With writings by Berlioz, Wagner, Gounod, Mahler, Schoenberg, Reich, and others, this collection of writings traces the history of orchestration and its development , as well as presents a wide variety of theories that have been embraced by the leading practitioners in the field.

The Early Nineteenth Century; Chapter 1 On the Symphony, Carl Czerny; Chapter 2 Instruments Added to the Scores of Old Masters, Hector Berlioz; Chapter 3 On the Rendering of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Richard Wagner; Chapter 4 Instruments Added by Modern Composers, Charles Gounod; Chapter 5 Pamphlet on Mahler's Edition of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Gustav Mahler, Siegfried Lipiner; Chapter 6 Beethoven's Instrumentation, Igor Stravinsky; The Late Nineteenth Century; Chapter 7 Statements on Orchestration, Gustav Mahler; Chapter 8 First Lesson: Preliminary Instruction, F.-A. Gevaert; Chapter 9 Foreword to Berlioz' Treatise on Instrumentation, Richard Strauss; Interlude; Chapter 10 The Orchestra, Hector Berlioz, Richard Strauss; Chapter 11 Orchestra Tutti, Salomon Jadassohn; Chapter 12 The General Divisions and Classification of the Principal Instruments of the Orchestra, Delius, Papus; Chapter 13 Composition of the Orchestra, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov; The Turn of the Twentieth Century; Chapter 14 An Inadequate Means for Musical Expression, Ferruccio Busoni; Chapter 15 The Orchestra: Diatonic and Atonal Music, Josef Matthias Hauer; Chapter 16 Possibilities of the Concert Wind Band from the Standpoint of a Modern Composer, Percy Grainger; Chapter 17 Instrumentation, Arnold Schoenberg; Chapter 18 The Balance of Sonorities: Volume and Intensity, Charles Koechlin; Chapter 19 Instrumentation, Igor Stravinsky, Robert Craf; The Early Twentieth Century; Chapter 20 Klangfarbenmelodie, Arnold Schoenberg; Chapter 21 Letter to Heinrich Jalowetz Regarding the Symphony, Op.21, Anton Webern; Chapter 22 Letter to Hermann Scherchen Regarding the Transcription of J.S. Bach's Ricercata, Anton Webern; Chapter 23 Anton Webern:, Arnold Schoenberg; Chapter 24 Regarding Klangfarbenmelodie, Igor Stravinsky, Robert Craft; Chapter 25 Timbral Relationships and Their Functional Use, Alfred Schnittke; Later Twentieth-Century Innovations; Chapter 26 Program Note for the Fourth Symphony, Charles Ives; Chapter 27 Instrumental Character and the Problem of the Tutti, Elliott Carter, Allen Edwards; Chapter 28 On the Size and Seating of an Orchestra, Steve Reich; Chapter 29 Spatial Music and Orchestration, Henry Brant, Frank J. Oteri; Chapter 30 Remarks on Ochestration, Morton Feldman; Chapter 31 Timbre and Composition - Timbre and Language, Pierre Boulez;