A Note about Works and Covers

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 1, 2011, 3 p.m.

You might have noticed that the works on PSNY have several types of covers: some red, some yellow, and some with individual publishers' designs. Here's a quick breakdown:

Red covers, such as those for works by Gregory Spears, Timothy Andres, or Kate Soper, are for PSNY Composer Editions.

Yellow covers are for works by composers published exclusively by Schott Music, such as Tobias Picker, Alvin Singleton, and Robert Beaser. 

Other covers, such as those for works by Matthias Pintscher and Beat Furrer, are designed by those works' original publishers, for example Baerenreiter Verlag. 

But ultimately, these categories are secondary to the music itself. For many works on PSNY, you can hear audio samples or view videos of performances directly on those works' pages. For example, here's a video you can find on the page for Mario Diaz de Leon's "Trembling Time II":

 (via the wonderful Talea Ensemble, of course!)

For audio excerpts, many works have Soundcloud widgets, like this one for Tobias Picker's "String Quartet No. 2":  

Tobias Picker - String Quartet No. 2, mvt. I (Excerpt) by PSNY

Welcome to PSNY

by Ted Gordon on Nov. 1, 2011, noon

First off: thanks for coming to our site! We know there are many ways for you to find music; we appreciate your interest, and encourage you to explore.  

Project Schott New York is a radically new model for music publishing. It’s not a compendium of all music ever composed, or a place to buy scans of sheet music you could get from a retail store. PSNY is an edition, in the most fundamental sense of the word: a curated, highly selective collection of works by contemporary composers, instantly available for download by ensembles, programmers, and music fans alike. PSNY offers new music in the simplest ways we could think of: instant downloads of DRM-free scores and parts, or printed hard copies, beautifully designed by David Rudnick. Why make it more complicated?

The role of the publisher is an important one: not just a facilitator of printing and shipping, the publisher chooses the best new compositions and connects them with ensembles who are eager to perform them (or anyone interested in a score, of course!). PSNY is our stab at taking publishing into the 21st century: our “Schott” in the dark, our leap of faith. We have curated the most interesting music we could find, and we hope that the exposure to these composers creates dialogues, correspondences, residencies, commissions – everything vital to our musical ecology. 

Launching with over 70 new solo and ensemble works by more than 30 composers, PSNY is a site for discovery and conversation, with more than just names and titles. For most works, you can look within the score, hear audio and see video excerpts, and connect directly to the composer’s website. PSNY is a work in progress; our catalog will grow, and this blog will be a source of information on all of our composers’ activities. We encourage everyone to continue the conversation in comments and correspondence. 

Onwards!