The Oxford Companion to Music (Oxford Companions)

This book came 2 days before its due date and in impeccable condition. I book was described as "used but in good condition", but seriously, it was immaculate. You would have thought I had just gone out and bought in brand new. The book itself is wonderful and so informative and very well written. There are large sections dedicated to musical movements and composers and and technical diagrams explaining the way music works. It is a great read whether to sit down to read it or just have a quick glance through now and then. Its really one book that, however you read it, you will discover something new everytime. I am so happy with it and I would recommend it to anyone. I am actually going to order another copy of the book for a friend. I know she will love it too.

First point: two of the most critical reviews here both misinterpret an index that's visible in "Look Inside", even though the introduction to that index (on p 1399) clearly states that it is an index to people mentioned in articles, not to people with articles about them. (And when you stop to think, we don't need an index for those people - it would be like an index to a dictionary.)Aside from this point, I own this book and have waited for a couple of weeks before reviewing it. In the articles on subjects I already know about, I have found find no significant faults. There are some subjects which are covered briefly, but if they weren't, it would be a very large book indeed. Operas are included briefly - Tristan und Isolde just gets two lines - but "Tristan Chord" and "leitmotif" get significant coverage, and I've already got Kobbé. Conductors have to be important to be included - Carlos Kleiber is only mentioned in the article about his father, and Colin Davis is missing completely, as is Norman del Mar. Illustrations and music examples are used sparingly, but are there when needed. The eight quavers shown for paradiddle confirm what it is much more effectively than more lines of text, for example.

I'm a lover of classical music who has had no musical education to speak of. I cannot imagine a more useful or authoritative book for people in my position.

Very comprehensive and well written, but disappointing in the lack of mention of femalecomposers, especially as it had a female editor! Perhaps the next edition will remedy this.

Book in very good condition, almost brand new with the exception of an inscription on the front page. Definitely a great buy!

Great reference for musicians and music students.

The Oxford Companion to Music is a brilliant book to use for reference or just to browse through .. You can easily lose a couple of hours!

Bought this for a friend. Apparently the latest edition is a massive one volume tome. She loved it even though her English is so-so. One volume version is a welcome development (or is it regression?!) that is much preferable to the previous 2-volume versions. The first few editions were of course one-volume works.