THE MASTER MUSICIANS
Series Note:
"Master Musicians, ed. Eric Blom, Dent. Each 10s. 6d.
These inexpensive books are wonderful value. Each of them contains, besides accounts of the life and of the whole output of the composer concerned, four appendices, a calendar, a catalogue of works, personalia, and a bibliography. There are many musical illustrations. Some of the outstanding volumes among the twenty-five so far issued are Beethoven: Marion Scott; Bizet: Winton Dean; Chopin: Arthur Hedley; Haydn: Rosemary Hughes; Mozart: Eric Blom; Purcell: J. A. Westrupp; and Verdi: Dyneley Hussey."
Source: Music and Musicians by Alec Robertson. National Book League, 1956 (Reader's Guides), p. 17.
J. M. Dent & Sons was purchased by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1988 and then it became part of the Orion Publishing Group. In 1994 Orion sold "The Master Musicians" series to Oxford University Press which continued to publish the series (albeit with a slightly different series name "Master Musicians") The series editor under the O.U.P. aegis was Stanley Sadie. Many new titles and editions by new authors were published on the great composers.
In The Times Literary Supplement (5 July 1995), the following letter was published:
Master Musicians
\Sir, – Ivan Hewett’s review (June 7) of the Phaidon series of illustrated books on composers refers to “the old Master Musicians series” as published by Dent.
“Old” the series certainly is – the first volume was published in 1899 – but the current publisher, if in other respects not new, is at least new to the series. Oxford University Press purchased it from Dent, or rather Orion, in 1994, and we hope to continue to publish volumes that are, in Ivan Hewett’s words, authoritative and readable. The next to be published, this coming September, will be Chopin by Jim Samson.
BRUCE PHILLIPS
Arts and Reference Division, Oxford University Press, Walton Street, Oxford.
Thanks to John Krygier for the above TLS reference. (John has also a page on "The Master Musicians".)
O.U.P. described its "Master Musicians" series as follows:
"The Master Musicians are the classics of the repertoire." —Nicolas Kenyon, The Sunday Times. Celebrating its 100th anniversary, this extraordinary series continues to amaze and captivate its readers with detailed insight into the lives and work of music's geniuses. Unlike other composer biographies that focus narrowly on the music, this series explores the personal history of each composer and the social context surrounding the music. In a precise, engaging, and authoritative manner, each volume combines a vivid portrait of the musicians' inspirations, influences, life experiences, even their weaknesses, with an accessible discussion of their work. Further, each volume offers superb reference material, including a detailed life and times chronology, a complete list of works, a personalia glossary highlighting the important people in the composer's life, and a select bibliography. Under the supervision of music the social context surrounding the music. In a precise, engaging, and authoritative manner, each volume combines a vivid portrait of the musicians' inspirations, influences, life experiences, even their weaknesses, with an accessible discussion of their work. Further, each volume offers superb reference material, including a detailed life and times chronology, a complete list of works, a personalia glossary highlighting the important people in the composer's life, and a select bibliography. Under the supervision of music expert and series general editor Stanley Sadie, Master Musicians will delight music scholars, serious musicians, and all music lovers.
(source)
CHECKLIST
(A) Titles in J. M. Dent's "The Master Musicians" series (as at 1973).
Title / Author
Bartók - Lajos Lesznai
Beethoven - Marion M. Scott
Bellini - Leslie Orrey
Berlioz - J. H. Elliot
Bizet - Winton Dean
Brahms - Peter Latham
Bruckner - Derek Watson
Chopin - Arthur Hedley
Debussy - Edward Lockspeiser
Delius - Alan Jefferson
Dvorák - Alex Robertson
Elgar - Ian Parrot
Franck - Laurence Davies
Grieg - John Horton
Handel - Percy M. Young
Haydn - Rosemary Hughes
Liszt - Walter Beckett
Mahler - Michael Kennedy
Mendelssohn - Philip Radcliffe
Monteverdi - Denis Arnold
Mozart - Eric Blom
Mussorgsky - M. D. Calvocoressi
Purcell - Sir Jack Westrup
Rakhmaninov - Geoffrey Norris
Schoenberg - Malcolm MacDonald
Schubert - Arthur Hutchings
Schumann - Joan Chissell
Sibelius - Robert Layton
Smetana - John Clapham
Richard Strauss - Michael Kennedy
Stravinsky - Francis Routh
Tchaikovsky - Edward Garden
Vaughan Williams - James Day
Verdi - Dyneley Hussey
Wagner - Robert L. Jacobs
In Preparation
Bach - Basil Lam
Berg - Nicholas Chadwick
Prokofiev - Rita McAllister
Ravel - Roger Nichols
Vivaldi - Michael Talbot
(B) Titles in O.U.P.'s "Master Musicians" series (as at 2015)
Bach
Malcolm Boyd
978-0-19-530771-9
Paperback
04 January 2007
Bartók: His Life and Works
Malcolm Gillies
978-0-19-513400-1
Hardback
October 2018 (estimated)
Beethoven
Barry Cooper
978-0-19-531331-4
Paperback
11 December 2008
Berlioz
Third Edition
Hugh Macdonald
978-0-19-816483-8
Paperback
30 November 2000
Bizet
Hugh Macdonald
978-0-19-978156-0
Hardback
13 November 2014
Byrd
Kerry McCarthy
978-0-19-538875-6
Hardback
22 August 2013
Debussy
Eric Frederick Jensen
978-0-19-973005-6
Hardback
28 August 2014
Liszt
Derek Watson
978-0-19-816499-9
Paperback
30 November 2000
MacDowell
E. Douglas Bomberger
978-0-19-989929-6
Hardback
26 September 2013
Mahler
Second Edition with a new chapter
Michael Kennedy
978-0-19-816480-7
Paperback
30 November 2000
Mendelssohn
Third Edition
Philip Radcliffe, Peter Ward Jones
978-0-19-816493-7
Paperback
30 November 2000
Monteverdi
Revised Edition
Denis Arnold, Tim Carter
978-0-19-816465-4
Paperback
30 November 2000
Mozart
Julian Rushton
978-0-19-538825-1
Paperback
29 October 2009
Mozart
Julian Rushton
978-0-19-518264-4
Hardback
26 January 2006
Musorgsky
David Brown
978-0-19-816587-3
30 January 2003
Puccini: His Life and Works
Julian Budden
978-0-19-517974-3
Paperback
23 February 2006
Rossini: His Life and Works
Second Edition
Richard Osborne
978-0-19-518129-6
Hardback
25 October 2007
Schoenberg
Second Edition
Malcolm MacDonald
978-0-19-517201-0
Hardback
16 October 2008
Schumann
Second Edition
Eric Jensen
978-0-19-973735-2
Paperback
29 March 2012
Tchaikovsky
Revised Edition
Edward Garden
978-0-19-816474-6
Paperback
30 November 2000
Verdi
Third Edition
Julian Budden
978-0-19-532342-9
Hardback
10 April 2008
Vivaldi
Michael Talbot
978-0-19-816497-5
Paperback
30 November 2000
