ct 14

Since his triumph as winner of the 1970 Chopin International Piano Competition, pianist Garrick Ohlsson, has established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. Ohlsson said of this set, “This monumental recording project first came about when the American record company Arabesque approached me with an irresistible offer to record the complete works of Chopin. I accepted with enthusiasm and an awareness of the magnitude of the task. My total immersion in the Chopin project was enhanced by a concurrent series of recitals of the complete solo works in the US and several European capitals from 1995 to 1997. I am delighted that these recordings are now available again as a boxed set on Hyperion.”

The new recordings of Chopin's works on period instruments allow contemporary listeners to discover the historical models, bringing us closer to the original and to the long-forgotten sound of the Romantic era.

Tatiana Shebanova, who also features in the Fryderyk Chopin Institute’s on-going Real Chopin series (see review special, p83), gets her own complete, modern instrument (as opposed to Real Chopin’s historic instruments) cycle on the Polish label Dux. Arranged in opus order, it presents a satisfying survey of Chopin’s development, and it spares the listener from (for example) a lack of variety in the usual hour-long sequence of waltzes.

"And with this incredibly tight batch of prime 1987 Grateful Dead, we’re thrilled to bring you Dave’s Picks Vol. 36, matching the number that will be forever tied to Dick’s legacy. Thanks for sticking around this long, and for joining us through these past nine years of archival live Grateful Dead releases." - David Lemieux