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German Music Archive

Keyboard of a Steck Duo-Art reproducing piano

About the German Music Archive

The German Music Archive of the German National Library collects and archives music in order to preserve it for posterity and make it available to the public. We are therefore Germany's main music bibliography information centre.
Our collection is based on the sheet music and sound recordings which all German music publishers and labels are obliged to deposit by law.

Our holdings currently encompass more than 2.2 million works. These also include historic sound carriers such as shellac records, phonograph cylinders and piano rolls for self-playing reproducing pianos.

More about the collection of media works

Exhibitions and cultural offerings

From the early days of sound recording to the present day, the music industry has reinvented itself over and over again. In doing so, the creativity of the music pioneers appears to know no bounds. We have assembled some of the most exciting milestones in this eventful history in our exhibition “From Edison Cylinder to Blu-Ray”: wax cylinders, gramophones, self-playing pianos and laser discs.
You can also visit our virtual exhibition “Schmonzetten, Schmäh und Parodie (Melodrama, Snide Humour and Parody)” and immerse yourself in the world of early 20th century cabaret.

Moreover, the German Music Archive regularly plays host to exciting events – it is consequently well worth checking our event calendar from time to time.

From Edison Cylinder to Blu-Ray

Permanent exhibition
Leipzig

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A view of the exhibition of historic sound reproduction devices and sound carriers in the German Music Archive Photo: PUNCTUM/Alexander Schmidt

Schmonzetten, Schmäh und Parodie (Melodrama, snide humour and parody)

Virtual exhibition

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Schellackplatte „Eisenbahn - Parodie“ von Rudolf Mälzer; hergestellt von der Deutschen Grammophon Aktiengesellschaft Berlin mit der für sie typischen Fotomontage „Hund guckt in ein Trichtergrammophon“

Listening stations

Explore the rich variety of our music collection at the listening stations in the exhibition area at the German Music Archive in Leipzig, and in the rotunda and reading room in Frankfurt am Main. You can relax and enjoy music in different spaces, as if you were in a thematic exhibition which is full of sound. Why not give it a try?

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Music at the Library

Music plays a major role at the German National Library, and not just in our collections. Music of all kinds can be enjoyed at both locations. In our section "Music with us" we want to share different listening experiences with you.

Come and listen!

Collections of the German Music Archive

Along with its legally mandated collection of sound recordings and printed music, the German Music Archive houses other treasures such as historic sound recordings and sound reproduction devices. The archive of the Music Information Centre of the Association of Composers and Musicologists of the GDR (MIZ) is also located here. Moreover, the collection contains a number of musical estates. The “Bonner Katalog” is an index of musical materials that can be hired from music publishers for performance.

Sound recordings

Scores and sheet music

Historic sound recordings

Historic sound reproduction devices

Collection MIZ GDR

Special legacies

Use and service   

Our music reading room is optimally equipped with technology: our workstations with piano keyboards and headphones provide opportunities to work with sheet music. You can also access and play more than 500,000 hours of music directly from our digital archive. For your research, you can either use our holdings in the reading room or order materials from the stacks through our catalogue. Our soundproof listening booth offers you the opportunity to experience music in surround-sound.


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History of the German Music Archive

Die Siemens-Villa von innen. Auf einer Kommode sind ein Phonograph und zwei Grammophone zu sehen. Photo: DNB

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From gramophone to phonograph: As each of our sound carriers needs a suitable player, we also have an impressive collection of sound reproduction devices that is well worth seeing and listening to. Many of them were already on display on the premises in Berlin.

Pagination

50 Years of German Music Archive

On 1 January 2020 the German Music Archive celebrated the 50th anniversary of its foundation. What could be more fitting than to take this opportunity to look back over its history? The last five decades have seen dramatic changes, not only in the music industry but also in listening habits and the expectations that users have of the Archive and the ways in which it can be accessed. All the changes that have occurred since 1970 are reflected in the Archive’s tasks and challenges, sometimes more, sometimes less – and sometimes not until a little while later.

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Contact

Exhibition, guided tours and events

Phone +49 341 2271-150
fuehrungen-dma@dnb.de

Using the Music Reading Room

Phone +49 341 2271-150
info-dma@dnb.de

Short-URL: https://www.dnb.de/EN/dma

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