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Thoughts on Chopin piano concerti

Pc1 mvmt 1 your fav: 4 (16%)
Mvmt 2: 4 (16%)
Mvmt 3: 4 (16%)
PC 2 mvmt 1 your fav: 4 (16%)
Mvmt 2: 3 (12%)
Mvmt 3: 4 (16%)
Pc1 overplayed: 2 (8%)
Pc2 overplayed: 0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 8

Voting closes: May 26, 2026, 11:51:57 AM

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Topic: Chopin piano concerti opinions (Read 2948 times)

busondelssohn

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Chopin piano concerti opinions

on: April 26, 2024, 11:51:57 AM

There! It worked! Finally.
Which of the piano concerti of Chopin is your personal favourite? And why? And on that note, do you think one of them is overplayed? Please vote for both (poll is self explanatory). Feel free to express your opinion, I want this thread to be constructive debate.
I voted for pc 1 mvmt 2/3 and pc2 mvmt 1 as my favourites, because the third mvmt of the first concerto is such a dancing piece, I wish I could play it. I really enjoyed Kate Liu's rendition of it at the chopin competition in 2015.
As for the second concerto, Yuja Wang does an amazing performance of it. I really like main theme of that first movement.

Cheers

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lelle

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #1 on: April 26, 2024, 11:57:40 AM

I vastly prefer the concerto in F minor over the concerto in E minor. I think it's a much better constructed work. The E minor I find to be overrated and too bloated even if there are many individually beautiful ideas in it.

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busondelssohn

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #2 on: April 26, 2024, 12:03:15 PM

Lelle,Just out of interest, u ever played the f minor?
I am still definitely not at that level but I hope I can play it, at the very least with another pianist if not with an orchestra, someday.

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lelle

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #3 on: May 03, 2024, 04:41:42 PM

Nah, I've just played the 2nd movement some 12-13 years ago, before college. Would be cool to learn the whole concerto at some point. 2nd movement is not too bad and very very beautiful, you might wanna take a stab at that!

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busondelssohn

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #4 on: May 04, 2024, 04:42:09 AM

Yeah true. I really enjoyed the concerto, especially the second movement, played by Daniil Trifonov.

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lelle

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #5 on: May 04, 2024, 09:03:38 AM

Here's the greatest recording evar of that movement:

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mjames

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #6 on: May 06, 2024, 02:02:58 PM

Quote from: lelle on April 26, 2024, 11:57:40 AM

I vastly prefer the concerto in F minor over the concerto in E minor. I think it's a much better constructed work. The E minor I find to be overrated and too bloated even if there are many individually beautiful ideas in it.

Not the first time I've heard someone prefer the f minor over the e minor, but definitely the first time I've heard someone say the f minor is better constructed. I don't know how you can play the 1st and 3rd movements of the 1st, and say they're inferior to their f minor counterparts. There is nothing in the 1st and 3rd movements of the fminor that matches up to the climax of the e minor's rondo. The piano writing is just conceivably better in op. 11, all critics agree with this.

I will say this though, if I had to choose I'd play the 1st and 3rd movements of the 1st with f minor's larghetto in between. To me that's the perfect Chopin concerto. That larghetto is no doubt some of the most beautiful in Chopin's ouvre.

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frodo4

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #7 on: May 06, 2024, 07:31:42 PM

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frodo4

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #8 on: May 06, 2024, 08:35:13 PM

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busondelssohn

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #9 on: May 07, 2024, 10:27:33 AM

Quote from: frodo4 on May 06, 2024, 07:31:42 PM

I prefer #1 over #2 but the 2nd mvt of #2 is gorgeous. However, so is the 2nd mvt of No 1 but in a different way.

I read that the no. 1 is played 9 to 1 over no 2 at the International Chopin Piano Competition held in Warsaw. Not sure if this is true. Assuming it is true, I wonder why this is the case. Could it be that the performer prefers #1 musically or technically? Or maybe they think the judges prefer No.1?

I did quick check looking at the last 5 Chopin competitions (Bruce Liu, Seong-Jin Cho, Avdeeva, Blechacz, Yundi Li). It looks like the last 5 Chopin competition winners all played number 1.

I read on the website of the chopin competition that the first is easier technically. I have noticed the phenomenon as well, I find it kind of a shame, because I prefer the first movement of the f minor a ton over the first movement of the e Minor, but vice versa for the third movements.

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frodo4

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #10 on: May 27, 2024, 01:22:54 AM

Quote from: busondelssohn on May 07, 2024, 10:27:33 AM

I read on the website of the chopin competition that the first is easier technically. I have noticed the phenomenon as well, I find it kind of a shame, because I prefer the first movement of the f minor a ton over the first movement of the e Minor, but vice versa for the third movements.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the first mvt of the first Chopin piano concerto!!! I get all choked up EVERY TIME I hear it.

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gasplamey

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #11 on: May 27, 2024, 01:33:09 AM

It's Chopin. Every part is amazing.

Also, they're both played a similar amount. I don't really hear one more than the other.

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amc252

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #12 on: May 27, 2024, 08:34:36 PM

The following recording is my favorite piece of music ever and the reason I started to listen to classical music as a kid and, later on, began to play the piano.
I used to listen to the vinyl and, the day Sony Music published a remastered CD, I bough 10 copies.

CBS 1965
Chopin Concerto for Piano and orchestra N° 2 in F minor, Op. 21
Andre Watts
New York Philharmonic
Thomas Schippers

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busondelssohn

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Re: Chopin piano concerti opinions

Reply #13 on: May 31, 2024, 08:27:05 PM

What do y'alls think about Jan lisieckis performance of the 2nd concerto?
I think it's a bit too choppy, in the sense that the agogics are a bit overkill.
But I can see why people might like it

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