For all those who love music and wish to know more about its colourful history, development and theory.

Entries for 4,500 composers, 2,000 terms, 1,100 performers, 1,000 titles of musical works, and 150 work-lists for major composers.

Authoritative, accesssible, and comprehensive, 'Classical Music Encyclopedia' offers an unprecedented depth and range of information. Organized chronologically, from the Medieval era to the 21st century, the sections in each chapter bring to life the rich history of Western classical music.

Biographical sketches of the composers and critical interpretations of their productions accompany these summaries of eighty-seven famous operas

This handbook, an entirely new work, is not simply another guide to the performance of music of the past; it is, rather, a book about the study of past performance. Each main section - Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth Century - contains an introduction dealing with contexts of performance as well as sources and theory. This is followed by detailed discussions of vocal and instrumental performance.