The hairpins 
in A have the upper arm much longer than the lower one, yet the beginning of that sign is clearly linked with the second quaver of the bar. In GE the hairpins were matched to the beam, which was reproduced (with slight inaccuracies) in FE and EE.
We place the indication espressivo above the upper staff, not to interfere with .
Compare the passage in the sources »
category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources
issues: Unclear hairpins in A
notation: Articulation, Accents, Hairpins