Gershwin piano concerto - fullscore and orch parts

[kcleung]

Does anyone have the full score and more importantly, orchestral parts? My orchestra really needs it for the concert soon.

Thanks!

[KGill]

It could be uploaded (I think it was published in 1927), but it would be blocked with [TB] and therefore inaccessible.

[jfarrington]

I'd be shocked if the parts aren't rental only. Gershwin is such a cash cow for Warner. Don't forget, they were one of the principal drivers of the Sonny Bono legislation, specifically because Rhapsody in Blue was nearly going to fall out of copyright.

[daphnis]

The parts are indeed rental only.

[kcleung]

Okay...... I live in a Life+50 country, where Gershwin is already PD.

So if anyone also live in a Life+50 country and have access to the Gershwin score and parts, please flick me a private message.

[Carolus]

There's another wrinkle with some Gershwin works that is easily overlooked. Some were actually (partially) orchestrated by F. Campbell-Watson, who lived until 1980 and was duly credited as a contributor. While Gershwin may be free in countries with 50 and 70 pma terms, Campbell-Watson - the last surviving contributor for a number or works - is not.

[sbeckmesser]

The autograph full score has been published in facsimile (I have a copy) and would make a good project for one of our intrepid home-engravers. That would get around the Campbell Watson problem (in addition to uncovering just what CW actually did as editor, which is somewhat mysterious). But it won't get around the post-1923 problem and the results would not be postable. There's a Campbell-Watson edited miniscore available from which a copyist can derive orchestral parts. But this might cost more than the parts rental and would probably be illegal in any case.

And just what is an orchestra doing programming the Gershwin without having figured this out already?

--Sixtus

[steltz]

@sbeckmesser: my university library might be interested in purchasing the facsimile autograph. Who publishes it, and where did you buy it? Thanks.

[kcleung]

There's another wrinkle with some Gershwin works that is easily overlooked. Some were actually (partially) orchestrated by F. Campbell-Watson, who lived until 1980 and was duly credited as a contributor. While Gershwin may be free in countries with 50 and 70 pma terms, Campbell-Watson - the last surviving contributor for a number or works - is not.

If Campbell-Watson really did contribute to the orchestration of the work, then this is a real problem. As the 50/70 pma terms will apply on him, *not* Gershwin

[sbeckmesser]

@sbeckmesser: my university library might be interested in purchasing the facsimile autograph. Who publishes it, and where did you buy it? Thanks.

The facsimile of the autograph MS of the concerto (along with American in Paris and the Rhapsody in Blue) were all published by Warner. Although this was only a few years ago, it now seems hard to track them down on the Internet. I bought my copy of the concerto in a used-book store.

--Sixtus

[kcleung]

Is it possible to get the full orchestra version of the Gershwin concert which is *not* edited by Campbell-Watson? This is the only way to get PD score

[sbeckmesser]

I believe that the Concerto's first appearance in full score was in the Campbell-Watson redaction and this was first published in the 1942. There is a non-Campbell-Watson mini-score from Editio Musica Budapest listed at Sheetmusicplus.com

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Con ... ra/4986158

Editio Musica claims a 1992 copyright on the first page of their edition. A search of the Editio Musica site produced no printed parts for this score.

http://www.emb.hu/en/search?sender=sear ... mit=Search

Parts derived from the EM score would have the same copyright status as the score. So it must be determined whether the EM score is PD and where. I have not seen this score but it bears investigating. If it is PD in Europe, then it can be carried by IMSLP's EU server. And if your orchestra creates parts from this score, feel free to upload them and do everybody a service.

There is an important article by Wayne Shirley on the orchestration of the concerto that may have a bearing on its copyright status. It can be purchased online for $14 if you cannot find it in a nearby library.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/3051471

This article tabulates the major differences between the printed full score (ed. Campbell-Watson) and the autograph full score MS. But without slogging through the article and the two scores, it would be difficult to assess the extent of the Campbell-Watson contributions. But if Campbell-Watson can be dethroned as a substantial contributer (and downgraded to the status of an editor of an urtext edition, who regularizes articulations etc.) it seems to me that it would be OK for the IMSLP EU server to host a copy of the Campbell-Watson full score. This would have to be scanned from the commercial mini score, unfortunately, as I know of no commercially available full-size version of the Campbell-Watson score. The EU server already has the 2-PF version of the score. A quick comparison of the opening pages with the facsimile full score I have shows LOTS of differences in articulation markings and dynamics that may also come from (an uncredited) Campbell-Watson, who supplied the written introduction to the piece 2-PF score.

Even if one were to strip out the Campbell-Watson contributions (i.e. create a usable score from the autograph MS facsimile), the Concerto would still be protected in the US. The date on the last page of the MS full score is November 10, 1925. And all subsequent publications are still protected in the US.

--Sixtus

[Carolus]

I seem to recall that Warner Brothers published a facsimile of the autograph full score at some point, along with those of several other Gershwin titles. This could serve as a basis for a score and set of parts prepared by anyone interested. Depends on what sort of copyright claim has been made, of course.

[panda]

I have a copy of the EMB score which lists the conductor Antal Jancsovics as editor. Unfortunately there are no editorial notes.

[sbeckmesser]

I seem to recall that Warner Brothers published a facsimile of the autograph full score at some point, along with those of several other Gershwin titles. This could serve as a basis for a score and set of parts prepared by anyone interested. Depends on what sort of copyright claim has been made, of course.

I have this 1987 score (which now seems hard to find) and it has formed the basis of my previous contributions to this string. Unfortunately, to serve as the basis of a new critical edition, the facsimile would have to be in color since, according to the Shirley article, the score has annotations by various hands, including early conductors of the piece. These would be easier to decipher with a color facsimile. If you wanted just to do a non-Campbell-Watson transcription of the score as it stands, changes and all, one would have to find those contributions that might possibly be by him. In any case, the resulting score would still fall under US copyright protection. It is possible that the Editio Musica edition has done some of this work already. I'll add it to my next Sheetmusicplus order.

--Sixtus