Work on Chopin’s Fantaisie in F-minor, Op. 49, Part Two

Please listen to the beautiful Lento sostenuto section I'm playing in the video. I'm experimenting with two different ways of playing the rests.

In my lesson with Mr. Cosmo the other day, we discussed the eighth rest, which appears at the very beginning of this section. My version instructs you to hold the pedal down during this rest, while another version instructs you to turn the pedal off during the rest. This means it's left to the performer's interpretation.

I like turning off the pedal at this eighth rest. It makes the phrase clearer, and since this is a big change in mood compared to the previous and following sections, I think creating a "silence" creates a startling, breathtaking beauty. (In the video, I play with the pedal the first time, and with the pedal turned off the second time, which was my idea, and play through to the end of the section.)

To me, this lento sostenuto section is a sacred, heartfelt, and warm prayer, like a chorale.

What do you imagine when you hear this beautiful section? Please let me know in the comments!

Thank you very much.

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