Keyboard instruments > Piano solo
Claude Debussy
Piano Works, Volume III
Editor: Ernst-Günter Heinemann
Fingering: Hans-Martin Theopold
Preface: François Lesure
59.95 $
Urtext Edition, paperbound
Pages: 206 (XII, 194)
Order no. HN 1196 · ISMN 979-0-2018-1196-3
To mark the 150th anniversary of Debussy’s birth in 2012, we are proud to present a tribute to his piano solo works in three volumes, available as a paperbound or a clothbound edition. As a publishing house whose main focus is on piano music, it was important for us to give a special place to the works of Claude Debussy, the innovator of piano style. Thus since the early 1980s we have steadily been publishing single editions of all of Debussy’s important works for the piano. Our editor Ernst-Günter Heinemann has worked closely with the French Debussy scholar François Lesure to present Debussy’s elaborate music in high quality Urtext editions. Beginning with the "Danse bohémienne" from 1880, all of the single works from our catalogue have been drawn together in these three volumes, arranged according to their date of composition. And as a little "encore" we have included the Prélude to the cantata "La Damoiselle élue" in volume I. Each of the three volumes contains true highlights for the piano. But the short and lesser known works also offer a glimpse at the modern classical composer Debussy from a different angle. In addition each volume contains a helpful glossary with all of Debussy’s often very vivid performance instructions translated into English and German. Bon anniversaire, Claude Debussy!
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Reviews
Henle Verlag have produced a stunning new set of volumes of Debussy's piano music, presented in their clearly produced house-style with detailed notes on each peace and reference to different sources. It really is a labour of love! ... An exciting and indispensable new edition!
[Piano Journal, 2012]
Rechtzeitig zum 150. Geburtstag des Komponisten 2012 hat der Henle-Verlag sämtliche Klavierwerke in drei stolzen Bänden vereinigt, deren Leinen oder Paperback nun den Händen glücklicher Besitzer schmeichelt. Was immer man vom ritualisierten Jubiläumsbetrieb der Musikwelt halten mag: wenn er solche Ausgaben hervorbringt, soll es uns recht sein. ... Das die bislang disparat verstreuten Brocken gleichförmig gestaltende und dabei auf höchstes ästhetisches Niveau anhebende Henle'sche Notenbild spiegelt auf seine Weise etwas vom sinnlichen Reiz dieser Musik. Bibliophile Naturen werden die drei Bände also wie eine Kostbarkeit in Händen halten, die Seiten mit den Daumen hin- und herschnurren lassen, damit das Auge immer wieder unerwartet auf Stellen fällt und vielleicht Zusammenhänge entdeckt, oder einfach um mit der Nase den Duft des Papiers einzusaugen und sich an der grafischen Opulenz und Eleganz von Debussys Notenbild zu erfreuen ...
[Die Tonkunst, 2012]
Debussy und Henle, das ist eine lange Liaison, die bereits dreißig Jahre zurückreicht. ... Die Ausgabe lädt dazu ein, den modernen Klassiker Debussy in kleinen und weniger bekannten Werken von einer neuen Seite kennenzulernen.
[Piano News, 2012]
La nouvelle gravure des partitions est particulièrement soignée, claire et aérée.
[Pianiste, 2012]
... werkelijk een schitterend eerbetoon aan de 150-jarige.
[Pianowereld, 2012]
These volumes have been produced with the highly quality that pianists have come to expect from Henle.
