The Henselt Library of Nineteenth-Century Piano Music

at European-American University

An online free-to-download archive of rare and otherwise unavailable scores

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The Henselt Library at European-American University houses over 2,000 rare scores of nineteenth-century piano music, many of which are not generally available elsewhere. As an online library, it is committed to the principle of making this key archive material publically available for download free of charge using easily available file formats.

The Henselt Library consists of public domain scores that are mostly for piano 2 hands, with a small number of concerto scores and reductions. Both original works and transcriptions are represented, ranging from miniatures and salon pieces to major sonatas and extended tone-pictures. This variety reflects the importance of the piano in both public concert life and in more intimate surroundings.

All of the music is "rare" in the sense that the majority is both unknown today and extremely difficult to obtain, and in many cases remains unrecorded and unperformed. It has been made available in the Library thanks to the dedicated work of many enthusiasts around the world who have shared a commitment to the open distribution of nineteenth-century music.

About the Library sources

Material included in the Library collection originates from diverse sources.

Principally, its sources are authorized photocopies of public domain scoreholdings in major reference libraries around the world. These scores have then been digitized by experts and enthusiasts and shared with the public via the internet.

Many of the scores that form part of the Library collection are not currently available elsewhere via the internet. Being equipped with university-level server space and a permanent endowment, European-American University is in a position to offer these scores a long-term and stable home.

The various markings on the scores that denote their origin in a particular collection have not been removed, and remain as a grateful acknowledgement of the work of the digitizer.

The Library welcomes additional contributions of digitized scores provided both the work and the edition represented are clearly and unambiguously in the public domain. It is happy to acknowledge the donor when this is desired. To discuss donating a score, please click here to contact the University.

Collected works of Sigismond Thalberg

The Henselt Library is most grateful to Mathieu Poirier for sharing with all of us his collection of rare Thalberg scores.

Works of Alexander Dreyschock

The Henselt Library is most grateful to Mathieu Poirier for sharing with all of us his collection of rare Dreyschock scores.

Resources

A portrait of Adolf von Henselt (1814-89), piano virtuoso and composer, after whom the Henselt Library is named. Henselt's compositions are outstandingly technically advanced for their era. He suffered severe stage-fright and had given up both performance and composition by the age of 33.

Scores

Other than by composer

The Henselt Library of Nineteenth-Century Piano Music

at European-American University

An online free-to-download archive of rare and otherwise unavailable scores

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About the Library sources

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Resources