A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians

Originally published in 1900. BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF MUSICIANS COMPILED AND EDITED by THEODORE BAKER,Text extracted from opening pages of book: PREFACE: CONCISE biogiaphical dictionaries of musicians are no longer a novelty; but their contents and tendency are too apt to be influenced by the immediate environment, the nationality, or the idiosyncrasies of the compilers. In the present lexicon it has been the editor's endeavor to give an impartial general view of musical biography, past and piesent, favoring no nation or period unduly. It has been his especial aim to make up foi the scant attention which leading English and American musicians have received at the hands of foreign biographers ; in this point, no other work of similar scope can compaic with this in completeness, recentness, and accuracy. It will be noticed that living musicians have, in general, a somewhat larger relative space allotted them than those whose career is closed. The reasons which determined this course a