Prokofiev symphonies

[poncho]

Hi,

In the UK you can borrow sets of orchestral parts through the inter-library loan system. Generally, the pieces available are those that are out of copyright.

However, a search shows that there are several copies of a Kalmus edition of Prokofiev Symphony no. 7 available:

Prokofiev, Sergei Sergeevich, 1891-1953

Symphony, no.7, op.131, C sharp minor. - : Kalmus

Duration: 30 minutes
Voices: +3+3+32 4331 T Perc Bells Xyl Hp Pf strings

Can anyone explain why this symphony is available, but none of the others are? I thought all Prokofiev was copyright in the UK still?

Also, what is the history of this edition? I can't find it listed in the current Kalmus catalogue.

Yours curiously,
Ian

[Carolus]

This, and most Prokofiev works, were PD in the USA until the passage of the GATT treaty and its amendments to the copyright law, which "restored" the works to copyright. Kalmus reprinted the Muzgiz score issued as part of the Prokofiev complete works until 1996, along with manuscript parts.

Someone from the UK probably bought the set from Kalmus while visiting the US back then and took it back to the UK, where the work has never been out of copyright as far as I can tell.

[poncho]

Kalmus reprinted the Muzgiz score issued as part of the Prokofiev complete works until 1996, along with manuscript parts.

So was no. 7 the only symphony that Kalmus did this for? Or did they reprint others as well? I'm curious why there are 7 copies of this symphony available to borrow, but none of the others.

Someone from the UK probably bought the set from Kalmus while visiting the US back then and took it back to the UK, where the work has never been out of copyright as far as I can tell.

Interesting. Or perhaps Kalmus were willing to sell and post the set internationally?

Aside: since Prokofiev is PD in Canada are they any publishers there offering reprints now? There are lots of composers who are PD in Canada but copyrighted elsewhere - I would have thought that a Canadian "Dover" would do very well.

Thanks for your help!
Ian

[Carolus]

Kalmus had all 7 of the symphonies in print (at least the scores) back in the 1980s. The Soviet State Publisher was very inconsistent about issuing printed parts - despite the huge number of scores they produced. The parts Kalmus issued were often manuscript.

Kalmus has been the target of numerous lawsuits from other publishers over the years who were unhappy about the public domain status of works in the US. They do not ship to a country where one of their reprint titles is still under copyright. They will sell to anyone in the US, or to another country where the title is free. Canada (along with Japan, China, Korea, and a host of other countries) enjoys a life-plus-50 copyright term, which was a major consideration in keeping IMSLP resident there. I don't know why there's not a Canadian (or Japanese, Korean, etc.) reprint house a la Dover producing scores apart from the fact that it's a very difficult business to run as a for-profit enterprise. Dover, by way of example, is primarily a book publisher whose music catalogue is very much a side line. (There have been rumors they are planning to drop that division, or at least cut back on new offerings.)

[Vivaldi]

There have been rumors they (Dover) are planning to drop that division, or at least cut back on new offerings.

That would be bad news indeed. Almost all of the scores that I bought were published by Dover.

[poncho]

Thanks very much Carolus for your explanations. It's great that knowledgeable people are willing to come on the boards and share.