Klarinet Archive - Posting 000013.txt from 1995/06

From: Fred Jacobowitz <fredj@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: What is the Difference between d
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 1995 19:50:59 -0400

Charles,
I think I can help you out. Having been in charge of a sheet
music division of a music company and being a teacher, I have dealt with
different editions in various capacities. Often, there is no reason for
the price to be so radically different between publishers. However,
sometimes there are import costs, if an edition is foreign. For example,
both Boosey and Leduc are foreign and are both the most expensive. Next
there is the quality of the paper, and the presentation, i.e. prefacing,
program notes, critical remarks concerning whether that dot in m.8 of the
original manuscript is really just an ink smudge and not another note!, etc.
Yet another factor may be the care used in the editing, such as good page
turns, decent, easily-played piano reductions, the costs involved with
hiring a high-priced, but famous, editorwhose name will sell many copies,
etc. All these factors affect the cost of an edition. Further, there are
the standard market factors such as, "Will the music sell enough copies to
make back the cost of printing? Maybe we should raise the price just
enough to make sure."
However, the second part of your question is a crucial one. a bad
editionis a HORROR!!!!!!!!! Bad editing or misprints can completely
change the way one looks at a piece. Especially when the composer is no
longer alive to ask. Just to give one example, second movement of the Rubank
edition of the Mozart Concerto has an extra measure inserted at the
beginning. Why? Probably because at that time it was considered
acceptable to alter a work to suit the performer, and this editor, who
was a clarinetist, liked it that way. However, that G**d*mn edition is
still around and being bought by unsuspecting teenagers to play in state
Solo and Ensemble (or whatever they are called) competitions. Yet another
is when some editor thinks he is doing a service for unsophisticated
students and puts metronome marks in works which never had any. The
students never learn to experiment and find the comfortable tempo and
instead use one which is probably not right. This problem is magnified
many times when you enter the realm of chamber music because composers
are much more careful about markings here than in solo pieces where, by
and large, anything goes. So a few screwy editorial markings really can
change the entire interpretation of a section or even a movement.
When I can I ALWAYS get an "urtext" edition, which is one which
supposedly follows the original manuscript or, at least, the corrected
printer's score (corrected by the composer). Such an edition is supposed
to be prepared by scholars who are very familiar with the composer's
style and tries to most faithfully show exactly and only what the composer
wrote. Granted, there have been mediocre urtext editions, but your odds of
getting a score which hasn't been tinkered with (usually to its
detriment) by someone whose musical ideas may be quite unusual are much
better.
In the case of the Weber Concerto #2, there really is alot of
difference between editions because all are highly editied. And Weber
expected any performer to do lots of interesting things to his music, so
you take most of the markings with a huge grain of salt. Whichever
edition you buy I recommend you also get the orchestral score, which will
usually have the solo part relatively stripped-down and un-edited. I think
that there is even a miniature score of it, so it wouldn't cost much
either. If I remember correctly, Breitkopf first published this piece, so
maybe the Breitkopf edition would be less screwed up, but I wouldn't bet
on it after all these years. Good luck.

Fred Jacobowitz
On Wed, 31 May 1995, Charles Evans wrote:

> Hi. I'm planning on buying several things from Woodwind Service.. but
> on quite a few sheet music selections you can choose from 2 or 3 or 7 or more
> companies for teh music. For Instance:
>
> Weber, CM Concert #2, Op. 74
> Boosey 12.00
> Fischer 8.50
> International 7.25
> Leduc 19.10
> Southern 12.00
>
>
> What is the differnece in them.. espcially justifying the huge price
> differneces. Btw. THe copy I bought from the loacl music store is
> by Cundy-Bettoney. Any opinions?
>
> I'm looking at Crusell's Op. 5 Concerto, which is $29.00. Most be
> thick :) . I'm looking at getting some other stuff. just wondered what
> peoples opinions for the diff. music companies.
>
> chuck
>