Dover=good/bad?

[chopintod]

Howdy all.

I'm getting the Dover editions of Chopin's works (all of them!) for birthday, and I was just wondering if these are good editions.  Are Dover editions good in general?  I probably should have asked these questions before my parents ordered them from Amazon...but oh well. 

Terry

[Goldberg]

Yep! For the bang-for-the-buck factor, Dover is unbeatable. The biggest problem, if there is one, is that occassionally the print is too condensed as to make for tricky reading. However, consider that all of the notes ARE there and that's really all you need the book for in the first place. On the other hand, I have a Saint-Saens book from Dover and from the look of the pages alone, it may as well be a Henle book.

I can't say I've ever looked through the Chopin books, but I imagine they're just fine quality, given that I have no complaints about any of the Liszt sheets I have from them. As far as I know, Dover is usually quite authoritative as well, and are good about posting uncertain editting issues where necessary (though it does vary from book to book because the editions comes from all over the place and are almost always reprints of some kind or another; for instance, the Liszt etudes collection comprise versions editted by Busoni for the Liszt society, and are direct reprints I believe).

Don't worry, and in fact, I wouldn't ever have second thoughts about ordering any more Dover books either. They don't have the cosmetic beauty of Henle or Barenreiter or...so on...but definitely unbeatable at the price.

[quantum]

The main thing to remember is that Dover reprints editions.  They generally don't edit what they reprint, for the exception of maybe replacing foreign language titles with English.   The quality of the Dover is directly dependant of the quality of the edition of which they chose to reprint. 

You do have to watch out for those instances in which the chosen edition is not of the best quality.  Eg: Dover complilation of Mozart Concertos 20, 21, 23.  They chose to reprint Schirmer. 

Other than that, they are pretty good.  Their binding procedures for their music scores are done well, so pages won't fall out and you can lie the book flat. 

I own the complete Scriabin solo piano works from Dover.  Not much complaints here. 

[viking]

The best thing I like about Dover is the tangible quality of the paper and bindings.  The paper never falls out, and the spine never gets wrecked.  After owning numerous henle paperback editions of chopin polonaises, watzes, etc... I noticed the spine is all ripped apart.  This never happens with dover.  They might not look as good as henle, but the books are really good for the price.  Nothing beats Henle cloth bound though, but you need hundreds of dollars to buy.
SAM

[chelsey]

Most of my books right now are Dover editions, being a student they get marked up pretty bad so the price of them makes them seem more of a workbook than a library investment. I want to buy a good set of books one day down the line, but for now dover editions account for everything onmy piano right now. The thing about Dover reprints is that the spine is really crappy.  Nothing I've tried has kept these books (especially thicker ones, like beethoven sonata volumes) flat open. My teacher had a good solution,  go to any copy store, have them cut the spine and bind the book on a spiral. And because the books are so cheap, I don't mind having my working copies mutilated in this matter

[Barbosa-piano]

  I think they are great, I own about 20 of them. Very sturdy and well designed.

[iumonito]

And now, some specifics:

For the most part you will be getting the Mikuli edition of Chopin, which is not bad, but it is not Urtext.  Once you know the works, you should try to at least borrow an Urtext edition to compare notes.

The etudes and preludes you will get the Paderewski edition, which is good and authoritative, although it can be blamed for being opinionated and a little antiquated in its scholarship.

If your question is more general, I like their Beethoven sonatas (Shenker's Urtex) better than both of the Henle ones, but their volume of Mozart sonatas (Broder, I believe) is much weaker than, say, the Peters urtext.

Their Debussy and Ravel are perfect, and their Bach is pretty good, but not flawless (in Bach the Universal Wiener Urtext is pretty hard to beat, but about twice the price).

Their Scarlatti is ghastly, and their Schubert, Mendelssohn and Schumann wanting.  That said, I own these books for a reason.

Once you learn the pieces you owe to yourself to consult all the sources you can, but Dover books are definitely a good place where to start.

[sznitzeln]

I bought 8 books recently (much more than I really need, but I am addicted).
One was chopin - waltzes + scherzos.
I am satisfied with everything so far, but then again, I dont know if I would spot a bad edition
I think some of the Dovers lack fingering, but everyone seems to love Dover.

I bought 2 scriabin-books too. Someone wrote that the 3 dover books contain the complete scriabin solo piano pieces, but I saw that in the book "Mazurkas, poemes, impromptus and other works" pieces were missing from some collections. Example:
From 3 Morceaux: nr1 , nr 3
or something like that... is this collection really complete?

And do you exert a lot of violence on the books to make them flat and stay open? I am having slight problems with this.

[Goldberg]

If an edition lacks fingering, it's typically a plus for me; and in my experiences, Dover usually doesn't seem to mess around with that kind of thing.

