„In their musical concentration and intensity, Beethoven’s overtures are on a par with his symphonies. Prometheus, Coriolan, Egmont, Leonore, Fidelio – these are the great themes of humanity, whose potential for utopia we are still sizing up today. The new editions of the symphonies that have been published in the past years have amply proven the importance of the systematic editorial exploitation of the sources. I am absolutely convinced that the first Urtext editions of the overtures published by Breitkopf will leave behind similarly positive traces in musical practice.“ (Kurt Masur)
To this day, the overtures to „Fidelio“ and „Leonore“ No. 3 are played from musical texts based on the imprecise and corrupted first edition in parts. Only non-authorized scribal copies of lesser quality had been available as engraver’s copies for these first editions. Even Max Unger was aware of this untenable situation and, in the preface of his 1935 edition, stated that: ”These first editions in parts ... abound in imprecisions and engraving errors, and are so faulty that at several passages, the reading intended by the Master can no longer be identified with certainty.”
The state of the sources to Fidelio and Leonore No. 3 has significantly improved through the recent discovery of considerable source material.

See Beethoven-Urtext, Series 1

See Beethoven-Urtext, Series 3