With his Variations sérieuses, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy contributed to the anthology Album-Beethoven which had been initiated by the Viennese publisher Pietro Mechetti and whose proceeds were to be donated for the funding of the Beethoven monument in Bonn. In order to do justice to the high standards of the composer to be honoured, Mendelssohn decided in favour of a cycle of variations which clearly stands out from the superficially virtuoso variation style of that time.

The new edition of the Wiener Urtext Edition is based on the autograph engraver’s copy and the first prints. In addition, the correspondence of Mechetti's editor Becher with Mendelssohn could be consulted for clarifying problematic textual instances. The notes on interpretation by Peter Roggenkamp cover various aspects – from learning to master the technical demands to practical performance details. The edition is rounded off by a practical and user-friendly notation.

The Wiener Urtext Edition is a critical musicological edition for practical use and is distinguished from many other Urtext editions by comprehensive textual information in German and English and partly also in French.

REASONS FOR WIENER URTEXT
• Reliable musical text on the basis of the sources reflecting the composers’ ideas as authentic as possible
• Significant text variants for performance practice
• Useful fingerings for musical practice
• Page layout for practical use with convenient page turns
• Clearly printed, reader-friendly layout on high-contrast music paper
• Sustainably printed with green power