Various Artists Chopin Complete Edition Genre:Classical In celebration of Chopin's 200th anniversary in 2010, here is the ultimate, complete, specially priced 17-CD edition of the composer's works, combining the very best recordings from the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca catalo... more »gs. Featured are some of the great Chopin interpreters of our time--Argerich, Pires, Pollini, Zimerman--with significant contributions from exceptional pianists of the younger generation such as Rafa? Blechacz and Yundi Li. The capbox includes a booklet with complete track information, an essay on Chopin's career and works and a chronology of his life from 1810-1849. CD 1: Piano Concertos Krystian Zimerman CD 2: Works for Piano and Orchestra Claudio Arrau; London Philharmonic Orchestra CD 3: Ballades, Nouvelles Études, Ecossaises Zimerman, Anatol Ugorski CD 4: Études, Barcarolle, Berceuse Maurizio Pollini CD 5 & 6: Mazurkas Vladimir Ashkenazy CD 7 & 8: N octurnes Maria João Pires CD 9: Polonaises Pollini CD 10: Polonaises, Bourées, etc. Martha Argerich, Ugorski CD 11: Preludes, Impromptus R afa? Blechacz, Yundi Li CD 12: Scherzos, Rondos Pollini, Lilya Zilberstein, Mikhail Pletnev CD 13: Piano Sonatas Pollini, Zilberstein CD 14: Variations, etc. A shkenazy CD 15: Waltzes A shkenazy CD 16: Chamber Music Beaux Arts Trio, Mstislav Rostropovich, Argerich CD 17: Songs Elzbieta Szmytka, Malcolm Martineau« less
In celebration of Chopin's 200th anniversary in 2010, here is the ultimate, complete, specially priced 17-CD edition of the composer's works, combining the very best recordings from the Deutsche Grammophon and Decca catalogs. Featured are some of the great Chopin interpreters of our time--Argerich, Pires, Pollini, Zimerman--with significant contributions from exceptional pianists of the younger generation such as Rafa? Blechacz and Yundi Li. The capbox includes a booklet with complete track information, an essay on Chopin's career and works and a chronology of his life from 1810-1849. CD 1: Piano Concertos Krystian Zimerman CD 2: Works for Piano and Orchestra Claudio Arrau; London Philharmonic Orchestra CD 3: Ballades, Nouvelles Études, Ecossaises Zimerman, Anatol Ugorski CD 4: Études, Barcarolle, Berceuse Maurizio Pollini CD 5 & 6: Mazurkas Vladimir Ashkenazy CD 7 & 8: N octurnes Maria João Pires CD 9: Polonaises Pollini CD 10: Polonaises, Bourées, etc. Martha Argerich, Ugorski CD 11: Preludes, Impromptus R afa? Blechacz, Yundi Li CD 12: Scherzos, Rondos Pollini, Lilya Zilberstein, Mikhail Pletnev CD 13: Piano Sonatas Pollini, Zilberstein CD 14: Variations, etc. A shkenazy CD 15: Waltzes A shkenazy CD 16: Chamber Music Beaux Arts Trio, Mstislav Rostropovich, Argerich CD 17: Songs Elzbieta Szmytka, Malcolm Martineau
CD Reviews
This box is an incredible bargain
Smeets Arne | Paris, France | 01/31/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When I first saw this box, I didn't really have the intention to buy it, as I owned already some of the recordings in it - for example all Pollini recordings, and also Blechacz' preludes. But since the price was so ridiculously low (I paid 39 euros at www.amazon.fr), I purchased it anyway, and I must say that I am very, very happy with it.
The overall quality of the performances is outstanding. The absolute highlights for me are some of the Polish performances: I find Blechacz' rendition of the preludes incredibly honest, pure and poetic. These are probably the best preludes I have ever heard, equaled only by Cortot's version. As for the two piano concertos, I already owned - among others - the very good Argerich-Dutoit recording, and an older recording by Vasary which I like very much. The recording by Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra was new to me. I must admit that it has blown me away completely! It is incredibly intense and coherent. I am still in shock :)
Many of the recordings in the box are excellent. Pollini is playing the etudes, the polonaises, the scherzi, the barcarolle and the second and third piano sonatas, Zimerman is playing the ballades and the fantasy: these are all some of the very best recordings of these pieces, if not the standard references. Pires is performing the nocturnes: this is also a famous and good recording (it is very much "cantabile"); some people will prefer Arrau or Rubinstein, and personally, I like Moravec very very much.
The chamber music recordings are very satisfying (Beaux Arts trio, and the wonderful duo Argerich-Rostropovich). Arrau delivers a nice recording of the "smaller" works for piano and orchestra. The recordings of the smaller solo piano works by Ugorski, Zilberstein, Pletnev, Li, ... are also very decent. The songs (which have always been underestimated) have not often been recorded, but Szmytka is excellent.
The only real weak spot of this box is Ashkenazy's performance of the mazurkas and the waltzes. I have never been fond of Ashkenazy as a Chopin pianist, but in particular the waltzes and mazurkas are not his cup of tea. His sound is somewhat metallic, his interpration is quite dry... For the waltzes, I recommend the legendary recording by Lipatti, or the eccentric but interesting Samson François. For the mazurkas, Rubinstein is excellent, and there is a very nice selection of mazurkas recorded by Kapell (but this recording is not very well-known).
