Revolutionary interpretaion - chord played FF or PP?

[fiasco]

Hey all - practicing the Revolutionary etude now and am actually finding it surprisingly easy (well, easier than I thought it would be)  But I'm confused over the two interpretations I hear of the ending - in the fourth to last measure, the first chord clearly has FF marked directly under it, but I mostly hear it played PP in recordings (John Browning for one).  Then I bought a digital Yamaha piano, and this is one of the sample peices recorded on it, and they have it played FF, and I also see Richter plays it FF in that B&W video of his.  So, how do you all play it?  I personally think FF works better musically, because it ushers in the last angry run with a loud chord, and this seems to fit better than ending the previous quiet part with a soft chord - that part can just peter out with quiet rumbling in the bass, I feel.  It seems Chopin marked it this way.

Also - another question,  the fast octaves in the right hand - do you play 1-5 octaves or do you use 3-4-5 for the c#-d-f?  The copy from sheetmusicarchives has these notes all marked 5, and I'm wondering why an editor would take the time do that when 3-4-5 seems like the more professional way to go.

[penguinlover]

I had to go look, it has been a while since I played it.  I would play the chord pp, then the next passage is marked ff.  I think it finishes off the phrase to play it soft, then loudly announce the ending.

[quantum]

I play the chord P and the run FF. 

Paderewski edition has a P for the chord and FF for the run. 

[dnephi]

I play octaves with 5s in this piece.  My teacher didn't correct me as I learned it because she can't reach it with her 4.  I use whatever feels comfortable, sometimes 4 I guess.

That chord is quiet, and the fluorish is angry.

Now that you know it, the real challenge is to play it in octaves.  It's a bit of a challenge.

Daniel 

[cmg]

I think the Paderewski Edition is on target, too.  If you get "programmatic" about this etude, you can see it as having been evoked by the news of the fall of Warsaw in September, 1831.  You can interpret that P on the chord as the despairing hush as the ramparts fall. . . and the FF on the run as the final gesture of heroic defiance.  Sappy, I know, but it seems to work in performance.  As for those octaves, they seem to get harder every time I play them.  I'd throw any fingering at them that's even remotely "comfortable."  Envious that you're finding this piece not so difficult.  I think it's a torture chamber.

[dnephi]

The poke of fun about the octaves was a joke, concerning a pianist Dreyschock who did this feat.  Sorry if I offended.  This etude took a good while to learn it myself (I have not played it in octaves) but after learning it is recalled quickly and easily. 

In octaves, I think it would be almost impossible to do it musically, considering that most pianos don't have enough space on the keyboard, too.

[fiasco]

Well, I found it easy relative to the others I've attempted (10/4, 10/2, 25/4, 25/12 all proved beyond me, so far) and the fact that I've always seen these etudes as mythically difficult.  I was very pleased that the Revolutionary came together as easily as it did.

I am very surprised that so far everyone prefers that chord to be played quietly.  It seems to me that the sheet clearly calls for it to be played FF.  Oh well.

[practicingnow]

Either way to play the chord is fine, as long as it is executed effectively.
Use 3-4-5.

[nortti]

I have an urtext edition of the etudes and the chord is marked p. There are even no comments on this so I suppose that's how Chopin wrote it.