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Federica Rusconi Castellani
+41 21 316 78 64

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Overview

Over 124,000 documents (printed, audio and multimedia) in the musical field are available to you in the open shelves section and in the stacks.

Databases, e-books, notation software and a piano complete the offering. Although the core of the collection is classical music, jazz and current music are also well represented.

The Sound Archive and Musicology and Printed Music Department are responsible for a varied musical collection of interest to both specialists and the general public. It is a source of both learning and entertainment, with something to satisfy the thirst for knowledge of all music lovers.

The Musical archives department completes the music hub and is available for viewing and studying manuscripts, photos and other treasures.

The main focus of the collection is classical music from all eras. We also offer numerous interpretations of the same work (on CD, vinyl records and DVD). At the same time, we are developing a jazz and current music, French chanson, world music and film music collection. Works to educate children and young people about music complete the offering.

As part of our heritage responsibilities, the musical sections take an exhaustive approach to acquiring documents from musicians, publishers and labels based in Vaud, for all musical genres.

Help us to enhance the collection by telling us about your publications and productions.

Other resources include our musicians files and Vaud musical ensembles, as well as the Audio heritage page.

CDs, vinyl records, DVDs, books, scores, specialized magazines and databases. This extensive collection encourages you to discover music from a range of complementary perspectives: studying, playing and listening.

A digital piano is available for examining a piece in detail, studying or simply playing. We offer free access to Sibelius and Finale software to familiarise you with composition and editing scores.

Most remote resources (databases, journals and e-books) are available on-site under licence. They are accessible on the public computers in our various areas. Members of the university community in Lausanne can access these resources by logging in from home.

Scores are acquired in several kinds of musical presentation to respond to different uses, such as reading, studying or performance.

The musical collections are available at the Riponne site and can be found in both the open shelves and in the stacks. To access the entire physical and digital collection, use the Renouvaud catalogue.

The most recent open shelves acquisitions can be found in various areas:

  • Agora: CDs, vinyl records and new acquisitions
  • Hall d’entrée and Salle de la Madeleine: music journals
  • Galerie Madeleine: books, scores and DVDs of classical music
  • Salle de la Cathédrale: jazz and current music collection, piano and musical notation software

Documents are classified by topic, type of ensemble or the name of the musicians. You can also read items that interest you, look for a document listed in the catalogue or get an idea of a piece of music by listening to it on our equipment or playing it on the piano.

You may also like to read the accompanying sleeve notes, which are an important source of information for musicians and works.

Musical documents are listed in the Renouvaud catalogue.

  • Choose the “physical resources” tab if you want to limit your search to documents in the library.
  • Launch a simple search and then use the filters to the left of the screen to select the type of document.
  • To search for a CD or score with a specific title, enter your search terms in their original language.
    For example: mozart zauberflöte (not ‘magic flute’), schubert schöne müllerin, brassens amours antan
  • To search for a CD or score with a generic title, enter the term in French and in the plural, followed by other key words. If you want to combine the search with the instrumentation used in the work, enter the instruments for the original version. The search results will give you access to the original works and to adaptations and reductions.
    For example: mozart masses 427, beethoven sonatas violin piano, rachmaninov concertos piano orchestra
  • If you are looking for an adaptation or reduction of a work, add the word “adaptation” or “reduction” to the search terms. Enter the instruments used in the original version. For example: rossini barbiere reduction, mozart wolfgang concertos violin orchestra reduction
  • To search for discs of world music, we offer access by country

Highlights

Violin concertos

Romberg, Andreas Jakob Discover

Thematic selections