Mdntire, Dennis K(eith)

Mdntire, Dennis K(eith), diligent American music historian and lexicographer; b. Indianapolis, June 25, 1944. As a lexicographer, he was autodidact, being mainly inspired by the example of the great Samuel Johnson. His precocious self-assurance was such at the age of 12 he undertook a systematic attack on imperfections in reference books, beginning with misinformative vols, such as The Lincoln Library of Essential Information. After 10 years of badgering its eds., he was made an asst. and research ed. of the aforesaid encyclopedia in 1967. His fascination for reference books spurred him on to consume virtually the entire contents of several voluminous standard sources, among them Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and even the monumental Encyclopaedia Britannica. Appalled by the surprising percentage of errors in such dignified reference publications, he undertook a systematic correspondence with their eds., suggesting corrections and additions. In the meantime, he undertook a thorough study of 20^th century European history at Ind. Univ., but managed to depart the halls of academe without a devastating critique of any deficiencies in instruction. He continued to fulfill editorial duties all the while. His capacity of total recall and indefatigability in corresponding with far corners of the musical world enabled him to make valuable additions to the 7^th and 8^th eds. of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1984, 1992), and also contributions to Slon-imsky’s Supplement to Music since 1900 (1986) and the 5^thed. of Music since 1900 (1994). He also lent assistance to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1979), The Oxford Dictionary of Music (1985; 2^nd ed., 1994), The New Everyman Dictionary of Music (1988), the French ed. of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians (1995), and The Hutchinson Encyclopedia of Music (1995). He also served as an adviser and contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of American Music (1986), was co-consultant ed. (with D. Cummings) of the 12^th ed. of the International Who’s Who in Music (1990), and subsequently was a contributing ed. to the 13^th and 15^th eds. (1992–96). He was a contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), and, from 1996 to 1998, a member of the editorial advisory board of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He served as assoc. ed. of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997), and then of Baker’s Dictionary of Opera (2000). He subsequently was Classical music area editor of the present volume. McIntirewas also consultant ed. of the International Authors and Writers Who’s Who (15^th to 17^th eds., 1997–2001) and the International Who’s Who in Poetry and Poets’ Encyclopaedia (8^th to 10^th eds., 1997–2001), and was a contributor to The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (rev. ed., 2000).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire