This book, which was first published in 1895, is a wonderful collection of some 300 anecdotes and biographical sketches of famous composers and performers since time began. In the author's own words, "[I]n the search for what this volume comprises, much material has been examined. I have attempted to cull from the mass of material that came to my notice such anecdotes as have two features,-that of being characteristic of the person referred to, and that of possessing sufficient interest; and in this re-narration I have incorporated such bits of musical information, along biographical and historical lines, as came to mind at the time of writing, but letting this feature be secondary to the main idea of the work. Thus it is hoped that while my readers may find interesting anecdote, they may also incidentally find that which is of more permanent value. "Gates' work may be regarded as a companion volume to his book Musical Mosaics (1889), "supplementing the thoughts of the great musicians there expressed with incidents giving somewhat of a clue to their personality."
