of her second studio album, Guts (2023). Rodrigo wrote it with American musician St. Vincent and its producer, Dan Nigro. Geffen Records released it as a single alongside the deluxe edition on March 22, 2024. A power pop, pop-punk, pop rock, and dance-rock song with punk rock, grunge, alternative rock, and pop metal influences, "Obsessed" details Rodrigo's jealousy and preoccupation with her partner's ex-girlfriend.

Music critics believed "Obsessed" achieved an edgier sound than Rodrigo's previous output and directed praise towards its upbeat nature and lyrics. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number 10 on the UK singles chart and became Rodrigo's eighth top-10 single. It reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the United States. "Obsessed" received a platinum certification in Australia and silver in the United Kingdom. (Full article...)
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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (transl. The Brave-Hearted Will Take the Bride), also known by the initialism DDLJ, is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language romantic musical film written and directed by Aditya Chopra in his directorial debut and produced by his father Yash Chopra. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as Raj and Simran, two young non-resident Indians, who fall in love during a vacation through Europe with their friends. Raj tries to win over Simran's family so the couple can marry, but Simran's father has long since promised her hand to his friend's son.

The film was shot in India, London, and Switzerland, from September 1994 to August 1995. (Full article...)
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Weird Faith is the sixth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Madi Diaz, released on February 9, 2024, by Anti-. The album followed her fifth studio album, History of a Feeling, and tours with Angel Olsen, Waxahatchee, and Harry Styles. It was written in Nashville and upstate New York, recorded in the latter by Diaz and Sam Cohen, and produced by Diaz, Cohen, and Konrad Snyder.

Weird Faith has been described as an indie rock, indie folk, and indie pop album. The album features sparse, acoustic arrangements that highlight Diaz's lyrics and vocals, and it addresses themes of love, trust, and intimacy. Critics positively reviewed the album, particularly praising Diaz's emotional songwriting. It was featured on several year-end lists and was nominated for two Grammy Awards. (Full article...)
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Simeon's Song of Praise, c. 1700–1710

Johann Sebastian Bach composed the cantata Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin (German: [mɪt ˈfʁiːt ʔʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt ʔɪç ˈfaːɐ̯ daˈhɪn]; "With peace and joy I depart"), BWV 125, for use in a Lutheran service. He composed this chorale cantata in Leipzig in 1725 for the feast for the Purification of Mary, which is celebrated on 2 February and is also known as Candlemas. The cantata is based on Martin Luther's 1524 hymn "Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" and forms part of Bach's chorale cantata cycle, written to provide Sundays and feast days of the liturgical year with cantatas based on a related Lutheran hymn.

The gospel for the feast day, the presentation of Jesus at the Temple, includes Simeon's canticle Nunc dimittis, which Luther paraphrased in his hymn, providing an unusually close relationship between the hymn and the liturgical occasion. Bach had used single stanzas of the hymn in his early funeral cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106, and in cantatas of his first Leipzig cycle. (Full article...)
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Title page of Handel's autograph score

Messiah (HWV 56) is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel. The text was compiled from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter by Charles Jennens. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742 and received its London premiere a year later. After an initially modest public reception, the oratorio gained in popularity, eventually becoming one of the best-known and most frequently performed choral works in Western music.

Handel's reputation in England, where he had lived since 1712, had been established through his compositions of Italian opera. He turned to English oratorio in the 1730s in response to changes in public taste; Messiah was his sixth work in this genre. Although its structure resembles that of opera, it is not in dramatic form; there are no impersonations of characters and no direct speech. Instead, Jennens's text is an extended reflection on Jesus as the Messiah called Christ. The text begins in Part I with prophecies by Isaiah and others, and moves to the annunciation to the shepherds, the only "scene" taken from the Gospels. In Part II, Handel concentrates on the Passion of Jesus and ends with the Hallelujah chorus. In Part III, he covers Paul's teachings on the resurrection of the dead and Christ's glorification in heaven. (Full article...)
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"Karma" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). The song was written and produced by Swift, Jack Antonoff, Sounwave, and Keanu Beats; Jahaan Sweet was a co-writer. Republic Records released "Karma" to US pop radio as the fourth single from Midnights on May 1, 2023. A remix featuring the rapper Ice Spice was released on May 26, 2023.

