From the piano performance's point of view, the four-note chord of PE is awkward (without using pedal, almost impossible to perform). Moreover, the b
1 note also does not contribute to the harmonic content and burdens the chord's sound rather unnecessarily. Due to those reasons, we consider it to be erroneous – most probably it was left after an inaccurate proofing: the correct note (d2) was added in order to change b1 into d2, but the wrong one (b1) was not deleted. This kind of "half" proofings can often be met in first editions of Chopin's works, cf., e.g., the Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, bar 171 or the Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20, bars 135 and 292. Cf. also bar 15.
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources
issues: Errors in PE, Partial corrections
notation: Pitch
