The first performer wrote with
Dvořák's second cello concerto is finally available in an exemplary edition which also documents the influence of the dedicatee.
The edition of Antonín Dvořák's monumental Second Cello Concerto in B minor op. 104 is a long tale of woe. If you compare conventional editions (including those claiming to be the "Urtext"), you quickly notice striking discrepancies between the score, solo part and orchestral material. The new Bärenreiter edition finally does away with this. Jonathan Del Mar has examined all the surviving sources extremely conscientiously, including two that had previously been either ignored or greatly underestimated.
The influence of the cellist and dedicatee Hanuš Wihan is also documented in detail. Del Mar proves that not only were certain passages in Dvořák's autograph written by him, but that some details in the orchestral parts were also written by him. This proves how closely the two musicians worked together during the creation of the work.
The efforts resulted in a standard-setting edition that restores Dvořák's definitive version of the solo part for the first time since the concerto was first published in 1896. It differs from all modern editions in almost every bar. Hundreds of corrections were also made to the orchestral parts. The Critical Report, available separately in English, is particularly informative in this respect.
It is to be hoped that this edition will quickly establish itself as standard material.
Antonín Dvořák: Concerto per Violoncello in B minor op. 104, Urtext edited by Jonathan Del Mar; Score, BA 9045, € 55.00; arrangement for violoncello and piano by the composer BA 9045-90, € 14.95; Critical Report, BA 9045-40, € 29.95; Bärenreiter, Prague 2011
