mUltimate Chopin

Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

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Pedalling

b. 26

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

No markings in sources

[] suggested by the editors
..

In the main text we suggest adding a pedal change on the 2nd beat of the bar (as a complement to the authentic pedalling); such a change was introduced by Chopin in b. 3, 7 and 22, i.e. each time this motif appeared. However, it is difficult to say whether we are actually dealing with Chopin's oversight, since the melodic notes being slightly blended against the dominant ninth chord perfectly fit into the Chopinesque style; moreover, such a pedalling was also written in b. 78.

category imprint: Editorial revisions

b. 66

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

 in A

  in remaining sources
..

The missing  mark must be Chopin's oversight provoked by a combination of the fact that the notation of this bar is tightly packed and the fact that the bar is at the turn of the page. The mark was added both in FC (→GE) and FE (→EE).

category imprint: Interpretations within context; Differences between sources

issues: No pedal release mark

b. 78

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

No markings in sources

[] suggested by the editors
..

category imprint: Editorial revisions

b. 81-83

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

in A

No markings in FC (→GE)

  in FE (→EE)

 []  [], our variant suggestion
..

The release of the pedal indicated at the beginning of b. 81 was not marked in A. It could have been intended by Chopin, since wherever a gradual pedal release sounds good, Chopin would often forgo the  mark (cf., e.g. the Waltz in C Minor, Op. 64 No. 1, b. 15 or the Concerto in F Minor, Op. 21, 3rd mov., b. 117-120). On the other hand, the likelihood of an oversight of  is quite high due to the layout of A – the next pedalling marking and b. 83, which precedes it, are in the next line, which promotes various inaccuracies. In practice, the pedal could be released both analogously to b. 77, hence before the 4th beat of the bar, and at the end of b. 83. The latter actually does not require any further additions, hence the two [] marks in b. 81 and 83 suggested in the main text indicate, respectively, the shortest and longest possible pedal, not naturally resulting from the Chopinesque notation.
No pedalling markings at all in these bars is most probably an oversight of FC (→GE). In turn, the  mark added in FE (→EE) by analogy with b. 77 is almost certainly inauthentic, since Fontana rather did not consult the corrections he performed in FE1 with Chopin. 

category imprint: Differences between sources

issues: FE revisions , No pedal release mark

b. 86

composition: Op. 28 No. 15, Prelude in D♭ major

Pedalling in A, literal reading

FC (→GE) & FE (→EE)

Our suggestion
..

The interpretation of pedal markings in this bar presents difficulties. The  sign occurs before the 2nd beat, and the  sign seems to pertain to the 3rd beat, which we give as the literal reading. However, the slight distance between the signs does not suggest a gap in pedalling. The remaining sources interpreted this as a pedal change in the middle of the bar, which may be considered justified in the light of the above observations. In the editors' opinion, the pedal change should be linked rather with the d1 suspension being resolved to c1, and therefore, we suggest the appropriate notation in the main text.

category imprint: Graphic ambiguousness; Differences between sources

issues: Inaccuracies in FE , Inaccuracies in FC , Inaccuracies in A