Stravinsky, Igor - Rite of Spring Facsimile - Piano Four-Hands Score

Facsimile of the version for piano four-hands, Edited by Felix Meyer with an introduction in German and English.

In May 1913, a few days before the premiere, Edition Russe de Musique published the composer's version of The Rite of Spring for piano four-hands. This piano reduction was primarily intended for study and rehearsal purposes, but in recent decades it has also found a home on the concert platform.

The manuscript, partly in Stravinsky's and partly in a copyist's hand, was fully authorised by the composer. Long considered lost, it is now made available to the public for the first time. Not only does it allow a critical examination of the resulting printed edition, its detailed corrections also shed valuable light on Stravinsky's efforts to have his piece represented as accurately and idiomatically as possible on the piano.

One hundred years ago, on 29 May 1913, a seminal work of the 20th century was premiered in Paris: Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. It was an epochal moment in the history of both music and ballet, and it signalled the breakthrough into Modernism. Subtitled 'Scenes from Pagan Russia', it is a work of international scope created as a collaboration among leading figures working in multiple genres and a masterpiece of extraordinary artistic potency. The Rite reflects an entire century, and is reflected there in return.

To honour this occasion the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel, which houses the Stravinsky archive, is issuing a Centenary Edition in three volumes published for the first time: an annotated facsimile of the autograph full score, another of the composer's version for piano four-hands and a new collection of essays by leading Stravinsky scholars.

These limited edition volumes offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for anyone interested in contemporary music and art.