"Complete Editions" - Thoughts?

[nmitchell076]

So I've been recently interested in the various "complete editions" of various composers out there.  It started I suppose with my purchase of the Chopin National Edition version of the Nocturnes.  I was hesitant at first, cuz I had the pieces from Dover and the cost was pretty steep by comparison.  But, hell, this month is my birthday, so why not?

I must say, I was quite pleasantly surprised by the quality of the edition: the location and extent of the performance commentary, a discussion of the various previous editions and manuscripts of the pieces, even some primary sources discussing the works.  All-in-all, I'd say it was worth the buck, and I plan on getting the entire catalog one day (gradually, of course)

so after this, I became incredibly interested in the other "complete editions" of composers such as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, etc.  Much to my dismay, the prices on these were unimaginably higher then what I'd seen with Chopin.  For example, Book one of the WTC from Baerenreiter's "Neue Bach-Ausgabe" is a whopping $191.16 (and the critical commentary is published seperately and listed as  $215.16).  This is especially surprising since the normal Barenreiter copy is only $23.96
(to site another example: here is G. Henle Verlag's catalog of the Beethoven Complete Edition)

So, what is it that seperates the "complete edition" from the normal publications of the work? I would understand if the critical commentary were published with the playing score, but it seems strange that a publishing company would publish JUST THE SCORE at such a higher price then the non-complete edition copy of the same score.  I'm thoroughly confused on this, and would love it if someone could enlighten me.

Besides this, do you guys believe the "complete editions" out there are worth it?  If so, why? if not, why not?

[quantum]

If you want to browse complete editions (also called collected editions) head over to your university library and check out call numbers M2... and M3... (presuming they use the LOC system)

I haven't done much comparison between playing editions and complete editions.  In the case of Baerenreiter, the playing editions appear to be extractions of content in the volumes of the NBA - at least the few the I have examined.  Except the NBA has a lot more info, not particularly necessary if you just want to play the piece, but potentially helpful if you were doing scholarly research on Bach's music.  

Since such complete editions are expensive, I prefer just to buy the Baerenreiter playing edition, and consult with the NBA in the library if needed.

By the way, the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe is available online for free.  https://www.nma.at

[mr j silverman]

Publishers make a lot of money [and i mean a lot ! by publishing sets of works at prices that ordinary mortals cannot possibly afford but libraries - e.g. university libraries, national libraries and archives have 'got' to have.

one edition is not so very different from another, but when this means that there are whole outputs of composers and even whole epochs of musical history that are hidden in this way from the general public and kept for the 'specialist' this is bad for democracy and you could say for civilisation itself in the long run. [These libraries are not usually accessible to the lay public]