Composition linking issue

[rulbricht]

I have an album that is not recognized by Roon. I followed the tagging WORK/PART and fill the appropriate composition title in WORK. Now the composition appears when I search it (Brahms Symphony No. 1):

However, when I go to the composition page from that album, it is not listed as being part of my library:

Shall I refresh something?

[vadim]

Hello @rulbricht

Thank you for reaching Roon support.

It might be helpful to have the file(s) for testing on our end as well. Can you please upload them here and let us know?

https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/collection/nqcgjac23027d90a441bda2c314de49d7958a/external

Please upload both files, which are listed correctly, and the one that is not shown.

[rulbricht]

Hello,

Thanks for your feedback. Just uploaded two files.

To recap:

1. Abbado: appears in composition search results but not on the composition page (Brahms, Symphony No. 1) as local copy. This is a vinyl rip from: https://www.discogs.com/release/30578638-Johannes-Brahms-Wiener-Philharmoniker-Claudio-Abbado-Symphonie-Nr-1
2. Blomstedt: doesn’t appear in composition search but is displayed on the composition page as local copy.

[benjamin]

Hi @rulbricht,

Thanks for the above! You mentioned that you filled in WORK correctly — great. Also ensure:

• The PART tag exists and has the correct movement titles.
• COMPOSER is properly tagged as Johannes Brahms.
• The file format (e.g., FLAC) supports these tags.

Use a tag editor like Mp3Tag or Yate to confirm.

Sometimes Roon’s grouping is thrown off by:

• Missing or duplicated track numbers.
• Incorrect discnumber values.
• Out-of-order files in the folder.

Make sure everything is clean and consistent.

Lastly, Force Roon to Re-Identify:

For the Abbado vinyl rip:

• Go to the album in Roon → three dots → Edit → Rescan Album.
• Or try Identify Album and manually match it to the correct release on Discogs or MusicBrainz if Roon doesn't pick it up automatically.
• In the Edit Track section, ensure the composition grouping is turned on and matched to Roon’s internal metadata.

You can also click the pencil icon (Edit) → Edit Tracks → check that compositions are correctly grouped under Brahms’ Symphony No. 1.

If all else fails:

• Export both albums’ metadata from Roon or your tagger and compare them line by line to see what differs.
• Look at the ROONALBUMTAG, ROONTRACKTAG, or ROONCOMPOSITIONID if you use those — they might show what's blocking linking.

Let me know if any of the above helps!

[rulbricht]

Hi Benjamin,

Thanks for the follow-up.

I’ve made some progress. On the composition page, with Abbado, if I select Album instead of Recordings with the local filter, then the the album appears as being linked to the composition. Now: why this album doesn’t appear as a recording but only as an album?

However, the Brahms Symphony No. 1 in Blomdstedt still isn’t listed when I look for “Symphony No. 1” in the composition search.

[vadim]

Hello @rulbricht,

Thank you for the detailed follow-up, and great to hear that you’ve made some progress.

The difference you’re seeing on the Composition page (Album vs Recording) is by design:

• Albums view: shows any albums in your library that include the selected composition, regardless of whether the recording is properly grouped or fully recognized.
• Recordings view: only shows versions of the composition that Roon has successfully linked and grouped into the canonical work structure.

So in your case, the Abbado performance is in your library, and Roon knows it contains that composition — but something in the tagging or structure still prevents Roon from confidently identifying it as an exact performance of that composition (hence it’s not listed under Recordings yet).

To resolve that:

• Make sure all PART tags are present (e.g., “I. Un poco sostenuto – Allegro”).
• Check track numbers, disc numbers, and file order to ensure consistency.
• You might also try manual grouping:
  Album → 3 dots → Edit → Edit Tracks → Select tracks → Group as Composition.

[rulbricht]

Are you referring to this screen? I cannot find “Group as Composition”. “Create an album” doesn’t work.

[connor]

Hi @rulbricht,

The tracks in your screenshot don’t appear to be properly associated with disc one. Please try selecting “Edit Tracks - Disc 1” and then associating all four of these tracks with disc 1 once more.

From there, in the tracks editor dialog window, please select “Rescan” and “Re-identify.”

Let us know if this helps. We’ll watch for your response.

[rulbricht]

I followed your instructions but Roon still doesn’t recognized this as a recording. I also still can’t find vadim’s step asking for selecting “Group as composition”.

