The Sonata in B minor op. 58 (1844) is Chopin's third and most important contribution to this genre. This Urtext edition reflects the latest musicological research and is based on the version of the French first edition, in which Chopin made changes right up to the printing stage and beyond. The countless variants compared to the musical text of the German version, which is still mainly performed today, concern not only articulation and dynamics but above all significant changes to the notes themselves.

A Foreword (Ger/Fr/Eng) provides information on the genesis, the complicated source filiation as well as Chopin’s understanding of the work. Notes on interpretation and performance practice (including tempo, ornamentation, use of pedal, rubato and hidden inner melodic lines) based on a wealth of experience by Paul Badura-Skoda, a pioneer of historically-informed playing, and Hardy Rittner, Professor of Piano at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and author of a current fundamental work on Chopin's piano playing published by Bärenreiter, support the study of this work. Moreover, the reader-friendly engraved musical text contains Chopin’s deviating pedal markings from the autograph engraver's copy for the German first edition in small print. Chopin’s original fingering has been meticulously supplemented by Hardy Rittner.

The detailed Critical Commentary (Eng) reflects the great divergence between the sources. It documents readings that are particularly important for interpretation and illuminates editorial decisions (a detailed version of the Critical Commentary is available digitally).

• Urtext edition reflecting the latest Chopin research
• With valuable notes on interpretation and performance practice (Ger/Fr/Eng)
• Includes Chopin’s original fingering supplemented by Hardy Rittner

Editor: Paul Badura-Skoda & Britta Schilling-Wang

Languages of text: German, French, English