Contemporary Music

Schott established life-long working relationships with Paul Hindemith and Carl Orff, and this commitment between composer and publisher has defined the character of the catalogue, involving some of the greatest composers of their time.  Hans Werner Henze,  for example, joined Schott at the age of twenty,  his considerable oeuvre being published exclusively by them for over 55 years.  Michael Tippett’s life-long relationship with Schott began in March 1939 when Willy Strecker visited London for the first (concert) performance in England of Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler.  Shortly after war had been declared, he heard through their London office that Schott would like to publish his Concerto for Double String Orchestra and an early Piano Sonata.  “Being a born internationalist I thoroughly enjoyed this outcome and thought it a good omen."  György Ligeti, Krzysztof Penderecki, Alexander Goehr and Aribert Reimann have all been published exclusively by Schott for more than thirty years.

This close collaboratioon continues to support the work of many distinguished composers, from Henri Dutilleux to Mark-Anthony Turnage.  Peter Eötvös recently joined Schott, and we are delighted to have signed several young composers during the last years: Chaya Czernowin, Joe Duddell, Kenneth Hesketh, Christian Jost, Tatjana Komarova, Olli Mustonen, Benjamin Schweitzer, Jörg Widmann and recenty Thomas Larcher, Huw Watkins, Richard Ayres and Fazil Say. Prestigeous composers such as Tobias Picker and Joseph Schwantner signed exclusive contracts with Schott Music Corp. New York.

See our  Featured Composers section for more detailed information about our contemporary composers.