MENDELSSOHN PIANO WORKS editions

     In urtext editions, the selling of Mendelssohn's piano works never exceeded Bach, Beethoven Mozart or Chopin, these '4' remained in the urtext topseller for a long period of time due to 'excessive' use in concert repertoire, in exam songlists and other marketing trends. This injustice has prolonged uncontrollably and resulted in diminishing sales of works by other composers, thus increasing their sale price or some will get into bargain (sign of EOL).In 2009, the Mendelssohnian year, Henle has published the known piano works by Felix Mendelssohn, comprising all published works and some unpublished works. Undoubtedly, their sales have never been good, this can be observed in some music stores, which no longer keep these urtexts on their stocklist due to low profit margin. I sincerely hope that the performing of piano works of Mendelssohn will never end and they should be added into every serious repertoire. Here are a few Mendelssohn urtext that I will like to recommend.

These blue-covered editions are a significant approach in the milestone of Mendelssohn. They comprises a lot of works but are priced at $70 per book. I haven't bought any of these but they seem to be the best edition on sale nowadays. (Note that the editions above do not contain any SWW, they are published separately)

The Dover edition is reprints from the public domain 'Complete works by Felix Mendelssohn' by Julius Rietz. The 2 books contain much from Mendelssohn's piano oeuvre, including SWW. The problem is there is no fingerings added in the pieces inside (a problem for learners) and the notes doesn't seem to please the eye. Regarding wrong notes or phrasing, I believe there are plenty inside but what I do recommend is the low price compared to other urtexts, this makes it best to promote Mendelssohn's piano works to the wide public.