I occassionally do have problems keeping the pages open, but all I have to do is use another book, or two, to keep the first book nice and flat. Actually, I *usually* just put the book down from the music "desk" thing (I don't know if that's the proper name) to where its wedged between that and the fallboard area. It depends on the book, but usually that works nicely and actually makes page turning *easier* than if the book were propped up by two others. However, if I get excited there's a risk of damaging the lower-central part of the pages by having them catch on one of the tuning pins, say.

But the physical structure of Dover books is typically very manageable and durable, yes.

[quantum]

I bought 8 books recently (much more than I really need, but I am addicted).
One was chopin - waltzes + scherzos.
I am satisfied with everything so far, but then again, I dont know if I would spot a bad edition
I think some of the Dovers lack fingering, but everyone seems to love Dover.

I bought 2 scriabin-books too. Someone wrote that the 3 dover books contain the complete scriabin solo piano pieces, but I saw that in the book "Mazurkas, poemes, impromptus and other works" pieces were missing from some collections. Example:
From 3 Morceaux: nr1 , nr 3
or something like that... is this collection really complete?

And do you exert a lot of violence on the books to make them flat and stay open? I am having slight problems with this.

In regards to the Dover Scriabin books.  If you own all 3 books, you own the complete solo piano works of Scriabin.  The reason for missing numbers in book 3 is because they are proabably a prelude or an etude listed in the other book.  There is also a small note on the table of contents of book 3 explaining this. 

I have strong feelings against mutilating my books, so I just place 2 more books at the sides to keep it open.  You can also use some of those large black metal clips. 

[BoliverAllmon]

In regards to the Dover Scriabin books.  If you own all 3 books, you own the complete solo piano works of Scriabin.  The reason for missing numbers in book 3 is because they are proabably a prelude or an etude listed in the other book.  There is also a small note on the table of contents of book 3 explaining this. 

I have strong feelings against mutilating my books, so I just place 2 more books at the sides to keep it open.  You can also use some of those large black metal clips. 

or simply photo copy the music you need out of the book and use it. That way the book never gets worn.

boliver

[The Six]

I've found a number of errors in the "Other works" Scriabin Dover book. The collection is also missing out on some posthumous Scriabin works like the Sonata in E flat Minor, I think.

My Debussy Dover book is falling apart, too. I didn't even try to break it.

[hodi]

the dover edition of the beethoven sonatas is very very good
but their "complete mendelssohn piano works vol 1&2"
are just so bad.. no fingering.. nothing, the printing is very faded and i got a copy with torn pages so they (amazon) replaced it with a new copy

[pianoforce]

I really love Dover books, because they are cheap and dependable.  They also have a very large selection.  In regards to missing motes or accents, this doesn't really bother me as half the time I'll add my own dynimics, depending on how I feel, and will even occasionally add a couple of notes. 

[pianojems]

All the Chopin Music by Dover is reprinted from the original Paderewski edition which is the best possible edition for Chopin's music. Its like getting the best edition for a fraction of the cost.

[BoliverAllmon]

All the Chopin Music by Dover is reprinted from the original Paderewski edition which is the best possible edition for Chopin's music. Its like getting the best edition for a fraction of the cost.

I have the dover chopin waltzes and they say mikuli editions. am i missing something?

[bearzinthehood]

They used to print Paderewski but now they print Mikuli.  My preludes & etudes book is Paderewski.  As to whether or not Mikuli is inferior to Paderewski, I don't know.  Maybe someone more knowledgeable can comment on that.

[BoliverAllmon]

They used to print Paderewski but now they print Mikuli.  My preludes & etudes book is Paderewski.  As to whether or not Mikuli is inferior to Paderewski, I don't know.  Maybe someone more knowledgeable can comment on that.

all I know is that my teacher told me to get the mikuli editions. whoever printed them get them.

[Mozartian]

I take my book and open it completely backwards to get it to stay open. The spine cracks just a little, just enough to make it flexible.
Works really well.

[jhon]

I have 3 Dover-published books - Mozart's complete Sonatas/Fantasies and Liszt's complete Etudes (in 2 volumes/books).  The latter is fine but I strongly NOT recommend the former.  Although it claims to have referred from the original Mozart autograph scores, it has too many (as in very many!) differences with the older versions. 

Anyway, yous see, the bottomline is that it's really not about the PUBLISHER (like Dover) ; it's all about the EDITION (I mean, the editor) - they are different. 

For new editors, I recommend Alfred Palmer.

[mikeyg]

 

For new editors, I recommend Alfred Palmer.

Indeed, Alfred Palmer is of exceprional quality, but are MUCH more expensive than Dover.

