Searching the Catalogue

Can't find what you need above?

Try searching our Catalogue. Below you'll find some tips for searching for classical music.

If you know parts of the title and the composer...

The best way is to select the Advanced button on the left hand side of the main catalogue screen, enter the composer's name under 'Author or Name', type what you know of the title and format in the 'Keywords' option; then Click Search.

E.g. Puccini, Tosca

Works with a "title" e.g. Carmen...

Use the 'Title browse', or 'Title keyword' options.

Note: Ignore articles in all language including English, e.g. The, Die, Le, La etc.

Need more help?

You can find more detailed help on how to search for classical music on our Classical Music Search Tips page.

Shelf Help: Scores

Useful Websites & Online Databases

• BBC Proms Archive
  Lists "performances, composers, works, soloists, conductors and ensembles in its 115-year history" (see BBC article here). Browse the archive, create your own lists, and contribute your thoughts and memories.
• Classical Music at the British Sound Archive
  Explore 1,200 historical performances of works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms dating from 1915 to 1958. The vast majority of these recordings are now out of print, making this a vital resource for understanding Western classical music heritage. The broad scope of recordings in the Classical Music section allows listeners to compare performance styles from the USA to Denmark to Russia.
• NAXOS classical music
  Now free online to Wellington library members. Just enter your library card details to listen to 276,000 tracks of streamed music from the NAXOS, BIS, Chandos, CPO, Hanssler, Hungaroton, and Marco Polo labels, with 500 new CDs added each month. Includes over 100 New Zealand CDs!
• MusicAustralia
  A new online service to help you find, access and navigate a rich store of information on Australian music, musicians, organisations and services from a single access point. Drawing on the extensive bibliographic resources contained in the National Bibliographic Database (NBD), and a new database on Australian music and music organisations, MusicAustralia delivers information on about 130,000 music items. Browse topical themes such as sport or war songs.
• The Lied and Art Song Texts Page
  This is an archive of texts to lieder and other art songs. There are composer and poet indexes plus a word search function if the title of the song has escaped you. plus links to translation guides.
• Music Hire Service
  Orchestral, choral and band sets and orchestral parts that are available to be hired from the National Library.
• British Library Music collections
  A premier music library's collections and resources. Take a look at their catalogues or online exhibitions. Try their Mozart's thematic catalogue from February 1784 until December 1791 (the last 7 years of his life).
• www.sounz.org.nz
  Centre for New Zealand music : developing and fostering New Zealand music, its creation, performance, publication, recording and broadcast by working with and on behalf of NZ composers.
• MyGateway Music Page
  Search across thousands of articles on a range of music-related topics and browse online magazines at our MyGateway Music Page.

Orchestral news and links to the key world orchestras, including our own Vector Wellington Orchestra and NZSO.

Contact us

This page is written and maintained by Bridget. My aim is to keep you informed about the classical music and scores section of the library and to highlight parts of the collection which may interest you. Comments and suggestions about this page or the classical music collection are welcomed to Bridget.