Piano Forum

Poll

Most trustworthy sheet music edition for Brahms

Henle (Katrin Eich, Walter Georgii, Camilla Cai)
3 (60%)
Vienna Urtext (various)
0 (0%)
Baerenreiter (Christian Koehn)
1 (20%)
IMC complete in 3 volumes (unknown)
1 (20%)
Dover (Eusebius Mandyczewski)
0 (0%)
ABRSM (Howard Ferguson)
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 5



Enfant Terrible or Childishly Innocent? – Prokofiev’s Complete Piano Works Now on Piano Street
In our ongoing quest to provide you with a complete library of classical piano sheet music, the works of Sergey Prokofiev have been our most recent focus. As one of the most distinctive and original musical voices from the first half of the 20th century, Prokofiev has an obvious spot on the list of top piano composers. Welcome to the intense, humorous, and lyrical universe of his complete Sonatas, Concertos, character pieces, and transcriptions! Read more >>

Topic: Brahms Piano Works  (Read 1162 times)

Offline liszthalberg

  • PS Silver Member
  • Newbie
  • ***
  • Posts: 1
Brahms Piano Works
on: March 20, 2022, 09:54:16 AM
Which sheet music edition of Brahms is THE most faithful to the intentions of the composer, for ALL of his piano works? I know there are likes of this poll that already exist but would like to narrow down options to just one and only one. I am never bothered about the publisher but only the editor. Also, unclear printing is immaterial for me as I can always compare b/w editions and work my way through. I have 6 options, I assume these are quality editions as many websites and forums suggest these, but what is the best edition if you were to choose just one? And are there any ones better than these? For any answer, please make sure to explain why, and thanks in advance. Of course, he is my favourite composer and I have an exam coming soon. Any help appreciated.  ;D
Johannes Brahms:
- Top pieces & piano scores to download
- Biography & quotes
- Related forum topics & articles

Offline anacrusis

  • PS Silver Member
  • Sr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 800
Re: Brahms Piano Works
Reply #1 on: March 22, 2022, 11:10:19 PM
It's difficult to say which one is the best, since they're all good if they're an Urtext from a reputable publisher. I tend to like Henle, Vienna Urtext and Baerenreiter in general.

Offline samjoseph

  • PS Silver Member
  • Newbie
  • ***
  • Posts: 2
Re: Brahms Piano Works
Reply #2 on: May 12, 2022, 04:42:32 AM
It really doesnt matter. Brahms was a careful proofreader and most of his text is quite secure. If you want fingerings, then probably henle or wiener or barenreiter. The only inaccuracy I can remember offhand is in var 6 of the paganini variations book 2. A repeat sign appears to be missing (read here: https://www.henle.de/blog/en/2012/08/06/%E2%80%98play-it-again%E2%80%99-%E2%80%93-is-a-repeat-sign-missing-in-brahms%E2%80%99-paganini-variations/). Otherwise only the layout and print quality will differ between the editions. Dover is definitely the most affordable, but its available on imslp. You could probably get an urtext and use this for comparison if cost isnt an issue. I personally would choose dover since the editor was known to brahms AND he didnt add anything of his own to the edition. Plus its cheap ;D
 

Logo light pianostreet.com - the website for classical pianists, piano teachers, students and piano music enthusiasts.

Subscribe for unlimited access

Sign up

Follow us

Piano Street Digicert