The Winners - The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (7-CD)

This 7-CD exclusive boxset "Chopin - Winners / The Winners" contains live recordings from the auditions of all previous 17 winners of the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland (1927-2010): Lev Oborin, Alexandre Uninsky, Yakov Zak, Bella Davidovich, Halina Czerny-Stefanska, Adam Harasiewicz, Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Garrick Ohlsson, Krystian Zimerman, Dang Thai-Son, Stanislav Bunin, Kevin Kenner, Philippe Giusano, Alexei Sultanov, Yundi Li, and Rafal Blechacz.

The Winners
The International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition

Label: Polskie Nagrania - Muza
Catalog No: PNCD BOX 0001
Format: 7-CD's boxset
Mastering: Anna Wojtych
Graphic design: Anna Helsztynska
Editor: Jan Popis

This 7-CD exclusive boxset "Chopin - Winners / The Winners" contains live recordings from the auditions of all previous 17 winners of the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland (1927-2010): Lev Oborin, Alexandre Uninsky, Yakov Zak, Bella Davidovich, Halina Czerny-Stefanska, Adam Harasiewicz, Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Garrick Ohlsson, Krystian Zimerman, Dang Thai-Son, Stanislav Bunin, Kevin Kenner, Philippe Giusano, Alexei Sultanov, Yundi Li, and Rafal Blechacz.

Carefully re-mastered recordings as well as beautifully edited artwork making this selection a must have item in library of any serious music lover. Includes detailed essay with profiles of all winners by Jan Popis.

CD 1

1 . Etude in E flat minor Op. 10 No. 6
2 . Etude in F minor Op. 10 No. 9
3 . A flat major Op. 25 No. 1
4 . Etude in F minor, Op. 25 No. 2
5 . Etude in F major Op. 25 No. 3
6 . Nocturne in C sharp minor No. 20, Op. posth
7 . Waltz in C sharp minor Op. 64 No. 2
8 . Berceuse in D flat major Op. 57
9 . Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 50 No. 3
10 . Nocturne in F sharp major, Op. 15 No. 2
11 . Etude in G flat major Op. 10 No. 5
12 . Mazurka F sharp minor Op. 6 No. 1
13 . Mazurka C sharp minor Op. 63 No. 3
14 . Waltz in G flat major Op. post. 70 No. 1
15 . Nocturne in B major Op. 32 No. 1
16 . Nocturne in G minor Op. 37 No. 1
17 . Mazurka in E minor Op. 17 No. 2
18 . Mazurka in G sharp minor Op. 33 No. 1
19 . Mazurka in F minor Op. 63 No. 2
20 . Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 63 No. 3
21 . Grande Valse Brillante in F major Op. 34 No. 3
22 . Trois Ecossaises Op. post. 72 No. 3-5
23 . Mazurka in F minor Op. post. 68 No. 4
24 . Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54

Performed by:

Track: 1-9:  Lev Oborin - piano (winner of 1st Competition 1927)
Track: 10-14:  Alexandre Uninsky - piano (winner of 2nd Competition 1932)
Track: 15-21:  Yakow Zak - piano ( winner of 2nd Competition 1932)
Track: 22-24:  Bella Davidovich - piano (4th Competition 1949)

CD 2

1 . Polonaise in C minor Op. 40 No 2
2 . Nocturne in C sharp minor Op. 27 No. 1
3 . Impromptu in C sharp minor Op. post. 66
4 . Mazurka in D major Op. 33 No. 3
5 . Mazurka in B flat major Op. 7 No. 1
6 . Mazurka in C major Op. 68 No. 1
7 . Mazurka in A minor, Op. 17 No. 4
8 . Etude in C minor Op. 10 No. 12: Revolutionary
9 . Ballade No 1 in G minor Op. 23
10 . Etude in G sharp minor Op. 25 No. 6
11 . Etude in A minor Op. 25 No. 11
12 . Mazurka in A minor Op. 67 No. 4
13 . Mazurka in C sharp minor Op. 63 No. 3
14 . Prelude in C sharp minor Op. 45
15 . Nocturne in B major Op. 62 No. 1
16 . Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53

Performed by:

