A includes two endings of the slur in bar 284 – longer, to e2, written with a fine line and shorter, written with a pronounced gesture, to the e
2 crotchet. As the text of A we adopt the officious interpretation in which the shorter slur is a result of the correction of the longer one. In GE1 (→FE→EE, →GE2) it was either interpreted differently or the slur was corrected in print, most probably by Chopin. The second possibility is supported by a trace of correction in the initial part of the slur (in bar 283) – the slur was being extended there towards the next bar, which seems to imply the correctness of its ending.
The next slur in A clearly begins from the beginning of bar 285, which, corresponding to the preferences of the engraver of GE1, should have been reproduced in the editions. Therefore, an earlier beginning of this slur may suggest Chopin's proofreading, particularly since the joint result of the changes of slurs in GE1 rather fortunately solves the problem of the junction of the discussed phrases, by combining the transitory e2 quaver with both.
Therefore, we consider both versions to be equal; in the main text we give the version of A whose authenticity is, in spite of minor interpretative doubts, unquestionable.
category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations
issues: Inaccurate slurs in A, Authentic corrections of GE
notation: Slurs
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