b. 1

 

 

 

The manner the  mark is written in Atut makes it unclear whether the mark concerns the beginning of the piece or the beginning of bar 1:

  • the mark is quite big, while its bigger part is placed within the upbeat, which would support the thesis it should be applied to the first b. The fact of risoluto having been written from the very beginning suggests adamant dynamics of this crotchet. This kind of notation, where the mark is written within and not at the beginning of its range of validity, is to be found in Chopin's pieces on a number of occasions, particularly in his early creative period – cf. e.g. the Etudes op. 10, in C major, no. 1, bar 1, in F major, no. 8, bars 22-23, in C minor, no. 12, bars 2-4 and 10-12.
  • according to the most frequently applied rule, the marks are written in the place from which they are valid or slightly earlier; therefore,  should be considered to be applying to the beginning of bar 1, like it was interpreted in FE (→GE,EE). The mark is written clearly later than risoluto, which was started over the first b, and over the beginning of marcato, which, having been written under the L.H., certainly applies to bar 1. A dynamic mark only after the bar line separating the upbeat can be found in Chopinesque autographs – cf. e.g. the Etude in A minorop. 25, no. 4.

Since it does not seem that any of the notations could significantly mislead the performer, as far as the correct character of the beginning of the Concerto is concerned, in the main text we give the version of the base source, i.e. FE.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Centrally placed marks

notation: Verbal indications

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