Sams, Eric
Sams, Eric
Sams, Eric , English writer on music; b. London, May 3, 1926. He was educated at Corpus Christi Coll., Cambridge (1947–50; B.A., 1950), and later was awarded his Ph.D. (1972). He worked in Army cryptanalysis (1947–50), and then was in the British civil service (1950–78). In 1976–77 he was a visiting prof. at McMaster Univ. in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sams is an expert in codes and ciphers. His work was detailed in the television film Code and Cipher in Music (1989). He contributed articles and reviews to various publications. His valuable books comprise The Songs of Hugo Wolf (London, 1961; third ed., rev. and enl, 1993), The Songs of Robert Schumann (London, 1969; third ed., rev. and enl., 1993), and Brahms Songs (London, 1972). He also publ. The Real Shakespeare (London, 1995).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire