Glazunov - Mélodie and Sérénade espagnole, Op. 20 (Urtext Edition)

Alexander Glazunov composed five original works for cello, in addition to his two famous arrangements of Chopin études. These original works are the Elegy in memory of Franz Liszt, Mélodie, Sérénade espagnole, Chant du ménestrel, and the Concerto-ballata, which was dedicated to Pablo Casals but premiered by Casals’s student Maurice Eisenberg.

This new edition presents Mélodie and Sérénade espagnole, Op. 20, dedicated to the cellist Alexander Wierzbilowicz. Wierzbilowicz was also the dedicatee of Glazunov’s Chant du ménestrel and the first two Spanish Dances by David Popper. His fingerings and bowings, included in the first edition published by Belaieff, have been reproduced in the present edition.

A short score of Mélodie, essentially a fleshed-out sketch for cello and piano, is housed at the Russian National Library in Saint Petersburg. This version has been included in the appendix of our edition. Although the score contains a few slurs and dynamic markings, it is otherwise quite bare, offering a fascinating glimpse into Glazunov’s compositional process.

The main portion of this edition is based on the first editions with piano and with orchestra, both published by Belaieff. There are several differences in dynamics among the separate solo part, the solo line in the piano score, and the solo line in the orchestra score. We have combined the dynamics from all available sources to provide the most detailed reading. The tempo markings in the orchestra score are the most precise, and these have been used in our edition.

Editorial markings are presented in brackets or with dashed slurs and hairpins. In Sérénade espagnole, a few accents and staccato marks have been added from the harp part for consistency.

We would like to thank the Russian National Library for furnishing the sources for this new edition.

ASTA level: 4