Welcome to the website of the Netherlands Radio Music Library

Introduction

The classical music collection (approximately 350,000 works) represents every conceivable genre in the history of Western music from the Middle Ages to the present.

The light music collections (approximately 200,000 works) consists primarily of modern songbooks enhanced by early 20th century entertainment arrangements.

One of the unusual features of the Music Library’s impressive light music collection consists of 180,000 hand-written arrangements created for the Metropole Orchestra and its many predecessors. The early radio and television tunes are of particular interest.

A comprehensive collection of research texts and periodicals are readily available at the Music Library.

Within the scope of the project Muziekschatten bij het MCO the music library will be digitizing a selection of approximately 6000 musical works in varying genres (classical choral works, light music/salon music, tunes/jingles, arrangements for light orchestras, popular songs). By 2011 this digital sheet music will be available to the public in PDF-format.
For more information about this project Muziekschatten (Musical treasures) please read this (in Dutch; English version will follow).