Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, 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 ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

''. Along with

Thurston Dart Robert Thurston ("Bob") Dart (3 September 1921 – 6 March 1971), was an English musicologist, conductor and keyboard player. Along with Nigel Fortune, Oliver Neighbour and Stanley Sadie he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post ...

Nigel Fortune Nigel Cameron Fortune (5 December 1924 – 10 April 2009) was an English musicologist and political activist. Along with Thurston Dart, Oliver Neighbour and Stanley Sadie he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post-World War II g ...

and Oliver Neighbour he was one of Britain's leading musicologists of the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

generation.

Career

Born in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, Sadie was educated at

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , h ...

, and studied music privately for three years with

Bernard Stevens Bernard (George) Stevens (2 March 1916 – 6 January 1983) was a British composer. Life Born in London, Stevens studied English and Music at St John's College, Cambridge with E. J. Dent and Cyril Rootham, then at the Royal College of Mus ...

.Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians
/ref> At

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

he read music under

. Sadie earned

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

and

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

degrees in 1953, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree in 1957, and a PhD in 1958. His

doctoral dissertation A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

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 ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (1964–1981), and contributing reviews to the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' 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 ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'' from 1967 until 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 twenty, 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 ''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 volu ...

'' (four volumes, 1992). He also edited composer biographies based on the entries in ''Grove''. Outside his work on the ''Grove'' dictionaries, Sadie edited the ''

Man and Music The ''Man and Music'' series of eight books was written in conjunction with the television series of the same name, broadcast by Granada Television International and Channel 4 from the mid 1980s. It has been called "the first even remotely comprehe ...

'' volumes accompanying a television series (1989–1993). He was also an accomplished bassoonist. Sadie died at his home in Cossington, Somerset, 21 March 2005, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Motor Neurone disease), which had been diagnosed only a few weeks earlier. Sadie married twice. His first wife, Adèle Sadie ''(née'' Bloom; 1931–1978) – whom he married in 1953 in London, and with whom he had two sons and a daughter – died in 1978. Sadie married Julie Anne Sadie ''(née'' Vertrees; born 1948), also a musicologist, in 1978. They had a son and a daughter.

Honours

In 1982, Sadie was appointed CBE (Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

). He received an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

from the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_lab ...

in 1982, and was elected honorary

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including performanc ...

in 1994 and

. In 2005, Sadie became a Handel Prize laureate.

Professional affiliations

American Musicological Society The American Musicological Society (AMS) is a musicological organization which researches, promotes and produces publications on music. Founded in 1934, the AMS was begun by leading American musicologists of the time, and was crucial in legitim ...

, corresponding member, 1996 *

Royal Musical Association The Royal Musical Association (RMA) 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. Activities include organizing and sp ...

, president 1989–1984 *

The Critics' Circle The Critics' Circle is the national professional body of British critics for dance, drama, film, music, books and visual arts. It was established in 1913 as a successor to the Society of Dramatic Critics, which was formed in 1906 but had become ...

* International Musicological Society, president 1992–1997

External links and resources

* ''Stanley Sadie Archive Project,''

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of the over 100 libraries within the university. The Library is a major scholarly resource for the members of the University of Cambri ...

References

External links

The Grove dictionary online

by Alison Latham, ''The Guardian'', 24 March 2005

29 October 1992 {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadie, Stanley 1930 births 2005 deaths People educated at St Paul's School, London Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Mozart scholars Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Neurological disease deaths in England Deaths from motor neuron disease International Musicological Society presidents The Times people Opera critics English biographers English male non-fiction writers 20th-century English writers 21st-century English writers Academics of Trinity College of Music Financial Times people English music critics Classical music critics 20th-century biographers Handel Prize winners 20th-century British musicologists The Musical Times editors