Publications

This single-volume dictionary was compiled by the English librarian James Duff Brown (1862–1914), an early advocate of public music libraries. It features short entries devoted to performers, composers and their works, and instrument makers, and it gives special prominence to British musicians, including many minor figures. As Brown notes in the Preface, he has included only those foreign musicians who either “claim attention by their acknowledged eminence” or have a direct connection with Britain. The entries on many living musicians were revised and corrected by the musicians themselves, with whom Brown corresponded. The volume includes a bibliography of British writings on music, organized by subject. With its emphasis on British musicians and the bibliography of British writings, this dictionary is particularly useful for scholars of 19th-century British musical life.