mUltimate Chopin

Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Errors in FE

b. 16

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

..

In A, CDP, FE, and EE1, there is no  raising d2 to d2. This patent oversight was corrected in GE and EE2 (→EE3). AI also includes the correct notation.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: EE revisions , Errors in FE , Errors in EE , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , Errors of A

b. 22

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

..

In the figures of the last beat of the bar, AI has a g(1) converted into a(1), while A, CDP and EE have a g(1). The different enharmonic notations are most probably related to the change of the sound of the 1st beat of the next bar – in both autographs one can see that, originally, it included a(1) notes instead of g(1) notes, hence it was based on the A minor chord. In AI Chopin changed bar 23 and he modified the notation of the previous figure respectively. In turn, in A, perhaps due to haste, the enharmonic notation of the end of bar 22 remained unchanged, resulting in the g(1) present in CDP, GE1 and EE. Chopin most probably wanted to eventually change g(1) to a(1) both in the proofreading of FE1 and in GE1a, yet it was not fully and faultlessly achieved in any of these editions:

  • in FE1, it was also sharps that were transferred together with the note heads, which resulted in a completely false version with a(1);
  • GE1a changed only the part of the R.H.

FE2 returns to g(1), which should be rather ascribed to the revisers, as they reinstated the version Chopin wanted to change. In turn, the change to a also in the part of the L.H. performed in GE2 (→GE3) seems to be simply a finishing of the proofreading ordered by Chopin in GE1a.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Errors in FE , Enharmonic corrections

b. 35

composition: Op. 25 No 1, Etude in A♭ major

g1 in AI, A (→CDP,GE), FE2 & EE

b1 in FE
..

The version of FE1 is certainly a mistake, corrected in FE2. Although in A one can see the identical correction – a deleted b1 and added g1 – yet a more profound analysis of the notation reveals that it is only the most visible part of a greater proofreading, including the last 5 semiquavers in the R.H., as Chopin wrote here the figure appearing at the end of bars 37 and 39 by mistake.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Errors in FE , Terzverschreibung error , Errors of A , Deletions in A , FE revisions