Five essential works by Chopin
We choose the best pieces by the Polish composer
![Chopin.jpg Chopin](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/24/2020/05/chopin_625-37d45a3.jpg?quality=90&resize=625,417)
Polonaises
Poland’s national dance is a stately affair, but in Chopin’s hands, it become a passionate statement about his home country. Start with the A-major Polonaise.
Recommended recording:
Maurizio Pollini, Martha Argerich, Anatol Ugorski (piano) DG 477 5430
Etudes
Chopin’s two books of studies test and stretch a player’s advanced technique. But the music contains depth and feeling.
Recommended recording:
Murray Perahia (piano)
Sony SK61885
Waltzes
Singularly unimpressed with the Viennese ballroom scene, Chopin set about composing his own waltzes, published in 1819, which contain abandon, but a certain wistfulness too.
Recommended recording:
Ingrid Fliter (piano)
EMI 698 3512
Piano Concerto No. 1
Composed shortly before he left Poland, Chopin shows his gift for long-arching melodic lines and filigree piano writing. The second movement, in particular, is ravishing.
Recommended recording:
Krystian Zimerman (piano), Polish Festival Orchestra
DG 459 6842
Ballades
Chopin puts his heart and soul into these astonishingly powerful works. Don’t be fooled by the title ‘Ballade’ – all four of them contain music of extreme drama and energy, as well as tenderness and lyricism.
Recommended recording:
Evgeny Kissin (piano)
RCA 09026632592
Authors
![Freya Parr](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/24/2020/06/Freya-Parr-8a73fbe.jpg?quality=90&resize=196,196)
Freya Parr is BBC Music Magazine's Digital Editor and Staff Writer. She has also written for titles including the Guardian, Circus Journal, Frankie and Suitcase Magazine, and runs The Noiseletter, a fortnightly arts and culture publication. Freya's main areas of interest and research lie in 20th-century and contemporary music.