Classical Music Index (CMI) is a music database that

• helps you discover new music;
• supports detailed queries: for example, you can find string quartets composed by French women, or piano music by North Africans;
• has detailed information: movements, arrangements, instrumentations, creator roles, concerts, and so on;
• lets you add or fix information;
• links to scores and recordings on IMSLP. This works best if you log in to IMSLP from this browser.

To rate or create items, you must first create an account

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CMI is non-profit, created and operated by volunteers. Its code is open-source and is available on Github.

CMI is under development. Features based on ratings are disabled until CMI gets enough ratings.

CMI helps performers discover compositions. Its companion project, Music Match, helps performers and composers discover each other.

Quick Search
We added links on the front page to various composer/instrumentation pages.
5 May 2026, 7:10:03 UTC · Discuss

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Easy listening
When a recording of a composition is available, you can listen to it by clicking on the note. For other compositions, we've added a link to a YouTube search; there's at least one recording for most compositions.
9 Apr 2026, 3:24:47 UTC · Discuss

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Improvements to composition search

• On the search results page, don't show the search form at top; show a textual description of the search, and a Modify Search button.
  
• Add Period/style and composition type to search criteria.
  
• If a search includes composer name, use the SQL match() scores to pick a single person if appropriate. For example, 'carl bach' shows results only for CPE Bach, not various people with 'carl' and 'bach' in their names.
  
• Include 'alternative title' in title search. For example, title 'moonlight' and name 'beethoven' returns the Moonlight Sonata.
  
• Include subcompositions in search results. For example, title 'kennst' and name 'wolf' returns the Hugo Wolf song, which is a subcomposition of Goethe Lieder.
  
• Show a YouTube search link with appropriate search parameters.
  

26 Mar 2026, 23:32:16 UTC · Discuss

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Search by location
We added the ability to search by continent and subcontinent, as well as by country.
21 Mar 2025, 4:42:41 UTC · Discuss

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Search improvements
When searching for compositions or arrangements, you can now specify instrumentations - for example, '2 pianos'.
4 Mar 2025, 1:53:13 UTC · Discuss

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