About Stretta
Your Stretta Team
Johan van Slageren
Director
Björn Pampuch
Customer service, purchasing dept., music settings
Matthias Rauh
Catalogue, mailing dept.
Heidi Pampuch
Catalogue, mailing dept.
Tobias Steinkrauss
Catalogue, mailing dept.
Tobias Schiller
Catalogue, mailing dept.
Your Stretta Team
Udo Wessiepe
Director
Barbara Schöller
Accounts, customer service
Thomas Pauschert
Music settings, sound recordings
Franziska Klotz
Catalogue
Richard Schwartz
Catalogue, music settings
Gerhard Schäfer
Music settings, jazz arrangements
Company History
Stretta Music GmbH's founders and directors are two conductors with many years of professional experience: Johan van Slageren and Udo Wessiepe. Formerly fellow students at the Musikhochschule in Cologne, they met again in 1996 as Head of Learning and Director of Music at Würzburg's municipal theatre.
In 1999 they cooperated as publishers for the first time in Würzburg with the first edition and premiere of the opera "Cublai, grosser Khan der Tataren" (Kublai, Great Khan of the Tatars) by Antonio Salieri. More commissions for music editions followed. This led to them putting the business on a professional footing: Stretta Music GmbH was founded in May 2001.
The Stretta Letter and the sheet music downloads have been available ever since the firm was founded. The repertoire comprises familiar and unfamiliar classical works, arrangements and new pieces by various composers and arrangers for a whole range of instruments, ensembles and singers.
In 2002 the music mail order service followed - at first on a very modest scale, with a garage as a stockroom. In 2003 the firm moved into office and stockroom premises in Würzburg, and in 2006 the company headquarters relocated to the neighbouring town of Eisingen.
What does Stretta mean?
In 17th and 19th century counterpoint, the term stretta literally means "tightened", i.e. several voices entering in close succession. In a fugue, for example, several entries follow each other at short intervals - overlapping before the preceding subject has been fully completed.
Since the early 19th century stretta has also been used to describe the effective conclusion of a composition; this stylistic device is used particularly in vocal music (e.g. operatic arias).
As a rule the stretta is the musical culmination of a piece of music; figuratively speaking, stretta stands for a quickening of the musical context, which is why the name is ideal for our company: personal, competent advice from professional musicians, paired with the fastest possible delivery service, is of prime importance to us. Give us a try!
Stretta Shop
In the Stretta Shop you will find some 350 000 music publications, as well as books about music, CDs and accessories (music stands, reading lamps etc.). Obviously it isn't possible to keep all these things in stock; however, thanks to our personal contact with publishers and daily ordering, our delivery times are still very short, even for articles that we do not stock ourselves.
You can view and listen to samples of an increasing number of articles in the Stretta Shop, which is a great help when making your choice. If you still have questions with regard to certain articles, require personal advice or can't find what you're looking for, please contact us – either by phone (weekdays from 9.30 am to 5 pm), or by E-mail at info@stretta.de.
Whenever possible we purchase leftover stock and slightly damaged editions from various publishers and offer these in the Bargains section at greatly reduced prices. Definitely worth a visit!
Stretta Download
All sheet music and sound recordings are produced and published by our Stretta Team. Every week around 10 new titles are added. At present some 3000 editions and recordings are available.
The Play-Along recordings are made by Thomas Pauschert (organ, harpsichord) and Udo Wessiepe (piano) on high-quality instruments:
Harpsichord by Detmar Hungerberg
Model: instrument by Ioannes Ruckers, 1624, now at the Unterlinden Museum in Colmar.
Disposition: 8', 4', 8', buff stop, shove coupler
Photos: Norbert Schmelz (staff), Dieter Klein (organ, harpsichord), Yamaha (grand piano)