Stanley Sadie
Encyclopedia
Stanley Sadie CBE
(30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a leading British
musicologist
, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
(1980), which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Sadie was educated at St Paul's School, London
, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
, where he read music under Thurston Dart
(BA, MusB 1953, MA 1957, PhD 1958). His doctoral dissertation was on mid-eighteenth-century British chamber music
. After Cambridge, he taught at Trinity College of Music
, London (1957-1965).
Sadie then turned to music journalism, becoming music critic for The Times
(1964-1981), and contributing reviews to the Financial Times
after 1981, when he had to leave his position and The Times because of his commitments to the Grove and other scholarly work. He was editor of The Musical Times 1967-1987.
From 1970 Sadie was editor of what was planned to be the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980). Sadie oversaw major changes to the Dictionary, which grew from nine volumes to 20, and was published as the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (New Grove), and is now referred to as the first edition under that name. He was also an important force behind the second edition of New Grove (2001), which grew further to 29 volumes. Sadie also oversaw a major expansion of the Grove franchise, editing the one-volume Grove Concise Dictionary of Music (1988), and several spinoff dictionaries, such as the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments (three volumes, 1984), the New Grove Dictionary of American Music, (with H. Wiley Hitchcock, four volumes, 1986), and the New Grove Dictionary of Opera
(four volumes, 1992). He also edited composer biographies based on the entries in Grove.
Outside his work on the Grove Dictionaries, Sadie was a renowned Mozart
scholar, publishing several books. He also was instrumental in saving the Mayfair house where George Frideric Handel
once lived, turning it into the Handel House Museum
.
He was president of the Royal Musical Association
(1989-94), of the International Musicological Society (1992-97), and of the Trustees of the Holst Birthplace Museum in Cheltenham.
He was also an accomplished bassoonist.
Sadie died at his home in Cossington
, Somerset
on 21 March 2005, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
(Lou Gehrig's disease), which had been diagnosed only a few weeks earlier. Sadie married twice. His first wife, Adele, by whom he had two sons and a daughter, died in 1978. By his second wife, Julie Anne, also a musicologist, he had a son and daughter. He was survived by all five of his children and Julie Anne. His grandchildren are Melanie, Nicola and Jennifer Sadie; Ben, Adele and Rachel Payne; and Max Larney.
). He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester
, and was elected honorary fellow
of the Royal College of Music
and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a leading British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
(1980), which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.
Sadie was educated at St Paul's School, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
, where he read music under Thurston Dart
Thurston Dart
Robert Thurston Dart , was a British musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. From 1964 he was Professor of Music at King's College London....
(BA, MusB 1953, MA 1957, PhD 1958). His doctoral dissertation was on mid-eighteenth-century British chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. After Cambridge, he taught at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
, London (1957-1965).
Sadie then turned to music journalism, becoming music critic for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
(1964-1981), and contributing reviews to the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
after 1981, when he had to leave his position and The Times because of his commitments to the Grove and other scholarly work. He was editor of The Musical Times 1967-1987.
From 1970 Sadie was editor of what was planned to be the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1980). Sadie oversaw major changes to the Dictionary, which grew from nine volumes to 20, and was published as the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (New Grove), and is now referred to as the first edition under that name. He was also an important force behind the second edition of New Grove (2001), which grew further to 29 volumes. Sadie also oversaw a major expansion of the Grove franchise, editing the one-volume Grove Concise Dictionary of Music (1988), and several spinoff dictionaries, such as the New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments (three volumes, 1984), the New Grove Dictionary of American Music, (with H. Wiley Hitchcock, four volumes, 1986), and the New Grove Dictionary of Opera
New Grove Dictionary of Opera
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
(four volumes, 1992). He also edited composer biographies based on the entries in Grove.
Outside his work on the Grove Dictionaries, Sadie was a renowned Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
scholar, publishing several books. He also was instrumental in saving the Mayfair house where George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
once lived, turning it into the Handel House Museum
Handel House Museum
The Handel House Museum is a museum in Mayfair, London dedicated to the life and works of the German born baroque composer George Frideric Handel, who made his home in London in 1712 and eventually became a British citizen in 1727. Handel was the first occupant of 25 Brook Street, which he rented...
.
He was president of the Royal Musical Association
Royal Musical Association
The Royal Musical Association is a British scholarly society and charity. Founded in 1874, the Association claims to be the second oldest musicological society in the world, after that of the Netherlands...
(1989-94), of the International Musicological Society (1992-97), and of the Trustees of the Holst Birthplace Museum in Cheltenham.
He was also an accomplished bassoonist.
Sadie died at his home in Cossington
Cossington
Cossington is the name of several settlements in England:* Cossington, Kent is a small settlement in Kent, home of a possible megalithic site* Cossington, Leicestershire is a village in the Soar Valley in Leicestershire...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
on 21 March 2005, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
(Lou Gehrig's disease), which had been diagnosed only a few weeks earlier. Sadie married twice. His first wife, Adele, by whom he had two sons and a daughter, died in 1978. By his second wife, Julie Anne, also a musicologist, he had a son and daughter. He was survived by all five of his children and Julie Anne. His grandchildren are Melanie, Nicola and Jennifer Sadie; Ben, Adele and Rachel Payne; and Max Larney.
Honours
In 1982 he was appointed CBE (Commander of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
). He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
, and was elected honorary fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
.
External links
- The Grove dictionary online
- New York Times obituary
- The Times obituary
- The Guardian obituary
- Interview with Stanley Sadie by Bruce Duffie October 29, 1992