who is the best chopin interpreter

[Kapellmeister27]

ive been looking to get some more chopin cd's of music i dont have by him.  who do you think plays his music the best?

[abe]

Ashkenazy was named the top chopin interpreter by some "authorities", I think the Chopin Society? Anyway, I tend to agree with them, Ashkenazy does a great job from what i've heard (listen to his recording of the nocturnes + ballades).

[galonia]

Yes, when I started playing Chopin, my teacher recommended I listen to Ashkenazy, too.  I have to admit I found him a bit boring at first, but he's grown on me a bit.

Does anyone have an opinion on Angela Hewitt's recordings of the Chopin Nocturnes?

[dj]

ASHKENAZY? cough cough!...lol actually 2 ask who the "best" chopin interpreter is, you might as well ask who the "best" pianist who ever played was! i mean what a subjective question! lol that being said....artur rubinstein would b nearly universially acknowledged as one of the greatest chopin interpreters who ever lived and i think i would say he is my favorite just because of the incredible feel he has for the movement of the music of chopin...well theres my 2 cents...have fun arguing for years and years on this topic

dj

[e60m5]

I happen to be a big fan of Krystian Zimerman's Chopin.

[pianiststrongbad]

artur rubinstein.  With the exception of the Etudes, which I prefer Pollini.

[pskim]

Murray Perahia with Zubin Meta conducting.  It's a live recording.  I just love Perahia's playing and his sound.

[allchopin]

Fou T'song has quite a Chopin reputation

[brewtality]

Artur Rubinstein, Alfred Cortot (please listen to his wonderful recordings of the etudes) and Ignaz Friedman are the best imho

[anda]

chopin.

[pianopoet]

Ashkenazy...?! Hahahahaha - I dont think so... Yes, he recorded it all and everything but, listening to his Scherzi, I struggle to find any tone, emotion or substance that one could find ina recording of, say, Pletnev? Although, in all honesty, Rubinstein's Andante Spianato SUCKS! His Scherzi are ok but also a bit lopsided... There is no best interpreter for Chopin. There is maybe a best Nocturne interpreter, Scherzo interpreter etc but no overall... Kissin's Ballades are quite definitive in my opinion

[zz]

 ::)I dont think one interpret do all chopins stuff better than all the others .I think Ashkenazys version of say, prelude 24 is far better than arthur rubinsteins or argerichs but they do raindrop better or as good, and so on.

[zemos]

There's nothing like Ashkenazy and Zimerman with Chopin... They're so good!! It's just that Askenazy recorded about everything by chopin! So I have more recordings of his.

[maxy]

There's nothing like Ashkenazy and Zimerman with Chopin... They're so good!! It's just that Askenazy recorded about everything by chopin! So I have more recordings of his.

how about:

Rubinstein/Cortot/François/Argerich/Kapell/Barenboim/Freire/Arrau(his preludes are quite good)/Bolet/Cziffra/Annie Fisher/Lipatti(best waltzes)/Haskil  to name a few...

Many great pianists played some wonderful Chopin...

[Pianoquake]

No best, just some favourites:

Sonatas - Rachmaninov, Argerich, Moravec, Gilels
Walzes - Lippati
Mazurkas - Rubinstein, Horowitz
Scherzi - Moravec, Pletnev (live!), Rubinstein
Etudes - Perahia
Concertos - Perhaia, Joao-Pires, Argerich/Dutoit
Preludes - Bolet

[pianowelsh]

Man difficult question - everyone plays Chopin including the BEST! Ashkenazy as has been mentioned does it all and generally its of a good standard some of it is really amazing others well not so much! Pollini in his earlier recordings has a sparkle and tangible sense of enjoyment which I haven't found in any other pianist. I love Marta Argerich's CRAZY rubati and eccentric tempi because they are different and exciting! Maria Joa Pires is also an extremely fine and often overlooked interpreter of Chopin. I'm afraid I don't Buy into the Richter is wonderful at everything school of music appreciation - I don't generally like his Chopin but his 'Revolutionary' is just that. Don't know whether he's recorded them but Alexae Skavronsky does a mean set of Ballades really poetic and visionary playing.

[thracozaag]

ive been looking to get some more chopin cd's of music i dont have by him.  who do you think plays his music the best?

Kapell-Mazurkas, 2nd and 3rd sonatas, Barcarolle, Scherzo #1, Ab polonaise
Friedman-Mazurkas, several Etudes, Ab ballade
Hoffman-G minor, F minor ballades, Concerti
Lipatti-3rd sonata, Db nocturne, Barcarolle
Cortot-Preludes, Etudes
Bolet-Ballades
Moiseiwitsch-Barcarolle
Rachmaninoff-2nd sonata
Malcuzyinski-Various works

koji (STSD)

[dreamaurora]

Dong Thai Soon. No contest. Better than Zimmerman. Period.

