Kalmus Edwin F and

2012 Review #87:
If you keep in musical circles, especially if you play in an orchestra, if you ever receive a very large, cream-​colored part that doesn’t fit in a folder, chances are it’s by Kalmus. I had this hilarious conductor who once said to us «That’s Kalmus– that’s quality!» except, if you were to write that sentence with the same quality as Kalmus’ scores, it would read: «That’s Kalmus% Th@ts kwallytee111»
Basically, Kalmus makes very cheap scores and parts for myriad ensembles and by pretty much every composer ever. They’re like that restaurant with the 50 page menu that has everything from lobster to Moroccan food. You might like the look of that tagine but you just know, deep down, that it’s a bad idea, especially because it’s only $ 7.99. Kalmus makes everything from full orchestra scores to individual parts to solo pieces. On its face, buying a full concerto with piano condensed score for $ 30 might sound like a great idea; an actually good copy could easily run you $ 50, and when you’re poor in college you’d love to have $ 20 to buy beer with.
But, one thing Kalmus is not good with is details. Important details. Ever wonder what makes Mozart sound like Mozart? Well, it has a lot to do with all the details on the page that are not notes: articulation signs, dynamic markings, phrasing details, original bowing markers such as slurs, ties and breath marks, correctly marked appogiaturas, trills, etc. When any one of these things is not accurately marked down in the part, they greatly effect one’s ability to accurately practice and perform a piece. Theoretically, you can cross check a Kalmus part with a more accurate part, so you can mark down the correct markings, but it would take forever to make up for Kalmus’ mistakes. Besides the detail markings that are lacking, I have found notes marked incorrectly, incorrect numbers of beats in measures, big things basically. Unless you are a very poor orchestra director who doesn’t care about accuracy, let Kalmus keep it’s qwalitee.