Called the "master of all masters of our people" by Duke Ellington, he was a leading black composer and musician.

The other leading German composers of the time tended to follow Handel's example.

Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 - 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras.

The appointment of Mr. Zimmermann, 55, a leading German composer, staunch advocate of 20th-century music and manager of the Leipzig Opera, takes effect in 2001, when Goetz Friedrich leaves after 20 years.

Heiden entered the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin in 1929 at the age of nineteen and studied music composition under Paul Hindemith, the leading German composer of his day.

In Paris, Daughery had the opportunity to hear contemporary music by the leading European composers of the time performed by the Ensemble l'Itinéraire and Boulez's Ensemble InterContemporain.

"The first half features music by three of the leading American composers: Copland, Bernstein and Williams," he said.

But this gala production in honor of the 80th birthday of a leading American composer who also happens to be a former Juilliard president proved disappointing.

Here, he has turned to Edgar Meyer, a leading American composer who has attracted other choreographers.