[steinwayguy]

Ashkenazy is rubbish, all that I've heard of him though.

Cortot, Rubinstein, Horowitz (on good days), and Perahia are my votes. Definitely NOT Pollini or especially Argerich, she's terrible.

[Pianoquake]

Argerich, she's terrible.

You mean you don't like her performances. To call her terrible (and give no reasons) discredits anything you say in this forum.

[tph]

Dong Thai Soon. No contest. Better than Zimmerman. Period.

It's spelled Dang Thai Son.  And yes, he is among the greatest Chopin pianists ever. 

He's also one of those elite artists whom the rest of the world does not know about, but all the greats know and respect.  Does anyone know that he was invited personally by Ashkenazy to teach with him and Murray Perahia in a special masterclass in Berlin in 1999 during the Chopin celebrations; that after hearing him live, Berezovsky declared him simply "a master" to a close friend; that he was one of Argerich's favorite contestants, along with Pogorelich, at the 1980 Chopin Competition; that Zimerman was impressed by him at the 1980 Competition, and later even offered to introduce him to Artur Rubinstein; or that Isaac Stern considered him a "genuine musician"?  It's so unfortunate that such a musician remains such a secret, even to such knowledgeable music fans of the Piano Forum!

His recordings of Chopin are unfortunately not distributed in N. America, but are among the greatest things put on disc (e.g. the piano concertos, awarded a "Choc" in Le Monde de la Musique, or his Complete Nocturnes or Polonaises).

tph

[steinwayguy]

You mean you don't like her performances. To call her terrible (and give no reasons) discredits anything you say in this forum.

When I say she's terrible, it's understood that "I think her performances are terrible", which I do. This is an argument-inducing forum after all. If everyone says "I think she's terrible", you're not going to tell him or her that he or she is wrong, seeing as how it is an openly stated opinion.

Argerich is a terrible Chopin interpreter.

[Nu-Steinway-Player]

I agree with the person who said Lipatti for the third sonata -- brilliant.  However, you should track down a recording of Lev Oborin, a Russian pianist you should become familiar with for his Chopin playing, among other composers.

[Pianoquake]

When I say she's terrible, it's understood that "I think her performances are terrible", which I do. This is an argument-inducing forum after all. If everyone says "I think she's terrible", you're not going to tell him or her that he or she is wrong, seeing as how it is an openly stated opinion.

Argerich is a terrible Chopin interpreter.

Well to say she's terrible is not an "argument", but rather an unsupported statement with the moral force and the reasoning power of flatulence.

[pianowelsh]

Steinwaytony  I think there is room for more than one kind of interpretation. It may not be your taste  - Fine - sometimes she does some irrational things - SO?! Performance is about communication it would be 'terrible' if we all played the same way. She is refreshing in a world which sits down sharply on anything deviating from a very restrictive norm. I confess If I am learning a piece her's is not the interpretation I listen to first. However it usually is the one I reach for when I have been told by the 4th in a succession of teachers 'well i would do it this way'. She dosen't care - she finds her own way and although I don't always agree with the results I respect that and it IS always revelatory. You clearly don't like her  - thats fine but she is a Great musician and she does deserve that credit. As students I really think it's important to listen widely even if we don't like an interpretation because it shapes our taste! - Happy searching - Hopefully one day steinwaytony I will be able to buy a recording by you. Inccidentally have any of you released pro recordings of Chopin repertory??

[claudio20]

Best is never the right word for any musical interpretation.

Since the recording was invented,we are lucky enough to have so many ways of playing the piano and...........chopin playings.

IMO,the people below come to be the greatest:
F.Plante/V.Pachmann/F.Busoni/J.Hofmann/L.Godowsky/S.Barere/S.Rachmaninoff/A.Cortot/E.D'albert/M.Rosenthal/D.lipatti/I.Tiegerman/J.Levinne/I.Friedman/C.Arrau/W.Kempff/V.Horowitz/W.Kapell/R.Smith.

[pianowelsh]

Apologies steinwaytony i meant steinwayguy. There are way too many steinways out there whats wrong with Bosendorfer and Faziolis may i ask?! I agree there is always room for the crazy and the eccentric interpretation as well as the purest! Variety is the spice of life!

[rachmaninoff_969]

Just as a joke...Chopin...no?  Apparently his tone was miraculous, his technique phenomenal (especially for the small hands he had)...and hey, he knew what each piece was about...so who better to play them? 

On a more serious tone...there is no question whatsoever....Artur Rubinstein and Cortot...simple as that.

