RARELY SEEN 5-VOLUME PIANO WORKS OF LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK,

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RARELY SEEN 5-VOLUME PIANO WORKS OF LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK, :
$2500.00

THE PIANO WORKS OF LOUIS MOREAU GOTTSCHALK, Edited by Vera Brodsky Lawrence; bibliographical essay by Robert Offergeld. [A reprinting of 112 compositions, originally published individually from the 1850s to 1870s). Published by Arno Press & The New York Times, copyright 1969. Five volumes, total 1,469 pages, illustrated.
Gottschalk, born in New Orleans in 1829, was the first Americanto achieve a world-wide reputation as both a composerof serious concert music and a world-class piano virtuoso on a level with Mozart and Liszt. He was enormously popular in his short life, dying at age 40 after spending most of that life as a traveling virtuoso, earning and spending a fortune, and dazzling audiences with performances of his own compositions.
Here are the 112 pieces that have survived (it\'s known he composed about 300 pieces, the rest of them lost) collected in a stunningly beautiful edition of 5 large volumes, each with a different frontispiece of a likeness of Gottschalk and a facsimile page of his handwritten musical manuscripts. The evocative 19th century title pages of each piece are also reproduced, and each volume has an index to all 5 volumes, plus its own table of contents.
There is a 22-page \"immensely enthusiastic\" introduction by Gottschalk scholar Robert Offergeld, recounting Gottschalk\'s extraordinary life.
The paper is of good quality, the 9 x12 size assures readability, and the excellent bindings allow the volumes to lie flat on the piano rack when open, so these musical scores are for playing, not just viewing. Each volume has gorgeous marbled endpapers (see photo) and a facsimile of Gottschalk\'s notoriously illegible signature stamped in gold on the front cover.
When published in 1969 at the then astronomical price of $225, few individuals could afford to buy this set, and most of them were bought by libraries. So this set from a music professor\'s personal collection, in like-new condition, is a great rarity. The covers, bindings, and pages are all clean and crisp, and still smell new! There are few signs of handling or use. The ever-increasing awareness and popularity of Gottschalk\'s wonderful music will only increase the future value of this rare collection.
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