The first three movements of Johannes Brahms? E Minor Cello Sonata were composed in 1862 the last movement was written in 1865. During the first years of its performance the work was received with mixed enthusiasm. By the end of Brahms? life however it was widely performed and by the first decades of the 20th century it was firmly embedded in the repertoire of many distinguished cellists. It was notably Robert Hausmann?s advocacy of the work which seems to have contributed greatly to its promotion.Of particular value to the editors were the three early performance editions of the Cello Sonata Op.38 by Cornelius van Vliet andEdwin Hughes Hugo Becker and Carl Friedberg as well as Julius Klengel. The cellists? van Vliet Becker and Klengel?s fingering and bowing allows for a better understanding of their performance practice. As such the Bärenreiter edition comes with a Cello part marked with fingering and bowing by the editors which are based on the practices of Brahms? contemporaries. We also provide an unmarked urtext part.An important part of this edition is the extensive preface. Firstly it informs about the works? origins early performances its publication as well as early reception. Truly remarkable is the unique Performance Practice Commentary. Here the editors take the premise that already a few decades after Brahms? death a widening gulf developed between the composer?s expectations and the performance practices of the early 20th century. In a very concrete and practical way the editors summarize some of the key issues in understanding Brahms? notation with regard to rhythm and timing dynamics and accentuation dots and strokes slurring and non legato Piano pedalling and overholding piano arpeggiation and dislocation string instrument fingering string instrument harmonics and vibrato. In this way the edition offers an exciting and often surprising insight in Romantic musical interpretation.- A pioneering Urtext edition.- With an unmarked Urtext part.- With a second part including fingering and bowing based on the practices of contemporaries of Brahms.- With an extensive Performance Practice Commentary.-

A pioneering set of Urtext editions.String editions include an Urtext solo part and a second part with fingering as well as performance markings.Each edition offers a preface on performance practice aspects pertaining to the respective works.A separate text booklet includes pioneering texts on general issues of performance practice in the 19th century as well as on specific issues with regard to Johannes Brahms? chamber music.Bärenreiter?s pioneering new scholarly-critical editions of Brahms? works for one instrument and Piano are edited by a team of musicologists who are also performers. They offertoday?s musicians not just a reliable musical text based on all known sources but also a comprehensive approach to the works which aims to place them in their historical context and to elucidate the complex of meanings that the composer wished his notation to convey to performers.The Violin and Viola sonata editions come not only with an Urtext part freed from all editorial emendations but also with an additional part including fingering and bowing based on the practices of Joseph Joachim and his colleagues. These markings especially draw on publications of the sonatas edited by Joachim?s pupils Leopold Auer and Ossip Schnirlin as well as those by Brahms? associate Franz Kneisel. A similar approach has been used for the Violoncello sonatas drawing on performance markings by Robert Hausmann (for whom Brahms wrote the Sonata in F major) Hugo Becker with whom Brahms performed it and Julius Klengel who was also close to his circle.