| "There
is probably
no more pleasant and productive way to deepen and enrich one's
understanding of a piece of music than a thorough and careful study of
the composer's autograph... Among the features of an autograph that a
musician might find especially enlightening are the expressive
character of the composer's hand, his departures from conventions of
notation, and traces of his mistakes, second thoughts, and corrections.
Handwriting is an expressive gesture, akin to speech, singing, or
playing an instrument. Compared to the
composer's autograph, even the most beautiful printed score is like a
waxwork figure compared
to a living, breathing person."
Carl
Schachter, Review of Mozart - The
Five Violin Concertos: A Facsimile Edition of the Autographs. The
Strad,
June, 1987, 446-51.
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