G. Schirmer, Inc.
 A Schirmer cover page of several ofBériot's works. | |
| Parent company | Wise Music Group |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1861 |
| Founder | Gustav Schirmer Sr. |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York City |
| Publication types | Sheet music,books |
| Fiction genres | Music |
| Official website | www |
G. Schirmer, Inc.is an American classical music publishing company based inNew York City,founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States,[1]Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-known European music publishers in North America, such as the Music Sales AffiliatesChesterNovello,Breitkopf & Härtel,Sikorskiand many Russian and former Soviet composers' catalogs.[2]
History
[edit]The company was founded in 1861 in the United States by German-bornGustav Schirmer Sr.(1829–1893), the son of a German immigrant.[3]
In 1866, his son, Rudolph Schirmer, became president of the corporation.[4]In 1891, the company established its own engraving and printing plant. The next year it inaugurated the Schirmer's Library of Musical ClassicsThe Musical Quarterly,the oldest academic journal on music in the U.S., was founded by Rudolph Schirmer in 1915[4]together with musicologistOscar Sonneck,who edited the journal until his death in 1928. In 1964, Schirmer acquired Associated Music Publishers (BMI) which had built up an important catalog of American composers includingElliott Carter,Henry Cowell,Roy Harris,Charles Ives,Walter Piston,andWilliam Schuman,adding to a Schirmer'sASCAProster which had already includedSamuel Barber,Leonard Bernstein,Morton Gould,Gian Carlo Menotti,andVirgil Thomson,as well as composers from the earlier part of the century such asCharles Tomlinson Griffes,Dee Libbey,Charles Martin Loeffler,John Alden Carpenter,andPercy Grainger.
Rudolph Schirmer Jr.,the grandson of Gustav Schirmer, Sr. was vice-president from 1949 to 1965 and chairman of the board from 1965 to 1979.[5]
The company was owned by the Schirmer family for over 100 years untilMacmillan,a major book publisher, purchased it in 1968. Macmillan then sold G. Schirmer (except for its reference division, now part ofCengage Learning) to its current owner, Robert Wise, in 1986, the owner of popular music publisher,Music Sales Group,Inc. According to a spokesman, the purchase price was around US$7 million.[2]The Music Sales Group changed its name to Wise Music Group in February 2020.
As the sale of Schirmer did not includeThe Musical Quarterly,the future of the journal remained uncertain until its transition in 1989 to publisherOxford University Press.In 1986, Schirmer also joined with theHal Leonard Corporation,a print distributor of jazz and popular music, who became the sole distributors of Schirmer's printed music. The last member of the family named for the founder wasGus Schirmer IV,a theatrical director, producer, and agent, who died in 1992 at the age of 73.[6]
Composers published by the company
[edit]The Schirmer/AMP catalog includes composers such asBilly Joel,John Corigliano,Richard Danielpour,Gabriela Lena Frank,John Harbison,Aaron Jay Kernis,Leon Kirchner,Peter Lieberson,André Previn,Gertrude Ross,Bright Sheng,Tan Dun,Du Yun,Robert Xavier Rodriguez,andJoan Tower.[7]
The company also publishesThe G. Schirmer Manual of Style and Usage.G. Schirmer is a member of the Music Sales Group of Companies, theMusic Publishers Association,theNational Music Publishers Association,and the Church Music Publishers Association.
References
[edit]- ^Ramsey, Guthrey P. Jr. (Spring 1996). "Cosmopolitan or Provincial?: Ideology in Early Black Music Historiography, 1867–1940".Black Music Research Journal.16(1): 21.doi:10.2307/779375.JSTOR779375.
- ^ab"G. Schirmer Is Sold".New York Times.May 16, 1986.RetrievedJune 15,2011.
- ^Robinson, John (February 1, 2000)."Fit to Print: A" Hyperhistory "of the current state of American music publishing".New Music Box.RetrievedDec 19,2021.
- ^abWebmaster (2020-05-03)."Rudolf Schirmer (1859-1919)".Mahler Foundation.Retrieved2024-07-20.
- ^"Schirmer | Encyclopedia.com".www.encyclopedia.com.Retrieved2024-07-20.
- ^"Gus Schirmer Jr., 73, a Director, Producer and Promoter of Theater".New York Times.June 13, 1992.RetrievedJune 15,2011.
- ^Office, Library of Congress Copyright (1949).Catalog of Copyright Entries: Third series.p. 570.
External links
[edit]- Schirmer.com,official homepage
- ArtistsHouseMusic.orgArchived2015-07-04 at theWayback Machine(interview with Peggy Monastra on G. Schirmer Music Publishers)
- G. Schirmer, Inc.:Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project(publisher page)
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