The Frankfurt Musikmesse has been taking place for almost four decades and remains to this day, despite the emergence of new centres of attraction, one of the most important places on the map of the international music market for musical instruments, sheet music, music production and marketing. After a five-year break, Music Information Centre Lithuania is returning to this fair and together with its partner, the Lithuanian Composers’ Union, intends to present more than 100 publications of sheet music of the work by Lithuanian composers.

More than 1,300 various organisations and about 65,000 music market professionals from 160 countries will be taking part in the international music fair to be held in Frankfurt am Main 5-8 April. Even though the fair’s focus is on acoustic and electronic musical instruments, music software and hardware, various accessories, a quarter of the visitors to the fair make sheet music publications the focus of their attention.

From 2004 to 2011 Music Information Centre Lithuania took part in the joint Baltic countries sheet music publishers’ stand together with Latvia’s Musica Baltica and Estonia’s SP Muusikaprojekt sheet music publishers. This year Lithuania will be participating autonomously at the Frankfurt music publishers’ pavilion with its own stand, next to the major and oldest European sheet music publishers. Amongst the more than 100 sheet music publishers taking part in the Frankfurt fair one will find names like Breitkopf & Härtel (Austria), Schott Music (Germany), Oxford University Press (England), Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag (Germany), Universal Edition (Austria), Boosey & Hawkes (England), Internationale Musikverlage Hans Sikorski (Germany), Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (Polish), Faber Music Limited (England), etc.

Music Information Centre Lithuania, which has consistently been publishing the sheet music of work by Lithuanian composers over the last twenty years, will at the Frankfurt fair be presenting the most representative sheet music from a four-part series, ranging from the early 20th century classics to today’s young authors, from concert repertory to educational compositions for young beginners. The intention will be to represent more than 50 Lithuanian composers. Lithuania’s stand (Hall 8.0, No. B62) will also have on display publications of individual compositions or collections put out by the Lithuanian Composers’ Union and its foundation.                                                                    

Another aim of Music Information Centre Lithuania is to present not only specific publications but also to promote interest in the rich collection of Lithuanian music manuscripts, thereby widening the offerings to foreign publishers, performers, teachers, as well as other music professionals and enthusiasts. The latter function is also being carried out by the music information centres and music export offices of other countries. Several of these – from Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Slovenia – will also be going to Frankfurt.

The joint Music Information Centre Lithuania and Lithuanian Composers’ Union stand at the fair enjoys the financial support of the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and the Association LATGA.

Information from MICL
Translated from the Lithuanian by Romas Kinka