About the Music Collection

Background Information

• From Haydn to Hip Hop: Music at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Would you like to find a list of the top tunes of 50 years ago and a CD or two of those songs? Or perhaps you need the second violin part of Brahms' Third Symphony? How about a DVD to teach yourself how to play the guitar? Or use streaming audio to hear a traditional South African song? Then you'll want to check out…

The Music Collection of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is one of the outstanding public library music collections in the United States. In addition to our panorama of web resources which includes streaming music, we hold close to 85,000 books and scores; 28,000 recordings; 400 periodical, newsletter and serial titles; over 1700 videos and DVDs; and numerous special files and indexes that cover all aspects of music, including material related to music and musicians in the Pittsburgh area. Books, scores, periodicals, and scrapbooks from the libraries of 19th and 20th century Pittsburgh musicians form a historical base for the collection. Subject specialist librarians are available to assist you. A Kurzweil digital piano is available during library hours for individual use as are listening stations and a video/DVD preview station.

The Music Collection is located in the Music, Film and Audio room on the second floor of the Main Library in Oakland. Our large circulating and rich reference resource collections support the vibrant and varied music communities in Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania. Since the collection contains many unique and rare materials, we also serve as a resource for people around the country and abroad.

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We Have Information About:

Music: history, current trends, biography, analysis, performance, "how to" books, and studies in the areas of classical, jazz, popular, rock, folk, ethnic, sacred, education, business, music therapy, and much more.

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Collection Formats

• Streaming Music
• Online databases
• Books
• Scores
• Play-along CDs with score
• CDs and LPs
• Videos and DVDs
• Periodicals, Newsletters, Serials
• CD-ROMs
• Sheet Music

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Electronic Resources

Music History and Indexes

Listen Online: Streaming Music

Music Scores Online

• Additional databases

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Some of Our Collection Strengths

CD-ROM Collection: Containing full scores downloadable to your computer, the collection from CD Sheet Music includes such titles as Verdi Operas: The Complete Vocal Scores; Violin: The Ultimate Collection; Violin Concertos: The Ultimate Collection; The Complete Works of J.S. Bach; and many more. Other CD-ROMs contain the complete sets of orchestral parts for over 200 works from the standard orchestral repertoire.

Chamber Music: Extensive collection of performing editions for countless combinations of instruments; includes original compositions and arrangements.

Music Instruction: A recently enhanced collection of how-to-play materials for vast array of instruments - method books, instructional video & DVDs, and play-along CDs.

Opera, Operettas, Musicals: Extensive collection of full scores, vocal scores, vocal selections, anthologies of arias and songs, libretti, CDs (over 2000 titles!) and videos/DVDs.

Organ Music: An expansive collection, including both catalogued and uncatalogued scores (Organ Sheet Music Collection), made richer by numerous gifts from distinguished local organists.

Piano Music: Over 15,000 piano music scores for classical and popular (jazz, popular songs) styles. Classical works include pieces for harpsichord. Scores include CDROM collections of individual composer's works.

Popular Music: Massive collection of popular song score collections from the time of Stephen Foster through contemporary top 40 hits. Over 5000 CDs in our Rock and Popular sections alone.

Vocal Music: Vast collection of art song, opera, musicals, popular song and more.

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Pittsburgh Collections (Selective List)

• Bakaleinikoff Tablecloth: Large, framed tablecloth with 100 signatures of visiting classical musicians who performed in Pittsburgh from around 1946 to 1953.
• Oral History of Music in Pittsburgh: over 300 taped interviews with people active in the local music scene during the past 75 years; indexed by subject and interviewee. Use of collection in Department only.
• Pittsburgh LP Collection: Over 700 reference LPs featuring Pittsburgh musicians.
• Pittsburgh Orchestra Correspondence: Twenty-seven bound volumes of letters covering most of the life (1896-1910) of the predecessor of today's Pittsburgh Symphony.
• Pittsburgh Sheet Music: Over 600 pieces of sheet Music published in Pittsburgh during the 19th and 20th centuries; special section for Volkwein's publications. Indexed by composer, title, publisher, and date.
• Pittsburghiana: Close to 3000 concert programs dating from early 19th century, numerous scrapbooks from local musicians, clipping files and other ephemera dating from the early 19th century.

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Special Files & Indexes

Musical Analysis Index: an index to program notes from selected books and several major symphony orchestra printed programs including the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Musical Forecast Index: an index to this local music magazine published 1921-1948.

Performers in Pittsburgh: an index of soloists and ensembles appearing in Pittsburgh's major concert series from approximately 1910 - 1975.

Pittsburgh Indexes: an index to various unpublished histories of music in Pittsburgh and other related resources.

Pittsburgh Music Information File: newspaper clippings and ephemeral materials covering aspects of music and musicians in Pittsburgh.

Song Index: an index to more than 25,000 popular and classical song anthologies owned by the Library; indexed by title, composer and first line/chorus.

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Services

Digital Piano: The department's Kurzweil digital piano is available during library hours for individual use. Headphones are provided at the reference desk upon providing a picture I.D. Use is limited to 1/2 hour if demand is heavy.

Music Librarians are always available to answer questions, to assist in finding materials, and to offer guidance on research strategy for school assignments or special projects.

Listening and Video Preview Facilities: CD, VHS, DVD, Cassette and LP- available during library hours upon providing a picture ID. VHS and DVD may only be previewed.

Friends of the Music Library

In 1938, the Friends of the Music Library (FML) was founded to support the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's newly established Music Department. Since then, the healthy growth of the collection has been due in great part to the generous annual gifts from the FML. All sections of the collection from books and scores to CDs, DVDs, periodicals, online databases, streaming music and more reflect the breadth and depth of coverage that has enabled the Music Department to become a special Pittsburgh treasure serving the wide and varied musical community of southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.

In addition to their annual fund-raising letter campaign, the Friends sponsor an occasional music sale. The October 2010 sale was very successful. For information about future sales, contact the Music Department at 412-622-3105.

For further information about the FML, contact Mr. Sidney Stark, President, at 412.621.4737. Donations to the Friends of the Music Library are welcome. Click here to find a form that you can print and send with your check to the FML.