The glass harmonica was invented in 1761. Mozart wrote several pieces for this instrument. The hemispherical glass bowls which rotate around a horizontal axis driven by a pedal were rediscovered only in the last decades of the 19th century. Sounds are produced by touching the rotating glasses with moistened fingertips. Today, the glass harmonica is an absolute rarity, with roughly ten professional players world-wide. Another rather rarely encountered jewel is the verrophone (from the french word "la verre" for glass). The youngest of the glass instruments was developed only 20 years ago in Germany. Chromatically tuned glass tubes are rubbed with moistened fingers like the musical glasses, but are also struck with mallets. The lingering, atmospheric sound is highly esteemed by modern composers due to its extraordinary intensity. The musical glasses present one of the oldest forms of making music and sounds with glasses. The instrument consists of several custom-made wine glasses. In order to get different pitches the musical glasses are filled with varying amounts of water. The musical glasses sampled by the Vienna Symphonic Library have a chromatic range from G3 to G6. The glass instruments are rounded off by the bottles which are blown with articulations such as sustains and flutter tonguing.

Requires the ViennaKey.

Sounding stones made of basalt, granite, marble and other minerals were used in many ancient cultures for ceremonial and religious purposes. These days, the lithophone is the most commonly known stone instrument, which Carl Orff first introduced to orchestral arrangements. There are 15 small round slabs of limestone chromatically arranged on rubber pegs. The lithophone recorded by the Vienna Symphonic Library was newly developed at the Technical University of Zurich, and modeled after the marimba. The unmistakable, round stone sound remains prominent over the instrument's nearly five octave range.

Requires the ViennaKey.

The bass waterphone is an unusual, evocative instrument with a diameter of 14 inches and considerably larger than the waterphone used in the Vienna Instruments Percussion Collection. Its larger number of sounding rods, their increased length, the larger opening as well as the bigger resonating body with more water, furnish the musician with more unusual sonic possibilities and a wider variety of colors.

Requires the ViennaKey.

The oversized tam-tam, with a diameter of more than 65 inches, was treated with all the tricks of the trade, with a special nod to Stockhausen's opus "Mikrophonie". It was struck with metal rods, cardboard and jigsaw blades, hit and rubbed with chains, and manhandled with fly swatters, an egg cutter, and even a massaging rod.

Requires the ViennaKey.

This download collection contains percussion instruments and more to round out the Vienna Special Edition. If you have the strings, brass, and woodwinds libraries already, all you need is this Percussion & More collection to complete your Special Edition. All of these articulations are also included in the DVD edition of the Vienna Special Edition, which brings together the complete orchestra and more in one powerful collection. Now you can get these instruments separately in one collection, easy to download and ready to play.

The complete download includes the Vienna Instruments Player Software as well as the samples. Your purchase also entitles you to download the free Vienna Ensemble 2 mixing and host software.

Requires the ViennaKey.

The ViennaKey is necessary to run any VIENNA INSTRUMENT or Vienna Symphonic Library software. This USB protection device by eLicenser (formerly Syncrosoft) is not included in the box of any Collection, it is a separate item you have to get additionally.

You will need one ViennaKey for every computer you want to run a VIENNA INSTRUMENT on. So you’ll have to order at least one ViennaKey with your first purchase. Customers who order the complete SYMPHONIC CUBE will get one ViennaKey for free.

This beautiful poster produced by the Vienna Symphonic Library will be a gorgeous, yet practical addition to your studio.