G. Schirmer, Inc. is an American classical music publishing company based in New York City, founded in 1861. The oldest active music publisher in the United States,[1] Schirmer publishes sheet music for sale and rental, and represents some well-known European music publishers in North America, such as the Music Sales Affiliates ChesterNovello, Breitkopf & Härtel, Sikorski and many Russian and former Soviet composers' catalogs.[2]
In 1861, the G. Schirmer company was founded in the United States by German-born Gustav Schirmer Sr. (1829–1893), the son of a German immigrant.[3]
In 1866, his son, Rudolph Schirmer, became president of the corporation.[4]
In 1891, the company established its own engraving and printing plant. The next year, in 1892, it inaugurated the Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics.[citation needed]
In 1915, Rudolph Schirmer, together with musicologist Oscar Sonneck, founded The Musical Quarterly, the oldest academic journal on music in the U.S.[4] Sonneck would edit the journal until his death in 1928.[citation needed]
From 1949 to 1965, Rudolph Schirmer Jr., the grandson of Gustav Schirmer, Sr., served as vice-president of the company.[5]
From 1965 to 1979, Rudolph Schirmer moved up from vice-president to serve as chairman of the board.[5]
In 1968, major book publisher Macmillan purchased the company, which had been owned by the Schirmer family for over 100 years.[2]
In 1986, Macmillan sold G. Schirmer (except for its reference division, now part of Cengage Learning) to its current owner, Robert Wise, the owner of a popular music publisher, known then as "The Music Sales Group". According to a spokesman, the purchase price was around US$7 million (equivalent to $20million in 2024).[2] In February 2020, 14 years later, The Music Sales Group would change its name to "Wise Music Group".[6]
In 1986, Schirmer also joined with the Hal Leonard Corporation, a print distributor of jazz and popular music, who became the sole distributors of Schirmer's printed music.[citation needed]
In 1989, the previously uncertain future of the The Musical Quarterly journal, which had not been included[why?] in the original sale of Schirmer, was finally resolved with its transition to publisher Oxford University Press.[citation needed]
In 1992, at the age of 72, Gus Schirmer IV died. A theatrical director, producer, and agent, he was the last member of the family named for the founder.[7]
↑ Ramsey, Guthrey P. Jr. (Spring 1996). "Cosmopolitan or Provincial?: Ideology in Early Black Music Historiography, 1867–1940". Black Music Research Journal. 16 (1): 21. doi:10.2307/779375. JSTOR 779375.
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