mUltimate Chopin

Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt I

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : Inaccurate slurs in A

b. 74-75

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt I

Slur in A (contextual interpretation) & GE2

Slurs in GE1 (→FE→EE)
..

The slurs of A are not entirely clear due to deletions and to the fact that the final version of bar 75 was written on a separate stave. According to us, although the notation includes two separate slurs, the way they overlap clearly indicates an intention of combining them. This is how it was interpreted in GE2 and this could have also been the aim of the engraver of GE1, which, however, remains uncertain due to an inconsistent notation: at the end of the page, in bar 74, the slur suggests a continuation, yet at the beginning of bar 75 there is rather a new slur. In FE (→EE) the doubt was resolved in favour of the separated slurs and this is how we interpret GE1.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , GE revisions

b. 74-75

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt I

Slur in A, literal reading

Slur in A (contextual interpretation) & GE2

Slur to c1 in GE1 (→FE→EE)
..

The undoubtedly erroneous slur of GE1 (→FE→EE) is a result of coinciding two factors:

  • an unclear ending moment of the slur of A – when interpreted literally, it ends on the g1 quaver or the b1 semiquaver;
  • graphically complicated notation of A, impossible to be literally reproduced in print (a slur between the parts of both hands, written on one stave).

In the main text, we give an interpretation of the notation of A, which we find accurate, adopted in GE2. Cf. bar 75.

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

issues: Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccurate slurs in A , Errors resulting from corrections , GE revisions

b. 75

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt I

Slur in A, literal reading

Slur in A (contextual interpretation) & GE2

Slur in GE1 (→FE→EE)
..

When interpreted literally, the slur of A begins only from the e1-g1 third. However, it is highly likely that Chopin imagined an extension of the slur until the corrected version of the top stave, so that it would start earlier. In the main text we adopt – in accordance with GE2 – the f1 crotchet as the first note embraced with the slur, yet the version of GE1 (→FE→EE) with a slur running already from a1 seems to be possible too, as an interpretation of the notation of A.

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

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , Errors resulting from corrections , GE revisions

b. 78-79

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt I

Slur in A

GE (→FE→EE)
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The shorter slur of A is almost certainly inaccurate, which was not included in the editions.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , GE revisions

b. 81-82

composition: Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt I

Separate slurs in A (literal readingG→FE→EE) 

Continuous slur in A, interpretation suggested by the editors
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According to us, the slur of A in bar 82 is inaccurate (at the beginning of the page). The suggestion of a continuation of the slur in bar 81 is not particularly emphasised, yet taking into account the generally precise phrasing of A, leading the slur to the end of the phrase seems to be more likely.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A