Music Online: Classical Scores Library, Volumes I-VI

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The Library has acquired access to Music Online: Classical Scores Library, a reliable and authoritative destination for in-copyright digital scores of the classical canon, as well as a resource for the discovery of diverse and lesser-known contemporary works.

The resource provide access to works by 4,600 classic and contemporary composers, from traditionally studied composers such as Mozart and Tchaikovsky, to contemporary artists including Kaija Saariaho, Peter Maxwell-Davies, and John Tavener.

With access to over 65,000 titles, the resource is essential for those looking to access a wide range of digital scores in one interface. Keyword search function is enable across all of the volumes, and users can browse by title, genre, instrument, people, publisher, time period, or composer. Users also benefit from Alexander Street database functionality, such as adding annotations to scores and the option to print.

The six volumes that are available are:

The first volume of Music Online: Classical Scores Library includes more than 400,000 pages from classical music’s most studied composers, including Bach, Schubert, Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Liszt, Brahms, Chopin, plus thousands more. Additional material in Volume I includes 100 scores from the Barry S. Brook Center’s collection of French Opera in the 17th and 18th centuries, providing access to the music and libretti of the early operas during an important period in the development of the genre.

Music Online: Classical Scores Library, Volume II provides online access to 200,000 pages of scores. In addition to new works from contemporary composers, Volume II includes a range of important composers not represented in the first volume and alternative editions of many of music’s most studied compositions. Featured composers include Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Ravel, Andrew Schultz, Moya Henderson, Nicholas Vines, Giovanni Sammartini, Michael Haydn, and many others. This volume also includes The Symphony 1720-1840– the largest source of 18th century symphonies comprising 550 symphonic works.

Music Online: Classical Scores Library, Volume III brings together 400,000 pages of in-copyright editions from composers worldwide.  The collection provides editions from major publishers like Chester Music, Novello & Company, Faber Music, Wilhelm Hansen, Donemus, and others. It provides expanded coverage of great choral works and instrumental scores for brass, woodwind, and other instrument groups. Volume III features modern editions of works by Bach, Beethoven, Berlioz, Brahms, Byrd, Gibbons, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Monteverdi, Mozart, and Purcell, as well as classic works by Elgar, De Falla, Franck, Holst, Joubert, Maxwell-Davies, Musgrave, Saariaho, Sallinen, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, and many more.

Music Online: Classical Scores Library, Volume IV is a collection of 300,000 pages of scores that focuses on works of the 20th and 21st centuries, providing digital access to some of the most-studied works in classical repertoire and exposure to lesser-known composers from around the world including Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East.

Music Online: Classical Scores Library, Volume V provides digital access to some of the most-studied works in classical repertoire and exposure to lesser-known composers. This collection builds on Classical Scores Library, Volume IV’s collection with an emphasis on contemporary composers and works from the 20th and 21st centuries alongside a selection of scores from medieval, baroque, classical and romantic time periods.  Upon completion, the collection will include 400,000 pages of scores sourced from individual composers and from renowned publishers such as Donemus, Ernst Eulenburg & Co. GmbH, Novello & Company, Chester Music, Faber Music, and Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG, and University of York Music Press.

Volume VI of the Classical Scores Library presents masterpieces from one of the world’s most esteemed classical music publishers. This partnership with Boosey & Hawkes, renowned for their extensive industry influence, grants a rich catalogue featuring revered masterpieces by classical and contemporary maestros, providing music scholars with rich resources for performance and study. This collection celebrates influential classical composers alongside emerging voices, featuring ground-breaking works that have left a lasting impact on global music, valuable for both performance and study.

Classical Scores Online is accessible via Library Search. Help and guidance on making effective use of the platform may be found on the ProQuest Music Online: Classical Scores Library LibGuide. You can also contact your Liaison team for further support: libliaison@newcastle.ac.uk.

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