Orchestral Masterpieces under the Microscope

A must-have for any conductor, conducting student and orchestral librarian. How does a conductor know whether the score they use is what the composer wrote? How do orchestral players know that their parts are reliable and reflect the latest scholarship? As Jonathan Del Mar reminds us in this ground-breaking book, editions of the orchestral repertoire are beset by textual problems: simple misprints, mistakes in the score or player's part, or hopelessly outdated scores at odds with current scholarship. Driven by a fundamental respect for what the composer actually wrote, Jonathan Del Mar addresses these problems through textual reports on over 100 orchestral masterpieces of classical music. Each report is introduced with essential guidance and succinct commentary on the first performance and publication of the work. Critical editions are compared with commonly used editions, and in those cases where no Urtext Edition exists, this much-needed reference work functions as a replacement for an Urtext Edition. Orchestral Masterpieces under the Microscope will be an indispensable reference tool for all who care about performances honouring the correct text that composers have left us. It serves as an essential survival guide for conductors and musicians to make informed choices, and it offers much-needed clarity on the latest scholarship for musicologists and music librarians alike.

Table of Contents:
Preface Editorial Conventions Bartok Piano Concerto No.1 Violin Concerto No.2 Dance Suite Beethoven Symphonies: some supplementary remarks Overture Leonore No.2 Overture Leonore No.3 Overture King Stephen Berlioz Symphonie fantastique Harold in Italy Overtures Bloch Schelomo: Hebraic rhapsody for cello and orchestra Brahms Four Symphonies Piano Concerto No.1 in D minor Violin Concerto in D Hungarian Dances: a brief guide Bruch Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor Busoni Piano Concerto Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune Dvořák Scherzo capriccioso Symphonic Variations Romance for violin and orchestra Serenade for strings Elgar Variations on an Original Theme ('Enigma') Concert-Overture: Froissart Concert-Overture: Cockaigne Concert-Overture: In the South (Alassio) Sea Pictures Serenade for Strings in E minor Fauré, orch. Aubert Fantaisie for Flute Franck Symphony in D minor Haydn Symphonies with High Horns Symphony No.100 in G ('Military') Symphony No.104 in D ('London') Liszt Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat Piano Concerto No.2 in A Mahler Symphony No.2 in C minor Martinů Rhapsody-Concerto for viola and orchestra Mendelssohn Symphony No.3 in A minor ('Scottish') Symphony No.4 in A ('Italian') Violin Concerto in E minor Overture The Hebrides Mozart Piano Concertos Mussorgsky, orch. Ravel Pictures from an Exhibition Nielsen Sinfonia espansiva (Symphony No.3) Prokofiev Classical Symphony (Symphony No.1) Peter and the Wolf Rachmaninov Symphony No.2 in E minor Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor Ravel Piano Concerto La Valse Le Tombeau de Couperin Pavane pour une infante défunte Respighi Fontane di Roma Rimsky-Korsakov Symphonic Suite: Scheherazade Capriccio Espagnol Rossini Overture William Tell Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 in C minor Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor Schubert Overture Die Zauberharfe ('Rosamunde') Schumann Symphony No.4 in D minor Overture, Scherzo and Finale Cello Concerto in A minor Overture Genoveva Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat Sibelius Symphony No.2 in D Symphony No.3 in C Symphony No.4 in A minor Symphony No.5 in E flat Symphony No.6 in D minor Symphony No.7 in C Violin Concerto in D minor Tapiola Smetana Má Vlast: 2. Vltava Má Vlast: 3. Šárka Strauss Ein Heldenleben Horn Concerto No.1 in E flat Oboe Concerto Metamorphosen: Study for 23 Solo Strings Tchaikovsky Symphony No.2 in C minor Symphony No.3 in D Symphony No.4 in F minor Symphony No.5 in E minor Symphony No.6 in B minor, 'Pathétique' Piano Concerto No.1 in B flat minor Violin Concerto in D Fantasy-Overture after Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet Tippett Symphony No.2 in C Vaughan Williams A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2) Pastoral Symphony (Symphony No. 3) Tuba Concerto Wagner Prelude Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg Walton Cello Concerto Weber Overture Der Beherrscher der Geister Overture Der Freischütz Overture Oberon Bibliography

About the Author :
JONATHAN DEL MAR is a conductor and musicologist. His Beethoven editions are published by Baerenreiter and performed by orchestras and ensembles around the world.

Review :
At last our orchestral prayers will be answered! Jonathan Del Mar is the outstanding music editor of our time. His book will be invaluable to all conductors as well as of great interest to other musicians and scholars. Decision making is at the heart of conducting,and in almost every major piece we work on there are a wealth of problems and conundrums to solve. Short of telephoning the composer ourselves,an option rarely available,we all need assistance. What did the composer REALLY write, and what exactly does it mean? Jonathan Del Mar has characteristically cut to the chase by compiling this treasure trove of answers to so many of those thorny questions. This book is beyond valuable: it will doubtless be on every conductor's bookshelf and countless scholars as well. Bravo!! His book is an indispensable reference for all musicians. This book is probably unique in its detail and coverage of the most important composers in Western classical music and will help veteran and student musicians alike. Belongs in any library that is in an institution supporting a symphony orchestra. It's an essential resource for conductors and performers who want to engage with repertoire not just interpretively, but textually. It is not just for those editing scores or leading orchestras-it's for any musician who wants to read more deeply into what the composer might have intended, and what may have gotten lost along the way.