A normal part of a concert programme for contemporary or classical music performances, they give
They may include information about, and quotations or commentary from, the composer, conductor or performers and contextual details of the musical era of the piece. For contemporary pieces, it is common to include notes provided by the composer.
Similar notes in commercial recordings are called disc notes, sleeve notes or liner notes.
Find ebooks about composers, music periods or the repertoire for your instrument. For example, enter in the search box a search such as
Prokofiev AND guide
See the Books and ebooks page to locate books on the library shelves.
Search for scholarly online full-text journal articles about composers and compositions, etc. For example, enter in the search box a search such as
Lilburn AND percussion
If the notes are within a webpage on a website, reference as that type of reference. If it is important to do so, indicate in your assignment text that the details come from the programme notes. For example
Gardner, J. (2008). Blessed unrest: For piano trio. SOUNZ. https://www.sounz.org.nz/works/15101
If the programme notes are on a separate webpage or booklet, include a [Description] after the title if ‘programme note’ or similar wording does not occur in the title. For example
Huscher, P. (2020). Pietro Mascagni, Cavalleria rusticana, Melodrama in one act [Programme notes]. In Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Riccardo Muti, Symphony Center presents, February–April 2020 (pp. 30–36). Chicago Symphony Orchestra. https://issuu.com/chicagosymphony/docs/programbook_muti_cavalleria_rusticana
Keller, J. M. (n.d.). Notes on the program: Concerto for orchestra no. 1, Naughty limericks, Rodion Shchedrin. New York Philharmonic. https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1920/Rodion-Shchedrin-Concerto-No-1-Naughty-Limericks.pdf