From: rogerpellegrini
>>That imslp website is absolutely mind blowing! A virtual paradise of sheet music bliss. I remember visiting Patelson's Music House by Carnegie Hall to browse their endless collections. Of course, it's closed now:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/arts/music/13pate.html?_r=0<<That article makes it sound like the closing of that store was do to online sales. I wonder how true that is. I've been seeing stores that sell music scores disappearing for years. In the 1980's I used to make periodic trips into the bowels of Los Angeles to Carl Fischer, the biggest store in all of LA. Then one day I drove all the way out there only to find they disappeared. And that was way before the internet. Just two days ago I learned that Barrage Music in Raleigh closed down in April. 57 years in business and the largest out here, in fact about the only place out here to buy sheet music. The internet is the only way for me to get music scores now. I think a lot of this has to do with the continued decrease in musicianship and most musicians these days not able to even read music.
From: Eric
>>Heh. Well, as a long time user of the site... it has its weaknesses. I've found mistakes on Brahms scores because the edition scanned was an old, unauthorized copy and if you need a specific edition of a Bruckner symphony... well, good luck! :) But for most purposes it works very well.<<
I've found mistakes in music books I've bought. But online, sometimes you can find more than one edition. There are some other similar sites out there, though not a large, they might provide other alternate editions.
The only thing I have't been able to find is the complete Monteverdi 1610 Vespers. What W. Carlos did with Monteverdi's Orfeo, by selecting the best short movements from it and putting them together in a small suite and beautifully synthesize and perform them, I'd like to do similar with his 1610 Vespers or "Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610" to be accurate. Guess I'll just making periodic visits and maybe it will appear one day.
-Elhardt