High notes : a souvenir book
Collectif

In this colorful 80-page softcover book you will find some of the ‘high notes’ of the National Music Museum’s collections. Sixty+ amazing musical instruments (out of 15,000 in the NMM holdings) are briefly described, along with a short history of this world-class institution.

Like the NMM’s collections overall, some of the musical instruments presented are fascinating for their incomparable sound quality, some for their extraordinary beauty or rarity, some for their unequalled craftsmanship and preeminent makers, some for their compelling cultural contexts or ownership histories, some for their materials and technical ingenuity, some for their associations with great performers. All are survivors, valued through time.

Among the book’s highlights—the NMM’s stellar Stradivari and Amati stringed instruments, as well as the famed ‘Neapolitan’ harpsichord, Adolphe Sax masterworks, and much more.

Founded in 1973, and originally called ‘the Shrine to Music Museum,’ the National Music Museum (NMM), in Vermillion, South Dakota, is one of the world’s largest and most important collections of musical instruments—preserving many of the crown jewels of music history. Brimming with treasures, the NMM is a destination for musical-instrument lovers, a discovery and delight for everyone else.

This High Notes book is another achievement of the National Music Museum’s mission, to “Explore, enjoy, and preserve the world of musical instruments.”