Best Publisher(s) by Composer

[davidjosepha]

I'm making this thread partially as a question I personally would like help with and partially just for interest and helping others. I was hoping people would provide their opinions on which publisher to go with for certain composers, especially composers where the common publishers (Dover, Henle, Peters, Schirmer, ...) do not publish their works, or, if they do, not all of them. You also might want to clarify why you choose a certain publisher (accuracy? print quality? bindings?). Is this publisher the definitive edition for a composer, or is it just what you choose to go with for whatever reason?

First, I'll provide my short list of who I look to for several composers, then list some that I'm still looking for a good publisher for.

Bach - Henle (although I've heard Baerenreiter are very nice for Bach)
Grieg - Edition Peters (they are his original publisher and have pretty good print quality)
Janacek - Baerenreiter (great print quality and one of the few options I've found)
Liszt - Henle (good production quality, haven't found any reason not to use them for Liszt yet)
Prokofiev - Boosey & Hawkes (one of the few options I know of)
Rachmaninoff - Boosey & Hawkes (same story)

So, I'm also wondering what some people do for these composers...I detest Schirmer and Alfred, and Dover, while I'm not against, is generally lacking in production quality.

Dvorak
Kabalevsky
Prokofiev
Rachmaninoff
Scriabin
Shostakovich

Is there a preferred publisher for these? I made this topic because I was just now looking for Shostakovich, but couldn't find much. His original publisher, DSCH, seems good, although nearly every review I've read mentioned how terrible the binding is. Is Sikorski a better option for what they provide?

As the Christmas season approaches, I'm looking for help deciding on publishers! I'm also interested who people prefer for other, more available composers. I know Durant is the premium choice for Debussy and Paderewski for Chopin, but what else?

[zezhyrule]

Chopin - The National Edition edited by Ekier
Debussy - Durand
Rachmaninoff - Boosey & Hawkes

For Scriabin I got the complete preludes and etudes by dover, as it was the cheapest option I had at the time. I'm not too happy with it (and especially the binding - "lay flat" my *ss) but it seems to be one of the few (if not only) options available for the complete set of preludes/etudes. I'm not sure if I want to get the dover edition of his piano sonatas, another publication recommendation would be great

[davidjosepha]

I have the Dover preludes and etudes and it is pretty nice, but I wasn't sure if there was some sort of "best" edition available (Dover is usually the backup, cheap edition)

I'm not sure if I want to get the dover edition of his piano sonatas, another publication recommendation would be great

I have Baerenreiter's first book of Scriabin sonatas. Excellent book, I don't know how well it stays open just yet, but I think Baerenreiter's production quality might even be better than Henle's. I'm really happy with it. However, it's rather expensive--$45 for just the first book, so you're looking at almost $100 for the entire collection. Unfortunately, Baerenreiter currently does not publish any other Scriabin.

[outin]

Great thread!

I am still trying to find good editions of some of Scarlatti's sonatas. I am (my eyes are) tired with the ones I can print from the web. I already have the Henle and Peters collections, but those are missing many of my favorite ones. I have found some complete sets or large collections (Ricordi Milan, EMB, Heugel, Suddeutscher), but it's difficult to find any information on the print quality of these and sometimes even which sonatas they actually include. Most are expensive so I don't feel comfortable in ordering blind 
I also would prefer them not to be based on the Longo editions, knowing how he liked to "correct" Scarlatti's works.
Can anyone help? Do you happen to own any of the above mentioned editions? Or others you could recommend?

[davidjosepha]

Sorry outin, no idea about Scarlatti

I ended up buying the DSCH Shostakovich Preludes & Fugues. Very pricey...an early Christmas present for myself? I'll let you guys know how it is. If the binding falls apart as easily as reviews say it does, I might just go get it spiral bound and see how that works out. It should be here in less than a week, so we'll see! I'm excited.

[alsimon]

For Scarlatti I found that the Kenneth Gilbert edition in 11 volumes published by Heugel to be outstanding. It is complete and reliable however VERY expesnsive.

[outin]

For Scarlatti I found that the Kenneth Gilbert edition in 11 volumes published by Heugel to be outstanding. It is complete and reliable however VERY expesnsive.

Many Thanks!

I wondered about those, but not something I would order blind...93 euros for just one volume  

And of course one has to have them all eventually  

Maybe I'll start with one as an x-mas present for myself...

EDIT:
Actually the one volume that I would want right now is 155 euros   

[49410enrique]

really love those orange urtexts(Wiener/Vienna) (i think i prefer them over the more popular blue henle's, yeah def my fav 'scholarly' editions, most of the time). they have a pretty incredible series of the works of Handel, i would love to be able to have them all someday, but they're pricey, worth it but pricey still....

Händel, George Frideric    
UT050118a Klavierwerke, Volume 1a    
UT050118b Klavierwerke, Volume 1b  
UT050119 Klavierwerke, Volume 2  
UT050120 Klavierwerke, Volume 3
https://www.presser.com/marketing/spotlite/vienna/urtext.htm

[mnmleung]

My somewhat related question is more specific. I would like to work on Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death and Schubert's Winterreise with a bass.  They will be sung in the original language (Russian, German).  Which edition(s) would you suggest?  Thank you!

