Oh... I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet here in HHW, but...
Patelson Music House in NYC will be closing their doors on April 18. They are currently running a "25%-Off Spring Inventory Sale", and I'm wondering if any other discounts will be introduced over the next week and a half.
I was in there recently and it was so bare, I asked if they were going out of business. They assured me they were not. Too bad. I loved that store, and the Patelsons were lovely folk.
Patelson's was always somewhat of a mixed-bag for me, and eventually became, more or less, a "necessary evil". The first time I went in there about 20 years ago, I was truly awed by the store - especially the bins of used music. I still remember finding some gently used copies of some Britten song cycles.
However, even back then, I found the quality and knowledge of some of the staff quite appalling at times. There were more than a few times when I found myself helping out other customers, and basically correcting some of the sales staff in the process. If one of the clerks did not see something immediately on the shelves in the back, they would automatically tell the customers that it was either no longer in print or never existed in print.
Did you check in this collection? I would even end up referring some people to the music store in Virginia I was working at at the time.
Well, I know I just ordered two copies of that for the store...In any case, sheet music stores are a true scarcity nowadays, and Patelson's will be missed. It really is a piece of New York City's musical history. At least Frank Music on 54th still seems to be hanging in there.