Henle Sheet Music

Gunther Henle founded his publishing house in Germany in 1948. While they became well known for more than sheet music, that is where they excel.Henle sheet music is especially revered for publishing the works in Urtext editions. What this means is that they publish the music exactly as it was originally intended by the composer. Any other sheet music that is not Urtext can include interpretive versions of the original music.

There are limited sources for the sheet music to be published in Urtext editions. The sources for an urtext edition include the manuscript produced in the composer's hand, hand copies made by the composer's students and assistants, or a first published edition. Since first editions often include misprints, a copy of the first edition that was hand-corrected by the composer is considered to be the best source for the sheet music.

Henle sheet music is considered to be invaluable for modern musical instruction. The G. Henle publishing company has preserved the original sheet music and mass produced in for many of the greatest composers to include J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, J. Haydn, W. A. Mozart, and Schubert. In fact, the most important song cycles of Beethoven, Haydn and Schumann are published in their entirety. They are also known for including alternative versions that were written by the original composer.

Not only is the Henle sheet music valued for their authenticity to the original composer’s version, it is also highly sought after for the quality of the sheet music. For over 60 years, the Henle publishing company has been recognized for the amount of work that they put into their sheet music. They can be either bound in paper or cloth. They are revered for using the highest quality sheet music engraving in the world. When you buy Henle sheet music, you will be able to keep it and pass it on for many years to come.

Henle does more than just publish the works of the most famous composers. They cover from the early Baroque to the 20th century. You can find the Urtext edition works of George Gershwin, Milo Cipra and Marko Tajcevic. The sheer volume of composers whose sheet music is published by the Henle Publishing Company is astounding. A person can have the musical collection of a lifetime without having to buy sheet music from any other source.

For music teachers and their students, the Henle sheet music is phenomenal. They are praised not only for their accuracy, but also for their commentary and fingering suggestions. There are many well known and respected musicians that have contributed critical commentary and suggestions in the sheet music. Every music teacher should have Henle sheet music in their library.