With opuses 1, 2, 4, 5, and 10, this volume contains virtually all of Johannes Brahms’ early piano oeuvre, with which the budding composer and pianist introduced himself to the public. The Scherzo op. 4 from 1851 stands alongside the sonatas composed between 1851–53 as a substantial single movement that particularly delighted Robert Schumann, leading him to direct the public’s special attention to his young colleague in his famous article “New Paths” in 1853. Written the following year, the Four Ballades op. 10 complete the volume. Already they strike a new, more Romantic note that Brahms described to Clara Schumann thus: “They are not very difficult, and even less difficult to understand”. This Urtext edition offers a revision of the musical text based on the new Brahms Complete Edition, with an extensive preface by editor Katrin Eich.
G. Henle Publishers stands for Urtext sheet music of the highest quality. The Urtext editions not only provide the undistorted and authoritative musical text but are also aesthetically pleasing, optimised for practical use and extremely durable. And then there is the strong, distinctive blue profile: (almost) all of the Urtext editions are bound in the characteristic blue cardboard.
Musicians trust Henle's blue Urtext editions because they:
- provide an undistorted, reliable and authoritative musical text
- offer superb, aesthetically appealing music engraving
- are optimized for practical use (page turns, fingerings)
- are of high quality and durable (cover, paper, binding)
- contain a short preface that introduces the work (particularly useful for AMEB exams) in German, English and French, as well as explanatory footnotes for particularly interesting passages in the score
- contain a description of the sources, an evaluation of the sources, readings and a documentation of the corrections made (= "Critical Report") in German and English, and often also in French