Track: 1-8:  Halina Czerny-Stefanska - piano (winner of 4th Competition 1949)
Track: 9-16:  Adam Harasiewicz - piano (winner of 5th Competition 1955)

CD 3

1 . Polonaise in F sharp minor Op. 44
2 . Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 35 / Grave. Doppio movimento
3 . Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 35 / Scherzo
4 . Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 35 / Marche funèbre. Lento
5 . Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor Op. 35 / Finale. Presto
6 . Prelude Op. 28 in E flat major No 19
7 . Prelude Op. 28 in C minor No. 20
8 . Prelude Op. 28 in B flat major No. 21
9 . Prelude Op. 28 in G minor No. 22
10 . Prelude Op. 28 in F major No. 23
11 . Prelude Op. 28 in D minor No. 24
12 . Etude in C major Op. 10 No. 1
13 . Etude in A flat major Op. 10 No. 10
14 . Nocturne in E flat major Op. 55 No.
15 . Barkarole in F sharp major Op. 60
16 . Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor Op. 39
17 . Polonaise in A flat major Op. 53

Performed by:

Track: 1-5:  Maurizio Pollini  - piano (winner of 6th Competition 1960)
Track: 10-17:  Martha Argerich - piano (winner of 7th Competition 1965)

CD 4

1 . Nocturne in E flat major Op. 55 No. 2
2 . Etude in C major Op. 10 No. 1
3 . Etude in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2
4 . Etude in A flat major Op. 10 No. 10
5 . Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58 / Allegro maestoso
6 . Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58 / Scherzo
7 . Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58 / Largo
8 . Sonata No. 3 in B minor Op. 58 / Finale. Presto non tanto
9 . Ballada No 4 in F minor Op. 52
10 . Grande Valse Brillante in A flat major, Op. 34 No.1
11 . Prelude in B flat minor Op. 28 No. 16
12 . Prelude in A flat major Op. 28 No. 17
13 . Prelude in F minor Op. 28 No. 18
14 . Prelude in E flat major Op. 28 No. 19
15 . Etude in A minor Op. 25 No. 4
16 . Etude in C major, Op. 10 No. 7
17 . Etude in F major Op. 10 No. 8
18 . Scherzo No. 4 in E major Op. 54

Performed by:

Track: 1-8:  Garrick Ohlsson - piano (winner of 8th Competition 1970)
Track: 9-18:  Krystian Zimerman- piano (winner of 9th Competition 1975)

CD 5

1 . Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
2 . Etude in A minor, Op. 25 No. 4
3 . Etude in F major, Op. 10 No. 8
4 . Etude G sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 6
5 . Nocturne in E major, Op. 62 No. 2
6 . Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
7 . Scherzo in B flat minor No. 2 op. 31
8 . Scherzo in E major, Op. 54 No. 4
9 . Etude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12
10 . Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
11 . Prelude in E flat minor, Op. 28 No. 14,
12 . Prelude in D flat major, Op. 28 No. 15 'Raindrop'
13 . Prelude in B flat minor, Op. 28 No. 16
14 . Prelude in E flat major, Op. 28 No. 17
15 . Prelude in F minor, Op. 28 No. 18
16 . Grande Valse Brillante, F major, Op. 34 No. 3

Performed by:

Track: 1-7:  Dang Thai Son - piano (winner of 10th Competition 1980)
Track: 8-16:  Stanislav Bunin - piano (winner of 11th Competition 1985)

CD 6

1 . Scherzo in C sharp minor, Op. 39 No. 3
2 . Impromptu in F sharp major, Op. 36
3 . Etude in C sharp minor, Op. 10 No. 4
4 . Etude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12
5 . Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
6 . Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
7 . Etude in C major, Op. 10 No. 1
8 . Etude in A minor, Op. 10 No. 2
9 . Mazurka in A minor, Op. 59 No. 1
10 . Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20
11 . Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, Part 1 / Allegro maestoso
12 . Etude in G sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 6
13 . Etude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12
14 . Grande Valse Brillante in E flat major, Op. 18
15 . Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53

Performed by:

