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The encyclopedia by Richard Kostelanetz, an independent writer, filmmaker, and performing artist, brings together a wealth of information on aesthetic innovation in the arts, including music, film, literature, the visual arts, dance, and theater. The artists included were mainly active in the 20th century, with no birth date earlier than Edward Lear's (1812–88). They include such well-known subjects as Charles Ives, John Lennon, Igor Stravinsky, Edgard Varèse, and contemporary figures as environmental-artist Christo and performance-artist Laurie Anderson. The entries for Kinetic Art, Serial Musk, Mixed-Means Theater, Zaum (poetry), SoHo, and Something Else Press create a rich image of a period. The second edition is enlarged and revised, with an added photo insert. It makes the avant-garde art easily accessible to au courant researchers and fills a gap in reference collections.

This concise, one-volume encyclopedia covers all aspects of 20th-century music from around the world, ranging from classical to popular genres, with entries devoted to composers, performers, genres and styles of music, countries, and regions. In addition to providing biographical and historical context, many articles contain suggestions for further reading and listening and cross-references to other relevant entries. The encyclopedia also features a biographical digest, with sentence-long descriptions of performers and composers, a glossary, a comprehensive bibliography, and an index. With its easy-to-read prose and user-friendly layout, this encyclopedia is particularly well-suited for entry-level students and a general audience seeking basic knowledge about 20th-century music.

The 20th century violin concertante is the only comprehensive repertoire compendium of compositions written in and around the twentieth century for violin in a solo role in combination with an ensemble or other instruments. Bröker's interpretation of the term "concertante" is very inclusive, embracing any composition that contains at least a solo violin part and an accompaniment by an orchestra or larger ensemble; works featuring the violin within a group of solo instruments; and works that carry the words concerto, concertante, or their derivatives in their titles and feature prominent solo violin parts. The catalogue therefore includes tone poems, concert works, and even short miniatures of less than two minutes. The catalogue lists 13,000 compositions by more than 7000 composers, with additional information on the works. Names of Arab, Armenian, Georgian, Greek, and Persian composers are given in original script as well as in roman transcription. The catalogue does not provide any sources, though in his preface Bröker assures readers of the accuracy and integrity of the data, which largely stem from bibliographies and from the composers themselves. Because of its comprehensive approach and its wide representation of composers and works, some of which are little known and not represented elsewhere, The 20th century violin concertante is an important addition to any reference collection.