Seeking midi files of full symphonic scores, e.g. opera

[PDebik]

I tried to find midi versions of classical music, specifically a part of an opera. However, it seems that noone has ever translated full symphonic orchestral scores into midi files so that one could play the score through a fully midied orchestra.

Does someone here have experience with that? I want to save the time and effort to play every single instrument group to create my own midi score. As practically all famous works are available for orchestras as sheet music I wonder why - as the notes must have been edited in a notation software - there is no midi export for such scores.

[hummingbird]

I've never used this site but I found it through a quick google - https://www.classicalarchives.com/midi.html

[irthlingz]

I've never used this site but I found it through a quick google - https://www.classicalarchives.com/midi.html

And even though they have paid membership, there is a free option that allows you to download 5 MIDIs per day.

[PDebik]

Thank you for your input(s). I checked that site out, but it is not quite what I am looking for. It has some midi files from some composers, but mainly not the original works, but excerpts or limited scores for a single instrument only.

So obviously there is an interesting gap in the market. All the "Big A" publishers who publish full scores of symphonies or operas must have the full set of notes for all the different instrumental groups in their notation programs. So it should be easy to export these to midi and offer midi file versions of the scores. But they don't. So everyone who wants to produce a classical work on electronic devices must restart from scratch and play every single instrument of the orchestra. What a waste of time!

With high quality digitized orchestras like BBC, Vienna or Composer Cloud I thing it is time for midi scores as well. And it would be so easy for the publishers to export midis from their notations. I wonder why they are not doing it. It's just useless for producers to have a piano excerpt of an opera or a symphony. Or to have a single vocal excerpt only.

[irthlingz]

My guess is they think it would undercut their existing business - maybe by making it easier for people to compete with them.

===
Michael

[Pvgeldrop]

Classical Archives and IMSLP.org are good places to go to, though they probably won't give you what you're looking for. I did a album of classical pieces about a year ago, and just downloaded the sheet music from IMSLP, then input it into Sibelius myself. Quite a bit of work, but if you know your notation software well enough, it's actually not that bad, and can be educational as well.

[PDebik]

Thank you for all the answers.

Indeed there does not seem to be a ready-to-go solution but a few exceptions. I am now trying a cooperation with someone who transfers scores to MIDI. For me this is currently the best solution.