With this volume Cowden has completed his project of three bibliographies about performers. . . . The current work on instrumentalists is divided into several parts. The main section is an alphabetized list of individual artists with their birth and death dates and related bibliographic citations. There is also an index and four appendixes that provide handy cross-references to all sections, and there are two lists of books about performers. Cowden's selected virtuosi include players of the basic woodwinds and brasses, strings, organ, percussion, piano, and less common instruments such as harmonica and Jew's harp. . . . A useful addition to almost any library. Choice

With Instrumental Virtuosi, Robert Cowden has completed his comprehensive three volume bibliography of musical performers. A compilation of resources drawn from dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodicals, and published materials by and about individual musicians, it is unequalled by any other work in scope and coverage. In addition to classical instrumentalists, artists in the pop and commercial tradition--such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Stephane Grappelli--are included. The first two sections of the book list some 300 works on various types of virtuosi, including brass players, keyboard artists, and string and woodwind players. These publications have been personally examined and annotated by Cowden. The final section contains alphabetical entries for more than 1,200 artists.

In addition to biographical data, the entries list references to sources cited earlier in the volume, autobiographies and biographies, publications by the performers, related works, and compilations of memorabilia, scores, and reviews. Cross-referencing, an author index, and indexing to other musical references are supplied. With its two companion volumes--Concert and Opera Singers and Concert and Opera Conductors--Instrumental Virtuosi is likely to become the standard reference in its field. An appropriate acquisition for any music library or music reference shelf.

ROBERT H. COWDEN is Professor of Music at San Jose State University. The author of Concert and Opera Singers: A Bibliography of Biographical Materials (1985), Concert and Opera Conductors: A Bibliography of Biographical Materials (1987), and The Chautauqua Opera Association 1929-1958: An Interpretive History, Dr. Cowden has translated several operas as well as authored numerous articles and reviews published in Arts in Society, MLA Notes, The NATS Bulletin, Opera, The Opera Journal, Performing Arts Review, and Theatre Design and Technology. He is presently working on a compendium of major opera houses of the world as well as a revised and expanded edition of his bibliography of concert and opera singers which will include artists from the popular and commercial recording and concert fields.