''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' is a major reference work in the field of music, originally compiled by
Theodore Baker
Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)G. Schirmer, Inc. The ninth edition, the most recent edition, was published in 2001 — years after the first edition.
Edition history
Leading up to the initial publication of ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', Baker had compiled and edited three editions of ''A Dictionary of Musical Terms'' — published 1895, 1896, and 1897, respectively, by G. Schirmer, Inc.
First edition
The first edition, published in 1900, has 647 pages plus an ''Appendix'' of 5 pages. It includes 300 portraits drawn in ink, from portraits or photographs, by Russian artist Alexander Gribayédoff (possibly a pseudonym for
Valerian Gribayédoff
Valerian Michaylovich Griboedov formerly romanized as: Valerian Michaelovich Gribayedoff (Russian: Валериан Михайлович Грибоедов) (1858–1908) was a Russian journalist and illustrator most famous for introducing illustr ...
).
Fourth edition
The fourth edition, published in 1940, has 1,234 pages. American and
Latin-American
Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...
musicians were more fully represented in this issue than in any English work of the kind in its day.
Fifth edition
The fifth edition was rewritten by new editor
Nicolas Slonimsky
Nicolas Slonimsky ( – December 25, 1995), born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy (russian: Никола́й Леони́дович Сло́нимский), was a Russian-born American conductor, author, pianist, composer and lexicographer. B ...
, who would remain editor for several decades (up to the eighth edition in 1992) and have a considerable influence on the style and content of the dictionary. In preparing the fifth edition, Slonimsky expanded the size of the work to 1,855 pages and undertook a thorough review of the existing entries, expending considerable effort verifying and correcting biographical details such as birth and death dates by reference to archival sources.
Eighth edition
The eighth edition of 1992 revised 1,300 entries and added 1,100 new ones, coming to 2,115 pages, with an emphasis on expanding coverage of female and Asian musicians, multimedia composers,
performance art
Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...
ists, and
ethnomusicologists
Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...
. The seventh and eighth editions were pre-titled ''The Concise Edition''.
Ninth edition
The ninth edition of 2001, billed the "Centennial Edition", was the first not to be a single-volume work, taking up six volumes, partly due to expanded coverage and partly due to somewhat more generous formatting to improve readability. The ninth edition included a focus on increasing coverage of
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...
and
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
.
History of its publishers
G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher of Baker's since the first edition, was sold to
Macmillan Inc.
Macmillan Inc. is a defunct American book publishing company. Originally established as the American division of the British Macmillan Publishers, the two were later separated and acquired by other companies, with the remnants of the original A ...
in 1969.
Macmillan sold G. Schirmer, except for its reference holdings, to
Music Sales Corporation
Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group.
In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...
of London in 1986. Schirmer Reference is currently owned by
Gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Cengage Learning
Cengage Group is an American educational content, technology, and services company for the higher education, K-12, professional, and library markets. It operates in more than 20 countries around the world.(Jun 27, 2014Global Publishing Leaders ...
.
Editions
Edited by
Theodore Baker
Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)First edition (1900);
:: Supplement (1905);
Second edition (1905);
Edited by
Theodore Baker
Theodore Baker (June 3, 1851"Passed Away," ''Musical America'' (Nov. 10, 1934), p. 32."Dr. Theodore Baker," ''Musical Courier'' (Nov. 3, 1934), p. 20. – October 12, 1934)Alfred Remy (1870–1927)
Third edition (1919);
Edited by
Nicolas Slonimsky
Nicolas Slonimsky ( – December 25, 1995), born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy (russian: Никола́й Леони́дович Сло́нимский), was a Russian-born American conductor, author, pianist, composer and lexicographer. B ...
eBook
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
version (released 2007); , ,
Other editions
* ''The Portable Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'' (1988);
::
Slonimsky Slonimsky is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname popular among people of Belarusian, Polish and Russian people of Jewish origin. It means "a person from the city of Slonim".
Persons with this surname include the following:
*Antoni Słonimski: Polish poet ...
(ed.);
Richard Kostelanetz
Richard Cory Kostelanetz (born May 14, 1940) is an American artist, author, and critic.
Birth and Education
Kostelanetz was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. He has a B.A. (1962) fr ...
(ed.); Michael Stutzman (assistant ed.)
* ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Classical Musicians'' (1997),
Nicolas Slonimsky
Nicolas Slonimsky ( – December 25, 1995), born Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy (russian: Никола́й Леони́дович Сло́нимский), was a Russian-born American conductor, author, pianist, composer and lexicographer. B ...
, Laura Kuhn (born January 19, 1953) (ed.), Dennis McIntire (Associate ed.)
John Weeks Moore John Weeks Moore (11 April 1807 in Andover, New Hampshire – 1889) was an American editor of musical publications. He also authored a historical work on early American printers.
Biography
He was a son of Jacob Bailey Moore. He was educated at Con ...
, Boston;
: 1879: ''
A Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'',
George Grove
Sir George Grove (13 August 182028 May 1900) was an English engineer and writer on music, known as the founding editor of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''.
Grove was trained as a civil engineer, and successful in that profession, ...
(ed.),
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
;
; Later, contemporaneous American works
: 1939: ''International Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians,'' Oscar Lee Thompson (1887–1945) (ed.),
Dodd, Mead and Company
Dodd, Mead and Company was one of the pioneer publishing houses of the United States, based in New York City. Under several names, the firm operated from 1839 until 1990.
History Origins
In 1839, Moses Woodruff Dodd (1813–1899) and John S. T ...