I saw this in Chopin's Op.25 No.12 etude and was bemused. On the next line, the asterisk reappears on its own. What is this called and what does it mean?
asked Apr 2, 2015 at 3:12
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1 Answer
There are two unrelated things going on here, and I'm not sure which you're asking about.
The small bit of staff with the tiny notes on it is called an ossia. It goes with the staff below it, and gives you an alternative way to play that passage. In this case, the difference looks to be the location of the accented notes (marked with the > symbol), although I can't see enough of the passage to tell if there are any other differences. (Note: I do not know the meaning of the notation "FA:" before the ossia.)
You also reference the "asterisk" symbol. However, this goes with the staff above it, and is a pedal release marking. You can see that it is followed by a cursive "P" at the beginning of the next measure, which indicates where the sustain pedal should be depressed. It is then held until the next asterisk.
answered Apr 2, 2015 at 3:23
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Oh, of course it's a pedal release mark. I would have known that if I saw it on its own; I thought it was part of the ossia in this context. Thanks. Commented Apr 2, 2015 at 3:35
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2You could have provided fuller information. Which edition is this? Which bar number (or "bottom of 1st page"). I guess the only difference is the different accent positioning; probably "FA" is the name of a particular edition, and this ought to be mentioned in a note somewhere. I have the Cortot edition, and in a different place (bars 76 and 78) he gives the same possibility with extra accent marks in parenthesis, but no comment explaining this. To a certain extent, you give your own interpretation... Commented Apr 2, 2015 at 4:07