Listmania!
Books that should be in every composer's collection
By an Amazon.com customer
A History of Western MusicA History of Western Music by Donald J. Grout
Buy new: $64.60 / Used from: $40.00
THE music history book
Study of Orchestration, Third EditionStudy of Orchestration, Third Edition by Samuel Adler
Buy new: $75.00 / Used from: $46.10
a great resource on orchestration
Anatomy of the OrchestraAnatomy of the Orchestra by Norman Del Mar
Buy new: $25.90 / Used from: $19.95
Counterpoint (4th Edition)Counterpoint (4th Edition) by Kent Kennan
Buy new: $94.08 / Used from: $68.18
A Practical Approach to Sixteenth-Century CounterpointA Practical Approach to Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint by Robert Gauldin
Buy new: $36.95 / Used from: $17.03
a nice book on the study of 16th century counterpoint, non-species based
Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory (3rd Edition)Introduction to Post-Tonal Theory (3rd Edition) by Joseph N. Straus
Buy new: $110.40 / Used from: $74.00
classic introduction to post-tonal techniques
The Grammar of Conducting: A Comprehensive Guide to Baton Technique and InterpretationThe Grammar of Conducting: A Comprehensive Guide to Baton Technique and Interpretation by Max Rudolf
Buy new: $81.56 / Used from: $63.00
masterpiece in explaining the nuances of conducting technique, best out there in my opinion
The Compleat ConductorThe Compleat Conductor by Gunther Schuller
Buy new: $28.30 / Used from: $16.86
great read on interpretation from a composer/conductor's view of perfection
Introduction to Schenkerian AnalysisIntroduction to Schenkerian Analysis by Allen Forte
Buy new: $60.35 / Used from: $17.05
classic text on an important (like-it-or-not) subject
The Lives of the Great ComposersThe Lives of the Great Composers by Harold C. Schonberg
Buy new: $23.10 / Used from: $9.39
Gyorgy Ligeti (20th-Century Composers)Gyorgy Ligeti (20th-Century Composers) by Richard Toop
Buy new: $24.95 / Used from: $18.25
One of the most important composers of the 20th/21st Centuries
Leonard Bernstein (20th-Century Composers)Leonard Bernstein (20th-Century Composers) by Paul Myers
Buy new: $24.95 / Used from: $4.95
The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)The Unanswered Question: Six Talks at Harvard (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Leonard Bernstein
Buy new: $29.30 / Used from: $9.56
The Boulez-Cage CorrespondenceThe Boulez-Cage Correspondence
Buy new: $34.00 / Used from: $27.00
Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass (Music in the Twentieth Century)Four Musical Minimalists: La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass (Music in the Twentieth Century) by Keith Potter
Buy new: $37.60 / Used from: $18.00
Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures)Poetics of Music in the Form of Six Lessons (The Charles Eliot Norton Lectures) by Igor Stravinsky
Buy new: $17.10 / Used from: $2.85
Symphonies Nos. 5, 6 and 7 in Full ScoreSymphonies Nos. 5, 6 and 7 in Full Score by Ludwig van Beethoven
Buy new: $11.53 / Used from: $6.98
Don't forget the Ninth...
Johannes Brahms Complete Symphonies in full score (Vienna Gesellschaft Der Musikfreunde Edition)Johannes Brahms Complete Symphonies in full score (Vienna Gesellschaft Der Musikfreunde Edition) by Johannes Brahms
Buy new: $13.57 / Used from: $6.88
Brahms...need I say more?
The Rite of Spring in Full ScoreThe Rite of Spring in Full Score by Igor Stravinsky
Buy new: $10.36 / Used from: $4.95
Arguably the most important work of the 20th Century...
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies in Full ScoreFourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies in Full Score by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
Buy new: $19.11 / Used from: $7.77
Gotta have Tchaik!
Ludwig van Beethoven Complete String QuartetsLudwig van Beethoven Complete String Quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven
Buy new: $15.61 / Used from: $9.87
Tristan und Isolde in Full ScoreTristan und Isolde in Full Score by Richard Wagner
Buy new: $34.16 / Used from: $18.90
Monumental work in music and harmony.