"Karma" combines synth-pop, chillwave, disco-pop, and electroclash, with elements of alternative pop, new wave, and techno. It is instrumented by cascading synth and Omnichord notes. In the lyrics, Swift's narrator proclaims how karma helps her attain good things in life, as opposed to her detractors, who receive backlash for their wrongdoings. Music critics generally praised the production and playful lyrics of "Karma", with some selecting it as a highlight on Midnights. Although the Ice Spice remix received mixed reviews, it was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024. (Full article...)
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Lions is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Black Crowes. It was released in 2001 as their first album on V2 Records following their departure from Columbia, and is their only studio album to feature guitarist Audley Freed. Lions was recorded in New York City in January and February of that year, and was produced by Don Was. Bass guitar duties were shared by Rich Robinson and Was, as Greg Rzab had left the band and was not replaced until the tour that followed the release of the album.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at its peak position of 20, selling more than 53,000 copies in its first week. Lions received mixed reviews; although the overall sound of the album generally garnered praise, a frequent complaint was the lack of "memorable" songs. The critics who rated Lions lowest considered it a poor imitation of the band's influences, such as Led Zeppelin. (Full article...)
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Illinois (styled Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise on the cover; sometimes spelled as Illinoise) is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. It features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois. Illinois is Stevens' second based on a U.S. state—part of a planned series of fifty that began with the 2003 album Michigan and that Stevens has since acknowledged was a joke. It was adapted into a musical, Illinoise, in 2023 and, after playing smaller venues, opened at the St. James Theatre on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony Awards in 2024, winning for Best Choreography.

Stevens recorded and produced the album at multiple venues in New York City using low-fidelity studio equipment and a variety of instruments between late 2004 and early 2005. The artwork and lyrics explore the history, culture, art, and geography of the state—Stevens developed them after analyzing criminal, literary, and historical documents, and weaved them with personal stories. Following its release, Stevens promoted Illinois with a world tour. (Full article...)

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Le mage
Poster credit: Alfredo Leonardo Edel; restored by Adam Cuerden
Le mage is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Jean Richepin. First performed at the Paris Opera in 1891, it has rarely been performed since its premiere run of 31 performances, and is one of Massenet's least-known operas. A rare complete concert performance took place at the Massenet Festival in Saint-Étienne in 2012. This poster by Alfredo Edel was produced for the opera's premiere on 16 March 1891.
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Ariadne auf Naxos
Illustration credit: unknown
Ariadne auf Naxos ('Ariadne on Naxos'), Op. 60, is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Combining slapstick comedy and consummately beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention. The opera was originally conceived as a 30-minute divertissement to be performed at the end of Hofmannsthal's adaptation of Molière's play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme. Besides the opera, Strauss provided incidental music to be performed during the play. In the end, the opera was ninety minutes long, and the performance of the play and opera together totalled over six hours. It was first performed at the Staatsoper Stuttgart on 25 October 1912, directed by Max Reinhardt. The combination of the play and opera proved to be unsatisfactory to the audience: those who had come to hear the opera resented having to wait until the play finished. The work was revised in 1916, with the play being replaced by a prologue, and first performed at the Vienna State Opera on 4 October of that year.

