With the publication of Chopin’s Études Op. 25, all of Chopin’s 27 Etudes are now available in the acclaimed series The Complete Chopin – A New Critical Edition. Chopin’s Études occupy a central place in the piano repertoire, revered by generations of pianists not only for their technical demands but also for their exceptional musical qualities, which transcend the concept of mere technical ‘studies.’ In this Urtext edition, intended for advanced pianists, pianist and scholar Roy Howat has sifted through the original sources and noted the many variants present in the French, German and English first editions, each of which was engraved from different manuscripts written or supervised by Chopin. Basing each Étude either on one of the first editions or on the manuscript used to produce it, Howat has produced a critical edition that corrects longstanding errors and shows numerous authentic variant readings by Chopin, some of which are found in scores Chopin used when teaching, and others in rare manuscript sources. Several of these variants have never before been published and thus offer new options in performance. Sources are clearly distinguished, avoiding a ‘conflated’ text while presenting a clear and reliable performing edition with numerous authentic options, ideal for all who aspire to play these cornerstones of piano repertoire in an informed way.
The Complete Chopin – A New Critical Edition series is recognised as the definitive scholarly edition of Chopin’s music. Under the direction of editor-in-chief John Rink, a team of some of the world’s most respected Chopin specialists contribute their unrivalled collective knowledge to imbue the project with unique authority, drawing upon the latest international scholarship. The Complete Chopin prioritises the needs of the practical pianist and provides a text of each work based on a single principal source together with important variants from other authoritative sources, along with thorough critical commentaries and prefatory essays in English, French and German.
