Performer Guides

Use this guide to find resources for music performance, including LC call number browsing ranges for repertoire, books, and journals..

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Email Kate Linton the Music Librarian for Instruction and Outreach for research assistance and searching strategies.

Library Search

Check out the Library Search which finds print and electronic items, including journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, books, reviews, legal documents, and much more. Note: Due to licensing restrictions, some content is only available to current students, faculty, and staff.

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Finding Repertoire for Cello:

If you're looking for new repertoire to perform, it is often helpful to browse the Music Library's scores. The following call number ranges are for cello music; individual works within these numbers are arranged alphabetically by composer or arranger:

M50-M54, Cello alone
M229-M236, Cello and piano
M351, String trios
M452, String quartets
M1016, Cello with orchestra (full score)
M1017, Cello with orchestra (piano reduction)
M1116, Cello with string orchestra (piano reduction)

Excerpts, etudes, and instructional materials are classified in the MT range and housed in the same location as books about music:

MT300, General works
MT302, Systems and methods
MT305, Studies and exercises
MT306, Orchestral studies (excerpts)

Selected Books on the Cello and Cellists

Cover of Cambridge Companion to the Cello with a close-up color photograph of a cello's neck and f hole.

The Cambridge Companion to the Cello

Red cover of The Baroque Cello Revival with treble clef and sixteenth note in the background.

The Baroque Cello Revival: An Oral History

Orange cover of Bach's Cello Suites with musical notation in the background.

Bach's Cello Suites: Analyses and Explorations

Purple cover of Dvorak: Cello Concerto with a black and white photograph of Dvorak in the background.

Dvorák: Cello Concerto

White cover of Trills in the Bach Cello Suites with a sepia photograph of a cello's bridge and f holes at the bottom.

Trills in the Bach Cello Suites: A Handbook for Performers

Cover of The World of Music According to Starker with color photograph of Starker with the scroll of his cello visible.

The World of Music According to Starker

Cover of Jacqueline du Pre with a black and white photograph of her playing the cello.

Jacqueline du Pre: Her Life, Her Music, Her Legend

Cover of Gregor Piatigorsky with black and white photograph of Piatigorsky standing with his cello.

Gregor Piatigorsky: The Life and Career of a Virtuoso Soloist

Cover of Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishneyskaya with color photograph of Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya.

Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya: Russia, Music, and Liberty

Cover of The Influence of Carlos Prieto with color photograph of a cello in the center.

Influence of Carlos Prieto on Contemporary Cello Music

Cover to Adventures of a Cello with a hand reaching for a cello case from a train car.

The Adventures of a Cello

Cover of The Advancing Cellist's Handbook with color photograph of a person practicing the cello in a long corridor.

The Advancing Cellist's Handbook: A Guide to Practicing and Playing the Cello

Cover of A Cellist's Companion with expressionist image of a cello in the background.

A Cellist's Companion: A Comprehensive Catalogue of Cello Literature

Cover of the String Instrument Owner's Handbook with a painting of a luthier crafting a violin.

The String Instrument Owner's Handbook

Burgundy cover of Cello Music Since 1960 with text in white.

Cello Music Since 1960

Cover of The Solo Cello with drawing of a late Baroque or early Classical cellist performing.

The Solo Cello: A Bibliography of the Unaccompanied Cello Literature

The Art of Listening: Conversations with Cellists

Beethoven's Cello: Five Revolutionary Sonatas and Their World

Luigi Boccherini: Musica Amorosa

Cello Practice, Cello Performance

Last Updated: Sep 5, 2025 9:56 AM
URL: https://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/performer_guides
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Subjects: Music

Tags: brass, guitar, harp, piano, plucked strings, singing, strings, woodwinds

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