Editions

[ewalker1]

Hello all,

I am a conservatoire student in the UK.

For all the scores I buy (a lot) , I generally go to Henle Verlag as my immediate choice. Then if Henle don't publish it, I would probably check the obvious urtext choices (Bärenreiter, Durand, Wiener, Boosey & Hawkes) and occasionally Peters (seeing as they publish pretty much everything) and Dover, if its a reprint of a decent edition, like the Scriabin preludes & etudes.

I need to buy a copy of the Bach English suites...should I just do what I normally do and buy the Henle edition? Or can anyone vouch for the Wiener Urtext edition? I have flicked through it and looks to be fine. For me, Bärenreiter tends to seem very good for analytical work, but less so for playing as (particularly with Bach), as the music is not practically written to how one would play it, also they normally don't have any fingerings, which is normally helpfully presented in other editions.

So my questions is...should I trust other editions as much as Henle?

[chopinlover01]

Depends on the piece. With Bach English suites, Henle probably won't let you down, and Bach is often the same from edition to edition in my (albeit limited) experience, as opposed to Chopin, where the pedal markings, dynamcis, phrasing, and fingering vary from edition to edition.

[pianoman1349]

I personally use the Weiner Urtext for the English Suites works, though I also own the Henle edition of these works

As a general note, I usually use either the Henle or Weiner Urtext for all works except for the following exceptions.  Liszt: Editio musica Budapest.  Chopin: National Edition or Paderewski edition.  Debussy: Weiner Urtext.  Any other works (non-German): Any Urtext edition from country of origin.

For concertos, generally I like the International Music Company editions, mainly for their superior paper quality.

[michael_sayers]

I personally use the Weiner Urtext for the English Suites works, though I also own the Henle edition of these works

As a general note, I usually use either the Henle or Weiner Urtext for all works except for the following exceptions.  Liszt: Editio musica Budapest.  Chopin: National Edition or Paderewski edition.  Debussy: Weiner Urtext.  Any other works (non-German): Any Urtext edition from country of origin.

For concertos, generally I like the International Music Company editions, mainly for their superior paper quality.

Hi Pianoman1349,

In consequence of all the variants, I don't think there can be any accurate edition of Liszt's and Chopin's piano works.  Just look at this . . .

Mvh,
Michael

[ewalker1]

As a general note, I usually use either the Henle or Weiner Urtext for all works except for the following exceptions.  Liszt: Editio musica Budapest.  Chopin: National Edition or Paderewski edition.  Debussy: Weiner Urtext.  Any other works (non-German): Any Urtext edition from country of origin.

Interesting!
All my Chopin scores are Henle, apart from the Waltzes which is the national edition (got it for free). I've got the EMB edition of the Liszt TE, but then the Henle edition of the b minor sonata. Debussy, I think the only score I actually have is of the preludes, and this is a dover edition (reprint of Durand)

[j_menz]

For me, Bärenreiter tends to seem very good for analytical work, but less so for playing as (particularly with Bach), as the music is not practically written to how one would play it, also they normally don't have any fingerings, which is normally helpfully presented in other editions.

So you're looking for a Urtext edition with suitable editorial insertions (such as fingering). Do you also want one that suggests ornamentation?

If so. why exactly are you looking at any so called (and it's a phenomenally lose term in practice) Urtext edition for?

[ewalker1]

Most of the time, I suppose I'm looking for the bare bones of what the composer wrote, with some helpful fingering and reallocation of notes (only suggestive) into each hand to make it convenient to play (with Bach).
It is a little lazy of me, because I could work all this out, but a few helpful fingerings don't go amiss when you're trying to learn quickly.

[pianoman1349]

Hi Pianoman1349,

In consequence of all the variants, I don't think there can be any accurate edition of Liszt's and Chopin's piano works.  Just look at this . . .

Mvh,
Michael

I am familiar with these arguments.  However, for scholarly arguments and also competition requirements (I'm thinking Chopin Competition and Liszt Competition in Warsaw and Utrecht respectively), these editions are the most current "authentic" versions of the works.

[michael_sayers]

I am familiar with these arguments.  However, for scholarly arguments and also competition requirements (I'm thinking Chopin Competition and Liszt Competition in Warsaw and Utrecht respectively), these editions are the most current "authentic" versions of the works.

Yes, with "authentic" in quotation marks!

The way Liszt and Chopin played their own works, they would never even be let in to one of these piano competitions.


Mvh,
Michael