Recordings That You Are Considering

[king ubu]

There is probably a thread on this I have already posted in, but who do people like for Chopin's complete mazurkas? (preferably including Notre temps & À Emile Gaillard, but I guess just the 49 canonical ones is fine too)

Samson François is one of my go-to players for Chopin ... he includes both those pieces, too.
I guess for the Mazurkas, I'd tend to go with Arthur Rubinstein, who again includes "Notre temps" and "À Emile Gaillard" - in all three cycles he did, btw. I'd opt, I think, for the second one (early 50s), or the third (mid 60s), not the first (late 30s).

For both I have the huge boxes, so don't ask me for single releases.

Also: Vladimir Ashkenazy's recording contains half a dozen or so of additional Mazurkas ... I've got that one in the DG Chopin set (the regular, older, pretty cheap one, not that deluxe thing from last year or the year before), but the performances are singled out in various comments on amazon as uninspired - link below (I haven't listened to them yet).

[asin]B002NFCHBA[/asin]

[Florestan]

[asin]B002NFCHBA[/asin]

FTFY.

[The One]

There is probably a thread on this I have already posted in, but who do people like for Chopin's complete mazurkas? (preferably including Notre temps & À Emile Gaillard, but I guess just the 49 canonical ones is fine too)

Harasiewicz, Fialkowska, Rubinstein '65 or Ohlsson

[amw]

Thanks.

If it helps, the ones I'm looking at (based on interesting performances of the c# minor mazurka Op. 41/1 I heard on streaming) are:
Rubinstein I or II
Fialkowska
Luisada
Ezaki
François
Chiu
Sherman

Also if Primakov or Olejniczak ever record the remaining ~30 not on their individual discs (which is unlikely) I'd be down for that too

[king ubu]

Thanks.

If it helps, the ones I'm looking at (based on interesting performances of the c# minor mazurka Op. 41/1 I heard on streaming) are:
Rubinstein I or II
Fialkowska
Luisada
Ezaki
François
Chiu
Sherman

Also if Primakov or Olejniczak ever record the remaining ~30 not on their individual discs (which is unlikely) I'd be down for that too

Okay, don't know any of the others on the list

And thanks @Florestan, fixed the link above (hate it that the board brings you to one Level further up when you finish a post - no idea what's the rationale behind that).

[Florestan]

And thanks @Florestan, fixed the link above (hate it that the board brings you to one Level further up when you finish a post - no idea what's the rationale behind that).

What happens to me frequently is that I write something and suddenly the cursor jumps up on another line. Previewing the post is the best option to avoid typos and weird behavior.

[North Star]

Thanks.

If it helps, the ones I'm looking at (based on interesting performances of the c# minor mazurka Op. 41/1 I heard on streaming) are:
Rubinstein I or II
Fialkowska
Luisada
Ezaki
François
Chiu
Sherman

Also if Primakov or Olejniczak ever record the remaining ~30 not on their individual discs (which is unlikely) I'd be down for that too

Luisada has recorded them twice, later on RCA. The later set only includes the ones published while Chopin was alive I think, for whatever reason..
A good few of those is probably in full on Youtube for sampling purposes..
https://www.youtube.com/v/_6k8CUmtRE8

E: And I like Ashkenazy quite well. Ignaz Friedman might be worth a listen too.

[Spineur]

Chopin music falls so well under pianist fingers that most Chopin albums are good.  But how many are sufficiently different to shed some new light on Chopin as a composer ?  Not many.  On this count I can recommend this recital CD of Piotr Andersweski, mostly devoted to Mazurkas



I would also mention Pogorelich, in the Scherzi and preludes album, who propose a different reading of these pieces.

[Mandryka]

Thanks.

If it helps, the ones I'm looking at (based on interesting performances of the c# minor mazurka Op. 41/1 I heard on streaming) are:
Rubinstein I or II
Fialkowska
Luisada
Ezaki
François
Chiu
Sherman

Also if Primakov or Olejniczak ever record the remaining ~30 not on their individual discs (which is unlikely) I'd be down for that too

Rubinstein I or II

I possibly, he's a bit lacking in the psychological complexity department.

Fialkowska

Yes

Luisada

There are two, I only know the first. Self conscious
Ezaki

Who he?
François

Yes, it's characterful and I like it very much

Chiu

Who he?

Sherman

No.

Do you really have to have a complete set?

OK, if you insist. Then think of Janusz Olegniczak, Yakob Flier, Andrei Wasowski, Gabor Csalog, Nina Milkina, Vlado Perlemuter (I think it's complete), Janine Fialkowska -- some people like Barbosa and Harasiewicz a lot so I guess you should suck them and see. A lot depends on how jolly and dancing you want, I like them with a good dose of what I think poles call zaal (or something like that.)

Also if Primakov or Olejniczak ever record the remaining ~30 not on their individual discs (which is unlikely) I'd be down for that too

Olejniczak 's here

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01J6ZCI3G/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I like it very much.

I thought Primakov did too -- but I could be wrong 'cause I don't like his style much. 

