Claude Debussy: Pour Le Piano

The first of Debussy ’s larger Piano works was published in 1901. The slow middle movement had already been written in 1894. This grave Sarabande in the old style was published in a newspaper supplement in 1896 in its first version (regarding this early version see HN 846, Images 1894) and was slightly revised for Pour le Piano. The Sarabande soon became popular and was later orchestrated by Ravel. The first movement, Prélude, evokes Javan music with ringing gongs; and the virtuoso Ricardo Viñes even had to repeat the motoric Toccata at the première.

Le Festin d?Ésope op. 39 no. 12 : Le Festin d?Ésope op. 39 no. 12

Charles Valentin Alkan’s cycle of variations Le Festin d’Ésope derives from his monumental series of etudes op. 39, the 12 Études dans tous les Tons Mineurs, and forms the culmination of that work. Now G. Henle Publishers presents, for the first time in an Urtext edition, what is by far the most well-known piano composition by this French pianist and composer notorious for the extreme virtuosity of his works. Because no autograph manuscripts survive, the first edition from 1857 is the sole source. The premier Alkan scholar Wolfgang Rathert gives details about the life and œuvre of the composer in his preface, while fingerings are provided by the Italian keyboardvirtuoso Vincenzo Maltempo, who has recorded numerous works by Alkan. By popular demand, this composer may also now finally assume his place in the Henle Urtext catalogue!

Le Pescatrici - Dramma Giocoso : Le Pescatrici - Dramma Giocoso

Le Carnaval des Animaux

Le Carnaval des animaux

Written in March 1886 as a humorous occasional work for the traditional carnival concert organized by his cellist friend Charles-Joseph Lebouc, the Carnival of the Animals was so successful that Saint-Saëns banned performances and publication soon afterwards. He was worried that this “grand zoological fantasy” - consisting of 14 short individual pieces for eleven instruments - might overshadow his serious works. Yet only five months after the composer’s death, it appeared in print after all, beginning its worldwide victory march - in its original setting as well as in numerous arrangements. Thus, the Carnival did in fact arguably become the most popular work by this French composer and, owing to its musical originality, it is also a favourite in music lessons or for school orchestra performances. With this combination of a study edition and an edition in parts (for which additional parts for larger numbers of strings may be ordered), G. Henle Publishers now presents the perfect resource for such occasions.

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Klaviersonate Es-Dur Op. 81a

This famous sonata, one of Beethoven ’s most popular and characteristic works, has captions for each of its three movements: Les Adieux , L’Absence and Le Retour . An inexpensive single edition from volume 2 of Henle’s complete reference edition of the Beethoven Piano sonatas.

Andante in F major WoO 57 (Andante favori) : Andante in F major WoO 57 (Andante favori)

First conceived in 1803/04 as the slow movement of the Piano Sonata in C major op. 53 (the Waldstein” Sonata), the Andante turned out too long in Beethoven’s view and was replaced. Beethoven had it published as a standalone movement, presumably in 1805. The movement, marked Grazioso con moto,” is characterised by a large variety of compositional techniques ranging from simple chord progressions to orchestral-like octave runs. Because of its particular popularity, this single movement was published as Andante favori” in its second printing – a moniker that apparently harks back to Beethoven himself. Based on her preliminary research for the critical Complete Edition,Beethoven specialist Joanna Cobb Biermann has carefully revised the musical text of the Henle Urtext edition and updated the preface to reflect the latest scholarship.