[Piano Professional, 2012]
Contents
- Préludes 2e livre
-
Brouillards
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 6/7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Feuilles mortes
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 6)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
La puerta del Vino
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 6/7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Bruyères
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 6)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
"General Lavine" - excentric
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 6/7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 6/7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Ondine
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Hommage à S. Pickwick
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 6/7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Canope
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 5/6)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Les tierces alternées
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7/8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Feux d'artifice
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8/9)Other titles with this level of difficulty » - Six Epigraphes antiques
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Pour invoquer Pan, dieu du vent d'été
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 6)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour un tombeau sans nom
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 6)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour que la nuit soit propice
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 6/7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour la danseuse aux crotales
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour l'Egyptienne
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 6)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour remercier la pluie au matin
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Berceuse héroique
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 5)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour l'oeuvre du "Vêtement du blessé"
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 4/5)Other titles with this level of difficulty » - Douze Etudes
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Pour les "cinq doigts" d'après Monsieur Czerny
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7/8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les tierces
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les quartes
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les sixtes
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7/8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les octaves
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les huit doigts
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les degrés chromatiques
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8/9)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les agréments
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les notes répétées
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les sonorités opposées
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 7/8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les arpèges composés
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8/9)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Pour les accords
Level of difficulty (Piano): difficult (Level 8)Other titles with this level of difficulty » -
Élégie
Level of difficulty (Piano): medium (Level 4/5)Other titles with this level of difficulty »
The levels of difficulty of the
piano music published by G. Henle Publishers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
easy | medium | difficult |
The levels of difficulty of the piano music published by G. Henle Publishers
Level | Grade | Example |
---|---|---|
1 | easy | Bach, Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, nos. 4 and 5 |
2 | Bach, Well-Tempered Clavier I, no. 1 Prelude C major | |
3 | Beethoven, Piano Sonatas op. 49,1 and 2 | |
4 | medium | Grieg, Lyric Pieces op. 12, no. 4 |
5 | Schumann, Fantasy Pieces op. 12, no. 1 | |
6 | Chopin, Nocturnes op. 27, nos. 1 and 2 | |
7 | difficult | Beethoven, Piano Sonata op. 10, no. 3 |
8 | Beethoven, Piano Sonata op. 81a | |
9 | Schumann, Toccata op. 7 |
Guide to the levels of difficulty
"I don't know what 'difficult' means. Either you can play or you can't" – this was the rather terse comment by the great violinist Nathan Milstein, on being asked about the unbelievable difficulty of Niccolo Paganini's Caprice no. 1.
The relativity of the evaluation of difficulty in music immediately becomes clear. Yet I gladly take up this great challenge, presented to me by G. Henle Publishers. For I am aware of how useful a guide like this can be, both from my own experience as well as that of many colleagues. In particular so as to be able to identify "appropriate" works. For example for music teachers, who teach at very different levels, from beginners to those preparing for music conservatories, but also for all those interested amateurs for whom this guide is intended.
After careful deliberation I have settled on nine levels of difficulty, which I have divided into three groups: 1–3 (easy), 4–6 (medium), 7–9 (difficult). A number of parameters have been considered when assessing the level of difficulty. I have not just looked at the number of fast or slow notes to be played, or the chord sequences; of central importance are also the complexity of the piece's composition, its rhythmic complexities, the difficulty of reading the text for the first time, and last but not least, how easy or difficult it is to understand its musical structure. I have defined "piece" as being the musical unit of a sonata, or a single piece in a cycle, which is why Bach's "Well-Tempered Clavier" Part I comprises a total of 48 levels of difficulty (each prelude and fugue is considered separately), Schumann's Sonata in f sharp minor op.11 only has a single number. My assessment is measured by the ability to prepare a piece for performance.
While assessing the pieces, it became clear that the medium level of difficulty (4–6) is the trickiest. Now and again this means that a piece is judged as a "3/4", even if it only deserved a "3" as far as piano technique is concerned. An example of such a "borderline" case (easy/medium) is Schumann's "Scenes from Childhood" op. 15 Von fremden Ländern und Menschen or at the other end "6/7" part of Bach's "English Suites". And of course within a main category there are also "from-to" evaluations (e.g. 7/8).
Any evaluation of art or music will always be subjective, even if the aim was to be objective. Despite the fact that I have endeavoured to be as careful as possible, I am all too aware that the results of my work can be called into question, and am therefore grateful for any suggestions you might have.
Prof. Rolf Koenen © 2010