Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2014-12-19 00:18
This question is now moot since Quinton has already placed an order with Gary Van Cott. But a few additional comments from someone who has purchase a lot of music.
Gary Van Cott is always the first place I look. He gives, bar none, the best service I have ever seen. He keeps his catalog up-to-date and, in the one or two extremely rare instances where I ordered something that had gone out-of-stock, he has always e-mailed me immediately (within an hour or two of my order, even on weekends!) to tell me when he would have it again. If he has the item in stock, he almost always ships the same day for early orders or the next working day for late or weekend orders. In my experience, because of shipping costs, his "media mail" shipping has frequently turned out to be first class mail. Apparently that's fast between Las Vegas and St. Louis because I almost always have the music within two or three days of placing an order. With media shipping, the Finzi should have cost around $35 and probably would have been received within a few days of the order.
Sheet Music Plus is a very reliable source as long as they have the music in stock and a reliable (though sometimes slow, in my experience) source if music is in print but not in stock. They are a very large operation and, in my experience, their catalog is not always up-to-date. Additionally, it includes items that they do not stock. You can sort of tell whether they think an item is in-stock by their estimate of when it "usually" leaves their warehouse, "within 24 hours," (my guess: normally stocked and readily available), "3 to 5 days" (my guess: normally stocked by stored remotely because not a frequent seller, could also mean not normally stocked but quickly available from a distributor), "1 to 2 weeks," "2 to 3 weeks," (my guess: a special order that will take some time to fill, perhaps from a smaller publisher or a large publisher who will print on demand). Even longer times suggest (to me) a special order perhaps from a small overseas publisher and possibly an item whose availability is questionable. In my experience, the SM+ catalog has continued to include items long after they have become unavailable. A personal experience: I once ordered the clarinet part to Takemitsu's "Fantasma Cantos" from their catalog. After 30 days, SM+ emailed me to tell me that they had still not been able to obtain it and to ask if I wanted them to cancel the order. I was not in a hurry and hadn't seen the item anywhere else so I told them to keep the order open. Eventually, after 3 or 4 months (and perhaps with one or two more update e-mails -- it's so long ago, I've forgotten), they told me they were cancelling my order because they had been unable to obtain the item. On the positive side, as I recall, they did not charge my credit card during this period. On the negative side, since the work was published by Schott, they should have known within a few days of my order, that the item was no longer available (but perhaps they were working through a (n unreliable?) distributor. Also, some months after they had cancelled my order, the item was still listed in their online catalog. I've only had this problem with SM+ twice and, in both cases, I couldn't find the music anywhere else. On the other hand, I have never had a problem with music that "usually leaves the warehouse" in 24 hours or 3-5 days and I've had many good experiences with longer lead times when SM+ was the only place I could find the music.
SM+ frequently has music, particularly by major publishers on sale. A case in point is the Finzi Concerto. It happens that SM+ is currently running a 20%-off sale on Boosey and Hawkes. Had Quentin ordered from SM+, with the cheapest (budget) shipping, the concerto could have cost about $28 and been received within one to two weeks. For $29, the item would probably have been received within 3 to 5 days.
Peter, I have occasionally purchased directly from overseas publishers and music sellers (such as June Emerson). Sometimes the music isn't available except through special order on this side of the pond. In those cases ordering direct can save time and money. Sometimes, the music is just much lower-priced in Europe. (e.g., for some odd reason, when I bought it, the Rietz Concerto listed for around $45 plus shipping in the U.S. In Europe, it was $28 just about everywhere. Even after the higher shipping costs, it was still a lot cheaper to order from Europe.) Such a large disparity is unusual, however, and the increased shipping costs usually eat up most, if not all, of the difference in list price. And the wait can be quite long. At Boosey and Hawkes, the Finzi Concerto lists for about $19 (U.S.) but the lowest cost shipping to the U.S. would add about $11 for a total of about $30. Based on my experience, I would be surprised if the item arrived in less than 2 weeks.
Before the internet, Eble Music was the place to go for sheet music in the U.S. They had experts in every department (often students from Indiana University which is, or at least was in those days, just across the street). When you called, you talked with someone who knew what you were looking for and who could give recommendations about different editions. They had an enormous stock and would special-order anything. They were magicians when it came to finding obscure or even out-of-print music. If Eble couldn't find something, odds were that nobody could. But they were very slow to develop an online presence. And, while it is much better now, their early website wasn't very good. Because of their lack of an internet presence and the fact that I could usually find what I was looking for somewhere online, I haven't dealt with them in years. I wonder what they are like under their new ownership and whether they are still as good at special orders as they used to be. Probably worth a call. From what I can tell, their prices are pretty standard.
I think a couple of other sources worth checking in the U.S. are Luyben Music and Jeanné. Luyben has a large online catalog of clarinet music. But the catalog is not always up-to-date, particularly where pricing is concerned. I've gotten an unpleasant surprise on more than one occasion so I've learned to call and place orders on the phone, rather than online, and to check prices before I order. They are knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant to talk with. They will take special orders and search for music they don't normally stock. They provide good service. In the past, they have often had a booth at Clarinetfest.
As I recall, Jeanné is a clarinetist and the company specializes in woodwind music. While the general inventory and prices seem pretty standard to me, what sets this source apart is the music they publish. IMO, it's worth a browse if you're looking for something unusual for a recital. Some good duets available there, too.
Best regards,
jnk
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