What Chopin should a Chopin beginner begin with?

Heh... I was actually just going to caution against Pollini's recording of the Etudes. It's superhumanly virtuosic, no doubt about it, but in my opinion Pollini errs too much in that direction. The music obviously comes easily to him, and thus he makes it sound easy, which ruins the fun of the Etudes for me. He makes them sound like warm-up exercises that he's doing in his sleep. But that's just me.

One is aware that tastes shall differ in these matters!

I can't bear this threat hovering over my head anymore. How did you like it?

Look for the soundtrack music from "The Pianist".

A very sombre play, and now a film, but superb Chopin piano music.

Here's some info about that

http://movies.about.com/cs/thepianist/a/pianistsound.htm

I misspoke when I said "play". It was a book, and I heard a reading on stage, illustrated by and interspersed with piano music.

I LIKE owning a special Thomas Sword of Damocles.

I'm gonna leave it dangling a bit longer.

Yes? Thank you.

Sadist.

Oh yes.

Ok.

The sound and playing were delicious. A delight.

I am not greatly "into" mazurkas (I hesitated about buying it for that reason)...I would have preferred longer works, and very much enjoyed the longer pieces.

The mazurkas were pretty damned good of their kind though.

Ah. The mazurkas were the problem.

There are equally good Michelangeli recordings of the fantasia in f minor (12 minutes) and the sonata in b flat minor (25 minutes). They are old and mono. But if you don't mind that (I don't), and if you're into longer pieces, you may find them worth checking out. (Personally, I think length doesn't matter; what matters is what you make of it. I think that in other areas of human intercourse, too. But I digress....)

Speaking of longer pieces: The longest ones Chopin wrote are the concertos. Here my favorites are Artur Rubinstein / Bruno Walter for the first, and Alfred Cortot / John Barbirolli for the second. Again, the recordings are from the thirties and fourties, which I consider the golden area of classical music interpretation. (Present recordings just don't measure up -- it's part of why I'm a cultural pessimist.)

Hmmmmmm.....that's interesting.

Hmmmmm........what doesn't measure up in newer recordings?

I am a little reluctant to lose stereo...but if they are for piano alone...hmmm.....

Just noted the Michelangell is from '72.

But we did have stereo then.


Do you, er, mazurk?