b. 430

 

 

 

FE (→GE1,EE) features a c2-e2 third as the last small quaver. At a fast tempo, that figure is pianistically inconvenient. If Chopin had wanted a third in this place, he would have certainly assigned the top sound to the R.H. – cf. e.g. the Scherzo in B Minor, Op. 31, bar 118, 120 and analog., as well as 541-543. Moreover, nothing indicates that Chopin's intention could have been a successive performance of both notes of the third (this is how this passage was changed in GE2). We give a solution based on an assumption of the engraver's mistake at the time of proofreading, which seems to be most likely: having been supposed to change c2 to e2, he added the correct note (e2) yet did not remove the erroneous one (c2). Such mistakes occurred in Chopin's pieces a few times, cf. e.g. the Etude in E Major, Op. 10 No. 11, bar 4, Scherzo in B Minor, Op. 20, bar 135 and 292, Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23, bar 171. 

category imprint: Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: Errors in FE, GE revisions, Partial corrections

notation: Pitch

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