This picture is the cover of a vocal score of the revised edition of Ariadne auf Naxos, published in 1916.
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Griselda (A. Scarlatti)
Manuscript: Alessandro Scarlatti
Griselda is an opera seria in three acts by the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti. First performed in 1721, it is based on the story of Patient Griselda from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. The libretto is by Apostolo Zeno, with revisions by an anonymous author. This manuscript copy by Scarlatti, held at the British Library, is of act one, scene one.
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Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (15 August 1875 – 1 September 1912) was an English composer and conductor. His greatest success was his cantata Hiawatha's Wedding Feast. This set the epic poem The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to music, and was widely performed by choral groups in England and the United States. Composers were not well paid; the work sold hundreds of thousands of copies, but he had sold the music outright for the sum of 15 guineas, so did not benefit directly. He learned to retain his rights and earned royalties for other compositions after achieving wide renown, but always struggled financially. This photograph of Coleridge-Taylor was taken around 1905.
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Carl Nielsen
Photograph: Georg Lindstrøm; restoration: Adam Cuerden
Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) was a Danish musician, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Initially playing in a military band before attending the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, he premiered his Op. 1, Suite for Strings, in 1888, at the age of 23. His early music was inspired by composers such as Brahms and Grieg, but he soon developed his own style. By the time of his death, he had produced 419 known works; some of these, such as his opera Maskarade (1906), have become integral to Denmark's national heritage.
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Louis Armstrong
Photo credit: New York World-Telegram and Sun
Louis Armstrong, nicknamed "Satchmo" or "Pops", was an American jazz trumpeter and singer. Armstrong was a foundational influence on jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performers. With his distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser and as a scat singer.
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Hera Hjartardóttir
Photo: Kyle Cassidy
Hera is an Icelandic singer-songwriter who emigrated to New Zealand as a teenager. She is known for her facial art, which is "inspired by moko and also by Celtic warrior paint" and intended to represent both her Icelandic and New Zealand heritage. In 2002 she was named Best Female Singer at the Icelandic Music Awards.
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Frédéric Chopin
Photo credit: Louis-Auguste Bisson
The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin, often incorrectly described as a daguerreotype. It is believed to have been taken in 1849 during the degenerative stages of his tuberculosis, shortly before his death. Chopin, a Polish pianist and composer of the Romantic era, is widely regarded as one of the most famous, influential, admired and prolific composers for the piano. He moved to Paris at the age of twenty, adopting the French variant of his name, "Frédéric-François", by which he is now known.
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Simon Neil
Photograph: Achim Raschka
Simon Neil (b. 1979) is a Scottish vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. Born in Irvine, he established the band Biffy Clyro in 1995 with James and Ben Johnston. He has also played with JP Reid of Sucioperro in Marmaduke Duke, using the pseudonym "The Atmosphere", and started a solo career.
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Franz Lehár
Photograph: Bain News Service; restoration: Adam Cuerden
Franz Lehár (1870–1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer mainly known for his operettas, the most successful and best known being The Merry Widow. He also wrote sonatas, symphonic poems and marches.
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Henrik Freischlader
Photograph: Stefan Krause
Henrik Freischlader (b. 1982) is a German blues guitarist and singer. He began his career in 1998, and established his own label, Cable Car Records, in 2009.
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Lina Rafn
Photo: Jepsen
Lina Rafn (b. 1976) is a Danish singer, songwriter and producer active with the band Infernal. She had previously been a VJ on the show The Voice TV Danmark.
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Oceana (singer)
Photo: ChrisHamburg
Oceana (born 1982) is a German singer of German/Martiniquen descent. She is shown here performing at the Radio Hamburg Top 820.
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William Grant Still
Photograph credit: Carl Van Vechten; restored by Adam Cuerden
William Grant Still (1895–1978) was an American composer of nearly 200 works, including five symphonies and nine operas. Often referred to as the "Dean of Afro-American Composers", Still was the first American composer to have an opera produced by the New York City Opera. His first symphony, entitled Afro-American Symphony, was until 1950 the most widely performed symphony composed by an American. Born in Mississippi, he grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, attended Wilberforce University and Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and was a student of George Whitefield Chadwick and later Edgard Varèse. Still was the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra and the first to have an opera performed on national television. Due to his close association and collaboration with prominent African-American literary and cultural figures, he is considered to be part of the Harlem Renaissance movement.

This picture of Still was taken by Carl Van Vechten in 1949; the photograph is in the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
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Nelly Martyl
Photograph credit: Jean Reutlinger; restored by Adam Cuerden
Nelly Martyl (1884–1953) was a French opera singer. She sang in the premieres of several operas, including Leborne's La Catalane (1907), Erlanger's La Sorcière (1912), and Massenet's Amadis (1922). Martyl joined the Red Cross as a nurse during the First World War, and served at the Battle of Verdun in 1916, where she was known as la fée de Verdun (the Fairy of Verdun), and at the Second Battle of the Aisne in 1917. She continued as a nurse after the war to help with the 1918 epidemic of Spanish flu. She was awarded the Croix de Guerre with the carte du combattant (signifying service under particular hazard) in 1920.
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