Sibelius Released for Macintosh

Sibelius Software Ltd. announces the release of their award winning scorewriter designed expressly for the Macintosh® platform.

Sibelius® for Macintosh is a true object-oriented, Mac native application --not merely a Windows program ported to a Mac. With speeds far faster than other music notation programs, Sibelius for Macintosh instantaneously updates and reformats even the most complex score in just a fraction of a second. Sibelius for Macintosh handles music of all kinds and complexities, from keyboard and vocal music to complex orchestral scores with over 100 instruments. Offering full Internet compatibility, playback feature options, and publishing quality printing, Sibelius for Macintosh is the most comprehensive composition tool available.

Sibelius Software Ltd., has been a leader in the development of notation software since the early 1990's. Founded by identical twin brothers who are talented musicians, composers, and programmers, the company has focused on developing software that offered not only the most advanced feature set, but would also demystify the computer notation process.

"We are very proud of this product," explains Ben Finn, Managing Director at Sibelius Software Ltd. "Simplicity and ease of use has always been a major factor in our product development strategy. Being a creative process, composition should not be hampered by notation software, but enhanced and made easier. Sibelius for Macintosh brings the art of music composition to the elegance and simplicity of the Mac OS Platform."

Sibelius for Macintosh has been developed as a stand-alone Mac program, bringing the massive feature-set of Sibelius to the Mac platform in a completely native format. Offering familiar key commands and a true Macintosh interface, aficionados of Mac OS will appreciate the interface, dialog boxes, tool bars, and other familiar characteristics of the software.

Not only lightning fast in execution, but unlike other notation programs, Sibelius isremarkably easy to learn. Sibelius for Macintosh instantaneously updates and reformats even the most complex score in just a fraction of a second. Whether you are adding a bar to the start of a two-hour film score or a complex piece of music such as Wagner's complete Ring Cycle -- requiring massive reorganization of every page -- Sibelius will update the work in 0.1 seconds.

Redefining the standard user interface, Sibelius works very much like a word processor -- music can be input from any MIDI (electronic) keyboard, or notes and symbols are placed on the screen using a computer's mouse and keyboard. Music notation is constantly updated and displayed on the screen exactly as it will print out -there is no need to change modes or waste time moving through different screens.

"Unlike other music notation software products, Sibelius has virtually no learning curve -- it is so intuitively designed that our customers can begin composing right away, even if they have no previous computer experience," continued Finn. "The software was written for musicians, by musicians, and puts the fun back into music notation. Sibelius for Macintosh provides a creative environment for composition without interrupting the process with endless computer commands -- allowing musicians the same seamless creativity as manuscript paper, while saving countless hours by doing hundreds of musical chores automatically."

For added convenience, Sibelius for Macintosh offers exactly the same features and functionality as the Windows version -- with even the same keyboard shortcuts, making it easy for users to switch between the two. The Mac and Windows versions also use the same file format, making them 100% compatible -- a score created on the Mac can be loaded straight into the Windows version and vice versa.

Sibelius for Macintosh also offers unparalleled flexibility. The software's open architecture design, allows users to customize the program by creating new features with the easy-to-learn ManuScript language. Sibelius is also the only professional scorewriter that is fully Internet compatible. It allows users to publish their scores on websites, so site visitors can view and play the scores from any standard web browser -- even if they don't have Sibelius.

For playback, Sibelius' Expressivo feature uses artificial intelligence to produce a lifelike performance straight from a score -- the program reads all standard markings such as dynamics, articulation and text, and adds its own phrasing and interpretation as well. Sibelius also has sophisticated sequencing facilities -- its unique "Flexi-time" feature lets the user play music in from a MIDI keyboard to a metronome, and the tick automatically speeds up or slows down to keep in time with the user's tempo.

Sibelius' publishing capabilities are second to none. Music publishers have extremely stringent graphical specifications to which scores for publication must conform. Sibelius is one of only a few systems that satisfy the requirements of music publishers. The program offers remarkable formatting options, all at lightning speed. All page formats can be instantly changed, including the paper size, page shape, or size of the staves. All markings stay correctly attached to their notes, and lines such as slurs and hairpins stretch or contract to suit the new layout.

Sibelius for Macintosh is available now through better musical instrument retailers in the United States and Canada. Sibelius for Macintosh and Sibelius for Windows are bundled together on one CD-ROM, making it easy for composers to install the version of their choice.