[maul]

Dover is in one word : bad. At least from my experience. I bought the Chopin Masterpieces book a couple months ago, and wow was I surprised. Tons of errors. Grace notes left out or in the wrong places, WRONG NOTES, impossible/wrong fingering, etc. Stay away, far away.

[jhon]

Indeed, Alfred Palmer is of exceprional quality, but are MUCH more expensive than Dover.

Sorry for the mistake.  His name is Willard, not Alfred.  Alfred is the name of the publisher. 

Yes, it's more expensive.  The Chopin complete Nocturnes I have costs about 900 Philippine Peso=about US$16.

[nomis]

Dover is in one word : bad. At least from my experience. I bought the Chopin Masterpieces book a couple months ago, and wow was I surprised. Tons of errors. Grace notes left out or in the wrong places, WRONG NOTES, impossible/wrong fingering, etc. Stay away, far away.

That book is bad, but the complete piano works is excellent.

Dover's range is very good, and many of their editions are wonderful. Where else can you get Liszt Opera Transcriptions and transcriptions of Beethoven's Symphonies for such quality and price? They also have affordable editions of the less popular composers such as Saint-Saens, Medtner, Couperin, Rubinstein, that you would probably have to pay a pretty penny to get your hands on elsewhere. They have a huge range of orchestral scores too, if you ever have a Lisztian urge to transcribe a Symphony or Opera.

However, if you want affordable Urtext editions, look for Konemann/Koenemann editions, but you have to be a pretty advanced pianist to use their Bach and Beethoven because they hardly have any fingerings. Bach doesn't have any fingerings at all, and Beethoven rarely added fingerings, so it can be perplexing to not have a recommended fingering; at least with a recommended fingering you can try it to see if it suits your hand, and very often it will, but having nothing means that you might devise an inefficient fingering and will have to force yourself to change it when you see another edition with better fingering. Phew! That was a long sentence!

[Prophetic]

Does Dover guarantee their binding like they use to? My organ teacher says they sued to have a guarantee on the back, and he had the ''good'' version of the Bach Organ Works book. Apparently it survived floating in a river and a fire. No pages have fallen out, and he's had it for about 20 years. 

[chopintod]

Wow!  Looks like I opened a can of worms here without realizing it...

Anyway, here's what I gather: Dover books generally (emphasis on generally) give you good bang for your buck as far as binding/page quality goes; relatively high quality for comparatively low prices.  But, as far as the actual music, fingerings, etc., it all depends on the editor (which is sort of common sense, I guess).  Most of Dover's works have good editing, then, I presume? At least, that's what I gather from many of the above posts.  The Chopin books, at least, seem to have been edited well.  And yes, most of Dover's Chopin books are Mikuli.

[Nightscape]

I've found a number of errors in the "Other works" Scriabin Dover book. The collection is also missing out on some posthumous Scriabin works like the Sonata in E flat Minor, I think.

My Debussy Dover book is falling apart, too. I didn't even try to break it.

My "other works" scriabin Dover book does indeed contain some errors, and the print is oddly assymetrical (must be an extremely old edition).  However, the complete preludes and etudes book of Scriabin is incredible.  Very cheap, error free, and very professional looking print - clean, well spaced, and almost glossy looking.

I haven't had a whole lot of time to browse through my Scriabin dover sonata book, but I'll comment on that later.

[nomis]

Does Dover guarantee their binding like they use to? My organ teacher says they sued to have a guarantee on the back, and he had the ''good'' version of the Bach Organ Works book. Apparently it survived floating in a river and a fire. No pages have fallen out, and he's had it for about 20 years. 

No they don't as their binding is terrible. The glue attaching my Debussy cover has come off, leaving only the back cover on. There is also a book of Haendel's keyboard works at school which has the guarantee on the back, and we all laugh whenever we see that book. Needless to say it's in a pretty cruddy condition.

Wow! Looks like I opened a can of worms here without realizing it...

Anyway, here's what I gather: Dover books generally (emphasis on generally) give you good bang for your buck as far as binding/page quality goes; relatively high quality for comparatively low prices. But, as far as the actual music, fingerings, etc., it all depends on the editor (which is sort of common sense, I guess). Most of Dover's works have good editing, then, I presume? At least, that's what I gather from many of the above posts. The Chopin books, at least, seem to have been edited well. And yes, most of Dover's Chopin books are Mikuli.

I recommend that you get them. Although some Urtext versions may be better (e.g. Henle Urtext's Chopin Etudes have both the original fingering and the editor's fingering. If both do not work for your hand (highly unlikely) then there's always an alternative if you need it. Also Chopin's fingerings are important because they frequently show the shape of a phrase.), it is a worthwhile purchase. By the way, if you're ever unsure whether to buy a Dover book, just ask again.