Chopin left behind only a few works in the main form of the classical era, the sonata – of these, the Piano Sonata op. 58 certainly numbers among his most important. Formally, it is more conventionally structured than the earlier b flat minor Sonata, but just like its sibling work, it is full of romantic poetry, irresistible melodic inspirations and brilliant virtuosity. The revision of the previous Henle Urtext edition has now been based on a broader foundation of sources: alongside a further student copy which contains revealing corrections from Chopin’s lessons, a later impression of the French first edition is of particular importance, since Chopin’s corrections are implemented here. Consequently, the b minor Sonata is now available with an improved musical text and extensive commentary texts!
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 optimised 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