That being said, this box contains so many brilliant performances for such a ridiculously low price, that you shouldn't hesitate to buy it, even if you already own some of the recordings. I recommend it without any reservation whatsoever."
Cherry-picking the DG and Decca Chopin catalogues
Roochak | 01/26/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This isn't a proper review; it's simply a disc by disc list of the music and performers to help you, like myself, decide whether or not you want to invest in this box set.
CD 1: Piano Concertos 1 & 2
Krystian Zimerman/Polish Festival Orchestra
81:49
CD 2: Variations on "La ci darem la mano"; Fantasy on Polish Airs, op.13; Krakowiak - Concert Rondo, op.14; Andante spianato & grande polonaise, op. 22 (orchestral version)
CD 4: Etudes, opp.10 & 25; Barcarolle, op.60; Berceuse, op.57
Maurizio Pollini
69:12
CD 5: Mazurkas 1-29
Vladimir Ashkenazy
68:09
CD 6: Mazurkas 30-57; 3 Mazurkas, WoO; Mazurka no.51 in f (revised version)
Vladimir Ashkenazy
72:07
CD 7: Nocturnes 1-10
Maria Joao Pires
50:29
CD 8: Nocturnes 11-21
Maria Joao Pires
58:42
CD 9: Polonaises 1-7
Maurizio Pollini
61:53
CD 10: Andante spianato & grande polonaise, op. 22 (solo version)
Martha Argerich
3 Polonaises, op.71; six posthumous Polonaises; 2 Bourrees; Galop marquis; Feuille d'Album; Cantabile in B flat; Fugue in a; Largo in E flat
Anatol Ugorski
75:52
CD 11: 24 Preludes, op.28; Prelude in A flat, op. post.; Prelude in c#, op.45
Rafal Blechacz
Impromptus 1-4
Yundi Li
64:22
CD 12: Scherzos 1-4
Maurizio Pollini
Rondeau, op.1; Rondeau, op.5
Lilya Zilberstein
Rondeau, op.16
Mikhail Pletnev
Rondeau for two pianos, op.73
Kurt Bauer, Heidi Bung
76:15
CD 13: Piano Sonata no.1
Lilya Zilberstein
Piano Sonatas nos. 2 & 3
Maurizio Pollini
76:42
CD 14: Variations sur un air national allemand; Souvenir de Paganini; Variations brillantes, op.12; "Hexameron" variations; Allegro de concert, op.46; Bolero, op.19; Tarantelle, op.43
Grand Duo Concertante on Themes from Meyerbeer's "Robert le Diable"
Lambert Orkis & Anner Bijlsma
79:47
CD 17: Nineteen songs
Elzbieta Szmytka, soprano; Martin Martineau, piano
46:37"
A list of caveats
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/31/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"At this vastly reduced price and with such stellar artists, DG's Complete Edition of Chopin is self-recommending, but for those of us who own separate CDs from Argerich, Zimerman, and Pollini, there must be hesitation. Chopin has his juvenilia, and his songs are a special taste. Only completists will be enticed. For me, the caveats among the major works are as followws:
Polonaises: I am not convinced by Pollini's at times brutal, brusque approach to the first seven Polonaises, recorded in harsh sound on a clangy piano. The remaining numbers are done by Anatol Ugorski, a pianist unknown to me, but he veers towards the tinkly.
Waltzes: Oddly, I can't think of an outstanding waltz collection in the Decca/DG catalog. Here we get two discs of them in ordinary, straightforward readings by Ashkenazy.
Mazurkas: These, too, are given to Ashkenazy, presumably because neither Pollini nor Argerich has recorded more than a handful. Since Ashkenazy is so plain and uninspired, maybe DG shouldn't have opted for all the Mazurkas form one artist. Variety would have given us some spice.
Impromptus: These are done well by Yundi Li, but some listeners may have preferred an older, more experienced hand.
Depending on your own biases, this list may amount to quite a lot of caveats or very few, but I thought they were worth pointing out. As with all such massive box sets, the biggest beneficiary will be the listener who owns none of the CDs on their own and wants them all at once. Does such a listener really exist?"
As advertized - ultimate & incredible
Kari | VA USA | 01/29/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first review gives you a complete listing of what's included in the set. This set is as advertized - the ultimate complete Chopin edition, played by some of the greatest pianists. You get 17 discs at the price of 4 regularly priced classical CDs. (1) If you enjoy Chopin, I'd say the only reason not to get this set is if you already have most of these discs in your collection. I had only a few by Ashkenazy, Pollini and Yundi Li so me the decision was easy: more Ashkenazy and Pollini, plus among the other higlights, Maria Joao Pires and Rafal Blechacz. I had read reviews praising the recordings of Pires and Blechacz and based on initial impressions, the praise is justified. (2) If you have no Chopin in your collection but enjoy classical solo piano music, this is a great opportunity, a bargain - this is a great time to be a fan of classical music. Another recent piano box set that I would recommend is Martha Argerich Collection 1 - the Solo Recordings."
