Publications

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.

The Komponisten der Gegenwart is the only music lexicon that focuses exclusively on 20th- and 21st-century composers. Musicologists Hanns-Werner Heister and Walter Wolfgang Sparrer founded the lexicon in 1992 and conceived it in loose-leaf format to ensure that its content could be continuously updated and expanded. It currently contains biographical and work-related information on about 850 composers. Each entry is divided into two sections: the first is biographical, providing an overview of life and achievement; the second is work-oriented, with information on aesthetic and compositional technique based on historical and analytical assessment. Over 200 entries feature exhaustive works lists, selective discographies, and curated bibliographies. The KDG contains a wealth of information, especially on lesser known composers who have recently emerged; it is unique as it is updated quarterly (these updates are included in RILM Music Encyclopedias), thus being not only a bestseller but a longseller.