The Great Composers and Their Works (2 Volume Set)

For many decades, Nicolas Slonimsky's writings about music and musicians have educated and entertained millions. The foundations of his literary legacy are the classic volumes Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians and Music Since 1900.

Assembled here in two volumes, for the first time, are Slonimsky's writings about the great classical composers and their works, culled from the hundreds of program notes, articles, essays, and album liner notes that he wrote over a lifetime.

Nineteen chapters, arranged by composer, cover the greats from Bach to Shostakovich. Each chapter opens with a biographical essay; individual articles then discuss several of each composer's finest and most popular works. Over 190 works are covered in all.

The composers include Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Wagner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mahler, Debussy, R. Strauss, Schoenberg, Ravel, Bartók, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich.