In the 19th century, arrangements for piano four-hands were usually versions which people played at home if the works could not be heard in concert. In cases such as these Brahms did not, however, just make functional versions but creatively transcribed his works for the piano. As the composer he allowed himself greater freedom than arrangers for publishers did. In this form his arrangements greatly contributed to the success of his works in musical life in the 19th century. It is on account of their creativity that Brahms’ arrangements have attracted new interest in musical circles over the last few decades. Our Urtext edition of the Symphonies nos. 1 and 2 for piano four hands offers a scholarly musical text following the recently published volume in the Brahms Complete Edition.
