About this edition
Ernest Chausson's Symphony in B-flat major, Op. 20 is his only completed symphony, and it stands as the summit of his output for orchestra. Cast in three interlocking movements rather than the customary four, the work traces a long emotional arc from brooding introspection to radiant, cyclic triumph, weaving a single family of themes through every page in the manner Chausson absorbed from his teacher, César Franck. Premiered in Paris in 1890 with the composer himself on the podium, it endures as one of the most personal and affecting symphonies to emerge from the French fin-de-siècle.
This score reproduces the full orchestral edition published in Paris by E. Baudoux & Cie. (plate E.B. et Cie. 338), one of the houses associated with the generation of French composers gathered around Franck and the Société Nationale de Musique. Issued without an explicit date, as was common practice for French publishers of the period, this printing reflects the symphony's early published form and offers performers and scholars a direct link to the edition through which the work first reached the wider musical public.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score, suitable for study, reference, and performance preparation
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches, comfortably sized for the music stand or the desk
- Reproduced from a public domain historical edition
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
Because this symphony's original edition has long since entered the public domain, we're able to bring this historical score back into print exactly as it was published, making Chausson's masterwork freely accessible to conductors, orchestras, students, and scholars alike.