A - Autograph
Autograph intended as a basis for the first French edition.
FC - Fontana's Copy
Fontana's copy intended as a basis for the first German edition.
FE - French edition
Maurice Schlesinger, Paris, plate number M S 2427:
FE1 – First French edition, X 1837,
FE2 – corrected impression of FE1, probably 1838-1842.
Henry Lemoine, Paris, from XII 1842, plate number 2776. HL.:
FE3 = FE2 with changed cover and plate number.
Pupil's copy with annotations originating from Chopin:
FED – Camille O'Méara-Dubois FE3 copy.
Two pupil's copies, in this Etude without annotations:
FEJ – Ludwika Jędrzejewicz FE3 copy,
FES – Jane Stirling FE3 copy.
GE - German edition
Filiation of the sources
The basis for the three first editions (FE, GE and EE) prepared by Chopin consisted most probably of a collection of 36 manuscripts (three sets with twelve manuscripts each), encompassing the autograph (A) and presumably two copies of each of the twelve etudes. The copyists were Julian Fontana and Adolphe Gutmann. Extant manuscripts of this collection include three autographs (Etudes no. 1, 4 and 8), six copies by Gutmann (Etudes no. 2, 3, 7, 9, 10 and 11) and four copies by Fontana (Etudes no. 4, 5, 6 and 12). For each Etude the autograph Stichvorlage was used as a model for one copy; the other one could be based on A as well, or on the already prepared copy, possibly checked and amended by Chopin. A comparison of the sources shows that in completed manuscripts (both autographs and copies) Chopin made improvements and supplements prior to their presentation to the publishers. The majority of the changes coincide or supplement each other; the differences can be explained by their sometimes hurried introduction in different periods. The extant complete set intended for GE includes two autographs and ten copies, while only an autograph of a single Etude is extant from the set intended for FE. Not a single manuscript survived from the set intended for EE. In this situation it is possible to determine the chronology of the changes only in a few cases. We accept as the basis of every Etude an authentic source (manuscript or first edition corrected by Chopin) prepared by the composer with greatest care, and compared with the others, with particular attention paid to the corrections of FE made by Chopin.
Principles behind the main text of
the Etude in A minor Op. 25 No. 4
We accept as our basis FC compared with A, FE and EE, and take into consideration the rather obvious correction of a printing error, written into FED.