G. Henle Verlag

Current design for Urtext Editions (since 1999)

The publishing house G. Henle Verlag was founded on 20 October 1948 by Günter Henle with the permission of the US military government. It was initially called the "Klöckner music factory" and had offices in Duisburg and Munich. Henle's main goal was to “ensure the publication of Urtext editions of music on a scholarly basis, in particular from the 18th and 19th centuries”. At this time, Joseph Lehnacker (1895–1965) used the "Henle blue" for the cover and designed title font. In 1949, the publishing house’ participated in the first post-war music fair in Detmold. In 1953, the editorial department was established at the Duisburg offices with Ewald Zimmermann (1910–1998) at its head. In 1955, the employees in Munich moved to a newly acquired publishing house in Schongauerstraße 24.

For several decades, engraving was done by the Universitätsdruckerei H. Stürtz (Würzburg), and were later joined by engravers in Leipzig and Darmstadt. The first works published were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonatas in two volumes, edited by Walther Lampe, and Franz Schubert’s Impromptus and Moments Musicaux, edited by Walter Gieseking. G. Henle Verlag became one of the major German music publishing businesses. Towards the end of the 1990s, hand engraving of the musical texts was replaced by computers.

Günter Henle was involved in founding the Joseph Haydn Institute in Cologne in 1955. Following this, the first scholarly works in the Haydn Complete Edition were published, whose volumes have since been issued by G. Henle Publishers. In 1972, Günter Henle established the Günter Henle Foundation in Munich, which later assumed ownership of the publishing house. The foundation was initially chaired by Günter Henle until his death in 1979.

In 1978, the publishing house acquired its present offices in Munich. The following year, Günter Henle died, leading to the closure of the Duisburg offices and the expansion of the Munich subsidiary. In 1981, the publishing house participated at the first German Music Fair in Tokyo, and at the same time, G. Henle USA Inc. was established in St. Louis, Missouri, initially as a joint venture. From 1985, this US sales subsidiary acted solely on behalf of the Munich parent company. This subsidiary was closed in 2007, since when the publishing house has been exclusively represented in the US by the Hal Leonard Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

G. Henle Verlag also participated at the first International Bookfair in Beijing in 1986; in 1995 a first publishing licence was granted to the Chinese state publishing house People's Music Publishing House in Beijing. To date, numerous Urtext editions by G. Henle Publishers have been published for the Chinese market with this licensing partner and also with the Shanghai Music Publishing House.

Since 1995, Henle has also produced “Study Editions” as pocket scores alongside its blue Urtext editions. Beginning in 2016, the publishing house has also offered its Urtext editions in digital form, available in an app for iOS and Android tablets.

In 1993, a further floor was added to the publishing house; in 2005 the ground floor was modernized and completely refurbished. The catalogue now comprises around 1,500 Urtext editions and around 750 scholarly publications.

G. Henle Publishers building in Forstenrieder Allee in Munich

G. Henle Publishers publishes Urtext editions that are characterized by their correct musical text – drawn up following strict scholarly principles – with extensive commentary on the sources consulted (covering autographs, copies, early printings) and details regarding the readings.

The collection includes works of J. S. Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, J. Haydn, W. A. Mozart, Schubert, R. Schumann; in addition numerous other selected works for piano and organ. The catalogue also contains the complete song editions of Beethoven, Haydn, and Schumann’s most important song cycles. Urtext editions in a smaller study format (Study Edition Series) as well as several facsimile editions of composers’ manuscripts are also available.

The app contains fingerings and string bowings by famous living and historic performers.[1]

• Günter Henle: Three spheres, a life in politics, business, and music. Chicago, 1971.
• Günter Henle: Verlegerischer Dienst an der Musik. 25 Jahre G. Henle Verlag. Munich, 1973.
• Martin Bente (Editor): Musik, Edition, Interpretation. Gedenkschrift Günther Henle. Munich, 1980.

• The official website and online catalogue of G. Henle Verlag: www.henle.com
• Website of Henle Library (app): www.henle-library.com
• Dr. Wolf-Dieter Seiffert Interview NAMM Oral History Library
• Holger Siems Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2006)