Library Guides: Music: Background Information

Oxford Music Online

Oxford Music Online is a comprehensive site and the best place to start your research. It includes both Grove Music Online and online resources from Oxford University Press.

overview articles with extensive bibliographies
biographical articles with works lists for composers, performers, and other musical figures
articles include musical examples and links to audio and video examples.
resources include The Oxford Companion to Music and The Oxford Dictionary of Music, 6th edition.

For search tips, see the Grove Music Online User's Manual and additional resources

Biographical Encyclopedias

International Dictionary of Black Composers
Call Number: REF ML390 .I58 1999
Publication Date: 1999
"This exceptional work provides information on composers of African heritage from around the world during the last 300 years. The 185 signed essays, most of which are accompanied by full-page portraits, are substantial in their coverage and analysis. Lists of compositions by genre, discographies, and printed works are also included. Those wanting further information will find the extensive bibliographies and inclusion of major archival holdings indispensable. Although all music genres are embraced, nearly half of the 185 entries are on classical composers who have seldom received significant public notice or mention in other reference sources. This is a truly outstanding source that libraries will not want to do without."--"Outstanding reference sources 2000", American Libraries, May 2000.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians by Nicolas Slonimsky
Call Number: REF ML105 .B16 2001
Publication Date: 2000
Expanded after Slonimsky's death beyond the traditional coverage of classical music, adding over 1,000 new entries on classical music and over 2,000 new entries on jazz and popular music.
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Popular Musicians Since 1990
Publication Date: 2004

Other Music Encyclopedias

The Harvard Dictionary of Music
Call Number: REF ML100 .H37 2003
Publication Date: 2003
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music
Call Number: REF ML100 .G16 1998
Publication Date: 1998-2002
Dedicated to world music, each volume covers a different region.
Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World
Call Number: REF ML102.P66 C66 2003
Encyclopedia of Musical Theater
Call Number: REF ML102.M88 G3 2001
Publication Date: 2001
From the dawn of operetta in the 18th century to the present, this set offers an unrivaled amount of information on the people, the songs and shows in America and around the world.
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
Call Number: REF ML100 .M92 1994
Publication Date: 1994-2007
A comprehensive German dictionary of music and musicians through the ages. Also known as the MGG.

Handbooks & Guidebooks

The Oxford handbook of music performance: V. 2: enhancements, health and wellbeing, science, and innovations by Gary E. McPherson
Publication Date: 2022
eBook - one viewer at a time - please close browser window when finished

Finding information on composers from underrepresented groups within Western Art Music

Selected tools and resources

Institute for Composer Diversity - Composers & Works databases

Finding women & gender diverse composers and their works

Boulanger Initiative Database
Provides access to thousands of works by women and gender-marginalized composers. Can search by composer or work, etc.
Music by Women - 20th & 21st centuries
Can search for music composed by women. Also includes lists of women composers by era.
American Women: Resources from the Performing Arts Collections
Guide to the collections and resources in the Music Division of the Library of Congress that document the lives and work of significant women in music, theatre, and dance
--Includes links to locating music scores and music literature (see left menu)
Kapralova Society
The Kapralova Society is a Canadian music society and non-profit publisher founded in 1998 in Toronto by Karla Hartl. The Society's mission is to raise awareness of women's contributions to musical life and to promote the music of Czech composer Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940).