Educational and Methodical Literature for Piano in the Catalogues of Music Publishers of the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Century

In the second half of the 19th — early 20th century, the release of educational and methodical literature for piano showed significant circulation volumes and was primarily associated with the flourishing of the Russian performing school and the growing interest of the general population in the beautiful world of music. The foundation of the Imperial Russian Music Society in 1959, the opening of the St. Petersburg (1862) and Moscow (1866) conservatories largely determined the goals and objectives, as well as the repertoire concept of a number of leading Russian music publishers.

Among them, the firm “P.I. Jurgenson” took a leading position in the production of educational and methodical literature for piano, along with other well-known producers such as “M. Bernard”, “A. Gutheil” and “V.V. Bessel and Co.” The catalogues of music publishers from the collections of the Russian State Library contain information about the structure and principles of forming special sections devoted to education, about the publication activities of individual authors, and their works in the field of piano pedagogy.

Together, this material allows to create a primary idea of the volume of products intended for music schools of the country and to take cognizance that all major Russian publishing houses, with rare exceptions, collaborated with the Imperial Russian Music Society, not only in Moscow or St. Petersburg, but also in its provincial branches, honourably putting their names on the title pages of the catalogs. A characteristic feature is the issues devoted to piano literature, including playing schools, collections of exercises, pedagogical repertoire of various degrees of complexity, manuals, etc.

The scale of this professional activity was a reflection of the important evolutionary processes taking place in the Russian musical culture of the second half of the 19th — early 20th century. That period in piano art and pedagogy indicated the need to consider historical, social, economic and other contexts that create the right research tone and volume.

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2. Findeizen N.F. Ocherk deyatel’nosti S.-Peterburgskogo otdeleniya Imperatorskogo Russkogo muzykal’nogo obshchestva (1859—1909) [An Essay on the Activities of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Imperial Russian Musical Society (1859—1909)]. St. Petersburg, 1909, 119 p.

3. Tsypin G.M. Obuchenie igre na fortepiano: uchebnik dlya vuzov [Learning to Play the Piano: textbook for universities]. Moscow, Yurait Publ., 2016, 188 p.

4. Belov S.V. Muzykal’noe izdatel’stvo P.I. Yurgensona [Music Publishing House of P.I. Jurgenson]. St. Petersburg, Rossiiskaya Natsional’naya Biblioteka Publ., 2001, 130 p.

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6. Bernard, Matvey Ivanovich, Russkii biograficheskii slovar’ [Russian Biographical Dictionary]. St. Petersburg, 1900, vol. 2. Available at: https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Spravochniki/russkij-biograficheskij-slovar-tom-2/1024 (accessed 26.06.2021) (in Russ.).

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8. Bernard, Matvey (Moritz) Ivanovich, Istoriya gitary v litsakh: elektronnyi zhurnal [The History of the Guitar in Persons: electronic journal]. Available at: http://www.guitar-times.ru/pages/publishers/bernard.htm (accessed 29.06.2021) (in Russ.).

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10. Glavnyi katalog muzykal’nym sochineniyam, prodayushchimsya v muzykal’nom magazine Aleksandra Bogdanova Gutkheil’ [The Main Catalog of Musical Compositions Sold in the Music Store of Alexander Bogdanov Gutheil], 1876, 166 p.

11. Jurgenson B.P. Ocherk istorii notopechataniya [An Essay on the History of Music Printing]. Moscow, Gosudarstvennoe Izdatel’stvo. Muzsektor Publ., 1928, 188 p.

12. Vystavka k 200-letiyu notnogo izdatelya Aleksandra Gutkheilya [Exhibition to the 200th Anniversary of the Music Publisher Alexander Gutheil]. Available at: https://www.rsl.ru/ru/events/afisha/vistavki/gutheil-200 (accessed 27.06.2021).

