Lexicon of Musical Invective

The Lexicon of Musical Invective is an American musicological work by Nicolas Slonimsky. It was first published in 1953, with a revised and expanded second edition appearing in 1965. The book is an anthology of negative musical criticism, focusing primarily on works that later became part of the standard classical repertoire and on composers now widely regarded as canonical, including Beethoven and Varèse. The material is systematically organized, with entries arranged alphabetically by composer and chronologically within each section. The volume also contains an index titled the “Invecticon,” or “Index of Invectives,” which categorizes recurring critical expressions under thematic headings, ranging from “aberration” to “zoo,” and provides references to the corresponding passages. The structure of the work highlights the rhetorical strategies and stylistic devices employed in critical writing, including metaphorical language and unconventional comparisons. The juxtaposition of critiques drawn from different historical periods—often directed at works that later achieved recognition—reveals recurring patterns of resistance to musical innovation and contributes to the book’s ironic an