Op. 23, Ballade in G minor

FE1 was based on A and contains numerous changes introduced by Chopin during the proof-reading. They include, e.g.:

• added dynamic marks in bars 25, 30, 188-189,
• added accents in bars 44, 234-235,
• the d¹ and d crotchets in bars 49 and 51 were prolonged to minims;
• added pedalling in bars 49-52, 68-81, 217-218, 222-223, 238-239;
• added various performance indications – ritenuto in bar 66 and 191, a tempo in bar 94, cresc. - - in bars 128-129,
• added L.H. chords in bars 103-105;
• change of the shape of the R.H. figuration in bars 134-135;
• removal of the L.H. chords in bar 145;

Some of the changes with respect to A could have been introduced by the reviser, e.g. the obvious additions of accidentals (e.g. in bars 32, 33, 41 and many others).

Other differences are the inaccuracies in the reproduction of the notation of A, e.g. slurs in bars 32-33, 35, 37-39 or pedalling.

It is most difficult to assess situations in which FE1 does not contain a mark or an indication that are clearly written down in A – dim. - - in bar 53, sempre in bar 125 (before più animato in bar 126), più vivo in bar 136, scherzando in bar 138,  in bar 238 and a number of smaller marks (dots, accents).

The parallel introduction of the same corrections into the proofreading of FE1 and into A, e.g. in bar 144, 159-160, 171, 179, is a puzzling phenomenon. The engraving marks visible in A in the music text and the plate number of Schlesinger's first edition on the title page prove that it served as the basis for FE1. Therefore, in A the corrections must have been introduced after the proof copy of this edition had been engraved. What was their aim then? Was A supposed to be then sent to another publishing house? Even if there was such a plan, it was not implemented, since it is unquestionable that both remaining editions come from FE. One could also take into account mistakes by the composer, who, having in front of him two texts with a version he considered needed a change, entered the change into A, only to realise a moment later that for the change to be in print, he had to mark it in the proof copy. Such a scenario seems more likely when assuming a one-time mistake, concerning all these places – at a certain moment, Chopin started "proofreading" A instead of the proof copy of FE; only after some time, having realised his mistake, he moved back and added the corrections in print. Such a kind of division of attention (dealing with both texts at the same time) could also explain at least some oversights of indications in FE – it would be places in which the composer added an indication in A, but did not complete the proof copy of FE1.