Swan Lake, Ballet in Four Acts, Op. 20: Study Score

Finally! Whew -- if your experience has been anything like mine, you know that the struggle is real when it comes to finding the complete score to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Op. 20! I have NO idea why this is the case; this is not exactly an obscure ballet. But for whatever reason, Dover Publishing (not to badmouth them -- I love them) persists in publishing only the Suite to Swan Lake (which is cataloged as Op. 20a, incidentally). And other publishers have -- for the most part -- done the same. There are complete full scores for Swan Lake that you can buy for $300 - $400 (some include parts), but for normal citizens, that is simply out of reach. For those of us seeking a basic score to read through, look no further.Now to be clear, this is a STUDY SCORE. It is not a full-sized score. However, please let me say as a veteran user of many study scores, this is probably one of the nicest of its size that I have run across. I love the Barenreiter miniatures as much as anything else out there, and I've used plenty of Dovers, also. And I'm thankful that they are an option -- both for space on my shelves and for the price. However, when I start reading through a huge work (like a three-hour ballet or opera), I vastly prefer something that is kinder to my vision and usually avoid any study score of any kind. Full-size only. So this edition is not perfect for me by any means, but I am thrilled to just possess the thing at all! And, by the way, this volume does run physically larger than the standard Dover study scores. Dovers have a layout of their staves that runs about 5 inches in width by 7 inches in height; this edition runs nearly an extra inch in each dimension -- a full 6 inches by around 7 and 3/4 inches in height. You're still going to need a strong light to see what you need to see, but I can attest that the overall experience is superior to that involving your standard study score.This is a reprint of a Kalmus edition and there are some nice notes for a few pages at the beginning attributed to Carl Simpson in January 2008. I have only read along to the first 2 acts of the ballet, but I have had a blast! Depending on what version of the ballet you might choose to listen to, you will likely have the fun of assembling a bit of a sonic/manuscript puzzle as you read along, but that's nothing new when it comes to Swan Lake, with all of the artistic choices! I chose Valery Gergiev and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre (Decca) and had wonderful fun puzzling out where some of the cuts happened or where the heck I was supposed to end up, at times! There are other oddities here and there that add to the fun! For example, if you're looking for the Act II Danses des petits cygnets, you will NOT find it listed. It is simply "IV. Allegro moderato" on page 249. It was out of order with the Pas d'Action on the recording I chose, so it took me a moment to unravel it all, but -- as I say -- all part of the fun. Make some pencil notes in the margins as you go.I can pretty much guarantee that the music you have in this score will be MORE than you need for most recordings, haha! I haven't run across anything that I was hearing that was not found somewhere on the page, that's for sure. Looking forward to listening to my Charles Dutoit / Orchestra Symphonique de Montreal (London) recording next and seeing what decisions were made. And then on to my faithful Naxos recording with Dmitry Yablonsky and the Russian State Symphony Orchestra -- a quirky interpretation that is far (!) from perfect but has a killer vibe to it throughout, and definitely includes MUCH more of the ballet music than many recordings out there.So, do yourself a favor if you haven't yet been able to get your hands on this remarkable score. For under $60, it's so worth it. And it's nicely bound with a simple but elegant blue cover that doesn't present as being cheap or budget. Great volume! Now if someone will just move the whole endeavor over to a full size score for the same price that Dover did its Nutcracker for. Like, seriously -- what's the issue??But for now: thank you, Serenissima Music, Inc. Nice job. I'd love to see even more from you all down the road. Maybe I'll purchase your $90 Sleeping Beauty Study Score next. Cheers!

A excellent score collection must have for this grand work! Firstly, this book contains an excellent writeup on the background of this work, including who were the original dancers involved in this ballet etc. This provides me with a good understanding of this work.The print is sharp and clear, and can be read quite easily. This print also includes comments (highlights) on sections where it differs from other editions.The size of the book is alright, easy to be put into any bags. It is slightly smaller than the typica A4, but good for reading with two hands nonetheless. In my opinion, this is just the right size.Overall, while this study score is slightly on the pricey side, is definitely one of the better ones out there. It is a must have if you are a fan of this great work.

This is a beautifully produced score - very easy to follow even is its small format. It is scholarly and I appreciated the Preface to the edition.

Perfect for studying. Too small for playing

演奏会で抜粋で演奏する曲を選ぶ際にとても参考になりました。電子ファイルにはない便利さがあります。

長い間、欲しかったチャイコフスキー「白鳥の湖」全曲のスタディスコアをようやく入手できました。これまでは大型スコアを発注するほかはありませんでした。しかもとてもリーズナブルな価格です。印刷もきれいで、校訂もしっかりしているようです。満足しています。

初めて購入しましたが立派なＳＣＯＲＥでした！

アメリカで印刷。各楽器名は英語表記。楽譜は２６段（五線譜が２０段、五線譜の高さが３ミリ、打楽器用が６段）ドーヴァーのフルスコアは５ミリなので細かいです。目の悪い人、老眼の人はメガネ等が必要です。紙質がよいことと印刷がきれいなのでその点は見やすいと思います。ハズキルーペがあると便利かもしれません。ドーヴァーのフルスコアより2回りくらい小さく、ミニチュアスコアより1回り大きく584ページあるので大変分厚いです。大型時刻表とほぼ同じ厚さです。Ｂ5サイズより横が１センチ長いくらいです。気のついた点ですが、導入曲、第１曲〜第２９曲までありますが、通常番号無しの補足曲が一つは１９a、もう一つロシアの踊りが２０aとして整理されて載っています。それから目次の中で第１９曲が第１８曲と印刷されていますが単純なミスで本文の方は正しく表記されています。ちなみに、私が持っているＣＤでこのスコアに載っている全曲を全て演奏しているのはザヴァリッシュ、プレヴィン、ボニングの３つです。デュトアは第13曲の3と6、第14曲をカット。小澤征爾は補足曲4曲と第26曲をカット。プレトニョフは補足曲4曲とロシアの踊りをカット。M.T.トーマス、エルムレル、スヴェトラーノフは補足曲4曲をカット。ランチベリーは第10曲と第13曲の6と第14曲をカット。スラットキンは第10曲と第13曲の3と補足曲4曲をカット。以上です。

以前から欲しいと思いながら価格で手が出なかった全曲版がこの価格で入手できるとは！