A note from the original publisher: A second edition of "How to Understand Music" being required much sooner than was expected, the opportunity is taken for remedying as far as possible the more noticeable omissions of the Dictionary. Several new biographical articles are added, and a large number of foreign words, principally German, which, although not generally recognized as strictly musical terms, are occasionally met with in the works of Beethoven, and very often in those of Schumann and the later German writers. As these terms are liable to embarrass students not familiar with German, it was thought advisable to include them here. In its present form, including the addenda, it is thought that this work includes all the terms and directions to be met with in the works of the classic and the principal modern writers. Many typographical errors of date in the biographical articles in the body of the work have also been corrected.

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

Although the bibliography of literature about personalities in the conducting world is extensive, a comprehensive, scholarly study of the history of conducting has been sorely lacking. Georg Schünemann's respected study, published in 1913, was brief and restricted to the procedures of time-beating. No work has attempted to examine the role of the orchestral conductor and to document the evolution of his art from historical, technical, and aesthetic perspectives. Dr. Elliott W. Galkin, musicologist, conductor, and critic-twice winner of the Deems Taylor award for distinguished writing about music-has produced such a work in A History of Orchestral Conducting. The central historical section of the book, which examines chronologically the theories and functions of time-beating and interpretative concepts of performance, is preceded by discussions of rhythm, development of the orchestral medium, and the evolving characteristics of orchestration. Conductors of unusual pivotal influence are examined in depth, as is the increasingly complex psychology of the podium. Critical writings since the time of Monteverdi and the birth of the orchestra are surveyed and compared. Analyses of conducting as an art and craft by musicians from Berlioz to Bernstein and commentators from Mattheson, Bernard Shaw, and Thomas Mann to Jacques Barzun, are described and discussed. A fascinating collection of engravings, wood cuts, photographs and caricatures contributes to the richness of this work.