So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Have your scores reviewed by other users. Comment on old and new published scores and on publishers.
User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 2449
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 14:25
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by John Ruggero »

Great point, ruaraidh. It's free on IMSLP. Sometimes the best things in life ARE free. I forgot to mention the excellent page turns and engraving.

Thanks, John. It's my favorite piano music. What never fails to amaze me is how different each is from the other (although there are interesting relationships between some of them). It's almost like 32 different composers wrote them.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
jrethorst
Posts: 122
Joined: 09 Apr 2016, 18:48

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by jrethorst »

I remember an enlightening conversation I had with my theory professor. I asked him about a detail in one of the sonatas; he replied that he'd look at it, since he didn't know that sonata well, since he didn't play it -- because his wife did. As academics and practicing musicians they had split the 32 sonatas to avoid arguments. Fine secret to a successful marriage, I thought.
John Rethorst
User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 2449
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 14:25
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by John Ruggero »

Must be a old story. Had a student who was married to a university pianist and would only play pieces that her husband didn't. Thankfully, I married a non-musician and got all 32 Beethoven Sonatas.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
Schonbergian
Posts: 252
Joined: 03 Feb 2017, 02:25
Location: Toronto

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by Schonbergian »

John, is the Ratz revision of Schenker's edition superior or inferior to the original?
User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 2449
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 14:25
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by John Ruggero »

The Ratz might be considered superior in that some misprints were corrected, and the measure numbers are out of the way of the text. However, I use the original because there has been criticism of some of Ratz's changes. It has been a long time since I compared the two, however.

Actually, having Ratz edit Schenker was a strange choice since Ratz was firmly in the Mahler-Schoenberg camp, which had little use for Schenker, who in turn returned the compliment many times over. It is a sad thing, actually, because at first Schoenberg and Schenker were quite friendly, and Schoenberg actually orchestrated one of Schenker's early compositions. But their paths soon diverged after Schenker criticised Schoenberg's Harmony theory text book in print. Much later, when Schoenberg was living in California and Schenker was long dead, one of Schenker's best students, a wonderful pianist with the equally wonderful name of Moriz Violin, visited Schoenberg. His mission was to right what he considered a great wrong. According to Schoenberg himself, Violin's piano playing had a profound effect on him, as did Violin's explanations of how Schenker's work influenced musical interpretation, leaving one with the impression that Schoenberg felt that he might have missed something significant by not becoming more familiar with Schenker's work.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
Felipe Copaja
Posts: 20
Joined: 06 Mar 2017, 19:18

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by Felipe Copaja »

Has anyone seen the newest Bärenreiter edition by Del Mar?
Schonbergian
Posts: 252
Joined: 03 Feb 2017, 02:25
Location: Toronto

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by Schonbergian »

Only seen it in stores. The notation isn't as exact as Schenker's, to say nothing of John's new edition which should be even better.

The engraving itself is downright nauseating and some of the worst I've seen in piano editions - but par for the course for new Baerenreiter.
User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 2449
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 14:25
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by John Ruggero »

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Schonbergian. I really appreciate it.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
Felipe Copaja
Posts: 20
Joined: 06 Mar 2017, 19:18

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by Felipe Copaja »

Oh! didn't know John was preparing a new edition!
User avatar
John Ruggero
Posts: 2449
Joined: 05 Oct 2015, 14:25
Location: Raleigh, NC USA

Re: So what is generally considered the best all-around Beethoven piano sonatas edition?

Post by John Ruggero »

Well, John is trying. Thanks for your interest, Felipe.
M1 Mac mini (OS 12.4), Dorico, Finale 25.5, GPO 4, Affinity Publisher 2, SmartScore 64 Pro, JW Plug-ins, TG Tools, Keyboard maestro

http://www.cantilenapress.com
Post Reply