The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music

Joyce Bourne Kennedy

Oxford University Press, 2007 - Music - 839 pages

Derived from the classicOxford Dictionary of Music, this is the most authoritative dictionary of music available in paperback. Up-to-date and clearly written, it is a rich mine of information for lovers of music of all periods and styles. Written by Michael Kennedy, a renowned authority on classical music and chief music critic for The Sunday Telegraph, from 1989 to 2005, the dictionary includes over 14,000 entries on musical terms from allegro to zingaro, and on musical works from Aida to Tosca, as well as musical instruments and their history, composers, librettists, musicians, singers, and orchestras. It also boasts comprehensive works lists for major composers. Fully revised and updated, the 5th edition of this established reference work contains over 200 new entries, including information on aproximately 150 new performers. Essential reference for music students and teachers, and fascinating reading for all other music enthusiasts.

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - keylawk - LibraryThing

So often, in the orchestra, I have faced confusion. Having a dictionary at hand, is an immediate aid, if not the remedy itself. For example, so often the differences in names can throw one down a loop ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - jigwagigiggs - LibraryThing

How refreshing in the era where the internet tells us how to do everything that there is still an extensive encyclopedia thatt does the same thing. Biblical in its staure for all musicians. And ...

About the author

Michael Kennedy was chief music critic of the Sunday Telegraph since 1989. Before that he was a staff music critic on The Sunday Telegraph from 1950 and its Northern Editor from 1960 to 1986. He is an authority on English music of the twentieth century and has written books on Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Britten, and Walton as well as on Mahler, Strauss, Barbirolli, Boult, and the Halle Orchestra. He was awarded the OBE in 1981 and the CBE in 1997, and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Royal Northen College of Music, Manchester. The honorary degree of Doctor of Music was conferred on him in 2003 by the University of Manchester. Joyce Bourne practised for almost 30 years as an anaesthetist and general practitioner until her retirement in 1990. She has a lifelong interest in and love of music and has assisted Michael Kennedy with his works since 1978, both as researcher and typist. Her book Who's Who in Opera was published in 1998.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music; Oxford paperback reference; Oxford reference online premium
• Author: Joyce Bourne Kennedy
• Editor: Michael Kennedy
• Edition: 5, illustrated
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2007
• Original from: the University of Michigan
• Digitized: Jun 4, 2010
• ISBN: 0199203830, 9780199203833
• Length: 839 pages
• Subjects: Music / Reference