ballade no. 4

[david456103]

hi guys,
i am currently polishing up chopins ballade 4. however, when I look at different editions I see a lot of very small discrepancies between diferent editions. The discrepancies are never major, but there are a LOT of minor discrepancies. For example, in the first fast section some editions have rolls in the LH chords while some don't. Say for a competition, would judges care about these discrepancies, or would they take into consideration the score I used?

[chopin2015]

You should consider the edition that is used in official performances, maybe check the Chopin competition? I bet they recommend the one released through the Frederick Chopin Institute. I doubt there are the "discrepancies" actually written out in different scores though, maybe people play these parts the way it suits their ear best? Perhaps make a creative call on this one as well as an "official" interpretation. I always play things exactly how I see it in the score and when I listen to interpreted works, it is way more interesting.

[quantum]

Chopin tweaked his scores a lot, even after publication.  Writing them down was by no means solidifying them in stone.  He would readily modify pupils scores during their lessons.  He also simultaneously published with multiple publishers in different countries.  This activity surely has lead to some of the discrepancies encountered in todays editions. 

Nonetheless, minor disagreements are really nothing to get hung up on.  Play the one that best suits your ear.  Chopin most likely used a similar approach when he made changes. 

It is more important to deliver your interpretation with conviction than it is to try to be as "official" as possible, or to follow a score as literally as possible.  What is the point of being "official" if the performance does not stand on its own merit?

If you wish to consult a current scholarly edition, look at the National Edition of Chopin Works published by PWM.  It is commonly referred to as the Ekier edition, after the editor Jan Ekier.