Shostakovich: Symphony No 9, Op. 70 (arr. for piano 4-hands)

Description

The author's arrangement of the Ninth Symphony for piano four hands is being published for the first time based on the author's manuscript kept in the Shostakovich Foundation at the Mikhail Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture (rec. gr. 32, f. 99). When preparing the publication, the numerous additional author's marks made in pencil on the manuscript were taken into account as much as possible. Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to establish the authorship of these marks with any certainty, and at times, for example in the cases of crescendo or diminuendo symbols, impossible. However, it is certain that most of these marks were not made by Shostakovich, but most likely by musicians with whom he performed the symphony using this copy.

The sheet music of the author's manuscript of the arrangement has been collated with the author's manuscript of the orchestral score kept at the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (rec. gr. 2048, inv. 1, f. 12), with the proof-sheet copy of the score kept at the State Central Museum of Musical Culture (rec. gr. 32, f. 15), and also with the symphony score printed in Volume Five of Shostakovich's Collected Works, and has been extensively supplemented with dynamic, bowing and other indications. The metronomic marks, which are entirely absent in the author's manuscript of the arrangement, have been added in keeping with the score, and the bar numbers have also been inserted. The entire author's texture of the arrangement has been left untouched. Obvious inaccuracies in the text of the author's manuscript have been corrected without any additional comment.