Breitkopf Urtext - new edition by Cliff Eisen

New edition for violin and piano by Werner Breig with cadenzas and lead-ins by Andrew Manze

There has to be a good reason to release another edition of this beloved work. Breitkopf's edition, appearing within the framework of the "Source Criticism for Performance Practice" collection, has no fewer than three. To begin with, it reflects an editorial philosophy that does not seek to establish an ultimately fictitious "Urtext."

Cliff Eisen, Professor at King's College, London, and an expert in Mozart sources and performance practice, has intensively studied the question of what the sources tell us in view of their actual sound. Mozart's autographs reflect not only the timeless "substance" of his works, but also, in a very direct sense, specific performances, along with the people, halls and other circumstances surrounding them.

In this sense, they also reveal something about their creator's inspiration. To bolster the concept of this edition, Andrew Manze has contributed his experiences as soloist and conductor-concertmaster (of the Academy of Ancient Music, a.o.).

As meritorious as all attempts by Flesch up to Oistrach have been, Manze's cadenzas and "Eingänge" provide - as a stimulus to the performer's own creative impulses - a new and unbiased approach to Mozart's legacy for the violin: they are brilliant little virtuoso pieces full of wit and surprises. Accordingly, the distinguished Bach and Wagner scholar Werner Breig has dusted off the piano reduction by improving its playability and giving it a new luster.