Many pianists ignore Chopin’s clear pedal markings in this regard and indeed editors in
the past have changed them in their editions of Chopin’s works, especially the mazurkas,
or have dealt with them carelessly.
All the above cases are where a bass note is sustained through rests and staccatos in a
melody. There are many cases, however, especially in the mazurkas, where there is no
bass note sustained by a pedal marking, and indeed no pedal marking. Chopin’s leaves
the question open by not indicating pedal. Many pianists interpret this as not only
permitting pedal to assist the legato parts of the melody but also to sustain the sound
through the rests.
Chopin very rarely marks pedal through conflicting harmonies and if he does it is not so
much to create a harmonic blur but to ensure that the bass note sustains through without
any substantial harmonic blur being created. This contrasts with Beethoven’s tonic-
dominant pedallings, such, as in the final movement of the Waldstein Sonata and in other
places, and his pedalling through three or four harmonic changes as in the slow
movement of his C minor piano concerto (the pedalling of the first movement of the
‘Moonlight’ Sonata being a moot point). Chopin seems not to have been particularly
attracted to this fascinating use of the pedal. Mendelssohn, who was more conservative
in his piano style than Chopin, was attracted to pedalling through conflicting harmonies
and used it occasionally, as in his Venetian Boat Song in G minor from his ‘Songs
without Words’.
Chopin does not mark pedal in contrapuntal passages where the notes can be sustained
with the pianist’s fingers, thus leaving open the question whether it may be used those
passages. Examples would be in the development section of the first movement of his
Sonata in B minor opus 58 and in his étude opus 10 no. 6 in E flat minor. Whether
Chopin really wants an absence of pedal sonority or whether he wants the pianist to make
the effort to produce a true legato with the fingers first is an open question.
Chopin actually fails to mark pedal in many passages where he marks legato slurs and
where this can be achieved by the fingers, leaving open the question whether it may be
used in these cases. This often occurs in passages, as well as in isolated bars, where the
piano writing changes from requiring a bass note to be sustained by the pedal to requiring
legato in piano writing where all the notes can be sustained with the fingers.
Chopin sometimes omits pedal markings in returning passages, as in his étude opus 10 no.
1 in C major, leaving open the question whether it may, or must, be used in these cases.
It sounds good either way in the case of that particular étude.
Chopin sometimes omits pedal markings completely as in his étude opus 10 no. 2 in A
minor, leaving open the question whether it may be used and, if so, to what extent.
Chopin’s pedal markings are on occasion ignored. The conception behind them is
ignored and it is not a case of modifying the marking to accommodate to modern
sonorities. On occasion one hears the bass octave quaver (E) at the start of the middle