Lot 25
  • 25

Chopin, Frédéric, (1810-1849)

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • Chopin, Frédéric
  • Autograph manuscript of the opening of the Étude op.25 no.2, in A-flat major, signed and dated ("Paris ce 28 Avril F. Chopin")
  • ink on paper
COMPRISING AN APPARENTLY EARLY DRAFT OF THE OPENING SEVEN BARS, the last bar sketched incomplete, here with the marking "Vivace", notated on three systems of two staves

1 page, oblong 8vo (c.16.5 x 25.5cm), 8-stave paper taken from a larger leaf, Paris, 28 April [no year]

Provenance

Acquired from the art-historian Willi Wolfradt (1892-1988), Le Vésinet (Paris), June-July 1939.

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

UNRECORDED. Although the manuscript has been signed and dated, as if for an album-leaf, it contains early readings different from the final version of the Étude op.25 no.2, published in Leipzig, by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1837. Chopin probably signed the manuscript without dating it when he gave it away later. The tempo marking, sketchily written, appears to read “Vivace”. In the editions this became “Presto”, with a metronome mark of 112. Of the other early sources, the manuscript Stichvorlage survives in Warsaw, though Op.25 no.2 is in a scribal hand with the author’s corrections. No such manuscript survives for the French edition. A more polished sketch of 20 bars dated 27 January 1836, marked “Presto agitato” is at la Cartuja, Valldemossa, Majorca. It is not known why Chopin discontinued the draft, which tails off in the seventh bar.