N. Simrock (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Musikverlag N. Simrock, Simrock Verlag, or simply Simrock) was a German music publisher founded by Nikolaus Simrock which published many 19th-century German

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

composers. It was acquired in 1929 by Anton Benjamin. The firm was founded in 1793 by Nikolaus Simrock in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. Simrock had been a close friend to Beethoven his whole life. It was expanded by his son Peter Joseph in the 19th century, and in 1870 moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

by the latter's son

Fritz Fritz is a common German language, German male name. The name originated as a German diminutive of Friedrich (given name), Friedrich or Frederick (given name), Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Fred ...

. His nephew Hans Simrock later ran the company, and in 1907 acquired another music publisher, Bartholf Senff of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. Otto Biba, "Die Simrocks—Verleger für Beethoven wie für Brahms", in ''Johannes Brahms und Bonn'', ed. Martella Gutiérrez-Denhoff, Bonn: Stadt Bonn, Beethoven-Haus, 1997,
p. 89
In 1911 the company merged with Albert Ahn's publishing house to form Ahn & Simrock, headquartered in Bonn and Berlin, but later separated from it. In 1929 it was sold to the Leipzig publisher Anton J. Benjamin,

Ludwig Finscher Ludwig Finscher (14 March 193030 June 2020) was a German musicologist. He was a professor of music history at the University of Heidelberg from 1981 to 1995 and editor of the encyclopedia '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. He is respect ...

and

Friedrich Blume Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the last ...

, ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik'', Part 2, Volume 15, Kassel:

Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it ...

, 2006,
p. 837
which was re-established in 1951 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and acquired by

Boosey & Hawkes Boosey & Hawkes is a British Music publisher (sheet music), music publisher, purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass instrument, brass, string instru ...

in 2002. Many of the company's archives and plates were lost in the Second World War and had to be reconstructed by reproducing old editions. The remaining archives were mostly held in what is now the Saxon State Archive in Leipzig, but some material was dispersed in the 1990s and early 2000s. The company was the first publisher of the music of a veritable "Who's Who" of classical music composers, including

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

(what must have been a hand-written copy of ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

''),

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

(13 first editions),

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

(including his Third Symphony),

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

,Brahms' letters to Fritz Simrock were published in 1917–19; Peter Schmitz, ''Johannes Brahms und der Leipziger Musikverlag Breitkopf & Härtel'', Abhandlungen zur Musikgeschichte 20, Göttingen: V & R, 2009,
p. 21 and note 23

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

(such as his oratorios ''

Elias Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradit ...

'' and '' Paulus''),

Max Bruch Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...

(including his Violin Concerto No. 1),

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

, and Josef Suk.

Notes

References

* * ''Musikverlag Simrock: Eine Auswahl der besten Werke''. Catalogue. Berlin/Leipzig: N. Simrock Verlag,

913 __NOTOC__ Year 913 ( CMXIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * June 6 – Emperor Alexander III dies of exhaustion while playing the game '' tzykanion'' (Byzantine n ...

* Sieghard Brandenburg. "Die Gründungsjahre des Verlags N. Simrock in Bonn". ''Bonner Geschichtsblätter 29 (1977) 28–36 * {{Authority control Music publishing companies of Germany German companies established in 1793 Publishing companies established in 1793 1929 disestablishments in Germany German companies established in 1951 1951 establishments in West Germany German companies disestablished in 2002 Mass media in Hamburg