Brahms: Händel-Variationen für Klavier - op. 24, für Klavier

The meticulous background research and new discoveries here are the revelatory. It is wonderful to have Clara Schumann's own fingerings in italics throughout the score (she gave the first performance in September 1861) and useful, too - in Peter Roggenkamp's interpretive notes - to have detailed and logically argued cases made for approaching trills on the main note rather than on the note above. Roggenkamp is excellent in advocation the sostenuto and half-pedalling for variations nine and 22 respectively, as well as helpful in his explanation of the direction ‚sciolto' that appears in the 14th variation. As for Brahms' notes themselves, they are beautifully engraved and generously laid out over 30 pages. With a detailed critical commentary explaining editorial decisions, this is a very impressive package indeed.
International Piano 07,08/2011

One may wonder what another edition of Brahms's Handel-Variations Op. 24, might add, especially considering that all the important sources hand long been available. Yet, the 2011 Wiener Urtext Edition (...) does make a significant contribution. Compared with the seven other editions I reviewed, (...) I found this 30-page edition easier to read than previous 22- to 27-page versions. Its convenient page-turns occur only between variations. Even unavoidable pageturns in the Fugue are at relatively convenient spots. (...) I found the fingering musically and technically sound, and I particularly appreciate the instances in which redistribution notes between the hands makes some passages easier for smaller hands (…) This edition is user-friendly in its layout and design. It provides a wealth of information, detailing even small discrepancies between sources in the "Critical Notes", enabling anyone who studies this work to make educated decisions.
The American Music Teacher, 04/2012