Stravinsky, Igor (Fyodorovich) (b. June 17, 1882, Oranienbaum, Russia—d. April 6, 1971, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-bom U.S. com¬ poser. Son of an operatic bass, he decided to be a composer at age 20 and studied privately with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1902-08). His Fireworks (1908) was heard by the impresario Sergey Diaghilev, who commissioned Stravinsky to write the Firebird ballet (1910); its dazzling success made him Russia’s leading young composer. The great ballet score Petrushka (1911) followed. His next ballet, The Rite of Spring (1913), with its shift¬ ing and audacious rhythms and its unresolved dissonances, was a land¬ mark in music history; its Paris premiere caused an actual riot in the theatre, and Stravinsky’s international notoriety was assured. In the early 1920s he adopted a radically different style of restrained Neoclassicism— employing often ironic references to older music—in works such as his Octet (1923). His major Neoclassical works include Oedipus rex (1927) and the Symphony of Psalms (1930) and culminate in the opera The Rake’s Progress (1951). From 1954 he employed serialism, a compositional tech¬ nique. His later works include Agon (1957)—the last of his many ballets choreographed by George Balanchine —and Requiem Canticles (1966).
straw Stalks of grasses, particularly cereal grasses such as wheat, oats, rye, barley, and buckwheat. Used collectively, the term means stalks aggregated into bales or piles after the drying and threshing of grain. Since ancient times, humans have used straw as litter and fodder for cattle, as a covering for floors, for coarse bedding, and even as clothing. It can also be woven into baskets, hats, floor mats, and furniture coverings. Thatched roofs consist of straw laid down approximately 1 ft (30 cm) thick and secured by strong cords, with the fibers running in the direction to be taken by rainwater. Chemically pulped straw is used in the manufacture of coarse paper and strawboard, a cardboard for cheap paper boxes.
strawberry Fruit plant of eight main species of the genus Fragaria (rose family), the chief cultivated varieties of which are F. virginiana and F. chiloensis, native to the Americas. The low-growing, herbaceous plant has a fibrous root system and a crown from which basal leaves arise. The
Richard Strauss, portrait by Max Lie- bermann, 1918; in the National- Galerie, Berlin
COURTESY OF THE STAATLICHE MUSEEN ZU BERLIN, GERMANY
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Strayhorn ► streptomycin I 1831
leaves are compound, with three leaflets, sawtooth-edged and hairy. Small clusters of white flowers grow on slender stalks. Botanically, the straw¬ berry fruit is not a berry or a single fruit, but is instead a greatly enlarged stem end that contains many partially embedded true fruits (achenes), popularly called seeds. The plant propagates by stolons as it ages. Straw¬ berries are very perishable and require cool, dry storage. They are eaten fresh or prepared for use in desserts or preserves. Rich in vitamin C, they also provide iron and other minerals.
Strayhorn, Billy orig. William Thomas Strayhorn (b. Nov. 29, 1915, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.—d. May 31, 1967, New York, N.Y.) U.S. pia¬ nist, composer, and arranger. Strayhorn approached jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington with a composition in 1938, and he was soon contributing arrangements and original works to Ellington’s band. His “Take the ‘A’ Train,” recorded in 1941, became the band’s theme song. His work so complemented Ellington’s that it is often impossible to dis¬ tinguish their respective contributions. Strayhorn made expressive ballads his specialty and became noted for the structural and harmonic sophisti¬ cation of pieces such as “Lush Life,” “Something to Live For,” “Passion Flower,” and “Day Dream.”
streak Colour of a mineral in its powdered form, usually obtained by rubbing the mineral on a hard, white surface (e.g., a tile of unglazed por¬ celain) to yield a streak of fine powder. The streak’s colour is usually con¬ stant for a given mineral, even if the mineral varies in colour as it occurs in the field or if the streak is different from the colour of the unpowdered mineral. Streak is diagnostically useful because it may distinguish between mineral species that are otherwise similar in appearance.
stream of consciousness Narrative technique in nondramatic fic¬ tion intended to render the flow of myriad impressions—visual, auditory, tactile, associative, and subliminal—that impinge on an individual con¬ sciousness. To represent the mind at work, a writer may incorporate snatches of thought and grammatical constructions that do not seem coher¬ ent because they are based on the free association of ideas and images. The term was first used by William James in The Principles of Psychology (1890). In the 20th century, writers attempting to capture the total flow of their characters’ consciousness commonly used the techniques of inte¬ rior monologue, which represents a sequence of thought and feeling. Nov¬ els in which stream of consciousness plays an important role include James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922), William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury (1929), and Virginia Woolf’s The Waves (1931).
stream bed or stream channel Any long, narrow, sloping depres¬ sion on land that had been shaped by flowing water. Streambeds can range in width from a few feet for a brook to several thousand feet for the larg¬ est rivers. The channel may or may not contain flowing water at any given time; some carry water only occasionally. Streambeds may be cut in bed¬ rock or through sand, clay, silt, or other unconsolidated materials.
streaming Method of transmitting a media file in a continuous stream of data that can be processed by the receiving computer before the entire file has been completely sent. Streaming, which typically uses data com¬ pression, is especially effective for downloading large multimedia files from the Internet; it permits, for example, a video clip to begin playing on a user’s computer as soon as it begins to be downloaded from a Web site. Even with improved modems and connection speeds, downloading and playing large audio and video files without the use of streaming tech¬ niques still takes an inconveniently long time. To accept streaming data, the receiving computer needs to be running a player, a program that decompresses the incoming data and sends the resulting signals to the display and speakers. The audio and video files may be prerecorded, but streaming can also accommodate a live feed over the Internet.
streamline In fluid mecfianics, the path of imaginary particles suspended in the fluid and carried along with it. In steady flow, the fluid is in motion but the streamlines are fixed. Where streamlines crowd together, the fluid speed is relatively high; where they open out, the fluid is relatively still. See also laminar flow, turbulent flow.
Streep, Meryl orig. Mary Louise Streep (b. June 22, 1949, Sum¬ mit, N.J., U.S.) U.S. film actress. She studied at Vassar College and the Yale School of Drama before appearing on Broadway and in the televi¬ sion films The Deadliest Season (1977) and The Holocaust (1978, Emmy Award). An unusually versatile and expressive actress, she won stardom in The Deer Hunter (1978), Manhattan (1979), and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, Academy Award). Her later films include Sophie’s Choice (1982,
Academy Award), Silkwood (1983), Out of Africa (1985), A Cry in the Dark (1988), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), and The Hours
( 2002 ).
streetcar or trolley car Passenger-carrying vehicle that runs on rails laid in city streets. Streetcars in the 1830s were pulled by horses. Elec¬ tric motors later supplied the power, with electricity transmitted by a trol¬ ley from overhead electric lines. From the 1890s to the 1940s, streetcars were widely used in cities around the world; they were gradually replaced by the automobile, the bus, and the subway, and by the 1950s few remained. A variant, the cable car, invented in 1873 for use on San Francisco’s steep hills, is drawn by a continuous cable set in a slot between the tracks.