Trio (Jul 2021)

Kohti kriittistä editiota. Musiikkifilologinen analyysi Leevi Madetojan ensimmäisen sinfonian käsikirjoituslähteistä

  • Sasha Mäkilä

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 1
pp. 9 – 39

Abstract

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Leevi Madetoja’s (1887–1947) first symphony in F major, opus 29 (1916) was not printed during the composer’s lifetime. All performances of the work until the 1980s were played from handwritten orchestra parts. The printed score by Fazer from 1984 is riddled with numerous omissions, wrong pitches and mistakes in articulation and dynamics, and it seems to be a hybrid of the composer’s two manuscripts from 1916 and 1943 by an unknown editor. By today’s standards, the result is questionable, considering that the manuscripts were separated by 27 years. This article takes a closer look at the manuscript sources of Madetoja’s first symphony and is part of a larger project producing critical editions of Madetoja’s orchestral works. My research question is, what are the manuscript sources of Madetoja’s first symphony, and how are they related? I describe the autographs and handwritten orchestra parts and locate them in the source chain using genealogical reasoning and biographical information such as the composer’s correspondence and diaries. I point out which orchestra materials and autographs are connected and highlight essential differences between the manuscripts from the point of view of the critical edition. Finally, I consider which of the autographs would be best suited as the principal source of the new critical edition.

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