Where can you find recorded performances?
The University of Minnesota’s streaming audio and video databases are great places to start! Libraries resources include thousands of recordings of music from all over the world. Although many searches for recordings start with a YouTube, Spotify, or Google search, you can’t always trust that those recordings are what they say they are. Since anyone can upload a video to YouTube, it’s important to think critically about the title, description, and other metadata before relying on that recording as a source for your research. Libraries audio and video databases are a trustworthy alternative since they’ve already done that evaluation for you. When using a Libraries streaming database, you can be sure that the content is what it says it is!
Find streaming audio
The University of Minnesota Libraries offers access to a number of options for finding streaming audio. Check below this list for more information on how to use several of these resources!
- Classical Music LibraryClassical Music Library is an extensive collection of recordings with a supplementary reference database that users may search and listen to music delivered to their desktop. Classical Music Library is cross-referenced to a database of supplementary information and features fully licensed recordings, thousands of program notes and composer biographies, advanced searching, and hundreds of recommended playlists themed by genres.
- Naxos Music LibraryOnline collection of recorded music in streaming audio -- primarily classical music, plus smaller collections of world music and jazz.
Note: Users who create/use a personal Playlist account are required to log-in to the Library's Naxos website at least once every 6 months, to guarantee the re-authentication of their account. Accessing NML through the NML app is not considered re-authentication. - Met Opera on DemandUnlimited browsing to more than 450 Met Opera performances. Video playing access is limited to 5 simultaneous users.
- Music Online: Jazz Music LibraryJazz Music Library streams over a half-million audio tracks from about 45,000 albums issued by such major labels as Verve, Impulse, Jazzology, Black Swan, Circle Records, Paramount, Concord, Fantasy, Milestone, Monterey Jazz Festival Records, Original Jazz Classics, Pablo, Peak, Prestige, Riverside, Stretch Records, and Original Jazz Classics. The list of artists ranges from Buddy Guy, Charlie Parker, Chuck Mangione, Dinah Washington, Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Grover Washington, Jr., Les Paul, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, and Peggy Lee, to Quincy Jones, Ramsey Lewis, Sarah Vaughan, Stan Getz, Bill Evans, Billie Holliday, Thelonius Monk, Tony Bennett, and many others.
- Music Online: Smithsonian Global SoundStream music online including the collections of the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings with music from cultures all over the world.
Tips for using Naxos Music Library and Naxos Jazz
Naxos Music Library and Naxos Music Library Jazz are great places to find hundreds of thousands of streaming audio tracks. The Naxos interface allows you to search for something specific; to browse by category (concerto, opera, ballet, blues, and many more); and to discover new music by checking out Naxos's suggested albums. If you're looking for a playlist created for your UMN Music History class by a faculty member, you'll also find these linked from the Naxos Music Libary homepage.
Once you open an album in Naxos Music Library or Naxos Music Library Jazz, select individual tracks or the whole album and start the player by clicking the large "Play" button on the right side of the screen. Many albums also include PDF versions of liner notes, which are great resources for music research! If there's a link that says "Booklet" on the left side of the screen, click it and you'll be directed to a PDF of the album's booklet. Lastly, Naxos gives you the information you'll need to cite the resource you're using; check for this under "Album Information" on the left side of the screen.
Tips for using Classical Music Library, Music Online: Jazz Music Library, and Smithsonian Global Sound
The Alexander Street Press audio databases include Western classical, contemporary and historical world music, jazz, and more. The interface for each of these databases looks similar - you can browse by title, genre, place, performer, and more. Use the search box in the middle of the page (not the one at the top!) to search in individual collections, and sign up for a free account to make playlists and create clips by clicking the "Sign in" icon at the top right corner (more instructions about this coming soon):
Once you choose a recording, you can use the table of contents on the right side to navigate between tracks.
The liner notes that accompany some recordings can be great places to find background information for your program notes! Though not all recordings include them, The Smithsonian Global Sound database will link to a PDF version of liner notes in the menu on the right side of the screen if they’re available. And if you use liner notes as a source for your research, don’t forget to cite them! There’s more information on formatting citations in the last section of this guide.
Tips for using Met Opera on Demand
Met Opera on Demand offers access to over 50 years of audio and video recordings from the Metropolitan Opera's archives, and it even includes some of the most recent productions in HD. Scroll down past the images of highlighted performances to find a search box that will allow you to search for specific composers and titles:
Scroll farther down and you'll find the options for browsing the resource by title, composer, or performer. Some titles are included as video and audio, and some as one or the other:
Once you've chosen an opera to watch/listen to, you'll find useful features and information in the record for it. Use the individual tracks on the right side of the video to navigate through the recording:
Met Opera on Demand also provides helpful information for citing a performance like the cast and performance date. This information is available below the video or audio player:
