Charles Marie Widor Complete Works for Piano

Crescendo Music Publications is excited to announce the release of the first Complete Edition of the piano works of Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937), edited by Daniel Mitterdorfer and Harold Fabrikant.

See bottom of page for link to order the set or individual volumes.

Preeminent authority on Widor’s life and work, Prof. John R. Near gives an overview of this groundbreaking edition below.

Today, Charles-Marie Widor is well established as one of the greatest organist-composers of the Romantic era. Musicological research in recent decades, however, has revealed that his career was not at all confined to the famous organ gallery of his Paris church, but that most of his artistic work had simply fallen out of currency as all except organists increasingly forgot him. Indeed, his place in the mainstream of French music is now finally being recognized again. Performances and recordings of his considerable œuvre reveal a musician of remarkable gifts and inspiration. In addition to his ten seminal organ symphonies, his orchestral symphonies, concertos, piano music, chamber music, art songs, choral works, operas, and a ballet—once considered “one of the glories of French art”—made his name renowned among musicians and audiences alike. After the organ works, Widor’s considerable body of solo piano music holds the largest place in his catalogue. While the organ music has never been eclipsed, the piano music has, alas, been the most inaccessible—thus completely neglected. It is of the happiest consequence that it has now been given the attention it so richly deserves in the new critical edition by editors Daniel Mitterdorfer and Harold Fabrikant.

To create this first edition of Widor’s Complete Works for Piano, the editors have had to surmount difficulties of near epic proportions. His compositions for piano are interspersed throughout his œuvre with relative consistency; the earliest published work appeared in 1867 and the final original composition in 1910, when he neared the end of his active career as a composer. With a paucity of scores still in print, the editors had to scour libraries throughout the world to find what they hope are all the versions of each work. This is a tenuous expectation, considering Widor’s lifelong penchant to fastidiously revise and republish his music time and time again. There are sometimes four or five versions of the same work—versions that can only be determined as being different after note-by-note comparison of various prints; and then comes the thorny task of placing them in chronological order. Also, later collections of non-sequential opus numbers were assembled, usually after revision, in a seemingly haphazard manner, and issued under one cover. These were certainly intended to bring various works to the attention of “the pianists [who] hardly spoil me with too much attention,” as Widor lamented to French pianist Isidor Philipp.

From Saint-Saëns to Stravinsky, Fauré to Ravel, Debussy to Poulenc—darlings of melomaniac society hostesses—all frequented their Paris salons and partook of the celebrity afforded by this subcultural part of the city’s musical life, thus benefiting from publicity that furthered their careers. The who’s who of French music were invited to perform, and each frequently offered up his latest composition. Widor, too, was among the regulars of the salon, and judging by the bevy of nobly-titled dedicatees on his scores—a Chevalier, Marquise, Baron, Baroness, Count, Countess, Princess, and even a Queen—many of his works were clearly composed for salon consumption, such as Six morceaux de salon or any one of several suites of character pieces variously containing a nocturne, waltz, mazurka, sicilienne, rêverie, sérénade, or the like.

Alongside these, Widor also composed integral works of serious concert intent; the editors point to the five-movement Suite polonaise, the four-movement Suite in B minor, and the twelve-movement Carnaval, to which might be added the Prélude, andante, et final, and the six-movement Suite écossaise. That Widor’s contemporaries—pianists of the ilk of Francis Planté, Louis Diémer, and Isidor Philipp—often performed his music, speaks tellingly of its appeal, and suggests that today’s pianists will assuredly find treasures among Widor’s piano works that they will want to add to their repertoires. Planté described Widor as “an exquisite pianist of the most limpid purity,” and his writing for piano is elegantly idiomatic.

The first six volumes of the new edition contain, in ascending order, thirty-one opus numbers, and volume seven contains seventeen miscellaneous pieces to which Widor assigned no opus number. Special mention needs to be made of volume four, the piano reduction of his great ballet, La Korrigane: Introduction and thirty pieces; the storyline and stage directions are interspersed throughout the score in the original French and with English translation. Also included in the volume are two waltzes that Widor excerpted from the ballet and revised for inclusion in a later collection of his numerous waltzes.

The Editorial Commentary in each volume is replete with information regarding the sources, known history, editor’s insights, and corrections and changes for each composition. The engraving is immaculate and beautifully laid out, with each softcover volume finished in durable limpsewn binding. This monumental edition superbly brings Widor’s heretofore largely inaccessible and forgotten piano repertoire to light, demonstrating by the quantity and quality of his output that as a piano composer in the Romantic era, Widor must not be overlooked. Now that this important body of piano literature is readily available for the first time, no serious pianist should be without it and every music library should have it in its catalogue.

