The sound of the quaver figure in this bar raises a number of doubts. All three source versions are stylistically impeccable, however, two following issues should be considered:
-
Chronology of the versions
The earliest is a version with the repeated g1 note, which we find already in As, written in ink, hence in the first phase of sketching the Waltz. Next, there is a version with f
1-g1, in the form of a correction performed in pencil in As. However, while preparing the piece for publication, Chopin did not include this change and he wrote g1-g1 in A. It most probably proves the composer's hesitation, since an oversight of the correction is, according to us, less likely. Chopin's hesitation about the shape of this motif is confirmed by the later proofreading of FE, in which he changed again the version with the repeated g1 note to a chromatic f1-g1 step. The version of A, which was passed to GE through a proof copy of FE, was changed also there, this time replacing the repetition with a diatonic g1-a
1 step. The latter is most probably the latest and it presents, as it seems, the last attempt to end the impasse by looking at the troublesome place from a broader perspective. -
Authenticity of the version of GE
Both versions of GE,1 bear visible traces of an editorial revision, however, it does not have to exclude a cursory proofreading of at least one of the versions of the edition by Chopin – see the characterization of GE1op. A possibility that any reviser would dare to change the musically unequivocal text of a recognised author seems to be almost unthinkable – revisers were supposed to look for patent errors, most often concerning overlooked accidentals, clefs, unfinished slurs, etc., but not to questionably "improve" the work. However, there are some known examples of overzeal of revisers, yet they always concern evidently problematic situations (e.g., change of e1 to d1 in the Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, bar 7 or g1 to g1 in the Etude in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2, bar 7). In addition, in the discussed case the fact that the reviser considered the place to be requiring a correction, which Chopin himself thought to be problematic, would be an implausible coincidence.
Taking into account the above, in the main text we give the most probably latest, authentic version of GE (g1-a1), by adding – after GE2op (→GE3op) and GE2Ab – a cautionary 
before g1.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations
issues: Authentic corrections of FE, Authentic corrections of GE
notation: Pitch