Bessel
Contents |
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, Aleksandr Dargomyzhsky and the members of the New Russian Musical School — Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, César Cui, Mily Balakirev, and Aleksandr 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.
Editions
Imprints, Addresses, Agencies
Imprints
- W. Bessel & Co.
- W. Bessel et Cie.
- V. Bessel (В. Бессель)
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 (pf. version) | (1874) |
| 588 | Cui | Mystic Chorus, Op.6 (vocal score) | 1875 |
| 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. pf4h) | 1878 |
| 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) |
| 3206 | Grodzky | 4 Miniatures, Op.10 | (1892) |
| 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) | (1898?) |
| 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 (Chernov 2-pf arr.) | (1905) |
| 5282 | Lyadov | Scherzo in D major, Op.16 | (1888/1900) |
| 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 |