John R. Near
Professor Emeritus of Music, Principia College
Author of Widor: A Life beyond the Toccata
Widor on Organ Performance Practice and Technique

To order your copy of this new edition, simply visit our online store. Those who purchase the complete 7-volume edition before 30 June 2021 will also receive a complementary copy of Harold Fabrikant’s superb 78-page monograph, The Pianists Hardly Spoil Me With Too Much Attention, a study of Widor’s complete piano works.

scores

Volume 1
covering Op. 1-10

Foreword
Editorial Commentary
Variations de concert sur un thème original, Op. 1
Variations sur un thème original, Op. 29
Pages intimes: six pensées musicales, Op. 2
   I. Nocturne (later version)
   III. Rêverie
   IV. Sicilienne
   V. Mazurka
   VI. Scherzettino
Airs de ballet, Op. 4A (first version)
Airs de ballet, Op. 4B (final version)
Scherzo-Valse, Op. 5 (first version)
Scherzo-Valse, Op. 5 (final version)
Deux Suites/Fantaisies italiennes, Op. 6
   I. La barque (final version)
   II. Le cabriolet / Le corricolo
   Appendix: I. La barque (first version)
Caprice, Op. 9
Sérénade, Op. 10

ISMN: 9790-902257008; 208 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 1 cover

Volume 2
covering Op. 11-20

Foreword
Editorial Commentary
Trois valses, Op. 11
   Introduction
   I. Première valse (final version)
   Intermezzo
   II. Valse Laendler (final version)
   III. Valse caprice (final version)
   Appendix: I. (first version)
   Appendix: II. (first version)
Impromptu, Op. 12
Cantabile, Op. 13, No. 4 (arranged for piano solo)
6 Morceaux de salon, Op. 15
   I. Scherzando
   II. Allegro cantabile
   III. Andantino
   IV. Allegretto
   V. Moderato
   VI. Vivace (final version)
   Appendix: VI. Vivace (first version)
Prélude, andante et final, Op. 17
Scènes de bal, Op. 20
   I. Fanfare
   II. Entrée de la reine (final version)
   III. Prélude d’orchestre
   IV. Clair de lune
   V. Chanson
   VI. Malesch?
   VII. Le bal
   VIII. Souvenir
   Appendix: II. Entrée de la reine (first version)

ISMN: 9790-902257015; 172 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 2 cover

Volume 3
covering Op. 26-44

Foreword
Editorial Commentary
6 Valses caractéristiques, Op. 26A (first version)
   I.
   II.
   III.
   IV.
   V.
   VI.
6 Valses caractéristiques, Op. 26B (final version)
   I. 1e Rhapsodie-Valse
   II. Valse romance
   III. Valse rêverie
   IV. Valse slave
   V. Valse élégante
   VI. 2e Rhapsodie-Valse
12 Feuillets d’Album, Op. 31
   I. Lilas
   II. Papillons bleus (final version)
   III. Chanson matinale
   IV. Drame
   V. Nuit sereine
   VI. Valse noble (final version)
   VII. Solitude
   VIII. Bruits d’ailes
   IX. Pensée
   X. Ciel gris (final version)
   XI. Marche américaine
   XII. Myosotis (final version)
   Appendix: II. Papillons bleus (first version)
   Appendix: VI. Valse lente (first version)
   Appendix: X. Ciel gris (first version)
   Appendix: XII. Myosotis (first version)
Cinq valses, Op. 33
   I. Neuilly-Valse
   II. Valse flamande
   III. Valse tzigane
   IV. Valse chantante
   V. Valse légère
Chanson du Chasseur, arranged for piano solo from the mélodie Le chasseur songe dans les bois, Op. 37, No. 5
Conte d’Automne, arranged for piano solo from the second movement of Symphonie V pour orgue, Op. 42, No. 1
Toccata, transcribed from Symphonie V pour orgue, Op. 42, No. 1
Dans les bois, Op. 44
   I. Par monts et par vaux
   II. Feuilles mortes
   III. Chanson du ruisseau
   IV. Grillons et sauterelles
   V. Au soir

ISMN: 9790-902257022; 208 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 3 cover

Volume 4
covering Op. 45 and related works

Foreword
Editorial Commentary

La Korrigane, ballet fantastique en deux actes, Op. 45, pour piano
1er Acte
   Introduction
   I. Le ‘bal’ (danse bretonne)
   II. Entrée de Paskou
   III. Entrée de Yvonnette
   IV. Déclaration de Paskou
   V. Le premier coup de vêpres (entrée de Lilèz)
   VI. Lilèz et Yvonnette
   VII. Entrée de la reine des korrigans (à 4 mains)
   VIII. Sortie des vêpres
   IX. La fête du pardon (La lutte au bâton)
   X. Le prix du bouquet (Lutte des sauteurs)
   XI. La Sabotière
   XII. Adagio
   XIII. La contredanse bretonne
   XIV. La lutte des danseuses (La valseuse)
   XV. La gavotte
   XVI. La gigue bretonne
   XVII. Marche et Presto
   XVIII. Final (le rendez-vous)

