• Joy of Music – Over 250 years of quality, innovation, and tradition

Blog

12 Japanese Songs

Cover of 12 Japanese Songs by Hosokawa from Edition Schott, featuring a minimalist grey and white design with bilingual text, a small guitar illustration, yellow accent line, and Schott logo.

Arranged for solo guitar by Toshio Hosokawa, this collection of Japanese songs was created for guitarist Jacob Kellermann, who also gave the world premiere in Sweden (2023). The work brings together twelve well-known Japanese melodies, presented as a seasonal cycle inspired by the twelve months of the year.

Read more

Work of the Week – Anthony Davis: Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote

Mixtec-style illustration: Pancho Rabbit and a smiling coyote stand in a desert before a monumental wall with pre-Columbian reliefs. A glowing path leads to a vertical gap in the wall where the sun rises, casting golden light across the orange sky.

Anthony Davis's chamber opera Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote is a binational commission exploring the migrant experience at the U.S.-Mexico border. Based on Duncan Tonatiuh’s award-winning children's book, the opera uses a bilingual animal fable to make themes of hope, exploitation, and family unity musically tangible. The production blends jazz, classical, and Mexican folklore into a contemporary "Animal Farm".

Read more

Grade by Grade: Viola - Grades 1 - 5

Covers of Grade by Grade Viola Books 1 to 5, published by Boosey & Hawkes. Each book features a stylised purple viola illustration on a pale background, numbered by grade, arranged in a row against a soft green backdrop.

Grade by Grade: Viola is a comprehensive repertoire resource for viola players, drawing on the Boosey & Hawkes catalogue of classical, contemporary and educational music. Carefully selected by Liz Partridge, the collection is suitable for players from Grades 1 to 5 and is complemented by online performance demonstrations and piano accompaniment tracks. It offers a well-rounded resource for teaching, exam preparation and performance.

Read more

Work of the Week – Hans Werner Henze: Fantasia for Strings

Black and white portrait of young Hans Werner Henze in a light shirt. Standing before tall reeds, sunlight casts shadows of the grass onto his face.

In 2026, we will celebrate the 100th birthday of composer Hans Werner Henze. His well-known Fantasia for Strings is based on a film score he wrote in 1966. Henze composed music for director Volker Schlöndorff that brings to life the depths of the story of Der junge Törless (Young Törless). Henze was a visionary, conductor and cosmopolitan – an artist whose influence extended far beyond his musical scores. To mark the start of the anniversary celebrations in January, Camerata Bern will be performing Fantasia for Strings in its concerts.

Read more

Christmas Carols for Choir – A Comprehensive Overview with Recommendations from the Schott Repertoire

Close-up of a decorated Christmas tree with red and gold baubles, warm lights in a blurred background.

Christmas is one of the most important times of the year for choirs, and hardly any other repertoire offers as much variety as Christmas carols for choirs. Whether you are a mixed choir, children's choir, youth choir, church choir or a contemporary emsemble, there is a wide selection of suitable pieces to choose from.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of Christmas carols for choirs, based on the publications of Schott Music, and can help you quickly find suitable pieces for your Christmas programme.

Read more

Music Gifts for Christmas 2025: The Best Gift Ideas for Musicians and Music Lovers

A red giftbox sits upon the keys of a piano, including a few decorative baubles with different textures alongside a spruce branch for the Christmas aesthetic.

Festive lights are lighting up all over the world, and the countdown to Christmas has begun. If you’re looking for music gifts for Christmas in 2025, whether it's for a musician, music student, film fan, or someone who simply loves music, take a look at our selection to help you find the perfect present.

From diaries and notebooks to jewellery, sheet music, choral collections and official film scores, our guide features some of the best musical gift ideas for the music lover in your life this festive season.

Read more