FE1
Main text
FC - Fontana's Copy
FE - French edition
FE1 - First French edition
FE2 - Corrected reprint of FE1
FED - Dubois copy
FEJ - Jędrzejewicz copy
FES - Stirling copy
GE - German edition
GE1 - First German edition
GE1a - Corrected reprint of GE1
GE1b - Flawed impression of GE1
GE2 - Second German edition
GE3 - Revised impression of GE2
EE - English edition
EE1 - First English edition
EE2 - Corrected reprint of EE1
EE3 - Revised impression of EE2
compare
  b. 7-8

No accidentals in FC (→GE1), FE & EE

Naturals in GE2 (→GE3)

Naturals suggested by the editors

The sound of the top notes in these bars constitute one of the most difficult editorial problems in Chopin's works. Except for naturals added in GE2 (→GE3), which cannot come from Chopin, in the sources there are no accidentals before the 2nd semiquaver. It means that the top note of this third – and all subsequent at this pitch – should be read as a2. However, the following arguments advocate for an erroneous oversight of the naturals by Chopin:

  • writing the G minor key, Chopin was not entirely certain, whether the  raising a to a is to be included next to the clef or each time next to the note; similarly, he was not certain whether the a note needs a natural. This doubt is most clearly revealed in the Mazurka in G minor, Op. 33 No. 1, written with only four key signature, yet it is also to be seen in the notation of this Etude, in which the a notes are preceded with a superfluous  (e.g., at the beginning of bar 14 or in bar 4, 36 and 43) 8 times (in FC, most probably the closest to the notation of  [A]), and 7 times there is no necessary  lowering a to a (e.g., in bars 42 and 51);
  • the clearly four-bar structure of the beginning of the Etude (bars 3-6 and 7-10) makes the use of one set of sounds changeable for the subdominant C minor chord, with a or a; the undisputed a1 in the L.H. in bar 9 clearly points to a;
  • the adoption of a2 would result in a clearly noticeable change of the interval structure of the motifs in the R.H. in relation to bars 3-4, unjustified at the beginning of the etude.

Compare the passage in the sources »

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources; Editorial revisions

issues: Errors in FE, Errors in EE, Errors in GE, GE revisions, Last key signature sign, Errors of FC

notation: Pitch

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