2me Acte — La Lande des Korrigans
   XIX. Les voix mystérieuses
   XX. Scherzo
   XXI. Scène des phalènes
   XXII. Entrée des paysans ivres
   XXIII. Le cauchemar de Paskou
   XXIV. Les fées korriganes
   XXV. La revanche d’Yvonnette
   XXVI. Valse et galop fantastiques
   XXVII. Lilèz chez les korrigans
   XXVIII. L’épreuve (valse lente)
   XIX. Reprise de la gigue bretonne
   XXX. Le chapelet

Appendix I
   VII. Entrée de la reine des korrigans (à 2 mains, transc. par Harold Fabrikant)

Appendix II
   Scénario de La Korrigane programme (French and English)

2 Valses de La Korrigane, Op. 45[c], pour piano
   I. Valse de l’épreuve
   II. Yvonette-Valse

ISMN: 9790-902257039; 224 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 4 cover

Volume 5
covering Op. 48-61

Foreword
Editorial Commentary
Pages intimes, Op. 48
   I. Romance
   II. Agitato
   III. Valse légère
   IV. Crépuscule
   V. Novelette
   VI. Mazurka
Suite polonaise, Op. 51
   I. Polonaise
   II. Scherzo
   III. Romance
   IV. Volkslied
   V. Final
Ronde de nuit, from Maître Ambros, Op. 56
Suite in B minor, Op. 58
   I. [Moderato assai (Theme and Variations)]
   II. Scherzo
   III. Recordare
   IV. Final
Carnaval, Op. 61
   I. Timbales et trompettes
   II. Flirt
   III. Bal masqué
   IV. Rosita
   V. Entrée turque
   VI. Zanetto
   VII. Viennoise
   VIII. Entrée polonaise
   IX. Hongroise
   X. Bohémienne
   XI. Francesca
   XII. Final (revised version)
   Appendix: XII. Final (original version)

ISMN: 9790-902257046; 240 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 5 cover

Volume 6
covering Op. 64-78

Foreword
Editorial Commentary
Conte d’avril, Op. 64
   I. Ouverture
   II. La rencontre des amants
   III. Sérénade illyrienne (Entr’acte)
   IV. Aubade
   V. Mélodrame
   VI. Agitato
   VII. (Suite de l’Entr’acte)
   VIII.
   IX. Scherzo-Entr’acte
   X.
   XI.
   XII.
   XIII. Mélodrame
   XIV.
   XV. Pizzicato
   XVI.
   XVII. Marche nuptiale
   XVIII. Nocturne
   XIX. Mélodrame
Cinq pièces, Op. 71
   I. Valse gaie
   II. Valse triste
   III. Kermesse carillonnante
   IV. Valse oubliée
   V. Après la Fête (later version)
   Appendix: V. Après la Fête (earlier version)
Suite écossaise, Op. 78
   I. Sur la falaise
   II. Chevauchée matinale
   III. Spleen
   IV. Roses d’avril
   V. Nuit d’hiver
   VI. Marche écossaise (final version)
   Appendix: VI. Marche écossaise (first version)

ISMN: 9790-902257053; 192 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 6 cover

Volume 7

Foreword
Editorial Commentary
Marche gauloise (1885)
Gaillarde (1888)
Air en style ancien (1891)
revised as Pastorale Louis XV (1905, 1912)
Prélude (1892)
revised as Pièce en style ancien (1896)
Feuillet d’album (1894) «Hommes»
Mélodie / Feuillet d’album (1894) «Femmes»
Marche française (1894)
Mélodrame, from Le capitaine Loys (1900)
En route
reconstructed final version (1904 or later)
reconstructed original version (1904)
Marche de Noël (1905), from Les pêcheurs de Saint-Jean (1905)
Fugue [sur le nom d’Haydn] (1909)
Pavane guerrière (1911), from Jeanne d’Arc (1890)
Improm[p]tu (n.d.)
[Fantaisie en la majeur] (n.d.)
[Intermezzo] (n.d.)

ISMN: 9790-902257060; 144 pages; AU$50.00 + P&P

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Volume 7 cover

Also available is Harold Fabrikant’s 78-page
monograph on Widor’s piano works
The Pianists Hardly Spoil Me With Too Much Attention

The Pianists Hardly Ever Spoil Me With Too Much Attention cover

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