Bessel
Free public domain sheet music from IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library
History
V. Bessel and Co. (often transliterated W. Bessel & Co.) was founded in 1869 in St. Petersburg by Vasily Vasil’yevich Bessel (1843-1907). His brother Ivan was a co-owner of the firm. In 1871, an engraving and printing facility was established at the premises on Nevsky Prospekt. Bessel mainly published works by prominent Russian composers, notably Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Anton Rubinstein, Alexander Dargomyzhsky and the members of the New Russian Musical School — Modest Musorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, César Cui, Mily Balakirev, and Alexander Borodin. A Moscow branch office was opened in 1888.
Bessel issued a weekly magazine Muzykal’ny Listok (The Musical Leaf) was issued from September 3, 1872 to June 5, 1877, and Muzykal’noye Obozrenie (The Musical Revue) from 1885 to 1888. After the revolution (1918), the company was moved to Paris, where it continued to operate until sometime after the Second World War.
Plate Numbers
Bessel plate numbers sometimes employed prefix and suffix letters. When the letters were used, the most common form encountered is W. #### B.
| Plate | Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 122 | Cui | Prisoner of the Caucasus - Overture (arr. N. N. Purgold) | (1870) |
| 153 | Dargomyzhsky | The Stone Guest | 1871 |
| 241 | Tchaikovsky | Romeo & Juliet (arr. piano 4 hds.) | (1871) |
| 301-306 | Tchaikovsky | 6 Romances, Op.16 | (1874) |
| 340 | Cui | Scherzo No.1, Op.1 (piano 4-hd. arr.) | (1872) |
| 348 | Mussorgsky | Boris Godunov (1st ed. vocal score) | 1872 |
| 379 | Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 2, Op.17 - (arr. piano 4 hds.) | (1873) |
| 400-427 | Tchaikovsky | The Oprichnik - vocal score | (1874) |
| 495-500 | Tchaikovsky | 6 Pieces, Op.21 (piano solo) | (1874) |
| 606 | Tchaikovsky | Romeo & Juliet (orch. parts) | (1874) |
| 621-626 | Tchaikovsky | 6 Romances, Op.25 | (1875) |
| 634-664 | Cui | Angelo (vocal score) | (1876) |
| 672 | Borodin | Symphony No. 2 (arr. piano 4 hds.) | (1877) |
| 782 | Cui | Tarantella, Op.12 (full score) | (1882) |
| 1059 | Liszt | Recitation, Der blinde Sänger, S.350 | 1877 |
| 1538 | Mussorgsky | Night on Bald Mountain (arr. Rimsky-Korsakov) | (1887) |
| 1560 | Mussorgsky | Pictures at an Exhibition (ed. Rimsky-Korsakov) | (1887) |
| 1586-1589 | Cui | Suite for Piano, Op.21 | (1887) |
| 1993-1999 | Cui | 7 Mélodies, Op.32 | (1888) |
| 2007 | Cui | Valse-Caprice, Op.26 | (1889) |
| 2204-2212 | Cui | À Argenteau, Op.40 | (1888) |
| 2458 | Cui | Trois Mouvements de Valse, Op.41 | (1891) |
| 2462 | Cui | Scherzo No.1, Op.1 (full score) | (1888) |
| 2480 | Borodin | Symphony No. 2 - orch. parts | (1891) |
| 3204 | Tchaikovsky | Romeo & Juliet (arr. 2 pianos, Klindworth) | (1895) |
| 3960 | Tchaikovsky | Romeo & Juliet (arr. 2 pianos, 8 hds., Schaefer) | (1898) |
| 4273 | Cui | À Argenteau, Op.40 (full score, selections orch. Glazunov) | (1899) |
| 4434 | Cui | À Argenteau, Op.40 (new engraving of No. 6, replaces plate 2209) | |
| 4849 | Rimsky-Korsakov | The Tale of Tsar Saltan - vocal score | 1901 |
| 4867-69 | Rimsky-Korsakov | The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Suite, Op.57 (arr. piano 4 hands, N. Rimskaia-Korsakova) | (1901) |
| 4880 | Rimsky-Korsakov | The Tale of Tsar Saltan, Suite, Op.57 - full score | 1901 |
| 4882 | Rimsky-Korsakov | The Tale of Tsar Saltan - full score | (1904) |
| 4923 | Borodin | Symphony No. 2 (arr. 2 pianos, 4 hds, K. Chernov) | (1905) |
| 6470 | Mussorgsky | Boris Godunov (ed. Rimsky-Korsakov, piano arr.) | 1909 |
| 6700 | Borodin | Symphony No. 2 (arr. piano, K. Chernov) | (1912) |
| 7332 | Akimenko | 3 Pieces, Op.60bis | (1915) |
| 8285 | Rimsky-Korsakov | The Tale of Tsar Saltan Interlude: Flight of the Bumblebee (arr. piano, J. Stirmer) | 1926 |
| 8366 | Rimsky-Korsakov | The Tale of Tsar Saltan - vocal score, rev. ed. | 1929 |
