About this edition
Few works capture the searing emotional arc of Shakespeare's tragedy like Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet, a fantasy overture that introduced the world to one of the most beloved love themes in all of orchestral music. Written at the urging of Mily Balakirev, who guided the young composer through multiple revisions, the work fuses sonata form with vivid dramatic narrative — the brooding chorale of Friar Laurence, the violent clash of the warring houses, and the sweeping cor anglais and viola melody of the lovers themselves. The 1880 final version reproduced here represents Tchaikovsky's definitive vision, refined over more than a decade.
This edition reproduces the full orchestral score published by Bote & Bock in Berlin around 1881 (plate number 9325), one of the earliest printed editions of the definitive third version of the work and the form in which Romeo and Juliet entered the standard international repertoire. Bote & Bock, founded in 1838, was among the most respected German music publishers of the nineteenth century, and its careful engraving and editorial standards make this an authoritative reference for performers and scholars studying the work as it was disseminated during Tchaikovsky's lifetime.
About this edition:
- Full orchestral score (conductor's score), complete
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a public domain historical edition
- Source: Berlin: Ed. Bote & G. Bock, n.d. [1881], plate 9325
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
- Ideal for conductors, orchestral musicians, students, and scholars
This is a faithful reproduction of a public domain historical score, prepared so that conductors, students, and enthusiasts can study and perform this masterwork from a beautifully engraved nineteenth-century source. We're delighted to help keep great music in circulation and on music stands where it belongs.
