The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 Volume Set) [Hardcover]

George Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians Grove (Editor), Stanley Sadie (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0333231112 | ISBN-13: 978-0333231111 | Publication Date: June 1980 | Edition: 6th

This is as much an encyclopedia as a dictionary. Its 20 volumes embrace the entire world of musical knowledge, offering over 22,500 alphabetically arranged articles, by 2,300 contributors from over 70 different countries.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is the big one -- 20 thick volumes packed full of information on musical history, composers, artists and more. It carries a big price tag, but it's an invaluable aid for the serious student or writer. Grove has several other dictionaries, opera and jazz among them, but if you can only handle one, this is the one to get. This text refers to the 20 Volume edition of this title. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

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 Par.
- Bonnie Jo Dopp, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 20 pages
• Publisher: Groves Dictionaries Inc; 6th edition (June 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0333231112
• ISBN-13: 978-0333231111
• Product Dimensions: 27.5 x 15.5 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 66 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,781,925 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The complete reference for music research., April 25, 1998

By 

Albert Lilly "Albert Lilly" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 Volume Set) (Paperback)

TNGMM is the complete reference source for music and musicians. No other scholarly collection has assembled so many outstanding reference sources into one collection of clear, concise, complete information. This work should be in every serious music scholars library, as well as any college or high school which has a serious music program.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing better...period, April 3, 2006

By 

Dackelmommy - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians: 29 volumes with index (Hardcover)

Despite the fact many have tried to "pretend" there are other dictionarys/encyclopedias that are better than The Groves, there simply are not. Sure, The Groves is not cheap, however, if you are looking for a quality work, it will never be cheap. So, whether you are a person with degrees in Music History, or someone who just wants to have information readily available on music/musicians, this is the only way to go.

24 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive dictionary of music and musicians, September 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (20 Volume Set) (Paperback)

One could never hope for a 'compleat' dictionary of music and musicians any more than one could hope for hope for a 'compleat'library of knowledge in one publication. But, just as the Encycopeadia Britannica has come to be seen the most comprehensive summary available of knowledge generally, so has Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians come to be seen as the ultimate summary of information available about music and musicians.

The question now is: when will 'Grove' follow the Encyclopaedia Britannica and reach out to a wider audience via CD-ROM and Internet on-line services? For this reviewer: the sooner the better

Ian Bowie