mUltimate Chopin

Op. 64 No 2, Waltz in C♯ minor

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Accompaniment changes

b. 1-2

composition: Op. 64 No 2, Waltz in C♯ minor

c & d in As & AI

C & D in A & FE (→GE,EE)
..

In As and AI the bass notes in bars 1-2 are written an octave higher than in the version prepared for print (in A one can see traces of corrections from c to C in bar 1). Lowering bass is one of frequently used interventions by Chopin at the time of elaborating original ideas – cf. bars 14, 32, 39 and 55, 65 and 81, as well as, e.g., the Waltz in D major, No. 1, bars 50 and 77.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Corrections in A , Accompaniment changes , Bass register changes

b. 10

composition: Op. 64 No 2, Waltz in C♯ minor

c in As & AI

f in A (→FE→GE,EE)
..

The version of AI, most probably written also in As, was then abandoned still before writing A. Among the hypothetical reasons of the change one can name:

  • avoiding oblique tones of c1-c and c-c2;
  • diversifying the harmonic progression – semi-tone transitions appear both two bars earlier and two bars later.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Accompaniment changes

b. 13-16

composition: Op. 64 No 2, Waltz in C♯ minor

Triads in AI

Four-note chord & tritones in A (→FE→GE,EE)
..

In these bars As does not include the part of the L.H. at all. It does not seem that it would indicate rests, however, any attempt to add it would have been mere speculation. In this case, we leave these bars without text, as both the version of AI and the accompaniment eventually adopted in the published version may serve as an addition.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Accompaniment changes , Incomplete sources , Bass register changes

b. 32

composition: Op. 64 No 2, Waltz in C♯ minor

c in As, AI, A & GE

C in FE (→EE)
..

The change of c to C is certainly a result of Chopin intervention in the last phase of proofreading of FE (→EE). Similarly in bar 160.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Accompaniment changes , Authentic corrections of FE , Bass register changes

b. 39-55

composition: Op. 64 No 2, Waltz in C♯ minor

f-b in As & AI

Rest in A (→FE→GE,EE)
..

In the version prepared for print, Chopin resigned from the strike of the L.H. on the 2nd beat of the bar, which seems to be a significant improvement, both in terms of sound and piano performance.

category imprint: Differences between sources; Corrections & alterations

issues: Accompaniment changes