mUltimate Chopin

Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt II

Text Compare Notes Sources Description

Issues : GE revisions

b. 22

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

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In A the naturals raising d notes to d are written only on the 4th beat of the bar. In spite of this, there are no doubts that d is required in the entire 2nd half of the bar. In GE1 (→FE→EE, →GE2) a  raising d3 to d3 at the beginning of the 3rd beat of the bar was added (referring also to d4), but only EE and GE2 include a corresponding sign before the penultimate semiquaver.

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

issues: EE revisions , Accidentals in different octaves , Inaccuracies in GE , Inaccuracies in FE , GE revisions , Omission of current key accidentals , Errors of A , Authentic corrections of GE

b. 23

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

Long accents in A

No marks in GE1 (→FE→EE)

Short accents in GE2
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It is difficult to say what the motivation of the engraver of GE1 (→FE→EE) was while he overlooked four very distinct long accents of A. He may have considered them to be superfluous in the face of the accents of the R.H. In GE2 the accents were reproduced as short.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: Long accents , EE revisions , Errors in GE , GE revisions

b. 23

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

Slurs in A, contextual interpretation

Slurs 3 notes each in GE1 (→FE→EE)

One slur in GE2
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The slurs of A are unclear in the 2nd group of semiquavers: when interpreted literally, the first embraces the first two notes while the second the last three. A comparison with adjacent, analogically structured figures unambiguously shows that it is the second slur that starts inaccurately (too late). In GE1 (→FE→EE) a less likely interpretation was adopted, in which each slur embraces three notes. In GE2 two slurs were replaced with one (cf. the 1st note in this bar).

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccurate slurs in A , GE revisions

b. 24

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

2 half-bar slurs in A

4 shorter slurs in #E (→FE→EE)
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In the main text, we give two half-bar slurs over the notes, written in A. In GE (→FE→EE) each of them was divided into two parts in the places of division of the semiquaver beams of the part of the R.H. It is certainly an arbitrary change performed by the engraver.

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: GE revisions

b. 25

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

E1-G1-E-G in A, literal reading

G1-B1-E-G in A (probable interpretation) & GE2

G1-E-G in GE1 (→FE→EE)
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The chord written in A, although acceptable from the harmonic point of view, is almost certainly erroneous due to its sonically unjustified piano complication. However, it remains unclear which chord Chopin meant:

  • G1-B1-E-G seems to be most natural: an octave transposition of chords is a popular means of the virtuoso concert texture (cf., e.g. the 3rd mov., bar 69 or 511-513). We would then be dealing with Chopin's typical Terzverschreibung error. This is how it was interpreted in GE2 and we suggest this interpretation as the text of A;
  • G1-E-G – a lighter chord due to a very low register (cf. the 3rd mov., bar 77). In this case it is also a Terzverschreibung error that would have to be taken into consideration: Chopin could have written the correct chord and then consider the bottom note to be a B1 and "correct" the alleged mistake, by adding a note placed a third below (the top bottom note seems to have been added later). Such a scenario assumes, however, that two mistakes were committed: an erroneous evaluation of the pitch of the written note and the fact of leaving it, in spite of the fact it was supposed to be removed (cf. the Etude in G major, Op. 10 No. 5, bars 83-84).

In any case, the proofreading of GE1 (→FE→EE), probably coming from Chopin, must be considered to be the final decision and this is the version we give in the main text.

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: Terzverschreibung error , GE revisions , Errors of A , Authentic corrections of GE , Partial corrections