MUSIC PERIODICALS, 1722-1940

Part 1: Eighteenth Century Music Periodicals from the Musikbibliothek der Stadt Leipzig

Part 2: Music Almanacs and Jahrbuchs, 1815-1940 from the Musikbibliothek der Stadt Leipzig

Publisher's Note

This new project, which will be of great interest to researchers of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century music, commences with a collection of important Music Periodicals for the period 1722-1792 from the rich holdings of the Musikbibliothek der Stadt Leipzig. Leipzig is undeniably one of the foremost musical centres of Europe. Telemann established the Collegium Musicum in Leipzig in 1704 and Bach spent the last 27 years of his life there, 1723-1750, filling various roles including that of Kantor of the Thomasschule and civic music director. Mozart performed at the Gewandhaus in 1789, and the song school established by J A Hiller was one of the important early choral societies in Germany. Allied to this Leipzig was also a centre for music publishing from the creation of J G I Breitkopf in 1719 to the establishment of more than 60 separate music publishers there by the end of the 19th century.

The 11 periodicals that we offer in Part 1 have been carefully screened against previous projects such as the Répertoire Internationale de la Presse Musicale to avoid duplication. The periodicals have been selected to cover a broad time scale and to include a good selection of items published in Leipzig.

Part 2 of the project covers Music Almanacs and Yearbooks, 1815-1940 also from the Musikbibliothek der Stadt Leipzig. Included among others are almanacs for Opera, an almanac of music publishers, yearbooks for the German theatre, the famous Bär Jahrbuch published by Breitkopf and Härtel of Leipzig and an extensive run of the yearbook of the Peters Library.

This guide provides a brief overview of the contents of each reel, together with a more detailed list with information abstracted from Musikperiodika - Bibliographische Veröffentlichungen der Musikbibliothek der Stadt Leipzig. The full text of the latter can be found on the first reel of Parts 1 and 2.

These music periodicals, almanacs and yearbooks from the Music Library of Leipzig, one of the leading music centres in Europe, will provide researchers with a vast source of previously untapped material.

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