 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2014-12-17 07:35
Where would be my best bet at purchasing the Finzi Clarinet Concerto? I looked at sheetmusicplus, but its reviews are pretty "sketchy". Please help! Thanks in advance
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2014-12-17 07:48
Trust worthy webstore? Would that be better than Boosey & Hawkes?
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Author: GBK
Date: 2014-12-17 07:53
Gary van Cott is a long time woodwind.org sponsor with thousands of customers world wide. You can't do better.
...GBK
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Author: Exiawolf
Date: 2014-12-17 07:54
Alrighty, thanks! Just put in my order. Eagerly anticipating its arrival...
Post Edited (2014-12-17 08:12)
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2014-12-18 19:09
About a year ago, I ordered something from Eble Music and was very impressed with their excellent customer service. The company was sold last spring to Groth Music of Minnesota, but Groth has continued to maintain the Eble website.
https://www.eble.com/store/
I just looked at their site, and the Finzi concerto is listed.
Post Edited (2014-12-18 19:18)
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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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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2014-12-19 02:45
Annette at Luyben Music goes out of her way to stock unusual titles. That's what I love about their inventory. They carry all the regular stuff and often have some pretty neat off-the-wall music as well. She told me once that she used to go to clarinetfest and buy several copies of the pieces premiered there, particular the entries to the composition competition. Not sure if she still does that. But everything Jack said about their pricing online is absolutely spot on - their website is often out-of-date on the prices and it can be quite frustrating to deal with that. To be honest, the best way to experience Luyben's is to go to their shop in Kansas City if you ever get out that way. Their clarinet music stacks are HUGE and you're bound to find something of interest. It won't be a waste of your time!
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2014-12-19 04:02
JNk, I'm not sure about your Boosey comments as they have a base in NYC, dont they????
Peter Cigleris
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2014-12-19 04:59
Peter,
They do have offices in New York and an associated website:
https://www.boosey.com/pages/aboutus/bh_departments.asp?loc=USA
I know they have a rental library in New York but they don't appear to sell music there -- at least not to individuals though perhaps they do distribute music to retailers. I believe they closed their brick and mortar store some years ago. The link for online ordering is to "the shop at Boosey.com" -- apparently in the UK. My guess is that they don't want to compete directly with their retailers in the U.S., undercutting their prices.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: claaaaaarinet!!!!
Date: 2014-12-22 05:39
Boosey, like so many others these days, is distributed in the United States exclusively by Hal Leonard. As Jack says, Boosey handles their own rental library and licensing issues, but everything else goes through Hal Leonard, even for retailers. It's a good arrangement for the most part, and definitely an improvement on the days when Boosey used to handle US distribution themselves. My only complaint is that Boosey has really increased their prices in US dollars in recent years.
Jack, I enjoyed reading your take on the various clarinet-centric print music retailers out there. I think you hit the main ones, and they're all good. Vandoren in Paris might be another one. I have dealt with them a couple of times. Jean-Marie Paul has amassed a huge library of clarinet and sax music, and I think for French music they are unsurpassed.
Since it came up, I thought I would add a few words about Eble. As noted above, it was acquired in May 2014, relocated from Iowa City (it had previously been near the University of Iowa) to Bloomington, MN, and is now owned and operated as a subset of Groth Music. I was directly involved with the Eble acquisition from the Groth end of things, and I now manage Eble's website and call-in business on a day-to-day basis. I have a DMA in clarinet, and I assure you that my staff and I are eager to maintain Eble's high standard of service, particularly when it comes to clarinet music and woodwind music in general. I was an Eble customer myself for many years, and I fully appreciate the big shoes that we have to fill. We have been investing substantially in woodwind inventory since the closing, and a very high percentage of clarinet orders are now shipping the same day that they are placed. If you have a particularly challenging clarinet-related question, you are welcome to send it to me directly and I will do my best to help.
Jeanne Inc., incidentally, is owned by Valerie and John Anderson, John being retired professor of clarinet from the University of MN. He advised me on my doctoral thesis. He is a great resource, having edited or arranged most Jeanne publications himself. We (Eble) stock quite a few of his clarinet and saxophone publications.
Dan Friberg
dfriberg@grothmusic.com or orders@eble.com
952-948-5226
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2014-12-24 09:15
Thanks for your corrections and clarifications, Dan. Big oops on my part putting Eble Music in Indiana instead of Iowa. I know better. One of my teachers studied at Iowa with Mr. Voxman and she's the one who introduced me to Eble years ago. Just had a brain cramp.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2014-12-24 17:58
Dan, thanks for letting us know what's going on with Eble and Groth. It sounds like Eble is in good hands, and I'd like to wish you much success!
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2014-12-25 01:05
This is a stupid thread because most young people expect stuff to be free nowadays.
The Finzi is a major work in our literature, under copyright, published by B&H, readily available, and worth paying for. It should be in all our personal libraries.
A quick GOOGLE search would reveal its accessibility.
It is unfortunate that people think that everything has to be FREE before they pony up the pittance that is required to keep our industry in good health.
Here is what a simple GOOGLE search turned up:
https://www.google.com/#q=purchasing+finzi+concerto+sheet+music
DRG
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