[Mandryka]

Chopin music falls so well under pianist fingers that most Chopin albums are good.  But how many are sufficiently different to shed some new light on Chopin as a composer ?  Not many.  On this count I can recommend this recital CD of Piotr Andersweski, mostly devoted to Mazurkas



I would also mention Pogorelich, in the Scherzi and preludes album, who propose a different reading of these pieces.

Yes I agree but the lady wants the lot.

[Todd]

If it helps, the ones I'm looking at (based on interesting performances of the c# minor mazurka Op. 41/1 I heard on streaming) are:
Rubinstein I or II
Fialkowska
Luisada
Ezaki
François
Chiu
Sherman

Rubinstein and François are both very highly recommendable, and I'd say almost mandatory, insomuch as any recordings can be mandatory.  Luisada II is slightly preferable to Lusiada I, though even more interventionist.  Sherman is Sherman; if you know and like his pianism, you will likely appreciate what he does. 

Others I enjoy are Flier, Urasin, De Maria, Indjic, and Primakov (see below).

Though incomplete, Kapell and Rosenthal offer a lot, too.

Also if Primakov or Olejniczak ever record the remaining ~30 not on their individual discs (which is unlikely) I'd be down for that too

Both did record complete sets.  The Primakov is better than the Olejniczak.  I rather fancy Primakov's Chopin.  Olejniczak's set is not a favorite, but it's HIP, so that's more or less why.  YMMV.

[kishnevi]

Okay, don't know any of the others on the list

And thanks @Florestan, fixed the link above (hate it that the board brings you to one Level further up when you finish a post - no idea what's the rationale behind that).

If the problem is what I think it is: go to the Look and Layout section of your profile, and make sure the option "Return to topic after posting" is checked.

As for the actual question at hand,  I've always liked Rubenstein enough not to go looking for another...I even like his first set, but his last is the one I would suggest.

[king ubu]

If the problem is what I think it is: go to the Look and Layout section of your profile, and make sure the option "Return to topic after posting" is checked.

Ha, now that was easy! Thanks a lot! 

I think I'll sample the Ashkenasy recording tonight.

[Jo498]

Olejniczak has another one disc selecton on Naive (often coupled with his polonaises and/or one of Sokolov's Chopin recording, that's what I have) on a modern instrument. This might be what amw referred to above.
I only bought one set, the early Rubinstein, but as I have enough boxes (complete Rubinstein, Francois and the DG box with Ashkenazy's) as well as bunches of mixed recitals containing some of them, I am happy with what I have. Early Rubinstein has decent sound for 1930s and is fiery and spontaneous, maybe not the most searching or melancholy in the slower pieces.

As for historical selections, besides Friedman the ones with Maryla Jonas are very famous but I don't yet have the box with her recordings.

[Brian]

amw,

This is good (but eccentric! much like that jacket!) stuff:

[asin]B00UNTU2XS[/asin]

[amw]

I can recommend this recital CD of Piotr Andersweski, mostly devoted to Mazurkas

I already have it and yes it's good

Rubinstein I or II

I possibly, he's a bit lacking in the psychological complexity department.

Hmm.

Fialkowska

Yes

Noted.

Luisada

There are two, I only know the first. Self conscious

I liked the second 41/1 slightly better but he is still quite mannered.

François

Yes, it's characterful and I like it very much

Noted.

Sherman

No.

Noted

Do you really have to have a complete set?

I mean, would be nice. At least that keeps opus numbers together instead of pulling out the most popular ones and you get to hear some rarely recorded pieces. But obviously individual pieces is the only way to hear Małcużyński etc

OK, if you insist. Then think of Janusz Olegniczak, Yakob Flier, Andrei Wasowski, Gabor Csalog, Nina Milkina, Vlado Perlemuter (I think it's complete), Janine Fialkowska

Flier is my set d'occasion and has given me much pleasure. Wasowski, Csalog, & Milkina are new names

Olejniczak 's here

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01J6ZCI3G/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh nice. I see this is a new release and different from the Opus 111 recording on a modern piano. Period instruments tend to be a + so I may have to search for this.

Rubinstein and François are both very highly recommendable, and I'd say almost mandatory, insomuch as any recordings can be mandatory.  Luisada II is slightly preferable to Lusiada I, though even more interventionist.  Sherman is Sherman; if you know and like his pianism, you will likely appreciate what he does. 

Others I enjoy are Flier, Urasin, De Maria, Indjic, and Primakov (see below).

De Maria & Indjic didn't fare well in my sample round but I may look at other individual mazurkas to see if maybe that was a naff one. Urasin is a new name to me, thanks.

Though incomplete, Kapell and Rosenthal offer a lot, too.

Definitely agree on that....

Both did record complete sets.  The Primakov is better than the Olejniczak.  I rather fancy Primakov's Chopin.  Olejniczak's set is not a favorite, but it's HIP, so that's more or less why.  YMMV.

Glad to see a Primakov set also exists—I liked his single disc on Bridge. Sentiment curdled into morbidity was one of the reasons Chopin's contemporaries rebelled against his music, so there's some justification for what he does I think.

