First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Updates and expands Claghorn's previous book, Women Composers and Hymnists (Scarecrow, 1984), presenting succinct biographies for female composers in both secular and sacred music.

Aficionados of music, dance, opera and musical theatre will relish this volume featuring over 200 articles showcasing composers, singers, musicians, dancers and choreographers across eras and styles. Read about Hildegard of Bingen, whose Symphonia expressed both spiritual and physical desire for the Virgin Mary, and George Frideric Handel, who not only created roles for castrati but was behind the Venetian opera's preoccupations with gender ambiguity. Discover Alban Berg's Lulu, opera's first openly lesbian character. And don't forget Kiss Me Kate, written by openly gay Cole Porter.

Building on the strengths of the first edition, the second edition of Latin American Classical Composers: A Biographical Dictionary presents expanded and updated coverage of its topic with an aim to be comprehensive. The authors have conducted exhaustive research to fill in gaps and correct minor errors in the first edition, adding young composers and documenting deaths since 1996, when the first edition appeared. Hundreds of composers are represented in this volume, which presents biographical data, including dates of birth and death, personal information about composers' background and training, and a selective listing of each composer's works. Sources for further study are noted within each entry. An index of composers by country rounds out this work.