The phrase mark in A, just like two further ones in analogous situations, embraces the motif that consists of two thirds a flat1-c2. The meaning of that curved line in GE1 (→FE) is no longer clear, as it could just as well be interpreted as a tie sustaining as1. This is at least how the reviewer of GE2 understood it, which is evidenced by the change made in bars 34-35. In the discussed place in GE2 the slur was omitted, probably with the intention to move the slur of GE1 up in order to turn it more clearly into a tie (it reappeared in GE3). The engraver of EE read the line to be a tie sustaining a flat1 and engraved it in a manner that left no room for doubt.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources
issues: Inaccuracies in GE, GE revisions
notation: Slurs