MUS 2700/2710: Music History I and II
Composers' Lives & Music
Biographies of individual composers are shelved at ML 410, alphabetical by composer. Collective biographies, which include multiple composers, are at ML 390.
Most biographies emphasize the composer's life, but many include information about and even some analysis of the music.
Books specifically on appreciation and analysis of composers' works are at:
- MT 100 Opera
- MT 115 Choral
- MT 120-121 Songs
- MT 125 Orchestral
- MT 135 Band
- MT 140-145 Chamber and solo instrumental
See also the Biographical Information page of this guide.
Guides to analyses:
Music Analyses by Call Number: ML128.A7 D5 1991 (Reference)ISBN: 0028701100Publication Date: 1991-05-01Where analyses may be found in books, periodicals, and dissertations.
Analyses of Nineteenth- And Twentieth-Century Music, 1940-2000 by Call Number: ML128.A7 H64 2007 (Music and Dance Reference)ISBN: 0810858878Publication Date: 2007-02-15Locates analyses of works by over 1,000 19th- and 20th-century composers in journals and other print sources, 1940-2000.
Research Guides
Research guides (also called bio-bibliographies) contain biographical information and list books, articles, and other sources about composers and their works.
Shelved in Reference at ML 134, alphabetical by composer.
Thematic Catalogs
These books list a composer's works, usually with the opening phrase of music (incipit), information on manuscripts, published editions, and sometimes bibliography. Useful for identifying a piece or verifying information about it.
Shelved in reference at ML 134, alphabetical by composer.
Library Search
Composers on the Web
- Contemporary Music TimelineLists events related to contemporary music from the birth of Bartok in 1881 through the 20th century. Links to related articles in Oxford Music Online
- MusRef: Composers' WebsitesLinks to more than 150 composer websites.
- New Music USA Online LibraryDatabase with over 57,000 works by more than 6,000 composers, with 14,000 media samples (recordings and scores). (January 2013) Includes composer profiles.
- Performing Arts Encyclopedia - Library of CongressA guide to the music, dance and theatre collections and exhibitions at Library of Congress.
Collected Works
These are generally the most authoritative editions of a composer's works. They are shelved at M 3.
To find a work in the editions: find the composer's biography in Grove Music Online (in Oxford Music Online) and go to the list of works. It usually indicates in which volume of the edition(s) a work appears.
Access to Oxford Music Online is under the Dictionaries & Encyclopedias tab above.
Composers' thematic catalogs (Ref ML134) may also have this information.