OK, I've been wondering about this for a long time, but here goes:
I have both books of the Well-Tempered Clavichord. However, two different editors have compiled both collections: my Vol. 1 was edited by Frederic Busoni, and my Vol. 2 was edited by Carl Czerny.
I heard that both books have two different sets of preludes and fugues, but when I look at the Fugue in E-flat Major, it's the same in both books.
My question is: is the E-flat Major Fugue in Book 1 or Book 2 (and if so, is there a missing E-flat Major Fugue that I have not heard of)?
Please help.
All the preludes and fugues in Book 2 are different from those in Book 1. The two sets are always called "Books 1 and 2," not "Vols. 1 and 2." Perhaps that's where the confusion lies?
Busoni published his edition of the WTC in "volumes." Book I was published in three volumes, Book II in four volumes. The first Busoni "Volume 1" includes the E-flat major prelude and Fugue from Book 1.
The familiar yellow Schirmer WTC is Czerny's edition, available as Book I, Book II, or combined in a single volume ($11.44 at Amazon!) The Schirmer sits on many pianos across the world. I've never heard anything negative about Czerny's edition.
In fact, I've often found Czerny's fingering suggestions quite helpful. Sometimes he calls for fingering patterns that feel awkward at first, yet with a little practice they make the whole work much easier. That alone justifies turning to Czerny, in my opinion.
Yes, I agree with the KenOC as we are also having a musical accessories store in Dubai, which sells musical books as well and I have never heard anything negative about Czerny's edition.
In some of his lectures, Andras Schiff takes a dim view of Czerny's fingering and phrasing annotations, but that was about the Beethoven sonatas, not the WTC.
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