Composer Datasets

Composer datasets usually take the form of biographical articles (typically in a largely unstructured free-text format, making them difficult to transform into a statistically usable form), or sometimes as neatly formatted lists of basic information such as dates and places of birth and death, gender and nationality. Composer information may also appear in other datasets – record guides and concert programmes, for example, often include details of composers. General encyclopedias and histories of music are also valuable sources of composer information. For some additional datasets related to women composers, see this article.

DatasetComments
Mattheson (1740)1About 150 composer biographies. In German. Available at archive.org
Burney (1789)2A general history of music, unstructured text. Includes an index of about 2,000 names. 2 vols. Available at archive.org
Gerber (1790 & 1812)3Biographical dictionary with 3,000 (1790) & 5,000 (1812) names. In German. 2 vols (1790), 4 vols (1812). Available at archive.org
Fétis (1835 & 1878)47-10,000 composers. In French. Each 8 vols. Available at archive.org
Mendel (1870)5About 7,500 composers (plus musical terms etc). In German. 11 vols. Available at archive.org
Grove (1879)6First edition included about 2,000 composers (plus musical terms etc). Forerunner of Oxford Music Online. 4 vols (first edition). Various editions available at archive.org
Brown & Stratton (1897)74,000 British composers and other figures. Available at archive.org
Baker (1900)8About 7,000 composers, with a contemporary bias. Various editions available at archive.org
Eitner (1900)9Around 16,500 composers and other figures, particularly strong on pre-1800. In German. 10 vols. Available at archive.org
Detheridge (1936)10Dates and nationalities of 2,500 composers. Two volumes (1936/7).
Oxford Music OnlineGeneral music encyclopedia with around 50,000 biographical articles. Subscription required.
WikipediaInformation on several thousand composers, as well as various lists by category.
Classical NetDates and nationalities for around 400 composers
ClassicCatDates and nationalities for around 800 composers
NaxosDates, nationalities and biographical articles for around 13,000 composers
MusicalicsDates, nationalities and other information for around 28,000 composers
Composers-Classical-MusicDates, nationalities and other information for around 21,000 composers
DolmetschDates, nationalities and other information for around 12,000 composers
MUSIClassicalDates, nationalities and other information for around 2,600 composers
World ComposersDates and nationalities for over 43,000 composers.
Cite this article as: Gustar, A.J. 'Composer Datasets' in Statistics in Historical Musicology, 11th July 2017, https://musichistorystats.com/resources/datasets/composers/.
  1. Mattheson, J. 1910 [1740]. Grundlage einer Ehren-pforte. Berlin: L. Liepmannssohn.
  2. Burney, C. 1935 [1789]. A General History of Music, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period. Mercer, F. (Ed.). New York; London: Dover Publications.
  3. Gerber, E. L. 1790. Historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler. Leipzig.
    Gerber, E. L. 1812. Neues historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkünstler, etc. Leipzig.
  4. Fétis, F.-J. 1862 [1835] & 1878. Biographie universelle des musiciens et bibliographie générale de la musique. Paris: Firmin-Didot.
  5. Mendel, H. 1870. Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon. Leipzig.
  6. Grove, G. (Ed.), 1879–89. A dictionary of music and musicians (AD 1450–1880). London: Macmillan.
  7. Brown, J. D. & Stratton, S. S. 1897. British Musical Biography. Birmingham: S. S. Stratton.
  8. Baker, T. 1900. A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. New York: Schirmer.
  9. Eitner, R. 1900. Biographisch-bibliographisches Quellen-Lexikon der Musiker und Musikgelehrten christlicher Zeitrechnung bis Mitte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts. Leipzig
  10. Detheridge, J. 1936. Chronology of Music Composers: 820–1810. Birmingham: J. Detheridge.
    Detheridge, J. 1937. Chronology of Music Composers: Volume 2 1810 to 1937. Birmingham: J. Detheridge.