[sidoze]

For the preludes, there are a few recordings I keep. Claudio Arrau's live 1960 recording from Prague (on APR) is phenomenal. A totally different pianist from his later recordings. I also like Bolet's Carnegie Hall recording and Moravec's Supraphon recording.

For the etudes, as a complete set, Ashkenazy's Melodiya recording combines utter technical mastery and sensitivity to mesmerising and inimitable effect. It's considerably preferable to his Decca remake IMO. For the op. 25 etudes no one has equalled Sokolov. Cziffra is fun once in a while but too outlandish for consideration.

Ballades, I like Francois and Cortot. Ballade nr. 4 is best played by Ignace Tiegerman IMO, a very obscure pianist who has an invaluable 2 CD set on Arbiter. He's the only one I've heard, aside perhaps from Moravec, who has played the opening 4-note motif so well (hi Claudio. Why did you mention Barere? He is best with Liszt, no?)

The 3rd sonata, I like Bolet (on Marston, live from '85). Lipatti has never appealed to me here. The 2nd sonata has a great performance by Rachmaninoff and Gavrilov (the Gavrilov is live on K&K, with a finale which breezes by in 60 seconds).

Mazurkas - Rubinstein, Sofronitsky and Sokolov.

Barcarolle - Sofronitsky, totally unique.  Tiegerman too.

Scherzi - Pogorelich, Bolet and Sofronitsky (1 and 2).

Nocturnes - Arrau

[Hamfast]

definitely, Krystian Zimerman

[larryr]

Preludes: Juana Zayas
Nocturnes: Moravec
Etudes: Lugansky

[lenny]

well as far as the WORST goes - its surely rusnak

anyone disagree with this?

didnt think so

[krittyot]

No one mentioned Gavrilov's 24 etudes, Horowitz's 2nd piano sonata, Pogorelich's 4 Scherzi, ah well, Zimerman gets my vote. Not a single Chopin piece did he play and I dislike it. Every Chopin piece played by Zimerman is pianistically exquisite.

[krenske]

Ok ok, I'll tell you. It is me.

[sidoze]

Just discovered Halina Czerny-Stefanska on Pearl and Supraphon. She won the '49 Chopin compeition. Absolutely incredible playing: intimate, delicate, refined, extraordinarily subtle. Highly recommended.

[LVB op.57]

I'm probably on my own in this opinion, but I really don't like Rubenstein's playing at all.  In my opinion, he's just not enough of an artist.
That said, I do enjoy the Chopin of both Vladimirs. Yundi Li does the scherzi very very nicely too.
Rachmaninoff plays a good Chopin as well.

[pseudopianist]

Yundi Li is the best interpreter of Chopin, in my opinion

But for the Nocturnes, I'd go with Idil Biret

[Muzakian]

Overall, I'd say Alfred Cortot is the best. Although I should probably just say he's my favourite to avoid the endless debates about who is the "best".

[Hamfast]

Yundi Li is the best interpreter of Chopin, in my opinion

But for the Nocturnes, I'd go with Idil Biret

You are Pseudopianist really!!!
Idil Biret is terrible!!!

[pianostudent88]

Ballades-Zimerman
Sonatas- Gilels, Argerich (she is a fantastic chopin pianist, altough her tempis might be a bit too fast (3.scherzo!!!) Rachmaninov (second)
Nocturnes- Rubinstein
Etudes- Perahia (Richter is not bed either!!) Cortot is amazing!
Preludes-Cortot, Arrau
Waltzes- Lipatti of course
and so on: Hofmann, Ashkenazy (I'm not a big fan of him) Kissin, kapell, 
glenn gould!! just kidding . I look forward to listen to Dong Thai Soon.

[alhimia]

I am a big fan of the Nocturnes by Maria-joao Pires. I have this double cd and it sounds  great, in my opinion. I have also a video or her playing some nocturnes and this is even better than the cd recording.
I also like Jorge Bolet, ít's different, but equally great, especially his preludes live in Carnegie Hall, but also the ballades 1 & 4, some nocturnes and other pieces (unfortunately I haven't heard so much Chopin from him).
By the way I also like Zimerman and Rubinstein.

[willfarnaby]

I'd have to cast my vote for Ivan Moravec. Take a listen to "Chopin - Four Scherzi and Other Works" for example.

[paris]

zimmerman,gilels,pogorelich, argerich (sonatas)...

[Alfonso Van Worden]

I agree with Brewtality,

And I also would say LIPATTI and MICHELANGELI , it is interesting for me to read this topic I would have thouth that It would be more Horowitz and  Rubinstein, and less modern pianists!!!

[eduard]

For me definitly Ivan Moravec and Krystian Zimerman.

[palika dunno]

best: alfred cortot
and after cortot comes artur rubinstein