For Rakhmaninov preludes, I use the old Boosey & Hawkes (hand-me-down from 1960s). 

I saw the upcoming https://www.boosey.com/pages/teaching/features/seriesDetail.asp?seriesid=10197 and the expensive https://www.baerenreiter.com/en/search/product/?artNo=BA9802 which got me looking for the Russian edition, available much cheaper (perhaps all commentary in Russian only?) https://www.ruslania.com/context-321/entity-6/details-157712/language-1.html

Has anyone used the new edition?

[andreslr6]

Barry Cooper's Beethoven's 35 sonatas (yeah, 35 ) urtext, it also includes a comment section where he wrote down like the history behind every sonata, and a lot of comments on the mistakes, misconceptions and differences between different other edited editions.

Link: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/The-35-Piano-Sonatas/18001078

For Scriabin try Belaieff, they where the first publishers of his music. My only complain for Belaieff is the lack of comments and annotations (that's why I prefer Henle's edition of Scriabin's sonatas), but they're the only ones that have the Fantasy for 2 pianos printed.

[pianoman53]

I always gets a bit suspicious of Any editions that includes the 3 unpublished sonatas in the same tape as the rest...

For Beethoven, I would, apart from urtext, suggest the schlabel and the von burlow. Both are heavily edited, but both were obviously very good musicians.

There is also a new peters for Chopin, which I supposed to be very good.

For liszt, I would say musica Budapest, but also the one edited by von sauer. Liszt was also a teacher, who made notes in the student's scores, so two urtexts can vary very much, so you should get both.

For Schubert, I like both peters and urtext. And also the one with a bear on it (sorry, I don't remember the name)

[pbryld]

I always gets a bit suspicious of Any editions that includes the 3 unpublished sonatas in the same tape as the rest...

For Beethoven, I would, apart from urtext, suggest the schlabel and the von burlow. Both are heavily edited, but both were obviously very good musicians.

There is also a new peters for Chopin, which I supposed to be very good.

For liszt, I would say musica Budapest, but also the one edited by von sauer. Liszt was also a teacher, who made notes in the student's scores, so two urtexts can vary very much, so you should get both.

For Schubert, I like both peters and urtext. And also the one with a bear on it (sorry, I don't remember the name)

What do you mean by "urtext"? You refer to it as if it is one single edition.

[pianoman53]

okay sorry "Henle Urtext"

[49410enrique]

I have the Dover ...

fyi on the topic of dover and russian piano music.

looks like this may be the one to get for arenksy.

new edition by sara davis buechner, looks really good. it's going on my amazon wish list.

here she discusses pedaling

Pianist Sara Davis Buechner performs two Anton Arensky pieces from her new Dover publication Près de la Mer, and demonstrates pedaling technique to play Arensky. The elegant Romantic piano music of Anton Arensky served as the foundation of works by Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. Both of the latter-day composers were Arensky's pupils, and their teacher's music contains the seeds of Rachmaninoff's idiomatic pianistic style as well as Scriabin's impressionistic array of musical color. Sara Davis Buechner's classical music publications are available at Amazon.com and Doverpublications.com.

[naturlaut]

If I may chime in my 2-cent:

Bach - Baerenreiter, or, if you can find, old editions that were edited by Dr. Hans Bischoff.
Mozart Sonatas - Nathan Broder for Theodore Presser
Beethoven - Barry Cooper's for ABRSM
Chopin - Jan Ekier for PWM (or the older Universal Edition/Wiener Urtext)
Debussy - Roy Howat for Durand

Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, etc don't usually post a huge textual problem so any edition that looks decent would work.  Even Dover is good enough as they are reproduced from original (or old) editions printed while the composers were alive.  

Shostakovich - both Sikorski and DSCH are fine.  DSCH has more previously unpublished works available.

[andreslr6]

Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, etc don't usually post a huge textual problem so any edition that looks decent would work.  Even Dover is good enough as they are reproduced from original (or old) editions printed while the composers were alive.  

I wouldn't trust in Dover anymore, even though my first post here was a recommendation of a Dover collection of Scriabin's music, I now don't recommend it at all. Just about 1 or 2 weeks ago I discovered several mistakes in that edition, errors in articulation, rhythm and notes! the most basic things. They do say they're reproduced from original editions (and are very similar actually) but they're not accurate. And I have books from the 3 you mentioned. I suggest either Belaieff, or any other Urtext, even if they're more expensive, it's well worth it.

[naturlaut]

Yeah, I said good enough, and you are right it is not the best. 