[vadim]

Hello @rulbricht,

Sorry for the misunderstanding. Please try the following steps:

Compositions → Show All Compositions → Select (right-click) compositions → Merge Compositions

If this doesn’t resolve the issue, we recommend manually editing the rip metadata to correct any inconsistencies that may be preventing proper merging in Roon.

Let us know how it goes!

[rulbricht]

Hi @vadim

I had already thought about your suggestion but this only works if if I select another album (and the other album of the composition I own precisely isn’t listed). As you can see the composition seems properly recognized by Roon:

Here are my metadata. Let me konw what I should add/remove to achieve what you have in mind:

[vadim]

Hello @rulbricht,

From the screenshot you shared, it looks like you have an active filter applied:

Have you tried switching to the All Compositions view and manually locating the composition in the list?

Additionally, based on the metadata screenshot, you’ve correctly set the general name of the work (WORK), but the individual track details (TITLE, TRACK, ‘PART’) are missing. Because of this, Roon can identify the composition in its database, but is unable to match your local files to it.

Once you update the TITLE, TRACK, and PART tags for each file accordingly, the composition should link properly in Roon.

Let us know if you need any help editing the tags.

[rulbricht]

@vadim

Blomstedt’s cover doesn’t appear even without filter (but see below)

I screenshot the metadata of all four tracks. So it’s logical that TITLE, TRACK and PART aren’t displayed since they’re all different.

However, I’ve made more progress. If I add the field Recordings in the composition search, Roon recognizes that I own 2 recordings:

Now, on the composition page, if I select the local Recordings filter, only one album appears:

However, if I click on the Focus / Local filter, then Roon (as in the composition search) identifies clearly 2 sources even if just one is displayed:

This looks like a bug on Roon side.

[vadim]

Hello @rulbricht

After applying the correct work and part to the tracks uploaded earlier, everything is recognized correctly. Would you kindly upload your files again using the link shared before, and we will compare the metadata.

@rulbricht

However, I’ve made more progress. If I add the field Recordings in the composition search, Roon recognizes that I own 2 recordings:

Just to clarify — when Roon shows “2 recordings” in the composition view, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have 2 separate albums in your local library. Rather, it refers to the number of distinct performances (recordings) of that composition that Roon has identified within your library.In your case, after adding a recording tag, Roon detected two separate recordings within the same album, probably because the Symphony No. 1 and the Tragic Overture were recorded in separate sessions and tagged accordingly (or inferred by Roon from metadata or file structure).

Even a single album can contain multiple recordings of the same work (for example, studio vs. live takes, or alternate versions). In most classical albums, though, it usually means that the composition appears once per album, so “2 recordings” likely means you have two albums or editions that include that work — or, in some cases, two versions grouped separately due to differences in metadata.

[rulbricht]

Hi @vadim

Thanks for your dedication on this matter.

The example you checked (Blomstedt) is not problematic on the composition page. I’ve also got these outputs. It is the Abbado that doesn’t show up even if Roon database seems to half-recognize it.

Perhaps have a look at what happens here before I reupload those large files. You’ll see that the DSD entry which pops up necessarily is the Abbado recording.

[vadim]

Hello @rulbricht.

It appears that there are entries in the library that no longer exist, and for some reason, additional filters are appearing. Please clean up the library using the Settings → Library menu and check if the issue has been resolved.

[rulbricht]

@vadim

I had already tried to clean the library.

As I said, the entry which pops up when I click on the filter is necessarily related to the Abbado recording. When I withdraw it from my library and clean the library, then it stops the behaviour you see in the video. When I reimport the files, it starts again.

I reuploaded the Abbabo files. Let me know what happens on your side.

[connor]

Hi @rulbricht,

Thank you for re-uploading and for your ongoing patience. We’ll reach out with more information as soon as possible.

[rulbricht]

Hi @connor , any news on this?

[connor]

Hi @rulbricht,

Here’s the crux of the problem:

This is a vinyl rip with no corresponding CD release that you can use to manually match it, and Roon can’t parse the title track field as Part information on its own without a corresponding WORK/PART.

This is why we’d previously instructed to additionally ensure the PART tag has correct titles. Please try removing any customized metadata tags that you’ve added in the meantime to remove additional metadata variables.