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Topic: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please  (Read 3229 times)

Offline joshjackson

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Hi all, I completed my Grade 8 ABRSM 10 years ago. I am fairly rusty now but I think with some practice, I should be able to get back to that level. I have begun to miss the piano and am looking to get back to it. I want to expand my repertoire, and am looking to play pieces by Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven (my fave composers). Perhaps in a couple of years, if I feel up to it (no rush), I would like to attempt the Diploma (ABRSM or Trinity but am leaning more towards the latter because the ABRSM Quick Study scares me a little lol).

I was hoping to get some advice on which editions to get of the Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas. I am looking for an edition with fingering (that you think is helpful). I can figure out my own fingerings with some effort but I think getting a fingered edition helps a lot. Based on my searches on this forum, many people seem to recommend Henle Urtext but I wanted to look at some other alternatives as well. Did Beethoven or Mozart provide fingering suggestions? I don't think Scarlatti ever did. I do not necessarily need to get Urtext, but I was hoping that the editor's marks do not stray too far from the composer's original intentions..

Scarlatti - Many have recommended Schirmer/Kirkpatrick as THE edition to get. Thinking long-term, the DipABRSM and ATCL syllabi have pairs of sonatas. I don't think any other edition publishes pairs of sonatas in their book but I may be wrong. I have read about Hashimoto edition but can't seem to find out which sonatas are in that edition?

Mozart - A previous posted recommended the ABRSM version. What is your opinion of this edition and are there other editions you would recommend? 

Beethoven - it seems like there are so many to choose from. Right now I'm interested in Moonlight and Pathetique. I've read good things about Peters-Arrau version.

Thanks a lot in advance!

Offline outin

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Re: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please
Reply #1 on: February 01, 2016, 05:55:16 AM
For Scarlatti there are no good editions with fingering really for most sonatas. The best editions for the whole set are Gilbert and Fadini. For Europe Gilbert is out of copyright and available in imslp.
 Kirkpatrick's is good,  but a limited selection. Henle has fingerings, but I personally don't like them.

One option if you want some hints on fingerings is to look at the longo editions also available free in imslp. But ignore the editions otherwise, they are mostly just all wrong.

Offline joshjackson

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Re: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please
Reply #2 on: February 02, 2016, 12:20:19 AM
Thanks. That's a great idea. I've taken a look at some of the sonatas on IMSLP but noticed that none of the versions I looked at had fingerings. Guess I'll just have to figure out my own fingerings.

Do you have suggestions for Beethoven and Mozart sonatas?

Offline quantum

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Re: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please
Reply #3 on: February 02, 2016, 01:50:47 AM
For Mozart, the contents of the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (Barenreiter) is accessible online.  
https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/nma/start.php?l=2

Henle's Mozart has the expected print and binding quality from the publisher.  However, I have found some editorial choices in this urtext to be questionable, especially for an "urtext."  It's not a bad edition, just that I would have expected better transparency from an edition that claims urtext.

If you can find a Könemann edition, they are excellent.

For Beethoven, the Peters-Arrau is fingered.  I've used it and have been pleased with it.  There are lots of choices for Beethoven, so you may want to hold the books in your hand and flip through.  
Made a Liszt. Need new Handel's for Soler panel & Alkan foil. Will Faure Stein on the way to pick up Mendels' sohn. Josquin get Wolfgangs Schu with Clara. Gone Chopin, I'll be Bach

Offline chopinawesome

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Re: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please
Reply #4 on: February 02, 2016, 02:00:45 AM
 I mainly use Schirmer :)
Beethoven Op 2/2
Chopin Op 20, maybe op 47/38
Debussy Etude 7
Grieg Op 16
Want to do:
Chopin Concerti 1 and 2
Beethoven Waldstein
Ravel Miroirs

Offline outin

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Re: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please
Reply #5 on: February 02, 2016, 05:42:02 AM
Thanks. That's a great idea. I've taken a look at some of the sonatas on IMSLP but noticed that none of the versions I looked at had fingerings. Guess I'll just have to figure out my own fingerings.

Do you have suggestions for Beethoven and Mozart sonatas?

Sorry, those are not my cup of tea ;)

The Longo editions are a bit difficult to find in IMSLP. You will also need to use a converter, because the numbers are different to K numbers.

So what you can do is convert the K number to L number using this:
https://www.ne.jp/asahi/music/marinkyo/scarlatti/referenco.html.en

Then go to:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Opera_complete_per_clavicembalo_(Scarlatti,_Domenico)
Open the pdf file and find the right sonata. But as I said, Longo did a lot of alterations and "corrections" to Scarlatti's text, so it's best only to use this edition for fingering suggestions and a proper edition for the actual notation.

BTW, for the pairings not all Scholars completely agree, but Kirkpatrick arranged them by pairs so that successive K numbers indicate a pair. You can read what he writes here:
https://books.google.fi/books?id=VBb_k9YujPcC&pg=PA143&dq=kirkpatrick+pairwise+arrangement&hl=fi&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi_-o7TrtjKAhVFZCwKHf2MBjkQ6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q=kirkpatrick%20pairwise%20arrangement&f=false
If the above link does not work for you, just Google for books with "Kirkpatrick pairwise arrangement".

Offline thirtytwo2020

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Re: Editions of Scarlatti, Mozart and Beethoven sonatas - Help please
Reply #6 on: February 02, 2016, 09:33:16 AM
Hello joshjackson!

I think Barry Cooper's Beethoven seems to have sound fingering suggestions.

Yes, Beethoven suggested fingering in some places. These often show up in italics in the Urtext editions. Many of them are quite weird, though, interesting to ponder but maybe not particularly helpful. As far as I know, Mozart never suggested any fingerings.

Just curious to know if anyone has experience of the fingerings in Piano Street's Urtext Editions? There seems to be fingering suggestions in at least some of the Mozart and Beethoven sonatas, like Moonlight and Pathétique for example.
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