History in musical scores: 250 years of Schott Music publisher

Schott belongs to the worldwide leading publication companies for classical and contemporary music. Renamed in 2006 "Schott Music Group," the publishing house was founded in 1770 by the engraver Bernhard Schott in Mainz, where the company headquarters are still located in a listed building. The 250th anniversary will not be not celebrated publicly due to the coronavirus restrictions.

Bernhard Schott initially ran a small sheet music engraving and printing company with his sons. His quality work was appreciated by composers. While searching for an author for a music magazine, the publisher contacted Ludwig van Beethoven. The composer did not contribute any texts, but he did send his Missa Solemnis instead. His Ninth symphony was also published by Schott.

Beethoven enjoyed wine, and Schott regularly had good wine from the region of Mainz delivered to the composer. It is said that Beethoven's last words refer to this wine. Shortly before his death, he was expecting a delivery. When it finally came, Beethoven was dying and allegedly said: "Too bad, too late."

The second lucrative composer in the publishing company's history was Richard Wagner. He came to Schott with his opera "The Ring of the Niebelungen." Important composers in his circle then followed. The Schott office in London was in the Wagner House on Regent Street. It became Queen Victoria's and the British royal family's official sheet music provider.

Wagner was always short of money. He demanded huge advances for his opera works. The cartoonist in the publishing family, the young Willy Strecker, referred to this in a cartoon entitled "The thicker the worker, the thinner the lender." The composer and his works were getting heavier, while Ludwig Strecker, who then owned the London-based music publishing house, was taking the financial risks.

"Per mare et terras" (By sea and by land) was Schott's motto, a reference to the internationalization of the publishing house in 1885. Schott not only brought the music of German composers abroad, but also later released non-European rarities, music that was traditionally not written down, on CD.

In 1840 Schott opened offices in Sydney and Melbourne. The Wurnuga Waltz is one of the few Schott-Sydney publications. Wurnuga means "Pardon" in the Aboriginal language. The publisher is still working today to bring traditional and classical music from other cultures to Germany, such as the works of Asian composers, which can hardly be found on the concert programs of western countries.

Schott publisher always aimed to take good care of its contemporary composers. That was difficult under the Nazis. While the company attempted to support composers who had been banned and had fled into exile, but Schott also published a soldiers' song book for the Nazis. "A low point in the history of the publishing house," state the Schott chronicles.

Economic crises or wars led to major slumps for the publisher. In times of crisis, like now during the coronavirus pandemic, buying sheet music is not a priority for many people. During the Second World War, the publishing house in Mainz was destroyed down to the first floor. You can still see the traces of the bombs on the floorboards of the restored building.

Condemned for his "degenerate music," Paul Hindemith had to flee Nazi Germany, just like many Jewish composers. The company's current publishing director, Peter Hanser-Strecker, used funds from the foundation of his grandmother, Maria Strecker-Daelen, to reissue scores from these composers. "It was an attempt to make up for this terrible injustice," he says.

Peter Hanser-Strecker not only pushed the publisher forward musically, but also technically, from offset printing to digital typesetting. Digital formats were also developed by the end of the 1980s. Schott also claims to be the first music publisher with a web shop.

Printing musical scores is not a problem for a publisher. It is more difficult to transfer the composer's handwriting into a digital file. Beethoven's handwriting (photo) was particularly difficult to read, but that remains a challenge to this day: 90% of Schott's composers still write their works by hand. Even large-format operas are noted in this way.

Up until 2014, the musical treasures of the past were stored in the basement of the publishing house in Mainz. When Schott started auctioning off valuable works in London, Germany listed the publications as invaluable cultural assets. The publisher ultimately sold the works to Germany's state cultural foundations. With the money, the Strecker Foundation supports music education today.