Wellington City Libraries

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Ngā puoro ōkawa Classical music

Welcome

Searching for classical music from Albinoni to Zelenka? You'll find something of interest here for you!

Feel like listening to classical music while you read this? Just enter your library card number and last name to listen to 276,000 tracks of streamed music from the NAXOS, BIS, Chandos, CPO, Hanssler, Hungaroton, and Marco Polo labels.

New to the library

If you're seeing this message for an extended period, javascript is not enabled in your browser. Head over to the libraries' News Blog to view our Latest Classical Music Books & CDs.

Magazines

Online journals & articles

Each site contains at least some full-text of the print magazines

See also...

The library also has some subscription databases available to library members - check out our MyGateway Music Page, and search across thousands of articles on a range of music-related topics.

Searching the Catalogue

Try searching our Catalogue. Below you'll find some tips for searching for classical music.

If you know parts of the title and the composer...

The best way is to select the Advanced button on the left hand side of the main catalogue screen, enter the composer's name under 'Author or Name', type what you know of the title and format in the 'Keywords' option; then Click Search.

E.g. Puccini, Tosca

Works with a "title" e.g. Carmen...

Use the 'Title browse', or 'Title keyword' options.

Note: Ignore articles in all language including English, e.g. The, Die, Le, La etc.

Need more help?

You can find more detailed help on how to search for classical music on our Classical Music Search Tips page.

Shelf Help: Scores

Subject: Dewey Number:
Vocal music 780
Operas and musicals 780.7
Part songs 780.4
Sacred music including Masses, Oratorios, Cantatas 780.5-780.6
Solo Vocal Collections 780
Instrumental music 781
Cello 781.35
Flute 781.11
Guitar 781.25
Organ 781.7
Piano 781.4
Piano duet 781.6
Pianos (2) 781.64
Violin
(Also includes Trios, quartets etc. of the same instrument.)
781.3
Chamber and orchestral combinations 782
Piano trios 782.2
String trios 782.1
Strong quartets 782.3
String quintets 782.5
Wind quintets 782.6
Wind sextets 782.65
Orchestral scores 782.7
Other combinations of quintet/sextets etc. 782.7
Miniature scores of any kind of work 782.77

Useful Websites & Online Databases

  • BBC Proms Archive
    Lists "performances, composers, works, soloists, conductors and ensembles in its 115-year history" (see BBC article here). Browse the archive, create your own lists, and contribute your thoughts and memories.
  • Classical Music at the British Sound Archive
    Explore 1,200 historical performances of works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms dating from 1915 to 1958. The vast majority of these recordings are now out of print, making this a vital resource for understanding Western classical music heritage. The broad scope of recordings in the Classical Music section allows listeners to compare performance styles from the USA to Denmark to Russia.
  • NAXOS classical music
    Now free online to Wellington library members. Just enter your library card details to listen to 276,000 tracks of streamed music from the NAXOS, BIS, Chandos, CPO, Hanssler, Hungaroton, and Marco Polo labels, with 500 new CDs added each month. Includes over 100 New Zealand CDs!
  • MusicAustralia
    A new online service to help you find, access and navigate a rich store of information on Australian music, musicians, organisations and services from a single access point. Drawing on the extensive bibliographic resources contained in the National Bibliographic Database (NBD), and a new database on Australian music and music organisations, MusicAustralia delivers information on about 130,000 music items. Browse topical themes such as sport or war songs.
  • The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
    This is an archive of texts to lieder and other art songs. There are composer and poet indexes plus a word search function if the title of the song has escaped you. plus links to translation guides.
  • Music Hire Service
    Orchestral, choral and band sets and orchestral parts that are available to be hired from the National Library.
  • British Library Music collections
    A premier music library's collections and resources. Take a look at their catalogues or online exhibitions. Try their Mozart's thematic catalogue from February 1784 until December 1791 (the last 7 years of his life).
  • www.sounz.org.nz
    Centre for New Zealand music : developing and fostering New Zealand music, its creation, performance, publication, recording and broadcast by working with and on behalf of NZ composers.
  • MyGateway Music Page
    Search across thousands of articles on a range of music-related topics and browse online magazines at our MyGateway Music Page.

  • Orchestral news and links to the key world orchestras, including our own Vector Wellington Orchestra and NZSO.

Contact us

This page is written and maintained by Bridget. My aim is to keep you informed about the classical music and scores section of the library and to highlight parts of the collection which may interest you. Comments and suggestions about this page or the classical music collection are welcomed to Bridget.

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