# Chopin Etudes Op 10/25



## Triplets

This is some of my favorite music, and for me, Mauricio Pollini's DG recording, now over 40 years old, is the desert island disc. I also have complete recordings by Earl Wild and Garrick Ohlsson, two Pianists that I greatly admire, but Pollini seems to present each etude as a Fabrege Egg, brilliant, beautiful and breathtaking all at once.
Any other favorites?


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## Ukko

There are the French Chopinists, e.g. Samson François and Casadesus...


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## Celiac Artery

Ashkenazy's is good but I like Pollini's cycle more. Horowitz, for the etudes he did record, is my favorite though.


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## Mandryka

Triplets said:


> This is some of my favorite music, and for me, Mauricio Pollini's DG recording, now over 40 years old, is the desert island disc. I also have complete recordings by Earl Wild and Garrick Ohlsson, two Pianists that I greatly admire, but Pollini seems to present each etude as a Fabrege Egg, brilliant, beautiful and breathtaking all at once.
> Any other favorites?


There are quite a few recordings of them by Pollini, if you liked the DG one then I strongly suspect you'd like the earlier recording on Testament even more - I do.


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## leroy

I haven't listened to Chopin enough (yet) which is both a good and bad thing  however I recently picked up the Etude 's op 10 and 25 by Tatiana Shebanova who plays on an Erard from 1849, same type as Chopin used, certainly worth listening to just to hear how it sounds but I think they are very well done. The other set I'm listening to is op 25 by Grigori (gregory) Ginzburg, his Chopin and Liszt are exceptional and worth the trouble of finding though they are mono recordings which some may not like.


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## Triplets

Ukko said:


> There are the French Chopinists, e.g. Samson François and Casadesus...


I have never heard Casadesus in Chopin....


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## Mandryka

leroy said:


> I haven't listened to Chopin enough (yet) which is both a good and bad thing  however I recently picked up the Etude 's op 10 and 25 by Tatiana Shebanova who plays on an Erard from 1849, same type as Chopin used, certainly worth listening to just to hear how it sounds but I think they are very well done. The other set I'm listening to is op 25 by Grigori (gregory) Ginzburg, his Chopin and Liszt are exceptional and worth the trouble of finding though they are mono recordings which some may not like.


 What do you think of the way Ginzberg plays Winter Winds? It's one of the strangest Chopin performances I've ever heard.


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## Mandryka

Celiac Artery said:


> Ashkenazy's is good but I like Pollini's cycle more. Horowitz, for the etudes he did record, is my favorite though.


There are two recordings by Ashkenazy. By far the best is the earlier one, a Melodiya recording. There's a very entertaining selection of Horowitz's Chopin in one of his volumes of Great Pianists of the 20th century. The more I hear Horowitz the less I like it.


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## Guest

I've always enjoyed this one by Andrei Gavrilov:










For better sound, try










or


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## leroy

Mandryka said:


> What do you think of the way Ginzberg plays Winter Winds? It's one of the strangest Chopin performances I've ever heard.


Yea that one is strange, I had forgotten about it since those around it are played much more evenly, indeed it was one of the things I like about his performance is the balance between the left and right. So I don't think its one I listen to but the rest are great


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## Ukko

Triplets said:


> I have never heard Casadesus in Chopin....


Jeez. Picky, picky. He did record sonatas 2&3.


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## Vaneyes

View attachment 57821
Gavrilov (rec.1987):tiphat:


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## Guest

A lot of people like this one for its poetry. I prefer a bit more drama. In fact, I just put my SACD vesion for sale on Amazon!


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## hpowders

I still favor the young Ashkenazy's performances of the Chopin Etudes.


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## Triplets

Ukko said:


> Jeez. Picky, picky. He did record sonatas 2&3.


Intriguing. I love his Mozart PCs


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## Balthazar

I like the early Pollini on Testament and Ashkenazy. I hope that the young Daniil Trifonov records the full set some day because he seems to have a true gift for Chopin.

This is my all-time favorite rendition of the Op. 10, No. 1 - an unbelievable live performance by Ashkenazy from 1968 (ignore the gratuitous shot of the blonde in the first few seconds).


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## Triplets

Balthazar said:


> I like the early Pollini on Testament and Ashkenazy. I hope that the young Daniil Trifonov records the full set some day because he seems to have a true gift for Chopin.
> 
> This is my all-time favorite rendition of the Op. 10, No. 1 - an unbelievable live performance by Ashkenazy from 1968 (ignore the gratuitous shot of the blonde in the first few seconds).


