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The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an authority on all aspects of music. It is widely used by academics and the professional community. First published in 1980, it is a successor to the five-volume Dictionary of Music and Musicians edited by Sir George Grove in 1878-83.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Now appearing in print and online simultaneously, this expanded second edition of the most substantial, comprehensive music encyclopedia in English deserves applause for including greater coverage of world and popular music, nearly 2000 more articles on 20th-century composers, and more than 29,000 entries (many rewritten or revised) by over 6000 contributors nearly 7000 more entries by 3600 more contributors than graced the 20-volume 1980 edition. New articles on intellectual trends (e.g., deconstruction, modernism, and postmodernism), sociopolitical movements (e.g., feminism, Marxism, and Nazism), and even animal music and sex illuminate music's various contexts far better than did the earlier New Grove's. One brave entry's topic is music itself. There are some problems, however: leaden prose in some of the theoretical and subject articles infused with theory (such as the long rewrite of popular music), questionable choices and/or poor reproductions of photographs (e.g., a foolish pose of Bing Crosby and far too darkly reproduced field-study photos), a disappointing failure to update bibliographies in many articles, and absent or scanty lists of recordings in entries for popular and jazz musicians. Some signs that this set was rushed into print include pages missing from the Stravinsky article and scattered typographical errors or incorrect facts. The publisher, however, has promised buyers new copies of the Stravinsky article and claims that future reprints will correct these mistakes. By contrast, the online version (see review, Database&Disc Reviews, p. 114-19) will be updated quarterly and selectively revised annually, so the two media will soon have markedly different content. Still, even those libraries subscribing to the virtual version need the print version, which, like its predecessor, will be useful for decades to come. Only the print version is fully illustrated, and the musical examples are best viewed on the printed page, for only there can users see longer examples in their entirety while reading the accompanying narrative. An appendix of articles listing libraries, editions, periodicals, and the like is not yet online; nor are the introductory usage notes from Volume 1. Finally, information from the welcome index volume the first since 1890 is incompletely reproduced online. This time around, the volumes are taller and thinner, with wide margins that allow for rebinding and sewn bindings that should withstand heavy use. Some owners have noticed that the inner margins are rippled, causing crackling noises when pages are turned, but the publisher claims that the bindings will relax over time. Libraries that relied on the first New Grove should welcome its superior print successor. [Special discounts are available for libraries purchasing the print and online versions together. Ed.] Bonnie Jo Dopp, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

