Op. 21, Concerto in F minor, Mvt III

The piano part in ½A was prepared by Chopin extremely carefully as evidenced by the great variety and precision of performance markings as well as the numerous corrections (mostly scratching and deletions). The corrections encompassed both minor specifications of notation, e.g. retouches of the placement of the endings of the slurs in bars 201-204, and more significant changes, e.g. of the shape of the accompaniment in bars 453-454 and 461-462. Some of the deletions stem from the mistakes committed at the time of writing, e.g. in bar 33 Chopin initially wrote bar 35, whereas in bar 272 – bar 273. The composer would add further improvements also later, while proofreading GE1 and FE. 

In spite of visible efforts to ensure that the notation is legible, A contains a number of inaccuracies, resulting, e.g. from haste, increasing as the composer wrote. The largest group are overlooked accidentals, e.g. in bar 109, 111, 194, 222-226, 257 and 260, 267, 311 and 315, 404, 422 and analog., 433, 435-436, 471-479. The majority of these inaccuracies were being gradually eliminated; however, some of them remained uncorrected in all editions, e.g. no naturals at the end of bars 113 and 115.

Other major mistakes:

• no  raising e² to e² in bar 1,
• a¹ instead of g¹ in the last chord in bar 48,
• no change of clef in the part of the L.H. before the entrance of solo piano in bar 65 and before the last bar of the Concerto,
• no octave sign in bar 65 and 415-417,
• no tie of a¹ in bars 157-158,
• a¹ instead of f¹ in the L.H. at the end of bar 296,
• no  raising a to a in bar 329,
• erroneous octave sign in bars 337-340,
• d² instead of e² at the end of bar 486,

A characteristic feature of some fragments of the piano reduction of the orchestral part are note heads in the parts of wood instruments written in bold. In a number of places one can see that the very delicate note heads written by Chopin were then corrected – written in bold – so that they become clearly bigger. It is difficult to state who could be doing that, yet the mistakes committed at this occasion – e.g. in bar 54 and 492 – rather exclude Chopin. More on this issue – see the characterization of A in the 2nd mov. of the Concerto.

The authenticity of the signs written in pencil, e.g. the treble clef at the bottom stave in bar 256 or naturals in bars 310 and 314, is uncertain – the signs were included in GE1, yet they could have been added by the reviser.

½A was written a few years after the Concerto was composed, despite the most probable existence of earlier sources (e.g. now lost [AI] and [SI]). Dating and background of ½A – see the characterization of A in the 1st mov. of the Concerto.