P. Jurgenson (in Russian: П. Юргенсон) was, in the early twentieth century, the largest publisher of classical sheet music in Russia.

History

Founded in 1861, the firm — in its original form, or as it was amalgamated in 1918 with other Russian music publishing firms into the state-owned music publishing monopoly—endured the latter of three of the four below listed eras (the first three were defined by Lenin as corresponding to three chief classes of Russian society): * The Aristocratic Period (roughly from 1825 to 1861) * The Middle Class, or Bourgeois-Democratic Period (extending approximately from 1861 to 1895)—P. Jurgenson was founded * The Proletarian Period (1895 to 1991) * Post Soviet Russia (1991 to present)

The original P. Jurgenson publishing house

Pyotr Ivanovich Jurgenson (

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: Peeter Jürgenson; 17 July 1836,

Reval Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and administratively lies in the Harju ''maakond'' (co ...

, Estonia – 2 January 1904,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Russia), founded P. Jurgenson in 1861 on the advice of

Nikolai Rubinstein Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; – ) was a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer. He was the younger brother of Anton Rubinstein and a close friend of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Life Born to Jewish parents in Moscow, where his father ...

– pianist, conductor, founder of the Moscow Conservatoire, and brother of

Anton Rubinstein Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein (; ) was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor who founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. He was the elder brother of Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory. As a pianist, Rubinstein ran ...

. Upon Pyotr Jurgenson's death in 1904, his sons, Boris Petrovich Jurgenson (1868–1935) and Grigory Petrovich Jurgenson (1872–1936), inherited the firm and Boris became its new head (

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

was Boris's godfather). The firm was a privately owned Russian company from 1861 to 1918. In 1868, Jurgenson published Tchaikovsky's first composition, and henceforth, nearly all of his other works. In Tchaikovsky's early career, Jurgenson gave him supportive commissions, including some for piano transcriptions, orchestrations, and translations of works by others. Jurgenson's zeal to publish Tchaikovsky's works, even when it involved taking on considerable

financial risk Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financi ...

s, earned his loyalty. A few of Tchaikovsky's compositions from the 1870s were published by other firms, including V. Bessel and Co. and Nikolai Bernard. But, by 1880, Jurgenson secured exclusive rights to publish Tchaikovsky's works, worldwide. The collaboration between Jurgenson and Tchaikovsky left a prolific trail correspondence that serves as a critical source for music scholars researching the composer's creative life.Polina Vajdman, Ljudmila Korabelnikova, Valentina Rubcova, ''Thematic and Bibliographical Catalogue of P. I. Tchaikovsky's Works'', P. Jurgenson, Moscow (2006)
Russian composer

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

wrote to music ethnographer Aleksandr Zatayevich about publishing folk Polish mazurkas in Jurgenson's house.

1917 Russian Revolution

In 1918, the company was nationalized by the communist regime, as were all other music publishing companies, into a division of the State Publishing House. That same year, Boris Petrovich became the head of the musical division of the State Publishing House. The music division, in 1930, was renamed Gosudarstvennoye Muzykal'noe Izdatelstvo (Государственное музыкальное издательство)—translated as State Music Publishing House, referred to by its short name, Muzgiz, then, in 1964, referred to as Muzika (or Muzyka or Музыка, in Russian).

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

(1990 to 1991), state-owned enterprises, including Muzyka, suffered from newly imposed austere budgets. Muzyka lost its actual monopoly and its leading positions in several areas. As of 2006, Muzyka was owned by the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, but the government was planning to privatize it that year. The strategic plan to resuscitate Muzyka was to focus on educational literature.

The new P. Jurgenson music publishing house

In 2004, Muzyka's acting director, Dr. Mark A. Zilberquit (with the support of the publisher's great-grandson and President of the P. Jurgenson Charitable Fund, Boris Jurgenson), led an effort to register a newly formed P. Jurgenson music publishing company as a Russian company. The new P. Jurgenson company does not possess Muzyka's assets that were once held by the original P. Jurgenson.

References

External links

IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library site

P. Jurgenson website

Muzyka website
{{Authority control Jurgenson Publishing companies established in 1861 Jurgenson 1861 establishments in the Russian Empire Music organizations based in Russia