Track: 1-5:  Kevin Kenner - piano (winner of 12th Competition 1990, 1st Prize was not Awarded)
Track: 6-10:  Philippe Giusiano - piano (winner of 13th Competition 1995, 1st Prize was not Awarded)
Track: 11-15:  Alexei Sultanov - piano ( winner of 13th Competition 1995, 1st Prize was not Awarded)

CD 7

1 . Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48 No. 1
2 . Etude in A minor, Op. 25 No. 11
3 . Berceuse in D flat major, Op. 57
4 . Grande Valse A flat major, Op. 42
5 . Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major, Op. 22
6 . Prelude in A major, Op. 28 No. 7
7 . Prelude in F sharp minor, Op. 28 No. 8
8 . Prelude in E major, Op. 28 No. 9
9 . Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 28 No. 10
10 . Prelude in B major, Op. 28 No. 11
11 . Prelude in G sharp minor, Op. 28 No. 12
12 . Nocturne in B major, Op. 62 No. 1
13 . Waltz in D flat major, Op. 64 No. 1
14 . Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2
15 . Waltz in A flat major, Op. 64 No. 3
16 . Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60
17 . Mazurka in B major, Op. 56 No. 1
18 . Mazurka in C major, Op. 56 No. 2
19 . Mazurka in C minor, Op. 56 No. 3
20 . Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53

Performed by:

Track: 1-5:  Yundi Li - piano (winner of 14th Competition 2000)
Track: 6-20:  Rafal Blechacz - piano (winner of 15th Competition 2005)

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Liner notes by Jan Popis:

When on January 23, 1927, the 1st Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition got off to the sound of etudes, nocturnes, mazurkas and polonaises, hardly anyone expected that the event would turn into a tournament of tradition and international renown and would live long enough to become the world's longest surviving music contest. The idea of the competition given by Professor Jerzy Zurawlew was picked up, expanded and brought to bountiful fruition. At present, the Chopin Piano Competition is not only the oldest "living" music event of this kind in the world but - what is more important - one of the most widely known as the title of First Prize Winner is as prestigious and glorious as it is benefit-giving, like a win in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow or the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels for that matter. Even a few gold medals in other competitions (with the exception perhaps of the Leeds Competition and, as of the Van Cliburn Competition in Forth Worth, Texas, USA), cannot counterbalance similar success in Warsaw. This conviction has been voiced by Martha Argerich and Garrick Ohlsson, and is probably cherished by Krystian Zimerman for whom the Chopin Competition gold opened the doors to all concert halls in the world. Stanislav Bunin even decided not to sit his finals at the Moscow Conservatory saying that he needed no graduation diploma as he had been awarded the highest accolade in Warsaw. The weight of the Chopin Prize is due to the contest's high, demanding standards set by the strictly monographic character of its program and the specific style and texture of Chopin's music. Going through the list of winners in the eleven Chopin Competitions held so far, we can spot the names of pianists who went on to achieve grand success in music in the broadest meaning of the word. Many of them proved to be ingenious in playing other composers - Chopin's predecessors and those who came after him including the 20th century composers. They may often differ in the nuances of interpretation as a result of their own aesthetic standards influenced by either the emotional or intellectual factor, yet they have never lost the feeling for the essence of Chopin's distinct style. One must not forget however that Chopin's musie, romantic in the infinity of emotional expression, is also classical in its rigorous, formal structure and cohesive in its contents. Such balanced proportions however allow a variety of attitudes and interpretations. "Winners" is not only documents of historical value but first of all a testimony of the artists' struggle against entrenched tradition, habits, prejudice, and strict norms of behavior and of choices they made. l think that only a few pianists in the competition age-bracket can fully realize how they play Chopin and the affinity of their playing to what they imagine it should be, to what extent they enrich tradition and to what extent they just perpetuate the existing patterns. Sometimes, they become trendsetters but in often happens that they never break out of what was called ‘Arbiter elegantiarum’ in Ancient Rome, a role that we may now call ‘Arbiter Musicae Chopiniensis’. How important for them was the verdict of the competition Jury? It is well known that the gold in the International Chopin Piano Competition opens the magic gate to an Olympus of artistic achievement. Whether they manage to reach divine immortality, is largely up to them. 

© Jan Popis, 2010 Transl. Grzegorz Siwicki