Publishing music requires intuition, sensitivity, patience and a love of music. It is an act of faith. It is also a business. This is the story of a business motivated by a concern for humanity. It tells of composers: their personalities, their conflicts and their music. It describes how music is published through the story of two men, Dr Max Abraham and Dr Henri Hinrichsen and reveals how they developed the small music publishing company: C. F. Peters Leipzig, to achieve world wide stature. The book gives insight into the different aspects of music publishing. Quotations from correspondence illustrate the co-operation of the owners with the wider society. The company was founded in 1800 as Hoffmeister and Kühnel, Bureau de Musique, with the publication of music by Bach, Beethoven and Louis Spohr and was involved with the birth of copyright legislation. C.F. Peters himself, only owned it from 1814-1827. 1863 saw Dr Max Abrahams acquisition of the company, followed by his founding of the Edition Peters and the Peters Music Library. A chapter covers his remarkable relationship with Edvard Grieg. The main thrust of the book is the period 1900 to 1940, when Abrahams nephew, Henri Hinrichsen became sole proprietor. He was, in due, course joined by his three eldest sons. The complexities of society and politics are set side by side with the process of translating a composers inspiration into sheet music and performance. The personalities and creativity of several composers and some musicologists are explored and the sponsorship of Edvard Grieg and Max Reger is emphasised. There is a detailed description of the traumas surrounding the publication of two major works - Schönbergs Five rchestral Pieces and Mahlers Fifth Symphony.
Address: Edition Press, 22 Bouverie Gardens, Kenton, Middx. HA3 0RQ, UK.
Telephone: 020 8907 2790
Fax: 020 8907 2790
Website: http://www.btinternet.com/~irene.lawford/