G. Alsbach & Co.

Typical cover (1880s)

Typical cover (1920s)

History

The company was founded by Carl Georg Alsbach (1830–1906) in 1866. In 1898, G. Alsbach & Co purchased Brix von Wahlberg, which was another Dutch publisher. Among the many scores added to their collection, the most important were Dutch compositions. In 1903, his son, Johann Alsbach (1873–1961), took over the publishing house and laid out the groundwork for what would be called the "Dutch Music Archive". This would include almost all the works of Dutch composers published since the 19th century, amounting to almost 14,000 scores. Alsbach acquired at least two other Dutch publishing houses in course of its history: De Algemeene Muziekhandel (in 1908) and A.A. Noske (in 1925 or 1926). Reprints were issued for many (or all) works from those two publishers. In 1939, his collection was presented to the Dutch Foundation for Music Interests, where it was later transferred in 1982 to FCA. The music is currently located at the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag.

G. Alsbach & Co's local competitor was Lichtenauer.

Editions

Imprints, Addresses

Imprints

• G. Alsbach & Co.

Addresses

• Rotterdam (1866-1898)
• Leidsegracht 11, Amsterdam (1898-)

Plate Numbers

Plate numbers are in the follow format: G.A. & Co. ####. Dates in italics are estimated.

Note about reprint plate ranges: G. Alsbach & Co. issued reprints of works from De Algemeene Muziekhandel and A.A. Noske, and these reprints were often (or always?) allocated new plate numbers. The reprints from De Algemeene Muziekhandel have an approximate plate range of G.A. & Co. 1501–1815 (published beginning around 1908), and the A.A. Noske reprints range from G.A. & Co. 3701–3968 (published beginning around 1927).

Sources Consulted

• 1. Netherlands Wikipedia

nl.wikipedia.org, accessed 10 August 2011.

• 2. Grove's Dictionary of Music
• 3. Alsbach Biographical Information of the Organ

Biographical Organ-biography.info, accessed 10 August 2011.