News archive
350 years ago today: Il pomo d'oro
On this day 350 years ago, the opera Il pomo d’oro (The Golden Apple) premiered in Vienna. The first performance of this opera, with music by Antonio Cesti (1623-1669) after a libretto by Francesco Sbarra (1611-1668), was originally intended for the wedding celebrations of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (1640-1705)...
12 July 2018 – Musical anniversaries
Happy 410th Birthday, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III!
This Friday is the 410th birthday of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 to 1657. Like many members of royalty, he dabbled in composition—as did his successors Leopold I and Joseph I. Andrew H. Weaver published an edition of all known motets by Ferdinand III in 2012. In a...
9 July 2018 – Musical anniversaries
An Extraordinary Musical Prodigy
This spaniel hasn’t just hopped on the piano stool to howl at whatever noise comes out of that wooden box. If the title of the painting is any indication, Portrait of an Extraordinary Musical Dog, this pooch has some real talent. The artist Philip Reinagle (1749-1833) depicts a dog whose...
5 July 2018 – Musical anniversaries
RISM at the IAML Congress in Leipzig
This year’s IAML congress is just a short train ride away in Leipzig. From 22-27 July 2018 we will join our colleagues around the world at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig (HMT) for the annual congress of the International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and...
2 July 2018 – Events
Müllner-Peter Symposium in Sachrang (Bavaria)
We have received the following from Steffen Voss (RISM Germany): This year marks the 175th anniversary of the death of Peter Huber, known as Müllner-Peter, the “Milner Peter from Sachrang” (1766-1843). Huber owned a mill in the small mountain village of Sachrang in the Chiemgau region of Bavaria and was...
28 June 2018 – Events
Celebrating Music Manuscripts and the European Year of Cultural Heritage
The year 2018 has been named the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Throughout the continent, the focus is on cultural heritage as expressed in a wide variety of manifestations: monuments, books, clothing, historic towns, oral traditions, landscapes, digitized objects—even performing arts and music—and much more. The goal is to “encourage...
25 June 2018 – In the news
A RISM Internship: Report from the Central Office in Frankfurt
The following is by Ulrike Schädel, who was an intern in the Central Office in the winter/spring of 2018. I encountered RISM for the first time in the course of musicological research. By chance, I happened to hear about an opportunity to complete a five-week internship at RISM. Everything was...
21 June 2018 – New at RISM
Charles Gounod at 200
Yesterday we celebrated the 200th birthday of the French composer, conductor, and organist Charles Gounod (17 June 1818 – 18 October 1893). Gounod is especially known today as the composer of the operas Faust (1859) and Roméo et Juliette (1867). But this does not do justice to his extensive oeuvre,...
18 June 2018 – Musical anniversaries
A Musical Guide to the World Cup
Summer can officially begin! The World Cup is here. Tonight is the first game of the 2018 World Cup, in which the men’s teams of 32 nations will compete for the ultimate prize in soccer. We’re starting the group stage with a look at the musical sources for each of...
14 June 2018 – Events
Music and the Natural Sciences in 1800
Sometimes musical sources are well hidden. Or would your normally expect an imprint entitled Discourse Introductory to a Course of Lectures on the Science of Nature to have an appendix containing three vocal pieces? The Discourse is actually interesting in several regards. The author of the book itself is Charles...
11 June 2018 – Library collections
