Digitised Mendlessohn (Breitkopf & Härtel Edition) works on line!

Opening bars of Felix Mendelssohn's Overture to the Hebrides (op. 26) © Bayerische Staatsbibliothek: http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0002/bsb00026504/images/index.html?seite=3

The Munich Digitisation Centre in cooperation with the music department of the Bavarian State Library has added the first edition of the works of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy to its digital collections on the occasion of Mendelssohn’s 200th birthday on February 03, 2009. Our collection of historical editions of the work of famous composers is being continued after a Händel- and a Liszt-edition with Mendelssohn’s work as edited by Breitkopf & Härtel in 157 volumes.

This edition is divided into 19 series (work groups) and was compiled by the musician and friend of Mendelssohn Julius Rietz (1812-1877) during 1874-1877. It includes around 5900 pages and contains all known works of Mendelssohn at that time. Some early works and alternative versions have only been discovered decades later and are not contained in Rietz’ edition. Nevertheless, the work of this great German composer is represented here in its vast spectrum, including the symphonic work, the chamber music, oratories, operas, music for spectacles, sacred music, and Lieder.

The digitised Mendelssohn-edition can also be found on the ViFaMusik web pages (www.vifamusik.de) where a lot of sheet music and books on music from the music department of the Bavarian State Library are presented.

Link to the Mendelssohn-edition:
http://www.muenchener-digitalisierungszentrum.de/index.html?c=kurzauswahl&adr=mdz1.bib-bvb.de/~db/ausgaben/uni_ausgabe.html?projekt=1216809160

Link to the digitisations within the ViFaMusik:
http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/vifamusik_e/index.php?pcontent=digitalisierungen

Jürgen Diet
Bavarian State Library
Digital Library Department
Ludwigstr. 16
D-80539 München
Germany
Tel. ++49-89-28638-2768
Fax ++49-89-28638-2672
email: juergen.diet [at] bsb-muenchen.de

Elliott Carter at 100

The iconoclast of American music, Elliott Carter recently turned 100. The celebration of his centenary has been marked with various interviews, performances and other online exhibitions.

One interview was conducted on the NPR radio programme "All Things Considered:" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98081089 (8:20)

Elliott Carter discussing his new piece, Caténaires, for pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and the Ensemble Contemporaine (26 October interview from New York): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp95zFUPEj0&feature=related (9:58)



He was also interviewed on NPR (National Public Radio, US) on the Charlie Rose Show (PBS) alongside pianist/conductors James Levine and Daniel Barenboim. The Youtube clip is an excerpt from the interview and contains Barenboim's recollections of his late friend, Edward Said, and his reminiscenses on the 'late style.'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiDd4JVN9Vo  Alternatively, one can watch the entire interview at http://www.charlierose.com/

Other recent interviews include one with Frank Oteri (American Music Center - New Music Box) from mid-2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzs8Ov2p-Rc (5:08)



Also in celebration of Carter's 100th birthday, the Library of Congress has digitised the manuscript sketches of his Sonata for Cello and Piano and the String Quartet no. 1. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200155900/default.html Lastly, they have put up a digitised version of The Musical Languages of Elliott Carter (1984) by Charles Rosen which operates in a manner similar to the British Library 'Turning the Page'.

A detail from p. 68 of the manuscript sketches of Carter's Cello Sonata from the Library of Congress.

Thanks to the Library of Congress for digitising these invaluable sketches and Happy Birthday to Mr Carter, may your next century be as prolific as your first!