What's your favorite edition of WTC

[iumonito]

Hi all,

I gave yesterday my copy of WTC (Dover) to a friend, so I am in the market for a new copy.

I am thinking Universal.  I have looked at the new Schirmer one (A. Newman) and albeit a riot I will pass on that one.  I gave a copy to my sister.

I grew up with the Schirmer (Czerny) edition, which seems anachronistic.  At some point I had Henle, which I guess I will fall back to in the absence of a better suggestion or confirmation that Universal is all right.

Opinions?

[kriskicksass]

I happen to be a big fan of the Alfred, but there have been times when I've found mistakes in their 'definative' masterwork editions. I'm pretty sure the WTC editions are good, though.

[etudes]

from Donald francis Tovey(spelling)

[iumonito]

A little twist,

there are three Henle editions, one by Ernst-Gunter Heinemann/Hans-Martin Theopold (which I used to own), one by Otto von Irmer (which I have not seen) and a study edition which I assume to be a reprint in smaller paper of one of these two.

Do you know anything about these?  Favorites?

[contrapunctus]

I would only go for Henle when the composer is Bach. They are unparalled in the amount of musicological research that goes into each piece. They also open perfectly. The only other publishing house that I would consider is Schott-Mainz, but those are hard to get in the U.S. It is too bad because Schott owns the sole rights to publish Richard Strauss's Piano music.

[iumonito]

Thanks, Contra, but which one?

And you don't think Universal is as well researched?  What do you actually know about that?

[westley]

I don't have their edition of the WTC, but I think Baerenreiter Urtext is the way to go here.  I have their edition of the french suites, it is very well researched (like henle) and I find the page layout more aesthetically pleasing (than henle).  The paper is a slightly darker color, and the pages are one half inch wider.  The main difference is that they have no fingerings, which is irritating if you are trying to learn very quickly but beneficial in the long run as it forces you to reallly think about finding the best fingering from the beginning.  I find pieces i have learned in this way are more secure.  Baerenreiter editions also seem somewhat more durable than the infuriatingly easily destroyed paper henles. 

I have mostly used henle for the wtc, and my only gripe would be that there are many strange fingerings, I find myself changing their fingerings more often than not.

I also have some experience with the craxton and tovey associated board edition that was mentioned by another poster.  I like this edition very much.  It has a great introduction on the playing of bach's music.  It also introduces each prelude and fugue with notes on performance, which are good but obviously just one (outdated) point of view.  Still, I found it helpful - but if you  have one edition it should probably be an urtext.  I found the fingerings in this edition very good.

[pizno]

Beirenreiter, with Tovey as a back up reference for fingering and notation.  I have Henle for the partitas, and the finger numbers are so tiny I can hardly see them. 

[quantum]

I'd also say Barenreiter.  They layout is extreemly clean and the binding of the books is done well.  This is afterall taken out of the scholarly New Bach Edition which publishes the complete works of Bach. 

I'd also recommend other reference editions for fingerings, but cannot recommend any at this time as I have not fully looked into what is available. 

[iumonito]

Yes, of course, Barenreiter.  I have played from their Mozart edition.  Good.

I just bought the two volumes from burt & co.

When I get them I will play them through and post here for your future reference.

The question about the two Henle's by the way, is still open (Westley, I bet you're playing from the Heinemann/Thepold one).

[iumonito]

I am ecstatic.  I got the Baerenreiter (Durr) WTC today and the books are spectacular.  You guys made a good recommendation.

The edition is very clear and has logical page turns where necessary.   The variants are set out in different versions, so that I do not have to make a choice as I am playing (for example, C sharp major book 2, which is famous for having variants, is printed twice).  I like that a lot, as that was my main beef with my old Dover that I gave away.

The text is impecable and the type set easy to read.  This makes the movement of the voices more apparent and I feel that this is going to open up my enjoyment of this seminal work for years to come.

The edition is mostly uncluttered by editorial enhancements (unlike the old Heinemann/Theopold Henle I at some point worshiped, what a fool I was), so no fingerings (thank God).

It also has some nice facsimiles inside, including the famous (although so very misleading, should one be an idiot and think that that's the only way of playing baroque ormnaments correctly) table of ornaments that J.S. made for W.F.

I give this edition two thumbs up and recommend it without reserves.

Thank you Westley, Pizno and Quantum for reminding me of this excellent publisher I had neglected to include in my serch.  Good job!