ll-conceived changes such as these discount the value of the original score and victimize unsuspecting students and incurious professional players. The art of performing is ultimately a combination of spontaneous personal expression and careful contemplation of the work at hand. Similarly, editing involves some art, but it also requires a didactic function. An editor's freedom of expression should be exercised more carefully than the performer's in light of the responsibility that comes with linking one's name with one of the master composers of the past. Since original sources are not widely available and often of limited practical use to the modern-day performer, the available editions of the work serve as the lenses through which we look to try to glean the composer's intent. When the lens becomes too opaque, sight of the original is obscured. The musical preferences expressed by an editor may often become blurred by those made for technical exigencies until the musical meaning has been obscured as well.

In revisiting the "Arpeggione" Sonata, the editors at Discordia Music have attempted to distill the composition down to its original state. Critical analysis of the composer's manuscript, the original instrument, and historical context reveals information that stands in direct opposition to the common assumptions and performance conventions among double bassists. Since the piece has been a part of the solo double bass repertoire now for over 40 years, these assumptions and conventions will be difficult to unlearn. For practical reasons, many players will continue to perform the piece as they have in the past, but for the interested few, we have endeavored to present a transparent, uncluttered Urtext edition as an unbiased point of reference for each performer to do with as he or she sees fit.

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