Providing the f2 note played on the 2nd crotchet of the bar with the value of a minim can be puzzling considering the note being played again on the 3rd crotchet. However, this is not a mistake, and Chopin could have wanted to emphasise this note as syncopation or to complete the rhythmic values of all voices within the four-part texture. Taking into account the above, in the main text we keep the original notation. On the other hand, one cannot rule out an unfinished correction consisting in prolonging the discussed f2 note to the value of a minim followed by removal of the f2 crotchet on the 3rd beat, which eventually did not happen (cf. such an unfinished correction in mov. I of the Sonata, bar 179). This possibility leads to our alternative suggestion. Another conceivable option would be the opposite change – from the version without f2 on the 3rd beat to a version with repeated f2, which would then be shortened to a crotchet on the 2nd beat. However, we do not suggest this version as a variant, as it differs from the original notation only in the manner the discussed f2 note is to be played – a minim constitutes a syncopation, which suggests accenting this note.
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category imprint: Source & stylistic information
issues: Errors of A
notation: Rhythm