author
Edward Dickinson
1853–1946
A pioneering American music historian and critic, he helped shape the study of music history in the United States through his teaching and widely read books. His work brought church music, opera, and the broader history of Western music to general readers as well as students.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, on October 10, 1853, Edward Dickinson became an important early scholar of music in America. He studied at Amherst College, trained further at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and continued his musical studies in Berlin.
Dickinson spent much of his career at Oberlin, where he taught at the Conservatory of Music and became one of the country’s first full-time professors of music history. He wrote extensively on the history and meaning of music, with books including Music in the History of the Western Church, The Study of the History of Music, and The Spirit of Music.
His writing is known for making serious musical subjects approachable without losing depth. For listeners interested in music, culture, and religious history, his work offers a thoughtful window into how earlier generations understood the art of music.