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Johannes Brahms: A Guide to Primary and Secondary Resources at the Library of Congress

Published Music

The Music Division holds both modern and early editions of Brahms's music. Because printed editions of the composer's music are both plentiful and easy to find using the Library of Congress Online Catalog, this page highlights 19th-century editions that have been digitized and made available through the Library's Digital Collections, early printed editions that are both rare and difficult to locate, critical editions of Brahms's music, and facsimile reproductions of the composer's manuscripts held by other institutions.

Some late 19th-century published editions and arrangements for piano of Brahms's music have been digitized. as part of the digital collections, Music for the Nation: American Sheet Music, Ca. 1870 to 1885 and The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America. View and download them on the Library's website by searching "Johannes Brahms sheet music" and limiting results to "notated music."

The Music Division holds first and early editions for many of Brahms's works. In the 1890s, initial printings of the composer's works were submitted to the Library for copyright registration. Pre-publication copies sometimes include differences from the official first editions. These pre-publication editions may be distinguished by the presence of copyright registration stamps on the physical score.

Find many of these first and early editions—but not all—under the call number M3.3 in the Library of Congress Classification Schedule. Many more first and early editions of Brahms's works can be found under the call number for a specific musical genre within the Classification Schedule.

Search for these first and early editions by title in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.

In 1996, the music publisher Henle Verlag began work on the Johannes Brahms Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke, edited by the Johannes Brahms Gesamtausgabe in Munich and in cooperation with the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. This new historical and critical edition of Brahms' complete music works is projected to reach 68 volumes in 10 series. As of March 2021, 31 volumes have been published.

The Neue Ausgabe replaces a previous critical edition published in 1926-1927 under the title Johannes Brahms: Sämtliche Werke. The Sämtliche Werke​ consists of 26 volumes and was edited by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna and published by Breitkopf & Härtel.

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available. Request and view volumes of both critical editions in the Performing Arts Reading Room.

The Music Division holds facsimile reproductions for several Brahms manuscripts held by other institutions, such as:

In his lifetime, Brahms edited published works by many composers, including Frédéric Chopin, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann. Some of these editions are listed below. When possible, the following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.