# Chopin Mazurka in F minor Op.68 No.4



## legitca

I've always been a fan of Chopin, and his last composition is a brilliant illustration of his entire life's work. Recently it has come to my attention that there was one section in the middle that was "lost", that is to say, all recordings except one I found just yesterday was missing this section, as well as all the sheet music I could find. Out of interest, the only person who played this section was Arthur Rubinstein (you could find this recording if you look up on YouTube "chopin mazurka in f minor op 68 no 4 rubinstein"). So I was wondering if this section is supposed to belong inside this piece, or if it just was never published. If it was published, however, then can anyone direct me to a copy of it, because quite frankly, it's beautiful.


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## Mandryka

Yes the extra music is beautiful and greatly enhances the mazurka.

I once asked some pianophiles about this Mazurka and Donald Manildi replied -- I hope he won't mind if I copy what he found, if he does I will, of course, delete it.



> . . Actually there is more to the story than has been mentioned. The late British pianist Ronald Smith (of Alkan fame) prepared his own performing version of Op.68/4, which was published by Hansen House Limited of London around 1975. (I have a copy.) Smith plays his version in his complete Mazurka recording for EMI, and says in his notes:
> 
> "Fontana published the Mazurka in F Minor in an incomplete form in 1855 and his claim that the work was written on the composer's death-bed...is almost certainly without foundation. The notable Chopin scholar Arthur Hedley discovered the original manuscript in private possession in France in 1951. He made an on-the-spot reconstruction of a previously missing second episode in F major and several performances were given in this version. Subsequently the manuscript passed to Poland, resulting in a scholarly publication of the entire piece in 1965 [Ekier] which also prints a facsimile of the manuscript. Both Hedley's 32-bar version of the F major section and this Polish edition's 16 bars contain serious errors--though quite different ones.
> 
> "Scrutiny confirms that [the manuscript] is no mere sketch but a complete work from which Chopin was probably too ill to make a fair copy. The Polish edition...takes a disastrous short-cut in the F major episode. Hedley's version is correct in its overall shape, but simplifications of harmony and register suggest that he was obliged to complete his reconstruction from memory."


The reply was in response to someone who had noted that the manuscript is sketchy and written in shaky handwriting, and that Julian Fonata had decided that the extra music towards the end was too difficult to read so left it out of his edition. Jan Ekier makes an attempt to "realize" this section that Fontana chose to omit.

Rubinstein plays it in the stereo recording - he doesn't as far as I remember in the 30s and 50s mono cycles. Neither do Ciani, Fliere, Koroliov, Barbosa, François, Wasowsky and Malcusynsky. Michelangeli always often played the extra music, best of all IMO in the recording in the Brown Aura box. That performance is quite special I think - he makes the piano sound sometimes like a bagpipe, sometimes like a harp . . .


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## legitca

Can I find this section anywhere, or is it unpublished?


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## Vaneyes

I'm curious because ABM (DG) TT is 3:41, and Rubinstein's YT TTs are significantly under that. I don't have the time to compare now, perhaps someone could do the homework for me.


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