Worldwide in its coverage, over a thousand pages in length and nearly two kilogrammes in weight, this directory is a massive work in every sense. As the publisher’s blurb states on the cover, the intention is to provide a “one-stop resource” for all aspects of the classical and light classical music fields, and the information here is certainly impressive in both its breadth and its organization. However, this 31st edition’s own foreword immediately refers its readers elsewhere, first to a companion title in the series The International Who’s Who in Popular Music, with which this volume can be purchased as a set (review forthcoming in Reference Reviews). Moreover, the editors devote a paragraph to detailing the online version of the Classical Music title itself, updated quarterly. This latter promotion is underscored by featuring the web address at the foot of each page throughout. So, imposing as the print version certainly is, there is a sense of some self-undercutting here and of witnessing a dignified slide towards obsolescence.
This said, the 31st International Who’s Who in Classical Music is a considerable achievement. It is full of useful quick reference aids for the browser or researcher. The biographical entries are preceded by a preliminary note on alphabetisation and transliteration covering various Asian and Arabic names; a superbly comprehensive ten-page list of abbreviations covering diverse acronyms from the AA (in this context, Associate in Arts) to the YWCA; a list of international telephone codes with instructions on how to use them; and an obituary page. This last lists only names and date of death, and is inevitably going to suffer with respect to currency by comparison with the online version; the most recent entry is 13 February 2015.
As expected, the biographies constitute the bulk of the volume. Over 8,000 in number, these are arranged alphabetically in two columns in a small font. Names are given in reverse order and in bold type. The range covered is comprehensive: from composers and performers (where a singer, the vocal range such as baritone is given in parentheses), to arrangers and managers. It is also truly international in scope, as the presence of individuals ranging from Ming Quiang Li, the Chinese pianist to Margarita Zimmerman, the Argentine mezzo-soprano, demonstrates. Some attention has evidently been given to including younger talent, thus Yulianna Audeeva (b. 1985), the Russian pianist, features alongside the likes of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The format of entries seeks to be consistent: date – or at least year – of birth; education; details of career; repertoire, recordings and/or compositions; honours, and, finally, contact details, where these are available. However, while this format is clear, the amount of detail given is wildly inconsistent, reflecting a dependence upon the contributors themselves. While such variation is inevitable in enterprises of this type, in which reliance on living subjects volunteering information must limit editorial control to a degree, this makes for some interesting discrepancies. For example, a lengthy, two-page (four columns) entry for the Japanese composer and marimba player Keiko Abe contrasts with surprisingly brief pieces on what would be, to Anglophone audiences at least, better-known figures such as Montserrat Caballé.
The book is rounded off by five useful appendices. These list, respectively, national orchestras, from the Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Argentina to the Viet Nam Symphony; opera companies; festivals; organizations, and competitions and awards. Given obvious spatial constraints, only the major or principal organisations like Arts Council England and the largest festivals such as the Bayreuth (Germany) are listed for each country. Recordings are omitted completely. Further, although brief details are given for the remit of competitions – we learn, for example, that the triennial Glenn Gould Prize, Toronto, is awarded to “an individual of any nationality” for “exceptional contribution to music and its communication through the use of any communication technology” (p.1010) – the subjects of festivals, which may not be immediately obvious from titles, are rarely listed. However, every effort has been made to supply contact details, including websites.
Inevitably, by its scale and nature, the International Who’s Who in Classical Music can never hope to be fully comprehensive. The book’s price as a single item, let alone in tandem with its companion volume, also places it beyond the reach of a general readership. Conversely, it is handsomely organized as a stand-alone quick reference work which is also easy to browse. It will undoubtedly find a place in university library music sections, and the shelves – albeit strong shelves – in offices of music agencies, venues and recording companies. The question is how long this title will survive as a physical format, as audiences, for reasons of convenience and currency, increasingly take recourse to the electronic version.
