Arguably the longest established name in the history of American music, G. Schirmer Music Publishers, Importers and Dealers grew out of the New York-based Kerksieg and Bruesing Company, founded in 1848. The German immigrant Gustav Schirmer had managed Kerksieg and Bruesing since 1854, taking it over in 1861 with Bernard Beer whose interest he eventually bought out in 1866 to establish G. Schirmer Music Publishers, Importers and Dealers. As the 20th century dawned, G. Schirmer, Inc. had already become internationally esteemed, not only as a publisher of 18th and 19th century music, but as a champion and publisher of contemporary works. Schirmer’s catalogue expanded in 1964 to include Associated Music Publishers, and in 1986 both companies joined the Music Sales Group.
Today the Schirmer and AMP catalogues include America’s finest living composers from the elder statesmen (Carter, Husa, Previn, and Schuller) through today’s leaders (Adams, Corigliano, Harbison, Kernis, Riley, Sheng, Tan Dun, Thomas and Tower) to the youngest generation. The catalogue also includes many of the most often performed American operas of the 20th and 21st centuries (by Adamo, Catán and Menotti, among others). More than a third of the Pulitzer Prize awards for music have been won by Schirmer or AMP composers.
G. Schirmer and AMP also publish the music of Barber, Cowell, Ellington, Gould, Ives, Kirchner, Lieberson, Piston, Schoenberg, Schuman and Thomson. Additionally, Schirmer is the American publisher of the works of Gubaidulina, Kancheli, Kabalevsky, Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Schnittke, and Shostakovich and agents for Red Poppy Music, the catalogue of Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe.
The Hal Leonard Corporation is the exclusive print distributor to music dealers for works published by G. Schirmer/AMP.