Help me choose a music notation program

[TheOtherGuy2000]

Dear all,
In the near future I will have to write a partiture for a romantic orchestra (so a lot of voices) as well as a partiture for a small quartett. On Windows I had Capella. I bought Finale Printmusic 2009 for OS X when changing to a Mac. It theoretically does contain all functions I need, but the program is so bug ridden and refuses to install on a clean OS X 10.6 system, that it is beyond usable. Paying for the update to PrintMusic 2010 to, hopefully, fix these issues seems quite impertinent to me. I collected some info on the internet on other programs, but wasn't able to find any satisfying information or even an up-to-date comparison.
So what would I need in a new notation program? I would need graphical input, about the range of notation features that Finale PrintMusic has, OCR import, import for my old Finale files and best would be japanese input and native mac app feeling. I would be willing to pay up to US$ 200 for such a program.
So far, I found the following notation programs, that might fit the bill (in no particular order):

• Sibelius First
• Harmony Assistant
• NoteAbility Pro
• Music Time Deluxe
• MuseScore

Which one would you recommend and why? Would you recommend some other program and why?
Thank you for your kind help/comments in advance.
Yours

TheOtherGuy2000

 

[TheOtherGuy2000]

Is there really no musician in these forums? Can't be.

 

[dave239]

Hi
I saw your request and joined Mac Forums to respond.
I don't know if this helps but I used an early version of Sibelius years ago when, if I remember correctly, it was released for the Acorn Archimedes computer in the UK. Subsequently I used an intermediate trial version on an Apple Mac (again more than 10 years ago). Although this is a long time ago, what I can report is that it was excellent, simple to learn, and quickly allowed me to produce scores for choral group use. At the time that I last used it, I believe it had been adopted (as a primary music notation tool) by the Royal College of Music in the UK. I just checked their website and they do list Sibelius, albeit not necessarily hosted on a Mac platform, in the college facilities.

Based on my experience and that of several friends, it would certainly be the first package I would consider if I decide to pursue my musical interests.

I hope this is of some help.

 

[TheOtherGuy2000]

Thank you for your kind reply, Dave. I am still undecided and reluctant to install a demo of any of these programs after the mess that Finale PrintMusic left on my macbook. I am still hoping to get feedback on the other programs.