How to write concert works (grammar wise)

[indy4 152]

I've heard two theories about when something should be italicized/underlined versus placed in quotation marks.

The first says that any tangible item that can be physically held by itself is italicized, while anything that cannot is placed in quotes. This makes sense in many cases--for instance, a book title is italicized while chapter titles are placed in quotes, and a film score is italicized while an individual cue is quoted. There's still a little bit of a grey area--you could argue that one could hold a cue sheet in one's hand, but I think for the most part this makes sense.

The second says that anything that is large in magnitude is italicized, while anything small is quoted. This also makes some sense, as a poem title is always in quotations while a book title is always italicized. But obviously there's a lot of room for debate over what is "large" or "small," as it's almost entirely subjective.

I'm not exactly a) which one of the these rules is the right one and B) how it applies to concert music. I'm assuming a symphony title would be italicized and the individual movements would be quoted. More of an issue are smaller works--works ranging from 2-15 minutes, often but not always comprised of multiple movements. How are those notated?

Thanks in advance!

[pixie_twinkle 44]

I don't think the size of the work makes any difference. You should be consistant. In my dissertation I italicized all actual titles. A generic title like symphony, study, or prelude etc, should not be italicized as it is not really an actual title. When referencing Rautavaara's seventh symphony in my dissertation I would use the following format:

Rautavaara, Symphony No.7, Angel of Light.

If no generic title is part of the overall title, italics should suffice. For instance, Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue.

[indy4 152]

Great, thank you!

[pixie_twinkle 44]

You're welcome