Novello celebrates 200 years of music publishing

Explore the company's history in our online gallery

This year Novello, the music publishers, celebrates its 200th anniversary – two centuries since Vincent Novello began his business of making sheet music available to the general public at an affordable price.

As the business grew, it attracted some of the most famous names in composing – Elgar signed to Novello, followed by Bliss, Dyson, Holst, Howells and Moeran. The 1970s saw the signing of Richard Rodney Bennett, Kenneth Leighton, John McCabe, Aulis Sallinen and Thea Musgrave – and the list continues up until the present, with the young generation of Novello names including Martin Creed, Stuart MacRae and Tarik O’Regan.

The company celebrates its bicentenary with a concert at London's Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday September 20, in which cellist Raphael Wallfisch, together with the Bach Choir, the Philharmonia Orchestra and David Hill, will explore two centuries of music published by Novello. Aled Jones will present the event, which will also feature new pieces by John McCabe and Patrick Hawes. For more details click here.

You can discover more about the history of Novello below - simply click the first image to launch the gallery.