The new Grove dictionary of American music.

The New Grove Dictionary of American Music

Edited by H. Wiley Hitchcockand Stanley Sadie Grove's Dictionaries of Music, $495

The accuracy and comprehensiveness ofa major new reference work--surely its most notable attributes--can scarcely be appraised fairly before being given the test of extended practical use. Still, immediately upon publication, it almost inevitably becomes fair game for nitpickers and show-offs. Experts race to claim errors, omissions and exaggerations.

However, in the case of The New GroveDictionary of American Music, the phenomenon of professional critics straining at gnats has hardly been conspicuous. One reason may be the dictionary's size-- four volumes, 2,600 …