13. Ustav Imperatorskogo Russkogo muzykal’nogo obshchestva [The Charter of the Imperial Russian Musical Society]. St. Petersburg, V.V. Berk Publ., 1897, 23 p.

14. Alekseev A.D. Istoriya fortepiannogo iskusstva [The History of Piano Art], parts 1 and 2. Moscow, Muzyka Publ., 1988, 414 p.

15. Petrovskaya I.F. Muzykal’noe obrazovanie i muzykal’nye obshchestvennye organizatsii v Peterburge 1801—1917 gg.: entsiklopediya [Musical Education and Musical Public Organizations in St. Petersburg 1801—1917: encyclopedia]. St. Petersburg, Petrovskii Fond Publ., 1999, 367 p.

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18. Katalog muzykal’nym sochineniyam, izdannym muzykal’nym magazinom A.B. Gutkheil’ [The Catalog of Musical Compositions Published by the Music Store of A.B. Gutheil], 1890, 92 p.

19. Katalog muzykal’nym sochineniyam, izdannym muzykal’nym magazinom A.B. Gutkheil’ [The Catalog of Musical Compositions Published by the Music Store of A.B. Gutheil], 1886, 48 p.

20. Katalog muzykal’nym sochineniyam, izdannym muzykal’nym magazinom A.B. Gutkheil’ [The Catalog of Musical Compositions Published by the Music Store of A.B. Gutheil]. Moscow, V Universitetskoi tipografii (M. Katkov) Publ., 1887, 65 p.

21. Katalog muzykal’nym sochineniyam, izdannym muzykal’nym magazinom A.B. Gutkheil’ [The Catalog of Musical Compositions Published by the Music Store of A.B. Gutheil], 1891, 114 p.

22. Volman B.L. Russkie notnye izdaniya XIX — nachala XX veka [Russian Music Publications of the 19th — Early 20th Century]. Leningrad, Muzyka Publ., 1970, 216 p.

23. Antiq. Info: monthly journal, 2008 (October), no. 69. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20081110183152/http://www.antiq.info/magazine_all_issues/7484.html (accessed 29.06.2021) (in Russ.).

24. K dvadtsatipyatiletiyu torgovogo doma V. Bessel’ i K°, 1869—1894: Kratkii ocherk muzykal’no-izdatel’skoi deyatel’nosti firmy [To the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the Trading House “V. Bessel and Co.”, 1869—1894: A Brief Essay of the Music Publishing Activities of the Company]. St. Petersburg, 1894, 31 p.

25. Katalog izdanii muzykal’noi torgovli “Vasilii Bessel’ i Ko” [Catalog of Music Trade Publications “Vasily Bessel and Co.”]. St. Petersburg, N.A. Lebedeva Publ., 1892, 184 p.

26. Katalog izdanii muzykal’noi torgovli “V. Bessel’ i Ko”. Otdel 2. Muzyka dlya fortepiano [Catalog of Music Trade Publications “V. Bessel and Co.” Section 2. Music for Piano]. St. Petersburg, 1909, 70 p.

27. Findeizen N.F. Vasilii Vasil’evich Bessel’: ocherk ego muzykal’no-obshchestvennoi deyatel’nosti [Vasily Vasilyevich Bessel: An Essay on his Musical and Social Activities]. St. Petersburg, Moscow, V. Bessel’ i K° Publ., 1909 (St. Petersburg), 186 p.

28. Bessel V.V. Notnoe delo: (kratkie svedeniya): Neobkhodimoe posobie dlya prodavtsov not i dlya vsekh zhelayushchikh zanimat’sya notnoi torgovlei [Music Publishing: (Brief Information): A Necessary Manual for Music Sellers and for Everyone Who Wants to Engage in Music Trading]. St. Petersburg, E. Arngol’da Publ., 1901.V, 2—108 pp.

29. Katalog muzykal’nogo izdatel’stva Reshke v Moskve [Catalog of the Music Publishing House “Reschke” in Moscow], 1912 (September 13), no. 4, 96 p.