1861 Petr Ivanovich Jurgenson, Estonian by birth, starts to publish music following the advice of pianist and conductor, the founder of the Moscow Conservatoire N. G. Rubinstein. Since 1866 Jurgenson published also books on music.
1867 Jurgenson founds the first music printing establishment in Russia
1870-1903 Jurgenson’s company expands, incorporating numerous music shops and becoming the country’s most important music publishing house
1904 After Jurgenson’s death, his son Boris Petrovich (1868–1935) becomes the company’s head
1917 By that time, the Jurgenson publishing house issued more than 35000 musical items, including almost all the works by P. I. Tchaikovsky
1918 The company is nationalized. Subsequently it would be renamed first in Muzgiz (1930), then in Muzika (1964)
2004 Revival of the Jurgenson music publishing house
After almost 90 years, the historical justice in Russia has triumphed: finally, the music publishing house bearing the name of the first Russian music publisher P. I. Jurgenson has been revived.
The founders of the new publishing house (including B. P. Jurgenson, the famous publisher’s great-grandson) are, naturally, aware of the fact that they cannot match the scope of the activities of their predecessor. The revived company, however, has the same ‘brand-name’ priorities: promotion of Russian music and publication of generally acknowledged masterpieces, as well as of works that are less known or unjustly forgotten. Bearing in mind that it was just Jurgenson who issued almost all the works by P. I. Tchaikovsky during his lifetime, our company has laid special stress on the great Russian’s music, as well as on the literature on him. The company’s catalogue includes also works of other Russian composers: M. I. Glinka, M. P. Musorgsky, S. V. Rakhmaninov, A. S. Arensky, V. I. Rebikov and others.
Among the books issued by the company, an especially important item is Tchaikovsky. Thematic and Bibliographical Catalogue of Works – the most complete reference book on Tchaikovsky’s oeuvre. The catalogue is bilingual: in Russian and in English. Together with the Bolshoy Theatre, Jurgenson has published albums on Russian ballets, including The Nutcracker, The Golden Age, The Sleeping Beauty, etc.
Apart from music publishing activities, the company is engaged in music trade. It has the rights for exclusive distribution in Russia of the production of such famous German firms as Schott and C. F. Peters, as well as of the Hungarian firm Editio Musica Budapest. The company also distributes the books and music issued by the Russian publishing house DSCH (specializing in Shostakovich).
