Here is a collection of online ready reference music sources for your consideration. The emphasis will be on Johannes Brahms, but I have included some sources that could be used to investigate other aspects of classical music that do not involve Brahms. I have attempted to put the sources in an order based on the nature of each site.

1. Finding Articles about Music

   Author: David Lasocki

   URL:

   http://www.music.indiana.edu/musicref/art.htm

   
   The classification scheme for this site follows a grouping of general indexes and bibliographies, guides to individual composers and performers, and selected indexes and bibliographies of specific subjects. It gives the Library of Congress call number locations so that one can simply record the call number and access any catalogue using the call number provided.

2. Welcome to MusicWeb

   URL:

   http:sun1.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/musicweb/musicweb/resource/biblio/b-bib.htm

   
   The classification scheme for this site specifically dealing with Johannes Brahms falls into four groupings. They follow as; Brahms' Life and Works, correspondence, music, and special studies. Some of the citations relate to works in German.

1. Catalogue of Classical Composers

   Author: Jon Michael Lincicum

   URL:

   http://thanatos.uoregon.edu/~lincicum/complst.html

   
   Broken down into a classification scheme of medieval, renaissance, baroque, pre-classical, classical, early romantic, late romantic, and twentieth century composers this site is useful for finding preliminary information on composers. The authority is fairly good but the author does disclaim any inaccurate information. The site also provides links to a dictionary, bibliography, index, and "other sites" pertaining to classical music.

2. Composer Biographies

   Author: Michael Norrish

   URL:

   http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/mn200/music/composers.html

   
   A listing of some of the more notable composers of classical music. The author has focused on composers that he is personally familiar with and therefore, is not a comprehensive list. Several links to other resources are included as well. A good introductory source if the composer you are looking for is included.

3. MLA Obituary Index

   Editor: Mimi Tashiro

   URL:

   http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/music/mla/necrology/welcome.html

   
   The index is an online version of an index of obituary citations. The index facilitates access to information about musicians and other individuals associated with the music world.

4. Wahington University in St. Louis- Gaylord Music Library-Necrology

   Editor: Nathan Eakin

   URL:

   http://library.wustl.edu/~music/necro

   
   An alphabetical index listing the death date of contemporary musicians and composers. It also includes the birthdate and the source from which the dates were acquired. Good authority.

1. Classical Insights-Conservatory-Glossary

   URL:

   http://www.classicalinsights.com/live/conserva/glossary/su_main.html

   
   A useful dictionary of music terms produced by the N2K company based out of New York, NY. Not a comprehensive list but nonetheless useful.

2. Dr.Estrella's Incredibly Abridged Dictionary of Composers

   Author: Steven Estrella

   URL:

   http://www.temple.edu/departments/music/composers/composers.html

   
   The dictionary is sorted by death dates or composer last names. There is also a classification system employed which includes the six more commonly referred to periods of classical music: medieval, renaissance, baroque, classic, romantic, modern. Many of the links embedded within the short biographies are to the Naxos recording company's web site.

3. Englisch-Deutsches Worterbuch

   Author: Frank Richter

   URL:

   http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/urz/netz/forms/dict.html

   
   A German-English dictionary that translates the words submitted into their opposite equivalent. Any word submitted will also produce a listing of other phrases that may have that word embedded into it.

4. German-English Dictionary

   Author: Vilim Vesligaj

   URL:

   http://www.inf.fu-berlin.de/cgi-bin/trans-www-english

   
   A short introduction and easy directions make this searchable index quite simple to operate and effective.

5. German-English Translator at TUC

   Author: Torsten Hiddessen

   URL:

   http://harvest.tu-clausthal.de/WebTrans.html

   
   A German-English dictionary that translates the words submitted into their opposite equivalent. This dictionary employs a word list of more then 124 000 entries. Combined with this is a listing of several thousand phrases. There is a link that allows one to access other online dictionaries which translate English into other languages.

6. Online Music Dictionary

   Author: Jon Michael Lincicum

   URL:

   http://thanatos.uoregon.edu/~lincicum/terms.html

   
   A dictionary embedded within the "Catalogue of Classical Composers" site listed previously under the biographies section.

1. International Music Archives

   URL:

   http://www.eyeneer.com/World/index.html

   
   The International Music Archives has an extensive listing of the world's music. It is a good general source divided into sections based on countries, regions, and musical styles. Also included are sound samples and photographs. A good starting point if you are interested in exploring other musical genres and tasks.

2. Music Library Association (MLA) Clearinghouse

   Author: Ralph Papakhian

   URL:

   http://www.music.indiana.edu/tech_s/mla/index.htm

   
   The MLA Clearinghouse is dedicated to those issues relating to music librarianship. This site has several useful listings relating to reference and collection development in music libraries. In addition to this there are other links pertaining to MLA itself; the field of music librarianship, copyright, and cataloguing. An extremely useful site in locating material from all over the world.

3. Worldwide Internet Music Resources

   Author: Emma I. Dedrick

   URL:

   http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/

   
   A classification scheme which involves, composers and composition, genres and types of music, groups and ensembles, individual musicians and popular groups, journals and magazines, and research and study. It is an extremely extensive list ranging from reference sources to employment positions within the music resource and performance fields. It also includes a listing of Usenet groups focusing on music. A useful link for searching out resources of any kind.

4. World Wide Web Virtual Library: Classical Music

   Author: Gary Daum

   URL:

   http://www.gprep.pvt.k12.md.us/classical/

   
   The classification framework is as follows: biographical, organizations, online periodicals, reference, reviews-program announcements-broadcast information, computer software, and discussion forums. A comprehensive site that has a excellent index relating to all things musical. An extremely useful resource if you are attempting to find anything relating to the music subject field.

1. Untitled

   URL:

   http://sun1.rrzn.uni-hannover.de/musicweb/musicweb/resource/texts/primary/brahms.htm

   
   A link within the "Welcome to MusicWeb" site. The quotations of Johannes Brahms provided deal with comments about composing. Each qoute is accompanied by the original source of the comment and the citation from which it was retrieved.