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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.

With this biographical dictionary, Barnhart, a percussionist and Professor at the University of Wyoming, honors the universal language of percussion that transcends ethnic, economic, and sociopolitical boundaries. The volume offers thumbnail sketches of a huge number of percussionists born around 1950 (or earlier) who have performed primarily as soloists (e.g., Keiko Abe, Vida Chenoweth), but also orchestral performers (e.g., Fred Hinger, Vic Firth) and jazz musicians (e.g., Jo Jones, Lionel Hampton). Included are figures who made important contributions to the making and development of percussion instruments (e.g., Avedis Zildjian III). The performers covered are predominantly American and European, with some Asians and South Americans and a very few Africans. Biographies range from a few lines to a page in length and are based on both published sources and correspondence with the subjects. A selected bibliography follows each entry and includes works both by and about the subject; many entries include selected discographies and videographies.