PIANO PRACTICAL EDITIONS

– Albéniz
– Debussy
– Ravel

This website has been created by Ray Alston to promote practical and innovative rehearsal editions of challenging piano music, working texts which are the very antithesis of urtext, expressing reflections which have been developed over a number of years. They try to eliminate textual inaccuracies, with new thinking in the presentation of printed music for advanced pianists; often radical and controversial, they could also have been called Piano Interpretive Editions as they are unlike the traditional copies to which we are used. With original ideas for use of the sostenuto pedal, they are free of charge and seem to work well with tablets. 

Why do we need more editions? After all, there are quite a few available since these  composers are now in the the public domain. It is proposed that many major works need a thorough reappraisal and that pianists and teachers might appreciate a fresh look at the layout together with some pertinent ways to solve musical and technical problems.

In the rush to submit a written work, a composer can hardly be blamed for not paying painstaking and thorough attention to the general presentation of his work, and it has to be said that editing and proofreading can be extremely tedious. How much more rewarding is time spent on the new composition!