Why does the shade of blue used for the Henle Urtext cover sometimes differ?
Although the exact same shade of blue is specified for all the Urtext covers and used in the dyeing process, the colour of some copies differs. This is because we source the card for our covers from two different paper manufacturers – one in France and one in Bavaria.
Which music engraving programme does G. Henle Publishers use?
Each of the three digital music notation software programmes that we use (Finale®, Sibelius and Amadeus) uses specially developed fonts to render the appearance of the original historical engraving tools. These fonts are not commercially available and thus make the Henle layout unique.
If you are interested in learning about how we used to engrave music by hand (up to the year 2000), we suggest watching our informative video on YouTube.
Why is there a small letter at the end of the edition?
We indicate the print runs of our editions by letters in alphabetical order: A = 1st print run, B = 2nd print run, C = 3rd print run ... etc.
Several of our early editions (such as the Well-Tempered Piano, HN 14) have been reprinted so many times that we have had to start going through the alphabet a second time: 2A, 2B etc.
For some years now, reprints that have undergone an extensive revision have been given a new HN order number (for example the Chopin Préludes, earlier edition HN 73 => today HN 882). These revised and reprinted editions also start from the beginning again, so with “A”.
What do the brackets represent in the musical scores?
The brackets (for the most part parentheses) indicate additions by the editor. Whenever parentheses and square brackets (such as in Haydn’s String Quartets) occur, these are explained in the accompanying texts. Square brackets can, for example, be used to indicate that markings stem from secondary sources.
Are the footnotes in the editions of the parts identical to those in the score, and why are there fewer footnotes in the parts than in the score?
The individual parts of an edition sometimes contain fewer footnotes than the score, as the ones that apply to a specific part are only provided in that particular one (e.g. the execution of a double stop in the viola part or a questionable note in violin 1 in a string quartet). All the footnotes in the parts are also provided in the score.
Where can I find the comments (“Critical commentary”) in a set of parts (violin I, or oboe I, etc.)?
The accompanying texts (Preface and Comments) are usually found in the main or uppermost part (violin 1 in chamber music for strings, piano in chamber music with piano, flute with wind quintet, etc.).
How do we deal with cautionary accidentals?
New cautionary accidentals are added without any additional marking wherever deemed appropriate from a musical perspective at the discretion of the editor responsible for the edition (but always sparingly). Conversely, superfluous cautionary accidentals in the sources are occasionally removed without further comment. For more detailed information please refer to the section “About this edition” in the Comments in the edition in question.
If you would like to find out more about this topic, we also recommend reading this blog article.
In my edition there is a note that an extensive Critical commentary/an additional part can be downloaded at www.henle.com. Where exactly can I do this?
Additional downloads or audios can be found on the relevant page for the edition in our web shop. For example, here you can find the additional Arpeggione part for Schubert’s Sonata D 821. Tip: Simply enter the HN number of the edition in question in the search field on the Henle web shop page, e.g. “HN611”, to go straight to the relevant work.
With editions for wind instruments such as clarinet, horn or trumpet, Henle sometimes offers several parts for the same instrument. Why is this?
These instruments are played in different keys, some of which are only widespread among specialists. As a publisher of Urtext editions we naturally offer the original parts (e.g. clarinet in C or horn in E flat), but at the same time we also take performance practice into account. Thus, with works for clarinet there is also a part in B-flat if the piece can also be played on the clarinet in B-flat, the one that is most played today. As far as the horn is concerned, there are also regional differences. In the US the modern notation for horn in F is widespread, which is why we also offer horn parts in F.
Why does G. Henle Publishers not have any orchestral material?
We publish large-scale orchestral works as part of our scholarly complete editions or in the form of piano reductions. We have cooperation and licence agreements with music publishing houses that have specialised in the production and sales of orchestral material for these works. G. Henle Publishers has been selling full scores, orchestra material and study editions of works for chamber orchestra since 2024. Here you can get an overview of the sheet music editions for chamber orchestra.
Why does G. Henle Publishers not publish any contemporary music?
Since our publishing house was founded by Günter Henle, we have almost exclusively focused on the scholarly publication of Urtext editions from the Baroque period onwards. For copyright reasons we have thus only concentrated on works that are not bound by copyright (in Germany from 70 years after the death of the composer). Thus, we are unable to offer contemporary music works (for the time being) in our catalogue. Our one exception is the compositions of Evgeny Kissin, for whom we are the exclusive global publisher.
Please also read our blog entry on this topic.