About Scriabin: I can't remember about the Etudes/Preludes album, but for the Sonatas, I think Dover reproduced from old editions - I have most of the actual first editions of the sonatas and from the looks of it Dover was "photocopying" from those.  However, from my experience, even though these old editions may have occasional wrong notes, 1) they don't happen very often 2) you can spot them if you know the sonata well.  (The case is different with poor editions of Bach/Mozart/Beethoven/Chopin as they aren't mistakes but bad edits.)  The most recent Baerenreiter is probably the most reliable as it was done by Marc-Andre Hamelin, although I don't have one in possession so I have not made necessary comparisons.  I am still using old editions for all the Scriabin sonatas.  If you can get it, the collected album of sonatas beautifully bound in purple linen published in 1981 by Moscow State Music Publisher is probably the one I would recommend.  If this is unavailable to you and Baerenreiter is a bit pricey, I'd say Dover is definitely good enough.

[andreslr6]

Reviving this thread a bit.

I recently bought Shostakovich's 2nd piano sonata in the DSCH edition and so far I've found 1 mistake in the 3rd movement, a D that should be B (I'm basing this on all of the recordings I've heard). This is not the first case I encounter mistakes on a Shostakovich piece, I also found quite a few on his piano quintet printed by the International Music company edition. So my questions are, are mistakes commonly found on Shostakovich's music printed on different editions? and, which edition is more reliable for Shostakovich? I was thinking on Sikorski, I still want to get his Em trio and the 8th string quartet, should I switch and go with Sikorski for those 2?

I was thinking on giving DSCH a second chance since it has a 4-5 page preface of what looks to be an analysis of the 2nd piano sonata, and that's a very attractive bonus for me. It's all in Russian but I can ask my ex-teacher to help me translate, but I don't know if I want to risk it with more mistakes.

[j_menz]

DSCH and Sikorski are pretty much of a muchness in terms of quality IMO. IMC has the advantage of being generally cheaper and less likely to fall to pieces, but can be a bit hit and miss in terms of editorial. As between DSCH and Sikorski, I find I have quite a mix, though I also have the Sonatas in DSCH.

As for the B/D thing perhaps someone with the Sikorski could let us know what it is in that.

[andreslr6]

Thanks, maybe I'll stick with DSHC then.

Check the last comment here, it's me asking the same as here and I put on the mark of the part with DSHC's mistake, I think the edition in the video is the Sikorski.

[jy_]

I understand that Boosey tends to do the publishing for Prokofiev/Rach/Kabalevsky, and I'm currently looking for a decent edition of Prokofiev's Op.4 (No.4) which I haven't really been able to find on Amazon... any recommendations?

[andreslr6]

I understand that Boosey tends to do the publishing for Prokofiev/Rach/Kabalevsky, and I'm currently looking for a decent edition of Prokofiev's Op.4 (No.4) which I haven't really been able to find on Amazon... any recommendations?

I have it in the Dover edition https://www.amazon.com/Sarcasms-Visions-Fugitives-Other-Short/dp/0486410919/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370281881&sr=1-1&keywords=prokofiev+sarcasms , if you want a cheap edition with lots of content I recommend this one.

Also, try looking in sheetmusicplus.com, they have more variety than in Amazon, only that Amazon is cheaper sometimes.

[j_menz]

I understand that Boosey tends to do the publishing for Prokofiev/Rach/Kabalevsky, and I'm currently looking for a decent edition of Prokofiev's Op.4 (No.4) which I haven't really been able to find on Amazon... any recommendations?

IMC or Simrock would be the best. I have the Dover, though, and it seems adequate.

[jy_]

Thanks for this, will check out the IMC edition (haven't heard of it!)

[davidjosepha]

Reviving this thread a bit.

... Shostakovich ...

I purchased the DSCH version of the preludes and fugues a while ago, but I was pretty disappointed with the quality. Print quality is fine, nothing amazing, but acceptable, but the binding is abysmal. Pages just falling out all over the place. I'm thinking of getting it spiral bound, but I'm not really sure where. I decided to buy the Sikorski edition of the preludes and fugues, second volume. It's pretty nice. The binding seems better, although it's rather rigid, so it's difficult to keep the book open. The pages are on slightly glossy paper. I have yet to see how well pencil markings hold on it. The notes are also quite crisp, and the spacing of notes and measures seems more appropriate in the Sikorski.

I'm here for some thoughts on Chopin. I want to get the Mazurkas. The options I see available on Sheet Music Plus are Henle, Dover, and Paderewski. I'm leaning towards the Paderewski, but I'm curious what other people have to say about it. It's quite expensive. Also, the Jan Ekier edition is well-recommended. I'm looking into that one as well.

[davidjosepha]

Recently discovered this project has been going on for a while. Doesn't look like they've put out any new volumes recently (the preludes and etudes-tableaux both in 2007, nothing since) which makes me think it might be on hold (or, God forbid, canceled), but hopefully they finish this. Reviews say they're very nice print quality, something sorely lacking in every Rachmaninoff edition I've seen. They're paperback versions of the extremely-expensive Critical Editions that Baerenreiter has been putting out.

Here's some explanation of the project

And here's a list of the volumes we can expect in the future, with luck.

And here's the only place I've found so far that sells the Preludes in addition to the Etudes-tableaux. They don't have the right cover showing (that's the cover to the hard-cover critical editions, I think), but everything else looks right, so I might order them both. Looks like you can get free shipping even to the US if you use their slowest option. You can also find the etudes-tableaux on many US websites.