mUltimate Chopin

Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Authentic corrections of FE

b. 353-354

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

b3 repeated in A (→GE)

b3 tied in FE (→EE)
..

According to us, the tie of b3 is a result of a mistake of the engraver of FE (→EE). It would be difficult to assume that Chopin would have liked to deprive this figure of its initial fourth that is key for capturing the relationship to the antithetic figure, beginning with a fifth, in the preceding bar.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 356

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

b2 in A, FE2 (→EE) & GE2

g2 in GE1 (→FE1)
..

The version of GE1 (→FE1) is almost certainly a Terzverschreibung error, which was confirmed by the Chopinesque proofreading of FE2 (→EE) restoring the version of A.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in GE , Terzverschreibung error , GE revisions , Authentic corrections of FE , Errors repeated in FE

b. 366

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

d in chord in A & GE2

B in chord in GE1

B alone in FE (→EE1) & EE3

Sixth in EE2
..

Both the change introduced in GE1 and the one in FE definitely come from Chopin who was looking for the smartest connection of this bar with the following one, as far as the piano skills and harmony are concerned. At the same time, he most probably wanted to emphasise the chromatic movement of the bass, hence the arbitrary version of EE2 certainly does not correspond to his intention. The last crotchet in bar 368 underwent the same transformation, which excludes a possibility of a mistake in both versions.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Accompaniment changes , Authentic corrections of FE , Authentic corrections of GE

b. 368

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

e in chord in A & GE2

c in chord in GE1

c alone in FE (→EE1) & EE3

Sixth in EE2
..

The first three out of the given versions are certainly authentic and they present an interesting example of Chopin's works on the detail, performed in stages. In EE2, due to the skepticism concerning the correctness of the version of FE and GE1, it was replaced with another one, structured analogously to the majority of the similar bars.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Accompaniment changes , Authentic corrections of FE , Authentic corrections of GE

b. 374-376

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

Small notes in bars 374-375 in A & GE2

Regular notes in GE1

​Small notes separately, in bar 376 d1-f1 in FE1

c1-f1 in bar 376 in FE2

Regular notes in EE
..

The absence of the c1-f1 fourth in bar 376 is probably Chopin's oversight; he then added it while proofreading FE (FE1 added d1-f1, erroneously, which was corrected to c1-f1 in FE2). At the time of performing this proofreading, the composer also introduced a more transparent, two-voice notation of all three chords, in which only the top note belongs to the solo part. EE repeated the text of FE2, without preserving the differences in the size of the notes, though. In almost all subsequent collective editions, the dyads of the accompaniment were erroneously included in the solo part (on the basis of GE1).

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Errors in EE , Errors in GE , GE revisions , Authentic corrections of FE