raymondh@stanford.edu's blog

Benny Carter, Charlie Parker, and Lester Young, on the Verve label

Classical Music Spotlight podcasts are available via Stanford's subscription to Naxos Music Library. In these podcasts, classical radio and recording producer Raymond Bisha explores current releases, occasionally interviewing performers and composers.

The Archive of Recorded Sound celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009. Read the news report here.

Musée Condé. Bibliothèque. Manuscript. 564.
Codex Chantilly, Bibliothèque du château de Chantilly, Ms. 564, Fac-similé, édité par Yolanda Plumley et Anne Stone.
Turnhout: Brepols, 2008.
Facsimile of the early 15th century manuscript, accompanied by 1 v. of commentary.
Acquired through the Allen B. Cagle Fund.

Jean Baptiste Lully.
Le Triomphe de l’Amour, Ballet Royal.
Paris : Christophe Ballard, 1681.
Acquired through the Lucie King Harris Books for Music Fund.

Chansonnier de Jean de Montchenu.
Valencia: Vicent García Editores, 2007.
Acquired through the Susan & Ruth Sharp Fund.

The Fall 2009 issue of Computer Music Journal is “A Tribute to Computer Music’s Founder” Max Matthews. Included are an interview with Matthews by Tae Hong Park, and articles by Jon Appleton, Jean-Claude Risset, John Chowning, and Hubert Howe.

Over the Summer, the Law School demolished Kresge Auditorium to make way for its new, 63,000-square ft. academic building. As you can see from this photo, major construction activity is taking place just yards from Braun Music Center. It's been quite a show from the Library windows!

Our newest online subscription is to Classical Scores Library from Alexander Street Press. The current release includes 13,558 scores and 277,028 pages.

From the press release:

“Classical Scores Library will contain 400,000 pages of classical scores from both in-copyright and public domain editions. The major composers output is represented, as well as many lesser known composers and works.

Ruth Brown, Fine and Mellow (1991) on the Prestige label.


Stanford’s streaming audio database collection now includes Jazz Music Library (Alexander Street Press). Jazz Music Library currently offers over 26,000 tracks on 2549 albums. Labels include Audiophile, Concord Jazz, Jazzology, Prestige, and more. Liner notes (pdf) are included.

Now available for listening and viewing online is the deciphered score for Schumann’s unfinished fourth piano sonata. The accompanying essay, “The Second Schumann F-minor Sonata: A Detective Story” is a fascinating account of the genesis of the work, the locating of the manuscript, and the creation of the digital multi-media project.

Duke Unversity Libraries announces a new database:

The Classical String Quartet, 1770-1840

From the press release:

The latest free download from Classical Music Library (available through August 11) is L'origine de la Harpe, Op. 2 No. 7, by Hector Berlioz, set to text by Thomas Gounet, after Thomas Moore. The recording features Ann Murray (soprano) and Graham Johnson (piano). This song tells the tale of a lovelorn mermaid who, pitied by the heavenly realm, is transformed into a harp.

The August 2009 issue of the Strad features a cover story on our very own St. Lawrence String Quartet! This issue, and 300 other current periodical titles, are shelved in the Music Library Reading Room.

The latest digitized edition of composer complete works, from the Bavarian State Library. A link may be found on our printed music page, under e-scores.

From the press release:

Enhancements to playlist functionality for Alexander Press streaming audio databases (American Song, Classical Music Library, Contemporary World Music, and Smithsonian Global Sound) were announced today. From the press release:

Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, on Black Swan Records

Content from African American Song has been folded into the American Song database. From the press release:

"As of June, 2009, all the music from the former African American Music collection (no longer offered) is now here in American Song. The music of all Americans, including African Americans, is now consolidated here in an expanded American Song.

The University of Iowa announced today the release of the Ignaz Pleyel Early Editions Digital Collection, a component of the Iowa Digital Library. A link to this new resource may be found in the single-composer segment of our e-scores page (under e-resources).

From the press release:

More than 250 years after his birth, a notable collection of musical scores by French composer and music publisher Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) can now be found online.

Available to Stanford Users:

LibraryMusicSource.com is a new database provided by the Stanford
Libraries. It is described as “The largest collection of Western
Classical sheet music ever assembled.” LibraryMusicSource is based on
the cd-rom products CD Sheet Music, and Orchestra Musician’s Library,
which may be familiar to you.

Since it is subscription based and limited to Stanford users, you will

The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, currently underway in Fort Worth, Texas, is being streamed live (link here).

According to their website, "You may vote during each round of the competition, read the competition blog, send emails to competitors, and, during the finals, enjoy written commentaries to alert you what to listen for while you are watching.

Mirroring changes in other Stanford libraries, the Music Library has begun keeping books and accompanying discs together on the shelf. Books will have special, archivally-sound pockets inserted for CDs, DVDs, and CD-ROMs. We hope this change will make accessing accompanying discs easier for you. At present, older books with accompanying discs will remain separated (books in the stacks, discs at Circulation).

The latest free download from Classical Music Library is Samuel Barber’s Nuvoletta, op. 25, for soprano and piano, performed here by Ann Murray and Graham Johnson. It was composed in 1947 as Barber was preparing for the premiere of Knoxville, Summer of 1915, with the soprano Eleanor Steber. Steber was then one of the first sopranos to present this theatrically-demanding work in recital.

The Database of Recorded American Music (DRAM) is now accessible from off-campus locations. Use the link provided on our page; a separate proxy set-up isn’t required.