Essential Chopin discs

[teamsaint]

For no particular reason really, other than I haven't listened to much Chopin recently, what are your essential Chopin discs ?

Just the very best stuff , the ones that do it every time.

Have fun !!

[zola]

Maria Joao Pires, the nocturnes.

[Wychwood]

Cortot and Richter, the Ballades.

[Padraig]

Pollini, Etudes op 10 & op 25.

[CallMePaul]

My current favourite Chopin discs are the two most recent by Pollini, one of opp33-38 and the second entitled "Late Works" covering opp 59-64. I also enjoy a selection of Nocturnes played by Bart van Oort on an 1842 Pleyel (coupled with most of John Field's Nocturnes on a Broadwood from 1823)

[vinteuil]

.

Ballades, Zimerman.

Etudes, Pollini


.

[Edgy 2]

Preludes,Nocturnes,Mazurkas,Ingrid Fliter
Etudes,Pollini
Any Chopin played by Rubinstein
Nocturnes,Pires
Waltzes,Barcarolle,Nocturne,Mazurka,Lipatti
Ballades,Zimerman

[Zucchini]

Maria Joao Pires, the nocturnes.

Definitely - and the concertos

[richardfinegold]

Pollini, Etudes op 10 & op 25.

I would Pollini Nocturnes, Claudio Arrau in the Nocturnes and Preludes, and perhaps any Artur Rubinstein disc

[Braunschlag]

Etudes (Op.10/25 complete) - Gavrilov, Chochieva,
Etudes Op.25 - Sokolov
Misc. (Fantasie,Waltzes, Etudes,Sonata 3) - Pletnev/DG (loathed by Plaistow in his rather nasty Gramophone review)

Waltzes - Alice Sara Ott (EMI)

[Stanfordian]

Ballades, Zimerman, DG

Etudes, Pollini, DG

Piano Sonata No. 2 Op. 35 & 4 Scherzos, Simon Trpčeski, EMI

Virtually all Chopin recorded by Artur Rubinstein, RCA

[LMcD]

Virtually all Chopin recorded by Murray Perahia, although even he can't persuade me of the merits of the concertos.

[Barbirollians]

Where does one start - well with Lipatti in the Third Sonata and the Rubinstein 1960s RCA set - Pires Nocturnes , every Argerich Chopin recording , Pollini’s Testament set of the Etudes and his Concerto No 1 with Kletzki and Solomon’s complete Chopin I suppose.

[rauschwerk]

Mazurkas: Harasiewicz - David Owen Norris's recommendation. Recorded over 17 years, deeply considered yet sounding altogether spontaneous in execution.

Preludes: Benno Moiseiwitsch 1948 (Testament). Old fashioned playing in the best sense.

[silvestrione]

The various Rubinstein collections do it for me, with all the Pollini as well, especially in the Etudes, and, as someone mentions above , the recent discs in which he has been 'adding' mazurkas to his discography.

I love Michelangeli also, though he may be an acquired taste: the DG disc which has the second Scherzo and first Ballade is superb.

Argerich in the concertos for me, and Pires in the nocturnes.

A couple of less well-known ones: Samson Francois in the Ballades, and Kathleen Stott, Ballades, Berceuse and Fantasie.