The Eighteenth-Century Symphony Archive is one of the most extensive resources in the United States for the study of the symphony in its formative period. Spanning roughly 1720 to 1840, the collection comprises over 3,600 sources, scores, and parts preserved through microfilm and facsimile, documenting the emergence and development of the genre across Europe.

Designed to support a wide range of users, from scholars and students to conductors and performers, the archive provides access to materials that are often otherwise difficult to consult. Its holdings have been foundational to modern research on the 18th-century symphony and have directly contributed to the recovery and circulation of repertory long absent from print. Through this project, more than 550 previously unavailable symphonic works have been edited and published in 60 volumes by Garland Publishing, alongside a comprehensive thematic catalogue.

The catalogue, housed in room 3495 of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, compiled by Michele Smith with the assistance of Murray Citron and based on the earlier print volume by Ruth Halle Rowen, is now fully available online. Organized alphabetically by composer, it includes detailed information on instrumentation, source materials, and holding institutions. Where copyright permits, scores have been digitized and linked directly through the catalogue, offering immediate access to hundreds of works.

More than a repository, the archive represents an ongoing effort to make the early symphonic tradition accessible and usable. By bringing together dispersed materials and transforming them into a navigable, digital resource, the Brook Center continues to support new research, performance, and discovery within the rich sound world of the 18th-century symphony.

Explore the archive and rediscover the repertoire that shaped the symphonic tradition.

Contact information:

Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation
CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 817-1991

cmrd@gc.cuny.edu