ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author used his own old edition of Chopin’s etudes, edited in 1916 by Arthur Friedheim. At one point he was struck by a ‘rallentando’ marking and wondered if it was authentic. This question led him to Friedheim’s preface, which astonished him. Friedheim openly acknowledged altering, omitting, and adding to various received markings in the music, but not thoughtlessly, or because he thought he could improve on Chopin’s original markings. Chopin at first blush seems to most of us an unlikely candidate to propose for any study aimed at countering the notion that music is purely autonomous. Certainly his music seems to satisfy criteria for autonomy on a number of levels. Chopin’s music, furthermore, is basically non-functional. True, certain works, notably the etudes and preludes, are often, though certainly not always, used as a means of improving the performer’s skill.
