Baerenreiter Verlag

Composer: Camille Saint-Saens
Editor: Catherine Massip
Format: Book, Urtext Edition
Instrumentation: Piano

Premier livre

• Ground-breaking musical text based on the "Oeuvres instrumentales completes" by Camille Saint-Saens
• Extensive Foreword on the genesis and significance of the etudes (Fr/Eng/Ger) and a Critical Commentary (Eng)
• With notes on interpretation (Fr/Eng/Ger)

One of Saint-Saens' mature works, the "Six Etudes pour piano" op. 52, appeared in 1877 around the same time as his opera "Samson et Dalila". The second etude of the cycle was originally written in 1868 for the "Ecole du pianiste", the French edition of the piano method by Lebert and Stark. With his collection, the composer who had embarked on a compilation of piano etudes for the first time, evidently wanted to deliberately? distinguish the cycle from the character of the brilliant concert etude: Each of the etudes is devoted to one or more specific difficulties or compositional techniques, as in the fugues. He assigned the individual pieces to famous virtuosos of his time, such as Anton or Nikolai Rubinstein or Marie Jaell.

The Urtext editions are based on the ground-breaking musical text of the "Oeuvres instrumentales completes" by Camille Saint-Saens, for which the editor has meticulously evaluated all known sources. A detailed Foreword provides information on the genesis and significance of the etudes. Readings and variants are precisely documented in the Critical Commentary (Eng). Notes on interpretation (Fr/Eng/Ger) as well as an elegant music engraving provide the pianist with optimal conditions for studying these virtuosic etudes.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Six Etudes pour piano. Premier livre op. 52:
  • N o 1 Prelude
  • N o 2 Pour l'independance des doigts
  • N o 3 Prelude et fugue en fa mineu
  • N o 4 Etude de rythme
  • N o 5 Prelude et fugue en la majeur
  • N o 6 En forme de valse
• Appendix:
  • Fugue op. 52 n o 5 (1 re version / 1 st version / 1. Fassung)
• Critical Commentary
• Source Description
• Critical Notes