mUltimate Chopin

Op. 10 No 11, Etude in E♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Authentic corrections of FE

b. 4

composition: Op. 10 No 11, Etude in E♭ major

No e in chord in A

Chord with e in FE (→GE,EE)
..

The origin of the additional e note present in the 1st chord in the bar in FE (→GE,EE) is unclear. Chopin could have added it at the time of proofreading FE, yet it seems more plausible that it was printed by mistake instead of g (Terzverschreibung) or B (the second possibility is indicated by the length of the arpeggio wave). Then the correct note was added, yet the erroneous one was not deleted, which is a characteristic error of engravers (the then printing technique made adding a note much easier than deleting it). Similar mistakes were often committed in other Chopin's works, e.g., in the Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20, bars 135 and 292, the Ballade in G minor, Op. 23, bar 171 and the Polonaise in A major, Op. 40 No. 1, bar 93. Cf. the remark concerning the Etude in G major, No. 5, bar 59.   

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Errors resulting from corrections , Terzverschreibung error , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 6-7

composition: Op. 10 No 11, Etude in E♭ major

Slurs in A

FE (→GE1), interpretation

EE

GE2 (→GE3→GE4)

Our suggestion
..

The slurs of A in these bars are inaccurate, which was only partially corrected in FE (→GE1). The ambiguity was eliminated in EE and – in a different way – in subsequent GE,s, yet Chopin did not participate in their elaboration. Taking into account analogous bars 14-15, in which Chopin probably corrected the slur, and 38-39, in which he combined the slurs in A, in the main text we suggest a continuous slur from the 2nd quaver in bar 6 to the middle of bar 8.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: EE revisions , Inaccurate slurs in A , GE revisions , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 7-15

composition: Op. 10 No 11, Etude in E♭ major

e1 in A

f1 & e1 in FE (→GE,EE)

f1 & f1 proposed by the editors
..

The change of the inner note in the 4th chord in bar 7 from e1 written in A to f1 featured in FE (→GE,EE) is most probably a result of Chopin's correction. The composer could have striven for a smoother combination of this chord with the next one, without a progression of parallel fifths. According to us, the correction intentionally concerns also two repetitions of this place, in bars 15 and 39 (Chopin omitted one of a few similar places at the time of proofreading on a number of occasions, e.g., in the Etude in G major, No. 5, bar 4).  

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Authentic corrections of FE , Omitted correction of an analogous place

b. 8

composition: Op. 10 No 11, Etude in E♭ major

 signs in A

 sign in FE (→EE)

No signs in GE
 
..

A includes two  marks, out of which only the 1st one was reproduced in FE (→EE). In GE there is however not a single one of them, which can indicate that even the one included in FE could have been initially overlooked and reintroduced by Chopin only during the last proofreading. In the main text we give both marks written in A, yet leaving the consideration of the second one, present only in the manuscript, at the performer's discretion.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , Authentic corrections of FE

b. 9

composition: Op. 10 No 11, Etude in E♭ major

No mark in A

 in FE (→GE,EE) 
..

Lack of  in A is probably related to the partially simplified notation of this bar – cf. the remark concerning the missing arpeggios. The mark was added in FE (→GE,EE).

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Authentic corrections of FE , Inaccuracies in A