Thanks for that. The performance is right up there with Pollini. The blonde ain't bad either!


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## Triplets

Kontrapunctus said:


> A lot of people like this one for its poetry. I prefer a bit more drama. In fact, I just put my SACD vesion for sale on Amazon!


I was looking for your SACD when I noticed the 6 disc Chopin set for $14 and I couldn't resist, sorry.


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## Guest

Well, that is a better deal, I must admit! By the way, my Amazon seller name is Classic CDs.


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## Animato

I would like to recommend Frederic Chiu's recordings of the Chopin Etudes. Simply excellent. I got aquainted with the Edutes by the recording of Pollini, and for years I considered it as the best recording. Until I listened to Frederic Chiu's recording.


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## Triplets

Animato said:


> I would like to recommend Frederic Chiu's recordings of the Chopin Etudes. Simply excellent. I got aquainted with the Edutes by the recording of Pollini, and for years I considered it as the best recording. Until I listened to Frederic Chiu's recording.


I will have to seek that out. I have been listening to Murray Perahia these past few days. Very different from Pollini, much softer and intimate.


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## pianississimo

Kontrapunctus said:


>


I like him and didn't know he'd recorded them.
I like Nikolai Lugansky's best. Pretty hard to top.


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## Triplets

Just to clarify on Perahia; they may be softer and more intimate than Pollini, but there are still plenty of fireworks on display.


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## Mandryka

Perahia's recording of the Preludes is even better than his recording of the Etudes.


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## worov

How is that possible ? Nobody has mentionned Claudio Arrau's recording ? I can't believe this. Have a listen :


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## DavidA

Ashkenazy did a set in Russia when he was young. Some playing!
Perahia is good.
Cziffra is incredible!


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## DavidA

And don't forget Hamelin in the Godowsky arrangements! Had to be heard to be believed.


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## PeterF

Just listened to a terrific version of Op.10 by Nelson Freire. I prefer it to both Pollini and Perahia. It if filled with emotion and taste.
I have now ordered Op.25 by Freire which is on a different CD.


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## worov

Freire is a master. He is incredible in most of the pieces he plays. I have many of his recordings.


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## Albert7

Argerich does a banging job on Chopin Etude No. 10 on this fine DG disc.









I have it in my collection and so well worth it.


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## Heliogabo

I love Pollini's too, but try the cuban pianist Juana Zayas. She made two recordings of the etudes. Both of them are great but I prefer the second one, a really outstanding performance.


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## 89Koechel

Triplets said:


> This is some of my favorite music, and for me, Mauricio Pollini's DG recording, now over 40 years old, is the desert island disc. I also have complete recordings by Earl Wild and Garrick Ohlsson, two Pianists that I greatly admire, but Pollini seems to present each etude as a Fabrege Egg, brilliant, beautiful and breathtaking all at once.
> Any other favorites?


What an excellent thread, begun by Triplets, 8 years ago! Excellent comments by Mandryka, David, et. al., also! One can simply REITERATE the affirmation of Earl Wild, in this music. His was an IMPECCABLE technique, with a true understanding of the structure and "import", so to speak, of these great Etudes.


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## Animal the Drummer

So many wonderful recordings of these pieces. I'm not always Ashkenazy's biggest fan (I tend to prefer his conducting) but his early recording of the Etudes, which I first heard on Melodiya LPs, is tremendous as others have said. Another LP I still listen to is the survey of both sets of Etudes by Agustin Anievas on HMV, which was my introduction to them and which provides a great contrast to Ashkenazy. For sheer jaw-dropping pianistic wizardry, Pollini da man.


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## mikeh375

^^ yep Pollini for me too.


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## justekaia

Pollini, Freire, Lugansky, Perahia are the favourites in my collection. Watch out for Beatrice Rana who recorded an excellent op 25 and who will certainly follow up with op 10.


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## clachat

Lubov Timofeyeva


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## hammeredklavier

mikeh375 said:


> ^^ yep Pollini for me too.


Way too mechanical. 
Have you listened to Stanislav Bunin?


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## mikeh375

hammeredklavier said:


> Way too mechanical.
> Have you listened to Stanislav Bunin?


 No I've not listened to Bunin.


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## perdido34

mikeh375 said:


> ^^ yep Pollini for me too.


 Can't stand Pollini's DG recording of the Etudes, but the earlier recording (released on Testament) is much more musical than the typewriter mechanics on DG.


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