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Stern & Co. of Berlin was founded in 1845 by Julius Friedländer and M. A. Stern. Friedländer, the son of a Breslau bookseller, went on to have a distinguished career in publishing. The firm was a book, music score and piano retailer, with an instrument rental department, as well a publisher. From 1852 Friedländer was the sole owner. Clara Schumann was the most famous customer.
Though he is largely forgotten today, posterity owes to Friedländer's energy and enterprise one of the most successful publishing ventures of the late 19th century, namely Edition Peters. Friedländer borrowed 29.000 Thaler and bought C. F. Peters of Leipzig in 1860. Stern & Co. continued to operate as Julius Friedländer vorm. Stern & Co.
Stern & Co. published a variety of works from 1845 to 1852 and from 1890 onwards. However, HMB shows that it also produced the quarterly Neue Berliner Musik-Zeitung, edited by Richard Stern, continuously from 1845 until the 1890s.
In the early period the catalog contained a variety of works, mainly songs and piano pieces, by Kucken, Dancla, Schulhof and Balfe, presumably reprints of their partners Messonier of Paris and Cramer of London. In the 1890s there were many songs, mainly by Arno Kleffel (1840—1913), and instrumental works by Hollaender (cello) and Sauret (violin).
Another company with a similar name, Joseph W. Stern, operated in New York in the early 20th century.
Stern's plate numbers appear in the following format: S. et Co. ##. Dates in italics are estimated.
| Plate | Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | Franck | Scherzo, Op.7 | 1846 |
