Chopin Barcarole op. 60, weird pedaling?

[WizardHowl]

Hey guys, could anyone take a look at this sheet music https://www.sheetmusicarchive.net/compositions_b/brcrol60.pdf . it's for the chpian barcarole, I don't really understand the pedaling on this sheet music, is the pedlaling for this piece supposed to be like this? It seems almost random as to when the pedal goes down or up, any comment will be greatly appreciated. Any tips on how to approach this piece will great too thanks!

[Floristan]

The pedaling looks quite purposeful to me.  It looks intended to reinforce phrasing  for the most part (idiosyncratic phrasing in my opinion), though in places its purpose appears to be "atmospheric."  I'd be surprised if this was Chopin's pedaling marks.  I'm not sure I agree with the pedaling in a lot of places, but I do see what the editor was after. 

I like a cleaner Chopin, personally.  This pedaling is a little much for me.

Pedaling is very individual.  If I know the pedaling marks are the composer's, I'll pay much closer attention to them and try to figure out what he/she intends.  If they are an editor's, well it depends on the editor, but with most I think my opinion is as good as theirs.  For me the goal is to have the pedal as unobtrusive as possible -- with some exceptions.  Occasionally in Chopin and Brahms and more often in Debussy an "atmospheric" pedal is OK or even necessary for some passages where the blending of sonorities is what the composer appears to be after.  Still, I've heard Debussy so abused by over use of pedal, especially in pieces like "Cathedral engloutie" where a lot of sustaining is required -- it just has to be very precise and well thought out.  Sorry to get a little off topic.

I'm sure someone else will have a more definitive answer for you.

[chopintod]

I agree completely with what Floristan said.  Pedaling is, in many cases, a matter of personal preference.  There are places, however, where either the use of the pedal or no use of the pedal is required.  On this edition of Bacarole, the editor went a little hog-wild with the pedaling.  It is my opinion (as a Chopin fanatic) that pedaling on his pieces should be as uninvasive as possible; in fact, I devise my own pedaling for many of his pieces since I often do not agree with the editors of my books.  The editor for this piece seems to have tried to take his own personal preference for this piece and transcribe it to the page.  Pedaling marks like this should be left out completely and the pedaling should be left to the player to decide in instances such as this! 

Sorry, but I hate it when editors try to make Chopin neat and tidy...

Terry

[WizardHowl]

I feel so constrained by these pedal marks! I feel like I have to follow them because judges in competition always makes note of these, however I really disagree with some of the pedal marks, though they may be for phrasing, piking up the pedal in the middle of the phrase seems really akward to me.

[WizardHowl]

Any tips on how to tackle this piece?  what to avoid? what to practice everyday?

[nomis]

A better edition is on this page: https://muslib.mmv.ru/piano_eng.htm

I do not know how to help you practise this piece - I have never sightread it, and it's been a while since I've listened to it.