Königliche Bibliothek zu Berlin
Royal Library in Berlin
Documents associated with this entity:
Major German library.
The Royal Library was established in 1661 by Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg. From 1701 it was named the Königliche Bibliothek zu Berlin, and from 1918 the Preußische Staatsbibliothek [Prussian State Library]. During World War II its contents were dispersed for safety, and after the war were split between East and West Germany as separate institutions. After the re-unification of Germany in 1992, the library's contents were consolidated, though still in two places, under the single name Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin ‒ Preußischer Kulturbesizt [State Library in Berlin ‒ Prussian Cultural Property].
Music Division
The Music Library was established in 1842 as a division of the Royal Library, becoming one of the world's great collections of manuscript and printed music, as well as of theoretical sources, letters, and private collections. For Schenker its importance lay especially in its holdings of autograph manuscripts and first editions of music by J. S. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, of some of which he obtained photostatic copies for his work and later for the Photogrammarchiv. During Schenker's career, the Music Librarians wer Albert Kopfermann (1878‒1914), Wilhelm Altmann (1914‒27), and Johannes Wolf (1928‒34).
Contributor:
- Ian Bent