Publications

With more than 2000 composers (including a supplementary list of composers with over 1300 additional names, each with dates and compositions) and a discography listing over 3400 items, the Biographical dictionary of Russian/Soviet composers is an essential volume for scholars and students of Russian and Soviet music. It is a major addition to the reference field, filling a sizable gap in up-to-date information on Russian and Soviet music before 1989, and is especially useful for scholars who do not possess a reading proficiency in Russian. It is the ideal supplement to other standard sources, as it contains information on many lesser-known composers, not found in other English reference works. The dictionary is an essential source of reference for the more obscure byways and some of the highways of Russian and Soviet music.

Reuben Musiker, formerly a Professor of Librarianship and University Librarian at the University of the Witwatersrand, and his wife, Naomi Musiker, who is also a trained librarian, provide biographical information and a discography for around 500 individuals who have written popular and mood music for film, show, and the theater. First published in 1998, this sourcebook delves deeply into the recent history of popular orchestral music, covering the latter half of the 20th century. The main focus is on the peak period for such music, the 1940s through the 1960s. The key players are from the U.S. and Great Britain, or became popular there. They include classically trained conductors (Morton Gould, Andre Kostelanetz), swing-era conductors and arrangers, composers for film and theater (Alfred Newman, John Williams), mood or background music composers, and relevant institutions (101 Strings, Reader's Digest). Those who composed for military and brass bands, dance bands, or jazz ensembles are, for the most part, excluded. While some of the more well-known names here can be found in other sources, this title is a useful addition to larger music collections due to its unique and narrow focus.

In 1981, Aaron Cohen (b.1906), a retired town planner living in Johannesburg, South Africa, published the first encyclopedia devoted to women composers. Its second, two-volume edition constitutes a significant expansion, comprising 6200 entries and 14 appendices. What makes this encyclopedia so unique is its sheer breadth. The earliest composer represented is Hemre (2723 B.C.E.), an Egyptian leader of court music. The geographical scope is equally broad, with nearly 300 composers from Asia and Central America. To date it is still the only comprehensive collection of nearly every known woman composer, with biographical information, list of compositions, list of publications by the composer, and a bibliography. This second edition also includes a discography and listing of recording companies.