Research Guides: 20th Century Music History: Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Books

Contemporary American composers: a biographical dictionary by Anderson, E. Ruth
Call Number: ML390.A54

Twenty years old, but still one of the best resources for identifying obscure American composers.
Dictionary of American classical composers by Butterworth, Neil
Call Number: ML106.U3B87

650 entries, many including portraits. Most American composers lived into or were born in the 20th century. Includes names not found in other standard reference works.
Who's who in American music, Classical by Cattell, Jacques
Call Number: ML106.U3W6

Provides brief entries of performers, composers, and other musical figures.
Contemporary composers
Call Number: ML390.M677

Folio
Musicians since 1900: performers in concert and opera by Ewen, David
Call Number: ML105.E97
Baker's biographical dictionary of twentieth-century classical musicians by Slonimsky, Nicolas
Call Number: ML105.S612
The Oxford history of western music by Taruskin, Richard
Call Number: ML160.T18

Volume 4: The early twentieth century, Volume 5:The late twentieth century and Volume 6: Chronology, bibliography, master index.
A Dictionary of 20th century composers, 1911-1971 by Thompson, Kenneth
Call Number: ML118.T5

Provides extensive coverage of thirty-two of major composers. Includes work lists and bibliographies for Bartok, Berg, Bloch, Busoni, Debussy, Delius, Elgar, Falla, Faure, Hindemith, Holst, Honegger, Ives, Janacek, Kodaly, Mahler, Martinu, Nielsen, Poulenc, Prokofiev, Puccini, Rachmaninov, Ravel, Roussel, Satie, Schoenberg, Sibelius, Strauss, Stravinsky, Varese, Vaughan Williams, and Webern.
Dictionary of contemporary music by Vinton, John, ed.
Call Number: ML100.V55

A dictionary of article-length definitions of terms. Includes profiles of major composers.
Women and music in America since 1900: an encyclopedia
Call Number: ML82.W625

Includes women musicians (not only composers) in all genres of music and in music education.