Nicolas Slonimsky ( – December 25, 1995), born
Nikolai Leonidovich Slonimskiy , was a Russian-born American conductor, author, pianist, composer and
lexicographer. Best known for his writing and musical reference work, he wrote the
Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns and the
Lexicon of Musical Invective, and edited
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians.