Composers vs Engravers: Stems and Slurs part 7

[John Ruggero]

An interesting case of unusual stem direction occurs in the autograph of the middle section of Chopin's Etude op 10 no. 3. Chopin makes two of the beamed pairs stand out from the others by suddenly changing stem direction in both hands and adding a staccato wedge over the second note. I have starred these in the illustration:

Autograph op 10 no 3 revised.jpg (44.51 KiB) Viewed 1009 times

Yet, the first edition made this passage uniform, as do later editions:

First Fr Edition op 10 no 3.jpeg (156.15 KiB) Viewed 1015 times

Would Chopin have canceled a notation that is so helpful in understanding the phrasing? Would he have omitted the staccato wedges?

Whatever the answer, I find the original version best, especially since this passage is often played only as a brilliant display and without much expressive nuance in contradiction with the style of the piece.

[OCTO]

I find the original version best,

Agree.
Chopin is definitely extremely aware of all notation issues in his music. These details should not be overlooked.

[John Ruggero]

Thanks, OCTO.