The Listener's Companion: The Great Composers and Their Works
Nicolas Slonimsky (1894-1995) was a Russian-born American musicologist, pianist, composer, conductor, writer, and teacher.  His encyclopedic knowledge of music and musicians, combined with an irreverent sense of humor, led him to create some of the most reliable and beloved music reference books ever written, including Music Since 1900 and the fifth through eighth editions of Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, a work now inextricably linked to his name.  Electra Yourke, his daughter, formerly a journalist and writer, is a specialist in anti-discrimination programs.