Notationsstudier

MEDDELELSER

NOTATIONSSTUDIER

An INDEX OF THE MUSICAL NOTATION is being established in the Music Division of the New York Public Library at Lincoln Center (Research Library of the Performing Arts). The project, expected to last three years, is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, and is directed by Kurt Stone, music editor, writer, and lecturer, assisted by Gerald Warfield, formerly of Princeton University.

The new index is focusing on problems inherent in the notation of much of the music of the last twenty years. The project's approach to these problems is to examine pertinent scores in the Library's present collection, to solicit additional material, published and unpublished (from individuals as well as publishers), to categorize and index the notational devices and systems utilized in these works, and to analyze the findings. Collaborative working relations with publishers, institutions, and individuals have already been established in the United States and in Europe. The results of this investigation, which will be presented and scrutinized at conferences with musicians from all sectors of the profession, will be in the form of suggestions towards the standardization, when appropriate, of the notation of contemporary music. It is hoped that these standards, which will be published, will become a valuable tool both for the professional and for the student and thus make a significant contribution to the composition, performance, publication, understanding, and enjoyment of today's and tomorrow's music.

We welcome further collaboration from composers, editors, educators, and other interested persons. For example:

1. We would like to know of any unpublished scores containing notation of interest, especially those for which the interpretation of the notation is explicit.

2. We would like to know of any little-known writings on contemporary notational practices.

3. We invite comments or suggestions concerning any part of our project as outlined above. Kurt Stone

Index of New Musical Notation

- Music Division

The New York Public Library

at Lincoln Center

111 Amsterdam Avenue

New York, N. Y. 10023