Urtext vs owned copy

[qpalqpal]

I have a Schirmer's edition of the Chopin Nocturnes, Waltzes, and Preludes. I kinda hate the book. Would buying a Henle or Wiener version of Nocturnes make sense, even if its double the cost of the edition I originally bought? I love Henle, btw

Also, Is anyone a Wiener Urtext fan, as opposed to Henle? Tell me which is better for YOUR taste.

[quantum]

Personally I prefer Paderewski or Ekier (National Edition) for Chopin.  Both of these editions have a significant amount of scholarly work behind them and include a detailed critical commentary. 

I am not too enthusiastic about Henle for Chopin.  Some of their editorial decisions seem mysterious to me.  Nevertheless, it would still be loads better than Schirmer. 

[pianoman53]

I think Schirmer might be quite good, sometimes, as a compliment, as long as you find good editors. For example, Mikuli was a student of Chopin, so he probably knew what he was talking about. But never use them alone, since the composer probably wrote quite differently. But as said, use Paderewski for Chopin...

[zolaxi]

I'm a Wiener Urtext fan, but I'm in no way opposed to Henle. Both are excellent. Not possible to say which is better. Just a personal preference.

I just kinda like the look and feel of the Wiener, and the red cover always cheers me up!! I have a lot of Chopin, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, Schubert in the Wiener Urtext and I've recently ordered some Debussy.

The Wiener has whiter paper, smaller type face but both Henle and Wiener are clean and good to read from. You should just compare the two and see which edition you prefer.

But it is interesting sometimes to read different editions of the same music and compare. I have a Schnabel edition of the Beethoven sonatas which is fascinating just for the fingering alone.

[pianowolfi]

Personally I prefer Paderewski or Ekier (National Edition) for Chopin.  Both of these editions have a significant amount of scholarly work behind them and include a detailed critical commentary.  

I am not too enthusiastic about Henle for Chopin.  Some of their editorial decisions seem mysterious to me.  Nevertheless, it would still be loads better than Schirmer.  

I also prefer Paderewski or Ekier. Since my Polish Chopin expert teacher has somehow convincingly recommended me Paderewsky ( ) I almost don't dare to even look into a different edition . But the problem I have with Paderewsky is: 1.it's incredibly (!!!) expensive and 2. it falls apart after 10 sight reads! From a Henle edition you can easily play for 50 years without having to witness it's decomposition into little fragments.

[quantum]

That's interesting Wolfi, in Canada the Paderewski volumes are priced lower than Henle.  Ekier tends to be expensive here.