Preferred edition for Beethoven Sonatas

[dmc]

I'm interested in some Beethoven Sonatas.  Specifically #3 in C major (Op 2/3) as well as the late sonatas (#28-32).  Is there a preferred publisher for his works ?  Or also, one I should avoid ?

[amelialw]

Peters edition.


I don't like Alfred's edition.

[pita bread]

I use Tovey and Schnabel... will talk about both after I get back from practicing.

[dmc]

I don't like Alfred's edition.

How come ?

Pita, please enlighten me when you can.  Thanks both !

[faulty_damper]

Only about a 3rd of the sonatas actually survive in manuscript form.  The other two 3rds come from the original editions where modern publishers only re-engrave them and publish it as "Urtext".

Here is a link to a publisher that publishes the original editions of the sonatas:
https://www.tecla.com/catalog/1001.htm

Considering that two 3rds of these sonatas are only available from these early editions, it's a good idea to look at how they were originally published because modern re-engravings can look much different including slurs, placement of notes of the staves, accidentals, etc.

This is one reason why Henle is in the process of publishing a new "Urtext" edition of the 32 sonatas edited by Murray Perahia.

[pita bread]

Schnabel's edition is a holy grail of sorts for Beethoven's 32. The scores are shot full of Schnabel's own interpretations, covering dynamics, articulations, tempo changes, phrasings, and so on... the point being: this is a freaking detailed edition done by a revered Beethoven scholar/performer whose recordings weren't always able to convey perfectly his ideas.

The problem with Schnabel's edition is not just that his innovative fingerings can be bizarre or uncomfortable at times but that the pages are so strewn and cluttered with fingerings and details that it becomes annoying to deal with.

Because of that, I read from the ABRSM Tovey edition. This edition has detailed commentary before each sonata that I've found to be extremely useful, but the main reason that I use it is because the scores are just so clean and easy to read. I'll usually learn the sonata using the Tovey edition, and then when I'm polishing the sonata, I'll go through the Schnabel edition measure by measure to see if there's any fingerings that work better or any interesting articulations worth trying out, and so on.

[pianowolfi]

Henle. Not my kind of fingering but Urtext.

[ganymed]

peters sucks i use henle too.

my librarian always says that peters urtext cant be really called urtext

[mcgillcomposer]

Just a side note - if anyone is interested, I have an essay on the first several editions of the Op. 2 sonatas...it outlines their history and the corrections Beethoven made to them.

Cheers!

[mikey6]

Henle is releasing an edition edited by Perahia which would be very interesting to see.  Dunno who far they've got yet.

[thalberg]

I adore the Schnabel edition for the same reason Pita outlined above.

My recording in the audition room is done according to the Schnabel edition, the best I could.  For the second movement in particular I followed all Schnabels markings and got lots of compliments.

[richard black]

You can't go wrong with Henle but some of the older editions by folks like Schnabel are very interesting too. Didn't we have this discussion before? Anyone remember the thread title?

[sharon_f]

I also agree with Pita. I use the Tovey to read from and the Schnabel as a reference. Schnabels's editions has lots of interesting phrasing and fingerings. Sometimes they work for me and sometimes they don't.

[mcgillcomposer]

Also, if you're looking for companions similar to Tovey's - Charles Rosen and Robert Taub both have excellent books on the 32 sonatas.

[zheer]

Also, if you're looking for companions similar to Tovey's - Charles Rosen and Robert Taub both have excellent books on the 32 sonatas.

  Yes i know i saw the Robert Taub book in a music shop,am so tempted to buy it.

[mcgillcomposer]

  Yes i know i saw the Robert Taub book in a music shop,am so tempted to buy it.

Trust me, it is really worth it - right up there with the Rosen companion.

[quantum]

Peters has more than one edition of the 32.  I use the one by Arrau. 

[invictious]

I like the Henle
Don't like the Tovey Much, too cramped up in some pages.

[bob3.1415926]

I love Tovey. I think he's hilarious.
Check this from his notes regarding the Waldstein final movement:
"Allegretto indicates a moderate tempo, and moderato intensifies this warning; very necessarily, for this movement is often played in public far too fast. Players who are bored by its breadth and who wish to speed up its climaxes should leave Beethoven alone."
Brilliant 

[slobone]

Gosh, I've just been using the Kalmus Urtext -- am I hopelessly out of it? I've been using it all my life, it's falling apart by now. Still with my fingerings from when I was 12...

[jinfiesto]

That's disgusting. Kalmus blows. It's almost criminal.

[pita bread]

Actually Alfred might not be so terrible anymore... I believe they reprint the Schnabel edition.

[dan101]

Schnabel is interesting and my choice. I also can highly recommend an edition by Sir Kendall Taylor, from England. This scholar was also my teacher and mentor two decades ago.