Urtext Edition, Piano reduction, paperbound
Two copies needed for performance
Rachmaninoff’s legendary Opus 18, often lovingly referred to as “Rach 2,” is for many the epitome of the Romantic piano concerto. Following its acclaimed premiere in Moscow in 1901, it proved to be a show-stopper around the globe, finally helping cement Rachmaninoff’s international reputation as a composer. To this day, the concerto’s enchanting themes and elegiac melodies in the strings are considered the trademark of Rachmaninoff, indeed, of Russian music in general. For the first Urtext edition of this pivotal work, we were able to examine the original autograph score in Moscow’s Glinka Museum. Rachmaninoff’s own sound recordings were also consulted. The newly prepared piano reduction ensures good playability; it accords exactly with the also newly edited orchestral score and parts. Both of these are available from Breitkopf & Härtel.
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
