Moscow, Cheryomushki. Op. 105. Operetta. Piano score.

   This edition is based on the publication of the piano score of the musical comedy Moscow, Cheryomushki in Vol. 25 of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Collected Works, Muzyka Publishers, Moscow, 1986 (PS), as well as the publication of the score of the musical comedy in Vol. 66 of New Collected Works, DSCH, Moscow, 2006 (S). The publication of the score of the musical comedy in Vol. 24 of Collected Works, Muzyka Publishers, Moscow, 1986 (S-86), on which S is based, was also taken into account. In some cases, the manuscripts of individual items of the piano score1 are referred to, as well as the author’s manuscript of the score of an additional item “Sergei’s Song”.
   The revision of this edition aims to achieve the greatest correlation between the piano score and the score of the musical comedy. The piano version of the vocal symphonic composition for a music theatre is not in itself an independent work (that is, unless it has become an “official” alternative version for public performance), and one of the main purposes of the piano score is to prepare the artists for the performance, that is, for working on stage with an orchestra. Without delving into all the stages involved in putting out a new performance or when initiating new performers into a precast performance I would just like to note that most of this work is accompanied by the piano, while the orchestra comes in to accompany the performers at the last moment. On the one hand, this certainly underlines the role of the piano score in the preparations, while, on the other, it shows that the notation of the piano score must correspond as much as possible in all components to the notation of the score, which far from always happens.
  PS was based on the first publication of the piano score of the musical comedy (Sovetskiy kompositor Publishers, Moscow, 1959); a brief, but extremely precise description of the shortcomings of this edition is given in the introductory part of the comments to S (p. 613) by Manashir Iakubov, who was the editor of S. Despite the work done in PS to unify PS and S-86, which came out at the same time, a large number of the discrepancies in these editions (particularly in the notations) has not been identified, so the discrepancies in many episodes of the 1959 publication (those in the libretto and the discrepancies in stage directions) were automatically transferred to PS and S-86, which is also mentioned and accompanied by examples in the introductory part of the comments to S.
   Keeping in mind the above, as well as taking into account the work done in S to remove the shortcomings of the previous editions in the libretto, including those relating to stage logic, in most cases, preference is given in this edition to S when PS and S do not correspond.
   Many episodes, and even entire items of the musical comedy, are repetitions (sometimes abbreviated) of previous episodes and items, while some items that were originally missing in the hand-written copy of the score of the Production Combine of the USSR Music Foundation (Nos. 9, 23, 24, 34, 35, 37 and 39) were restored in S-86 by the editor Konstantin Titarenko based on the score music available in the previous items in correspondence with the piano score (1959 publication). It is interesting that corresponding bars in these repeated episodes and items, which are identical in the phrasing in S, are often given entirely different phrasing in PS. If we believe the notations of the piano score and the score should correspond in these instances, it becomes obvious that identical episodes in the score should also be identical in the piano score. Therefore, in this edition, all such bars (context permitting) are unified, while the piano version that is closest to the score notation (the one in PS, or that with the additions and corrections done by the present editor) is always taken as the basis.
   PS, of the official publications of the piano score of the musical comedy, has until now been the main working edition for performers. In this respect, these comments specify all the changes and corrections in the notation of PS, apart from:
—obvious slips of the pen, which have been corrected without stipulation;
—small corrections relating to how the notation was done that are specified only when they entail more significant changes;
—introduction in the P-no part of designations of instruments or orchestral groups (synchronised with S),3 as well as part-writing;
—corrections in the P-no part (that do not relate to corrections of obvious slips of the pen), relating to articulation marks (accents, the “tenuto” dashes, stacc. dots),4 which are only commented on if they are related to more significant articulation marks, rhythm or dynamic changes in the notation of PS, as well as when it is necessary to make corresponding corrections to the notation of S.
   The comments specify all the significant discrepancies in the notations of PS and S5 in those cases when preference in the disputed episodes goes to the notation of PS, whereby obvious slips of the pen in S (including those transferred from the notation of S-86) are not commented on. Furthermore, the comments make note of every episode when the piano version of the orchestrated score music that differs from the notation of S due to the piano specifics could prompt the performers to make false acoustic or pitch references (which do not correspond to the orchestral sound) in the vocal or dance episodes.
   The editorial directions and additions enclosed in square brackets in several episodes in PS and S are printed without brackets when used in this edition, the absence of which is not specified in the comments, while the square brackets are not mentioned in references to these episodes in the comparative analysis of the comments.
   Along with the differences in the notation, the comments consistently (bar-by-bar) specify other differences in PS, S, S-86 and this edition, primarily those that appear in the script. In addition to the dialogues as such (between musical items or during them) and the lyrics (words of vocal items), the editor includes in the script all the stage directions and the titles and subtitles of items, scenes and interludes. Differences relating to the text phrasing (its arrangement, design, and so on) are only specified if they involve more significant differences in the script (including the lyrics), semantic or stage aspects. Changes and corrections of no particular semantic significance relating to the grammar of the script are made without specification. But all the punctuation corrections (this concerns the specifics of the Russian language) are specified in both the dialogues and the lyrics that make changes (including musical) to the structure of a particular phrase and its emotional intonation, or change the semantic accent and at times the actual meaning. All the italics in the dialogues, words of the vocal items, as well as the stage directions given in the comments, belong to the present editor (stage directions, both external and internal, regardless of how they are printed in the notation of this edition, are given in the comments in block-letter type and always without brackets).
   Numbering of the bars and rehearsal numbers in this edition, apart from those instances specified in the comments, are given in accordance with S (the bar counts in S and S-86 correspond). In the comments themselves, the bar numbers, as well as comparative references to bars in PS, S and S-86, are always given in accordance with this edition. All the instances where the rehearsal numbers and bars numbers in the notation of PS, S and this edition do not correspond are specified in the comments.