Chopin Complete Edition

I am a great lover of Chopin's music, and so recently I decided to take the plunge and purchase a complete edition of his music.Music is taken from the Deutche Grammophone and Decca catalogues. Here we have great Chopin interpretations, including Ashkenazy's waltzes, Pollini's etudes, Zimerman's concertos etc. In short, this is a selection of classic, definitive interpretations of Chopin's music. There is a nice variety of artists, including pianists from the younger generation, Yundi Li and Blechacz, who play the impromptus and preludes respectively, which are very good. Pires' nocturnes are lovely, while in my opinion not quite as excellent as Rubinstein's, her playing has a great singing tone. I don't think I'll be listening to the songs and variations as much as the other cds, but it is good to have everything!Sound quality cannot be faulted. Packaging is good, the 17 discs are arranged in separate paper envelopes inside a good box. I have no qualms with this considering the number of CDs. The music is also presented with a good booklet with some interesting background on Chopin, reflections on his music, and photos of pianists featured in the set. Another feature not to forget is the outstanding value of this set.This set will give hours of joyous listening. I heartily reccommend it.

In this, his anniversary year, we have been deluged with 'complete' editions of Chopin's works but this set is something special. Although produced at bargin price, it does not contain bargin performances but some of the finest from the DG, Decca and Philips catalogues.Rather than concentrating on one pianist, the compilers have included all the major musicians who recorded for the Universal labels between 1970 and 2007 in what are, arguably, some of their very greatest greatest Chopin recordings. Thus we have, among other fine discs, Zimerman's quite superb and moving Piano Concertos from 1999, Pires' wonderful Nocturnes, Pollini's fine Etudes, Ashkenazy's Waltzes and - a great surprise for me - the young Blechacz's superlative Preludes.The chamber works and songs are extremely enjoyable and, as you would expect, the recording quality excellent throughout. The booklet contains an interesting essay by Jeremy Siepmann, a time-line, and full discographical details.A wonderful set which will provide a lifetime's pleasure. It is not the cheapest on the market but the quality of the performances make it will worth the extra outlay.

As well as various boxed sets of his works, the bicentenary of Chopin's birth generated unforgettable recitals such as Maria Joao Pires' late-night Nocturnes prom at the Albert Hall last year. The fact that it is her recording of the Nocturnes in this set is testament to the overall quality of the collection. If you needed further evidence you will also find Krystian Zimerman's concertos, Maurizio Pollini's Etudes and Vladimir Ashkenazy's Mazurkas and then, if like me you haven't already come across him, one is introduced to the stunning Rafal Blechacz playing the Preludes.Amongst the less well known works, the trio op.8 is performed by the Beaux ArtsIn the past I have been ambivalent about boxed sets containing a composer's complete works, but here the set exudes quality from start to finish. At this price it is a no-brainer, even if you already have some of these seminal recordings.

Wonderful to have his complete works even though some of the interpretations are not familiar. Makes me listen to each piece anew!

A splendid Collection encompassing some of the very best pianists recorded in sublime moments. Also, it's interesting to listen to some of the lesser known pieces, some of which give you very fine experiences. Chopin's clarity to me illustrates his devotion to seek to the core, often you think, yes, it must be this simple, this precise. Chopin in a way wrote his music in a kind of bell jar not taking too much notice of his contemporaries. Bach and Mozart were sufficed as sources for his inspirations. This box set attests to the justification of that inspiration. Listen in, feel, think and enjoy.

It has been delight to listen to these CDs - we both love Chopin

I can only agree with all the rave reviews of this box of the complete works of Frederic Chopin.Top class performances by top class performers make this box very competitively priced.You certainly won't need any other versions!Another good thing about the box, is you get a lot of works which you might not otherwise hear: the two piano concertos,the chamber works,the songs with piano and all the variations for piano .Although some are not masterpieces,it is still good to be able to play these lesser known works on occasions.It is very easy to recommend this complete set of Chopin's music!

Amazing amount of high quality music for the price. Each CD is in a simple cardboard sleeve and the whole lot in quite a small box. Minimal packaging which is what I like. I don't know enough to judge the individual recordings but am hugely enjoying what there is. My only gripe is the free Amazon download is tricky due to the volume of tracks . I ended up ripping the CDs directly into iTunes.