IMPORTANT NOTICE!
Recordings of the International Library of Piano Music on CD is no longer available.
Since their creation the music business has changed and few people want CD's any longer. Demand for my services as a freelance web developer using Ruby on Rails has increased to where it is hard to find the time to burn 16 CD's individually when an order does come in.
I may decide to try to make the Recordings available in some other forms, such as MP3's or iTunes. What do you think? Would you be interested in buying individual pieces from one of these sources? Or is only the entire collection of interest?
Perhaps you would like to purchase the rights to this collection and make it available to the public, on CD or otherwise. It is for sale; please write me with your offer. You would receive the raw and processed sound files, the artwork for the song lists and the LightScribe images, and this web site and domain, plus some miscellaneous materials I have from the original publisher.
--Scott
solmsted@gmail.com
June 15, 2012
Now on CD!
The Recordings of
The International Library of Piano Music
UNAVAILABLE for years...
The Recordings of The International Library of Piano Music
is back! ... Digitally remastered for excellent sound quality
460 tracks...
Almost 20 hours of classical piano music!
Keep reading to learn how I found this long-lost treasure and restored
it to the gem that it is ...
And how you can get your copy.
July 11, 2010
Dear Friend:
To start at the beginning, I began my piano lessons at age 49 (pretty gutsy, huh?), and my teacher often brought to my lessons a volume from the International Library of Piano Music for me to play from. Her enthusiasm for this collection got me thinking that I should own a set myself, so I bought a set in an eBay auction. Then I waited for a set of the LP's to come up for auction and I bought them too. By the way, the LP's don't come up for auction very often, and the tapes almost never do.
Soon I discovered a drawback to listening to these pieces on LP's: I could not listen at the piano, which is nowhere near my audio system. I thought, "Wouldn't it be great to have them on CD so I could listen on a portable CD player?" That's when it dawned on me--if I wanted them on CD, perhaps others did too, not only for listening at the piano, but just for listening! There's a lot of great music here!
So I tracked down the owners of the International Library of Piano Music and, believe me, it wasn't easy. The publishers, University Society, Inc., went out of business more than twenty years ago and the original owners are dead. It took months of effort to make this project happen.
They now sound better than they ever did
As an engineer I knew that the right equipment would be needed to produce a quality result, so I made sure that no shortcuts were taken while digitally re-mastering the recordings. In addition to using high-end equipment to capture the sound from the original records, a sophisticated sound processing program was used to remove the remaining hiss, rumble, and almost all trace of the pops and clicks that are inevitable with LP's.
By removing this noise from the LP's, the resulting quality of sound is actually better than the original. I must note, however, that in a very few cases the original recording is less than perfect. The recordings were made by many artists in different settings, and a very few had slight problems with distortion or a somewhat less than perfect acoustic environment. These probably amount to no more than fifteen or twenty minutes out of almost twenty hours. Even so, they are perfectly adequate for giving a student the "feel" of a piece--and they're still a pleasure to listen to.
I am very pleased with the quality. You did a great job.
As an erstwhile pianist I know the value of being able to study a piece
while listening to it. The audio quality of the CD's is very good, but
even more so the performances of the pianists is surprising.
The availability of your recordings was a deciding factor in purchasing the
print edition.
Dennis, Roanoke, Texas
460 tracks -- almost 20 hours of piano music
The International Library of Piano Music Recordings on CD is a set of 16 CD's containing almost 20 hours of piano music in 460 tracks:
- 3 CD's of Baroque Piano
- 5 CD's of Classical Piano
- 6 CD's of Romantic Piano
- 2 CD's of Impressionist and Twentieth Century Piano
Within each era the pieces are arranged by composer and ordered as they are in the Table of Contents of the International Library of Piano Music. Included is a large, easy-to-read 8-page booklet containing the contents of every CD, and a one-page foldable version that fits inside the cover of the CD wallet that is also included.
Would you like to see the entire list of tracks that are included in Recordings of the International Library of Piano Music on CD ?
Then click here to open a PDF file of the song list that will be shipped to you with the CD's: Complete List of Pieces.
You may find yourself just listening
You can find any piece you want to hear quickly and easily. Or you can just put on each CD for 60 to 80 minutes of wonderful piano music. The other day I found myself listening to all the music of Beethoven (which fills two CD's) while following along in Volume 2 of the International Library of Piano Music and wondering if I will be able to play this music some day (I keep taking lessons and practicing!). So if you need some inspiration to continue your efforts with the piano, this could be it!
I have had the set of books since I was 12yrs. old and I was taught from them.
I am now 37 yrs. old and have a daughter who has been taking piano for 4 yrs.
I was so thrilled to find the albums on CD. Thank you so much!
Kelly
No worries, mate !
This set is offered with a CD replacement guarantee --should any disk prove defective or become unusable for any reason, simply return it and receive a replacement. No worries about losing part of your collection forever because the dog chewed up one of the CD's.
Listen to a sample right now
Still not sure if this collection is for you? Then download the samples below and hear for yourself what the collection sounds like!
To download samples...
Each link below opens an MP3 version of a piece from the collection. Click to hear each, or Windows users: right click to save to your hard drive.
Moussorgsky-Pictures at an Exhibition - Promenade (438KB)
Byrd-A Gigg (614KB)
Durand-Chaconne in A minor, Op. 62 (3.5MB)
Scores sold...
I just love this collection and I know you will too. I have sold dozens of this specialty item right from this simple web site. You can purchase Recordings of the International Library of Piano Music on CD right now for only $139.95 plus $8.00 shipping (via Priority Mail) (sales tax applies in California). With my money-back guarantee, there's no risk, so what are you waiting for?
Yours Sincerely,
P.S. Have a question? Unsure if this offer is still available?
No problem! Contact me at
solmsted@gmail.com
.
The recordings are very good -- clear with no hiss, pops or other distractions.
You did a good job digitizing the original LP's.
Edward, Johnson City, Tennessee
Wow! I got it today and I must say I am impressed. The case is nice and
everything is nicely and professionally done.
Kimberly, Fort Worth, Texas
I was excited recently to locate and be able to purchase a set of the
'International Library of Piano Music'. I was even more excited when the
same internet search revealed that CD recordings of this library of music had
been digitally reproduced and available from Scott. I immediately placed
the order for the recordings and anxiously awaited the shipment to arrive.
All my recent excitement was immediately complemented with overwhelming amazement
and satisfaction when I opened my shipment and began listening to the CDs.
I found Scott's CD recordings, production labeling, table of contents and even
the beautiful zippered CD wallet to be of the finest quality. I now have a
complete collection with which I never want to part.
Danny, Knoxville, Tennessee
I have been enjoying my CDs so much I ordered another set for a friend -
thanks for the great product! You'll probably be getting more orders from me
in the future.
Goran , Houston, Texas
My sister just sent me your web-page advertising the digitizing of The International Library of Piano Music. Being a contemporary of yours I can relate to this marvelous collection as my siblings and I were fortunate enough in our childhood to have taken many years of piano lessons.
We were also original owners of the complete collection... books, LP's and all. In time my family moved overseas and our collection ended up staying overseas when they returned to the U.S.
My mother, nearing 80, especially enjoyed listening, so you can imagine our excitement when we found your website! This gift will be cherished once again for many years to come.
Thank you, Scott, for expending your energies to resurrect this gem.
Joe, Vedra Beach, Florida
Some of the performers on the CD's:
Images from marketing materials for the ILPM in the mid-1970's:
