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The article describes the collection of the conductor Jean Martinon, bequeathed to the multimedia centre of the National Conservatory of Lyon in 1981 and which comprises around 1500 scores as well as orchestral materials and a card index. After a short sketch of the artist's life, the author describes the card index set up by Martinon and the annotations occurring in the scores he conducted. These are very interesting to conductors as the entrance of instruments is indicated (with a blue pencil in case of solo instruments) and dynamics are underlined with a red pencil, all indications which form an analysis of the work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author gives an account of how the collections of the library of the Music Conservatory in Geneva, which mainly consist of donations and bequests, were compiled. The Conservatory is fortunate in regularly receiving libraries from performers who were at the heart of Genevan and Swiss musical life, amongst them many professors of the school. Some collections here presented, such as the ones of Ernest Ansermet, Dinu Lipatti or Dimitry Markevitch, are particularly significant because of their contents and the special problems they pose to librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mediatheque Hector Berlioz has a strong involvement with outreach activities around the world. The staff work within the framework of the conservatoire's external affairs department, welcoming visitors as requested, donating scores and books for missions organised by this service and organising meetings, disseminating information, etc. The external affairs department was created in 1992, with numerous goals and activities, including cooperation with other institutions, joint projects for creation and dissemination of musical works, exchange of faculty members and students, study trips and missions of expertise, sharing of knowledge and dissemination of our heritage and knowledge of other musical heritages. There are exchanges with different European countries, the USA, Japan, but also with less privileged countries. In addition to library-based outreach, projects include support for masterclasses, curriculum development, and technical and audio-visual initiatives. Partner countries include Kazakhstan, China, Georgia, Cameroon, Lithuania, and Vietnam. A recent initiative in Palestine is the plan to open music schools for Palestinian children in refugee camps. There are many positive aspects to these activities, including the sharing of cultural heritage and the dissemination of musical works. For the library, the programmes enable the establishment of contacts and development of the collections. Some projects do not develop, for various reasons, but many are very successful. The needs are real and urgent, and it is not always possible to wait for perfect conditions before making donations. In the future, the Mediatheque Hector Berlioz would like to develop real partnerships with a variety of institutions, and ensure the long life of at least some projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]