Harasiewicz, [...] Rubinstein '65 or Ohlsson

Did not know Harasiewicz existed either, thanks. The third Rubinstein and Ohlsson did not seem to be to my taste

[king ubu]

Okay, into the second disc of Ashkenazy's take on Chopin's Mazurkas - and I like what I hear! A lot, in fact. He captures the existential sadness in these, which has me thinking of the few that the great Witold Malcuzinsky did record - his are full-blooded and brooding, Ashkenazy's are more varied (but he recorded many more, too) - both don't really capture the dance qualities of these pieces I think, but when the playing is so good, I don't care.

I'd really with for a complete set by Malcuzinsky. Attached is a pic I took when I found his grave on the huge cemetery in Warsaw in March last year:

[Josquin13]

Franz Liszt said that each of Chopin's Mazurkas required a pianist of the first rank.  I think he's right. The best Mazurka playing I've heard has come from Maryla Jonas (recently remastered & reissued), Ignaz Jan Paderewski, Witold Malcuzynski, Halina-Czerny Stefanska, Nadia Reissenberg, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, and Ignaz Friedmann.  Of these pianists, only Reissenberg and Czerny-Stefanska have recorded a complete set of Mazurkas: Reissenberg in the 1950s, and Czerny-Stefanska late in her career in the 1980s for Canyon Classics (a digital recording).  While I tend to prefer Czerny-Stefanska's earlier Mazurkas recordings, especially the ones she recorded for Supraphon & those on her Pearl label CD (and around the time she won the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1951), her later set is nevertheless still better than most pianists have done during the stereo & digital eras, IMO, and I prefer it to Rubinstein's RCA set.  The negative is her Chopin recordings have gone OOP, and can be hard to find these days:

[asin]B000063X72[/asin]

[asin]B00018BOP6[/asin]

A surprise--her 1980s Canyon Classics set appears to still be 'in print' in Japan, and the import listing on Amazon US is relatively affordable:

[asin]B00005FR9Q[/asin]

If interested, the Amazon Japan listing provides sound samples:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3-%E3%83%9E%E3%82%BA%E3%83%AB%E3%82%AB-%E3%83%81%E3%82%A7%E3%83%AB%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%B9%E3%83%86%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AB-%E3%83%8F%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A/dp/B00005FR9Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1513048759&sr=8-3&keywords=halina+Czerny-Stefanska+chopin

There are also 7 Mazurkas on this recently reissued 2 CD Japanese RCA digital set (for which she also recorded a beautiful complete Nocturnes set, which has yet to be reissued)--but again, these are late recordings for her:

[asin]B01KLIIWIW[/asin]

For sound samples:

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E5%B9%BB%E6%83%B3%E5%8D%B3%E8%88%88%E6%9B%B2-%E9%9D%A9%E5%91%BD%E3%81%AE%E3%82%A8%E3%83%81%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89-%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%91%E3%83%B3%E5%90%8D%E6%BC%94%E9%9B%86-%E3%83%8F%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%BB%E3%83%81%E3%82%A7%E3%83%AB%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC-%E3%82%B9%E3%83%86%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AB/dp/B01KLIIWIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513048759&sr=8-1&keywords=halina+Czerny-Stefanska+chopin

By the way, I would add that Czerny-Stefanska's Supraphon recording of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 was for years misattributed to Dinu Lipatti.  For me, it's one of the finest recordings of this concerto I know:

[asin]B0002ADGLS[/asin]

Of today's pianists, the best Chopin Mazurka playing I've heard has come from pianist Roland Pöntinen, although (frustratingly) he's only recorded 7 of them (6 on a BIS Chopin CD, and a beautiful rendition of my favorite--No. 13, Op. 17, no. 4 on a gorgeous sounding antique Steinway, for his CD entitled "Evocation"):

[asin]B0000263OW[/asin]
[asin]B000025UTV[/asin]

Among sets, I've probably liked Vladimir Ashkenazy's best.

Finally, I'm a big fan of Samson François' Chopin, especially his wonderful set of Nocturnes (in the most recent remaster by French EMI).  But with that said, I think his 51 Mazurkas are imaginative & at times interesting, but somewhat idiosyncratic, and some may find him erratic in this music.

[Mandryka]

 Pöntinen is very good indeed I agree, and it's interesting to compare what he does to the complete set by Czerny-Stefanska.

Czerny-Stefanska's dramatic, lyrical, big strong confident gestures, serious. Opera house mazurkas. You're either going to like the way she plays rubato, and the opulent sound she gets from her modern piano, or you're not. She makes me think of old lieder singers like Gerhard Hüsch!  You have to suck it and see.

Pöntinen, on the other hand,  shows great delicacy and vulnerability, introspection and melancholy, and subtle phrasing.  His piano tone is more my style, less offensive.  The physical dance elements are underplayed, but the result is that the psychological dance elements are brought to the fore. Dances for the soul. He lacks the organic non-intrusive rubato of my favourite mazurka performers, but nevertheless it's very good.

[The One]

Did not know Harasiewicz existed either, thanks. 

http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/institute/publications/musics2/id/1994