Help with Awkward Fingering in Chopin Opus 10 No 3 Etude

[jonathank]

Hi. I've just recently started to (try to) play this great piece of music. I'm having fun so far, but after a few weeks I've run into a fingering dilemma . In particular, the right hand within bars 38-41.

Up until now, I have practised these four bars with the fingering 52-31-52-31... The problem is that, athough this fingering can give good legato without any pedalling, it seems to cause discomfort. In particular, it seems to cause stress on the joints of my third finger, which can ache quite a lot. (as if it is being bent to the side against its will).

More recently, I have tried with 52-41-52-41 instead..., and this seems more natural, indeed the stress on my third finger disappears. However, if I go for this fingering, I think it would be a lot harder to get a legato sound (as this fingering requires me to "jump" between 41 and 52), and would need the pedal to cover the jump.

I'm wondering, does anyone have advice about which way to go? Is it better to persevere in order to achieve the better legato, or am I better off trying to avoid uncomfortable fingerings like the 52-31-52-31?

If anyone could point me in the right direction I would be grateful!

Thanks in advance

Jonathan

[bearzinthehood]

I think a little pedaling works in this section, especially because of the crescendo.  I tried 52-31 and I can't say that I like it.