Prefatory Remarks to Vol. 7,2 A

This volume presents the reproduction of Schoenberg’s original manuscript, bars 1–452 of which constitute a component part of the original print (Copyright 1929), and bars 453–1131 of which are to be found on loose sheets in the Schoenberg family’s legal estate in Los Angeles.

The Revision Report provides information about deviations from these sources. Particular attention is drawn to the following details in this volume:
1. Variants from the full score concerning agogics, articulation, dynamics, and enharmonic intervals, as well as variants in the Text and punctuation are retained in the original form of the manuscript.
2. As long as they are not erroneous, the specifications for the instruments within the accolades have been reproduced in accordance with the above-mentioned sources. The Complete Edition has retained the occasional generalisations in the nomenclature (Kl. instead of kl. Kl. or Bs.-KI., Sx. instead of Sopr.-Sx. Alt-Sx. or Bs.-Sx.); in the same way, instructions relating to the number of instruments, to methods of performance (m. D., pizz. etc.) and to particular solo parts have only been reproduced where they occur in the sources.
When several instruments are set out at one time, the Manuscript shows a tendency to arrange the instruments in the order of their pitch, even when this arrangement is changed again afterwards. The editor has only followed suit when the different parts are clearly recognisable in the piano part. In order to avoid misunderstandings the normal arrangement for full score has been used in all other cases.
The following abbreviations have been added in the Complete Edition to those which appear under Besetzung des Orchesters:
Hz. (Holz) = Woodwind
Hz.-Bs. (Holzbässe) Bass woodwind
Bl. (Blech) = Brass
Str. (Streicher) = Strings
3. The rests in the piano part, in which the separate parts are differentiated by means of the note-stems, cautionary accidentals, numbers over triplets etc. omitted in the sources have been added without comment.
4. The placing of accidentals is in accordance with the general principles of the treatment of accidentals in twelve-tone music by analogy with the full score of “Von heute auf morgen”.
5. The three types of notation which appear in the manuscript: – notes of normal size in brackets, small notes in brackets, and small notes without brackets – are standardised i. e. notated in small print without brackets. It is to be assumed that Schoenberg’s remark in the upper margin of the manuscript page containing bars 525–532: write all bracketed notes clearly distinguishable as small notes! (also the relevant rests)! (do not add brackets, however)!! is valid for the entire piano score.

I am most grateful to Mr. Richard Hoffmann for the final collation of the musical text and to the staff of the Berlin Research Department for their advice and help.

Berlin, January 1974 Tadeusz Okuljar (Translated by A. C. Howie)