Online Archive Lets You to Listen and Download 400,000+ Free Classical Musical Scores

Today, many cultural institutions have turned to free online resources in order to engage with the public and excite new audiences. Led by world-renowned museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as archives like the Library of Congress, this phenomenon typically offers reproductions of tangible works of art and two-dimensional documents to the public. However, some online organizations have extended this idea to include free models, movies, and—thanks to the International Music Score Library Project—classical music.

Since 2006, the International Music Score Library Project has been dedicated to “sharing the world’s public domain music.” With over 120,000 works, 404,00 scores, and 46,000 recordings by 15,404 composers—including classical greats like Ludwig Van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as more obscure  figures—and 445 performers, it boasts a comprehensive collection of classical music.

To use the free resource, users are simply prompted to search for the title of a piece or the name of a composer. Once a specific piece has been selected, the user is brought to a webpage that allows him or her to listen to it online or download it. Offering everything from scores and parts to general information and even sheet music, each page provides a thorough listening experience for music experts and novices alike.

If this free resource sounds like music to your ears, you can head over to the International Music Score Library Project's website to start listening.

Through its website, the International Music Score Library Project allows you to download free classical music and listen to free classical music online.

Among its most popular pieces are works by classical music greats like Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart.

Download Free Classical Music Online International Music Score Library Project

Ludwig Van Beethoven, portrait by J. Stieler, 1819
Photo: By Everett Historical / Shutterstock

Download Free Classical Music Online International Music Score Library Project

Johann Sebastian Bach portrait by Elias Gottlieb Haussmann, circa 1746.
Photo: Everett Historical / Shutterstock

Download Free Classical Music Online International Music Score Library Project

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Photo: Everett Historical / Shutterstock

International Music Score Library Project: Website | Facebook
h/t: [Open Culture]

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Kelly Richman-Abdou

Kelly Richman-Abdou is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. An art historian living in Paris, Kelly was born and raised in San Francisco and holds a BA in Art History from the University of San Francisco and an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University. When she’s not writing, you can find Kelly wandering around Paris, whether she’s leading a tour (as a guide, she has been interviewed by BBC World News America and France 24) or simply taking a stroll with her husband and two tiny daughters.
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