Lexicon of Musical Invective
 Original edition cover. | |
| Author | Nicolas Slonimsky |
|---|---|
| Language | English, German, French |
| Genre | Anthology, music criticism |
| Publisher | Coleman & Ross |
| Publication date | 1953 |
| Publication place |  United States |
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 and often humorous effect.
In a preface titled Non-Acceptance of the Unfamiliar, Slonimsky identifies a central theme of the collection: the tendency of critics to reject unfamiliar artistic developments. A later edition, published in 2000, includes a foreword by Peter Schickele, titled If You Can’t Think of Something Nice to Say, Come Sit Next to Me, which offers a humorous reflection on the work and its implications.
The book has been regarded as a reference resource for the study of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century musical reception. Its entries were extensively used in Dictionary of Folly and Errors in Judgment, a work published in 1965 by Guy Bechtel and Jean-Claude Carrière. A Spanish translation by Mariano Peyrou, titled Repertorio de vituperios musicales, was published in 2016. Concepts illustrated by Slonimsky’s compilation have subsequently been applied in the analysis of critical reception in other musical genres, including popular music.