The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Second Edition

New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 29 volumes. Large octavo. Original publisher's dark blue cloth with title panel and volume number in mid blue to spines. Includes appendixes and index.

In fine condition throughout. The premiere encyclopedic work on music in all its aspects in the English language with contributions by the world's leading authorities in their respective fields.

"Few writers about music would argue with Charles Rosen, himself one of the best, introducing his recent collection of essays, ''Critical Entertainments: Music Old and New'': ''Of all the arts that have developed something like a complex expressive (truncated) language, music is one of the most difficult to write about.''

The second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, to be published by Grove's Dictionaries on Jan. 30, must therefore stand in its sheer bulk as a monument to the indomitable human spirit. The facts and figures are astounding: 29,500 articles, 6,000 contributors, 25 million words. For the print version, 29 volumes, 119 pounds, 5,000 illustrations, a purchase price of $4,850. And a complete version online, to be updated regularly.

None of which might matter much without the expectation of quality raised by Grove dictionaries over more than a century, since George Grove first published his Dictionary of Music and Musicians in installments from 1878 to 1890, and in particular by The New Grove, edited by Stanley Sadie in 1980. At a mere 20 volumes, up 10 from the fifth and last edition of the old Grove (Eric Blom's in 1954), and thoroughly infused with modern scholarship, The New Grove was already overwhelming in its size and scope." James R. Oestreich review in the NY Times, January 21, 2001. (Inventory #: 39868)