Frédéric Chopin: Complete Works, 100 Pianists

In this playlist, you get the complete works of Frédéric Chopin recorded by 100 pianists. Most are outstanding performances from the stereo era, including such great Chopin interpreters as Martha Argerich, Claudio Arrau, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim, Jorge Bolet, Shura Cherkassky, Nelson Freire, Andrei Gavrilov, Vladimir Horowitz, Evgeny Kissin, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini, Arthur Rubinstein, Mitsuko Uchida, Earl Wild, Krystian Zimerman, and many more. I also put in a few important historical recordings by Alfred Cortot, Dinu Lipatti and Samson Francois. All winners of the International Chopin Piano Competition are included, except Yakov Zak and the 2010 winner Yulianna Avdeeva.

This playlist can be used as an index of great pianists on Spotify. I only selected from recordings that are available on both Spotify UK and US, so William Kapell's recording of the Mazurkas (Spotify UK only) is not included. As for Lang Lang, personally I dislike almost every recording he made, except for the Chopin concertos (no.2 is featured here).

Get this collection in one Spotify playlist: Frédéric Chopin: Complete Works by 100 Pianists (268 tracks, total time: 19 hours) Ctrl (CMD) + G to browse in album view. Works are sorted by opus number and year of publication, as listed here. Do not play from the start, the op.1 rondo composed by a teenage Chopin is not much of a good opening track. Put this playlist on shuffle for Radio Chopin, or use Ctrl (CMD) + F to search for Nocturnes, Mazurkas, Preludes etc. Also check out the 4-hour audiobook Life & Works of Chopin in Naxos Educational.

A list of pianists in this playlist, with Spotify links.

• Abbey Simon
• Abdel Rahman El Bacha
• Adam Harasiewicz
• Alexandre Tharaud 
• Alexandre Uninsky 
• Alexis Weissenberg 
• Alfred Cortot 
• Alice Sara Ott 
• Anatol Ugorski 
• Andrei Gavrilov
• Anne-Marie McDermott
• Antonio Barbosa 
• Arthur Greene 
• Arthur Rubinstein 
• Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli 
• Barbara Hesse Bukowska 
• Bella Davidovich 
• Bogdan Czapiewski 
• Bruno Rigutto 
• Claudio Arrau 
• Costantino Mastroprimiano 
• Cyprien Katsaris 
• Dang Thai Son 
• Daniel Barenboim 
• Danielle Laval 
• Dinu Lipatti 
• Dmitri Alexeev 
• Dmitri Vorobiev 
• Earl Wild 
• Emanuel Ax
• Emil Gilels 
• Eva Osinska 
• Evgeny Kissin 
• Faina Lushtak 
• Fou Ts'ong
• Francois-Rene Duchable 
• Frederic Chiu 
• Friedrich Gulda 
• Garrick Ohlsson 
• Georges Cziffra 
• Grigory Sokolov 
• Halina Czerny Stefanska 
• Hélène Grimaud 
• Henryk Sztompka 
• Ian Hobson 
• Idil Biret 
• Ingolf Wunder
• Ingrid Fliter 
• Ivo Pogorelich 
• Jean-Marc Luisada 
• Jerzy Sterczynski 
• Jorge Bolet
• Josef Hofmann 
• Kathryn Stott 
• Kemal Gekic 
• Krystian Zimerman
• Kungsbacka Piano Trio 
• Lang Lang
• Leif Ove Andsnes 
• Leszek Mozdzer 
• Maria João Pires
• Marianna Shirinyan
• Martha Argerich 
• Martin Martineau 
• Maurizio Pollini 
• Mieczyslaw Horszowski
• Mikhail Pletnev
• Mirian Conti 
• Mitsuko Uchida 
• Murray Perahia 
• Nelson Freire 
• Nelson Goerner 
• Nikita Magaloff 
• Peter Katin 
• Pierre Barbizet 
• Piotr Anderszewski
• Rafal Blechacz 
• Richard Goode
• Roland Pontinen 
• Ronald Smith
• Samson Francois 
• See Siang Wong 
• Shura Cherkassky
• Stanislav Bunin 
• Stefan Askenase 
• Stephen Kovacevich 
• Sviatoslav Richter 
• Tamás Vásáry 
• Tatiana Shebanova 
• Ulrich Staerk
• Van Cliburn 
• Vladimir Ashkenazy 
• Vladimir Horowitz
• Vladmir Feltsman 
• Vlado Perlemuter 
• Wanda Klimowicz
• Wilhelm Kempff 
• Yundi Li
• Zbigniew Raubo 
• Zoltán Kocsis

Chopin For Japan

20 great renditions of Chopin's e minor prelude, plus one more played by one Jack Nicholson.

Here's the Spotify playlist: Chopin E minor Prelude (20 tracks, total time: 41 minutes). Tracks are arranged in fast-slow sequence, so you may hear very different moods and characters in almost every two consecutive tracks. Also use this as an index of Chopin preludes recordings on Spotify. And do check out this Ted video of Benjamin Zander talks about music, passion and this prelude.

I dedicate this playlist to the Japanese people. You are, forgive me for quoting a scripture that bears no relation to most of you, the light of the world, and the salt of the earth.

Chopin 2010

Deutsche Grammophon released over a dozen Chopin recordings this year, here's a Spotfiy playlist: Chopin 2010 (197 tracks, 13 hours) that features all of them. It seems that these recordings are available to Spotify users in all countries but the UK at this moment, but usually they would be playable in a couple of weeks, like the Carlos Kleiber box-set.

The Spotify Chopin Bicentennial Playlist

Happy 200th Birthday, Mr. Chopin, wherever you are now:)

This playlist is quite easy to make. Both EMI and Deutsche Grammophon have release a wonderful set of almost complete works of Chopin, and an excellent 2 CDs highlights, Chopin Gold and Essentinal Chopin. Additionally, I added in four Chopin recordings, two by great masters Horowitz and Rachmaninov, two from young and exciting new Chopinists, Alexandre Tharaud and Ingrid Fliter. In the beginning of the playlist it's probably the best introduction to Chopin on Spotify, Naxos audiobook Life And Works: Frédéric Chopin.

Here's the Spotify playlist: Chopin Bicentennial. 

Some interesting links: Chopin for Dummies by Jeremy Denk. Chopin, Rothko, and the bowler hat by Stephen Hough. An NYT article on Chopin and Schumann, the two greatest creators of piano miniatures were born in the same year. And Chopin's Letters on Google Books and Amazon.

Rubinstein's performance of the Scherzo in C sharp minor, Op. 39, one of Chopin's most tragic pieces.

Rare footage from, some might call the greatest interpreter of Chopin and Schumann, Alfred Cortot.

And one last video to cheer you up on this blue Monday:)