The new millennium has begun auspiciously with publication of the second edition of The New Grove (New Grove 2). Its reputation for preeminence among English-language music encyclopedias continues undimmed with this edition, whose size (29v., increased from the 20v. of the 1980 edition, CH, Feb'81) and scope are considerably greater. Immediately noticeable is that a full volume (v.28) is given over to appendixes, the first of which lists private collections, congress reports, dictionaries and encyclopedias, historical editions, libraries, periodicals, and sound archives. Holdings of private collections, libraries, and sound archives are described in some detail. Much of this information made its way into relevant articles in the first edition, but placement in a separate volume is a convenience for researchers. The second appendix supplies acknowledgements for music examples and illustrations, and the third is a roster of contributors. Volume 29 contains a general index, a list of composers arranged by nationality, an especially valuable list of women composers arranged chronologically, and lists of performers and writers. Although many articles are based on those in the 1980 edition, revisions take care to reflect current research. For instance, the article "Libraries" (v.14), written by the late Rita Benton, adds a section on recent developments in cataloging and classification and updates the bibliography. In many instances, the original authors revised their own articles: Lewis Lockwood adds recent developments in Renaissance musicology to his "Renaissance" article (v.21), including discussion of scholarly editions and primary sources, new approaches to analysis, and the study of theory and commentary. Also substantially revised are valuable essays on Schoenberg by Oliver Neighbour and on Beethoven by Alan Tyson and Joseph Kerman (v.3), the latter including a new section by Scott Burnham on Beethoven's posthumous influence and reputation.New articles on major composers are often substantial essays. Typical are the articles on Claudio Monteverdi (v.17) by Tim Carter and Geoffrey Chew, and on Robert Schumann (v.22) by John Daverio. Both reflect recently discovered biographical information and offer analytical remarks about representative compositions. Areas where coverage is expanded considerably include music by women composers, non-Western traditional music, jazz, and popular song. To see how research on women composers has deepened, one need only compare the article on Fanny Mendelssohn in the 1980 edition (v.12) with that in the 2001 edition (v.16). The earlier edition finds that "Fanny is said to have been as musically gifted as her brother ... [but] her historical importance consists in her having provided, both in her diary and in her correspondence, much essential source material for the biography of Felix." The new article, by Marcia Citron, which updates that in The Norton/Grove Dictionary of Women Composers (CH, Apr'96), discusses more fully her achievements as both composer and performer, and judges that her music may have been unjustly neglected. Traditional music of non-Western countries is given considerable coverage. The article on Indonesia expands from 53 pages to 96 (v.12), and the essay on India in the present edition is also very long, running 125 pages (v.12). These and other articles in the current edition feature expanded bibliographies; many include discographies as well. Macmillan might well publish the major New Grove 2 essays on non-Western music as separate volumes. Even cursory examinations of New Grove 2 reveal that the editorial staff gives increased attention to jazz and popular music. Many jazz entries are based on those in The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz (CH, Apr'89), where articles understandably tend to be longer and more comprehensive, but New Grove 2 takes care to update information about jazz. Popular music from many nations receives considerable coverage. The essay about the Beatles covers four pages (v.3) and has an extensive bibliography and discography. Many popular US musicians (Blondie, Meat Loaf), also present in The New Grove Dictionary of American Music (CH, Jan'87), often have entirely new entries in the 2001 edition.New Grove 2 is distinguished from other music encyclopedias by being available online as well as in print (Grove Music ). While the online version is easy to consult, its use is limited to one reader per terminal; many libraries will prefer the printed volumes, which can be used by several readers at the same time. However, corrections can be easily made to online encyclopedias; the editor requests that communications be sent to editor@grovemusic.com.Minor factual errors noted in New Grove 2 will undoubtedly be corrected in future reprintings. The setting of Die Weiber von Weinsberg, attributed as an opera to Johann Anton Andre (v.1, p. 620), is instead a revised version of a ballad by his father, Johann. The entry for US composer Irwin Bazelon (v.2, p. 9) leads readers to believe that Churchill Downs (Louisville, KY) is near New York. The list of works by Franz Liszt states that the melodrama Helges Treue (v.14, p. 859) is an original composition; in fact, it is by Felix Draeseke and was later arranged for voice and piano by Liszt (this information is correct in the 1980 edition). The music for Goethe's Werther by Gaetano Pugnani was not conceived as a suite for orchestra, but as a series of instrumental numbers intended to accompany a spoken recitation of passages from the novel. One hopes that entries for omitted personalities can be added to a revised online version. For instance, it is surprising not to find 19th-century German composer Friedrich Kiel, whose chamber and choral compositions have recently been successfully revived in performances and recordings.Publication of New Grove 2 should be an occasion for rejoicing. The only comparable music reference source is Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG) (17v., 1949-1986), currently being issued piecemeal in a second edition (1994- ). Musicologists will need to consult both, and their ability to locate necessary information will be greatly facilitated with the appearance of New Grove 2. All academic libraries. D. Ossenkop emeritus, SUNY College at Potsdam

Booklist Review

While this was at first intended to be just a new edition of the venerable Grove, it ended up as virtually a new work. It treats the entire world of music, including nonwestern and folk. Articles cover composers, performers, terms, musical genres, instruments, etc. This winner of the 1982 Dartmouth Medal will serve as the basis of music reference collections for years to come.