General Approach

This piece, in my opinion, is not a song but rather a work with an instrumental background. It is written in a manner close to a string quartet. Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to proceed plainly without applying rubato. It is no exaggeration to say that light staccato is vital to this piece. Be careful to make the staccato elegant and delicate, ensuring it never sounds heavy.

Technical Considerations

Many technically difficult passages exist.

• At measure 11, the right-hand staccato involves both the melody line and repeated B notes. Be careful, as such passages tend to become heavy.
• Also, pay attention to the turns that frequently appear in the Trio section. Maintain a tempo that allows for timely execution of all notes in the turns. If you start with too fast a tempo initially, the turns in this Trio section may become unplayable or consume too much time.

Other Points to Note

• Although fortissimo is indicated at measure 48, as mentioned earlier, this piece has elements close to a string ensemble. Therefore, do not make it too loud. Avoid a forte like Beethoven's.
• The Trio section is truly the world of a string quartet. Observe the note values carefully and play in a flowing, horizontal manner to preserve the polyphonic order. Be careful that this section never sounds vertically segmented.

Specific Passages (Measures 58 & 66)

Measures 58 and 66 are identical notes, differing only by an octave. However, the left hand here has staccato markings (at least in the author's score). Conversely, the right hand has legato markings, so the uppermost line of the right hand, which is the melody line, should be played legato. The problem lies with the inner voices of the right hand. To play these legato, the pedal becomes indispensable. However, adding the pedal can lead to many issues, such as difficulty executing the left-hand staccato effectively or blurring the turns.

In my personal opinion, these inner voices (BCAs) can also be played short, similar to the left-hand staccato. I believe only the melody line needs to be legato.