How to Find Obscure Music
January 4th, 2009
Many people have asked me where I found the Quincy Porter music, hoping to buy it somewhere. I have been lucky to find some of the scores, like the Duo for Viola and Harp, and the Porter Viola Concerto at the Cleveland Institute of Music library. He did teach there for a few years in the 1920’s, so it’s expected they would have some of his music. Most of the scores I acquire have been found through WorldCat, a fantastic global library network. The Cleveland Public Library is a member of this network, and I have been able to find many out of print scores, books and dissertations. Sometimes the publishing company of the out of print music you seek will provide an archival copy, but that usually requires some prodding and of course, a fee.
Categories: Quincy Porter Project • Viola Technique and Music
Hello. I am a music librarian at CPL and I appreciate the mention of our library and collection. I will certainly look into purchasing more of Porter’s scores for our collection. I strive to build the collection based on my own knowledge as well as requests from patrons. Please let us know how we can be of assistance.
Comment by Michael Dalby, — January 5, 2009 @2:49 pm
You can also use the Sibley Library at U of Rochester. If the work is in the public domain you can request that they scan and post it on their site. They already have hundreds of uniques scores up there. You can also consult the International Music Score Library Project. Not everything there is completely legal, and there are disclaimers. The music world is digital now, so expect to find more and more scores as downloads only.
https://urresearch.rochester.edu/handle/1802/291
http://imslp.org/wiki/Main_Page
Comment by JW, — January 5, 2009 @11:47 pm