Series: Dover Music for Piano
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications; 1st edition (September 3, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486292223
ISBN-13: 978-0486292229
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.6 x 11.9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #271,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #33 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Piano Sonatas #37 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Forms & Genres > Ballet & Dance #48 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Sheet Music & Scores > Composers > Mozart
Pianists beware: the sonatas/fantasies in this book are reprints of the old Breitkopf & Härtel edition, which is not a very "faithful" or "authentic" printing of Mozart's works. Certain markings, like long phrase slurs and use of the word legato, are very un-Mozartean: they are clearly the work of the editor. Other edits, like appogiaturas written as regular notation, and certain post-trill ornaments, may also cause concern among Mozart purists.Despite these alterations, this edition -- like all other Dover piano books -- is excellent for playing. Once you open out the pages and press them into place, they won't drift back. The notation is printed clearly; the only sonata with readability issues is the 9th in D major. The inclusion of two "new" Sonatas (which did not appear in older editions) is an interesting surprise, but not necessarily a good or bad one.If you really can't stand to see Wolfgang's work altered by editors, then avoid this book and buy an Urtext edition instead. If, on the other hand, you simply want to play some melodious, intermediate piano music, then go ahead and buy this book -- it's the cheapest one out there. However, you would be well advised to check out an urtext version just to see where the editing changes are.
This is a nice, reasonably priced edition of Mozart's sonatas. It also includes his Fantasies also. My biggest problem is that there are no fingerings present. Yes, the lack of excessive fingerings can sometimes be good, but there are absolutely none given in this edition. There are also some editorial changes, none of which are glaringly severe, but slightly annoying.Mozarts sonatas are a must for any classical pianist and a great teaching tool for the intermediate pianist wishing to advance to more challenging works. The Dover edition is fine, but you might want to examine other editions before settling on this one.
Dover versions sometimes can be really good. For example, for a lot of Dover's Chopin works, they use the Paderewski edition, the one most pianists use. But sometimes, as is the case here and with their Beethoven sonatas, one finds that Dover is not the best choice for the pianist. While Dover scores are sometimes a godsend because they're cheap and therefore, a steady diet of Dover can easily and quickly expand your music library, sometimes you may just want to shell out the extra cash for a better edition.Such is the case with their Mozart Sonatas and Fantasies. By far, the best edition out there is Henle, with Edition Peters a close second. Now, you won't find changes necessarily in actual notes; few publishers tamper with that anymore. But if you want to see Mozart's original notation--everything from his trills to every single staccato--that is, if you want an Urtext, get something else other than this Dover edition. And if you want fingerings--good fingerings--check out Henle.Still, if you don't have the cash for Henle or EP, and they can be extremely expensive, then Dover's is acceptible. But it's not an Urtext, and not always a good representation of what Mozart wrote. This doesn't bother everyone, and if it doesn't bother you, go for it.
The editing in this edition is not perfect; but in some cases there is some useful written-out appogiaturas (the ornaments that are usually indicated by symbols in the music.) If you are not familiar with how an inverted mordant should be played or the conventions of trills, the editing will do you until you listen to enough Mozart recordings of the great pianists and learn the Baroque and Classical conventions of ornamentation.This is one of those books that you could take with you and the piano to a desert island and have enough music to learn and enjoy for years.
The type setting is way too small for this to very useful for sight reading. Perhaps others are OK with this..but beware. Low Price corresponds to low print quality..I should have known better. I will have to scan the pieces I am interested in and enlarge them. John
It's a pretty standard thing to have as a pianist. I don't play personally, but I got it as a gift and they loved it. She'd been playing for about 8 years and thought this was a fun challenging set of songs.
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