C.B. Oldman prize 2019 (2018 publications)

The Oldman Prize is awarded to an author or joint authors of a work deemed to have made a significant contribution in the area of music bibliography or musicology in the year prior to its being awarded.

Final Short List 2019

Bird, M. (ed.). The wanderer: diaries, 1905-1907 / Edward Elgar. Rickmansworth: Elgar Works, 2018.

Lawson, C. and Stowell, R. (eds). The Cambridge encyclopedia of historical performance in music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Scott, D., Foreman, L. and De’Ath, L. (eds). The Cyril Scott companion: unity in diversity. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2018.

The winner

Lawson, C. and Stowell, R. (eds). The Cambridge encyclopedia of historical performance in music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Commendation

It was the aim of the editors of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Historical Performance in Music to produce an “encyclopedic ‘one-stop-shop’ for accessible, up-to-date and illuminating information about historical performance”. The book features contributions from over 100 experts including scholars, conductors and performers, many of whom are leaders in the field of historically informed performance (HIP).

The Encyclopedia, which runs to 764 pages, commences with a preface summarising the study of performance practice from its inception in the early twentieth century through to the present day; it also discusses some of the many issues to which it has given rise.

Organised alphabetically by article name, the book’s entries fall broadly into six subject categories: generic issues of style and performance techniques and practices; organology and the history and development of musical instruments; ensemble directors and performers; theorists; composers; and editors. Concise lists of further reading accompany many of the entries, and a detailed index is included.

Some of the topics which are covered remain the subject of debate, and for these the contributors were asked to provide an overview of the range of opinions as well as a current assessment. Throughout the book there is a clear intention to avoid the use of negative value judgements about the past.

This Encyclopedia is an outstanding publication which makes a valuable and timely contribution to the literature. It will be of interest not only to students, scholars, teachers and performers, but also to general music-lovers with a desire to learn about the subject of historical performance. It will undoubtedly become a standard text for many years to come, and the C.B. Oldman Prize Committee is delighted to award the 2019 prize to Colin Lawson and Robin Stowell.