Artaria


Artaria & Co. was one of the most important music publishing firms of the late 18th and 19th century. Founded in the 18th century in Vienna, the company is associated with many leading names of the classical era.

History

Artaria & Co. was founded as a publishing house for art and maps by Carlo Artaria in 1770 in Vienna, then the capital of the Habsburg Monarchy. The company expanded its business to include music in 1778. Its most important early collaboration was with the Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, who published more than 300 works through Artaria, including many of the composer's string quartets, which were a popular seller. The value of Haydn's works helped push Artaria to the top of the music publishing world in the late 18th century.
This important relationship helped Artaria secure the rights to the works of other important classical composers such as Luigi Boccherini, Joseph Haydn and, most notably, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
During his lifetime, Artaria was Mozart's principal publisher, although after his death this passed to the German house of Breitkopf & Härtel. Starting in 1793, Artaria published several early works of Ludwig van Beethoven, until a bitter dispute over the publishing rights of Beethoven's String Quintet Op. 29 which culminated in a court case from 1803 until 1805. Yet, Artaria also published Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata in 1819 and Carlo's nephew Matthias published the composer's Große Fuge in 1827.
The dispute with Beethoven highlights the role the company played in helping determine early copyright laws. Voluminous correspondence is extant between Artaria and its clients regarding ownership and royalty of editions as well as piracy concerns.
Artaria continued to be a leading publisher through the 19th century, until it finally ceased its music publication business in the twentieth century. Its cartographic publishing was acquired by in 1920 and the Artaria publishing house was dissolved in 1932. The art dealership closed in 2012.

Notable editions