Website with Perusal Scores
The score you want to look at too recent/in copyright for IMSLP and not in the uni library*? Despair not yet, many publishers now host perusal scores or have full or nearly full online previews!
The most famous of these is probably Boosey and Hawkes but here are some more I’ve found. Please add the list anything you have found useful! You can also try looking around generally on sites like issuu or scribd, or of course just throwing “score [piece you want]” into google, but sometimes it’s inspiring to be able to actually browse around…
*you could also request it be added to your library, I should say, we’re encouraged to do that…
Boosey & Hawkes - You need to register for this one but it’s free and easy, browse 1500+ scores, including large collections of Britten, Bernstein, Copland, and living composers like James MacMillan, Karl Jenkins, Steve Reich… Loads of stuff. A bit of Rautavaara’s here too. Tip: you need to click Browse by Composer on the left to actually do that… I spent a while rather confused.
Faber Music - Another near 1500 scores, including George Benjamin, Thomas Adés.. I’m mostly seeing the start of the alphabet since there doesn’t seem to be a convenient LIST of composers as such? Howard Goodall, Peter Sculthorpe… Nigel Hess, Jonathan Harvey
Peer Music - Including Mieczysław Weinberg, Villos-Lobos, Charles Ives. To find the complete list of composers go to catalog and see the drop down menu, otherwise you only see the Featured Composers
Music Sales Classical On Demand - Including Chester Music and Novello among other publishers (this is where you can find Lutosławski! And Judith Weir, Eric Whitacre (a little)… Kaija Saarhiaho!)
NotaFina - Watermarked previews but still pretty readable. (You can also buy the scores for download here.) Vasks’ scores are here!
NY Philharmonic - So, this isn’t a publisher but rather the New York Philharmonic’s archives, scans of orchestral scores and parts (Not For Performance) - complete with conductor’s & others’ markings!
Theodore Presser - Some less familiar names here- living composers eyy! Also Darius Milhaud, Ellen Zwilich (who is also alive! I just mean, I’ve heard of her!), Charles Ives, Ruth Crawford… Also names I’m more familiar with from their writings such as Vincent Perischetti and Steven Stucky, could be interesting...
