The Chopin Collection [Box Set] [BOX SET] [IMPORT]

Frederic Chopin (Composer), Artur Rubinstein (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Artur Rubinstein
• Composer: Frederic Chopin
• Audio CD (October 7, 1991)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 11
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: RCA Victor Europe
• ASIN: B000026OW3
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,176 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
11cd Box Set with the Legendary Rubinsetin Recordings of Chopin Works.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Gold Standard" for Chopin, October 17, 2007

By	What's in a name? (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This 11 CD set is absolutely fabulous. Artur Rubinstein was a great pianist, and he was at his best with Chopin. You simply will not hear better performances of Chopin than these. That is not just *my* opinion; he is widely regarded as one of the greatest interpreters of Chopin of all time. Just do a quick online search if you doubt this, and look at reviews of his other CD releases of Chopin pieces here at Amazon.com.

This is all of the pieces of Chopin that Rubinstein recorded, though it is not all of the recordings he did of Chopin (he recorded some pieces more than once; many of his earlier mono recordings are not included), and it is not all of the pieces that Chopin wrote (because Rubinstein never recorded all of what Chopin wrote). If one wants all of the works of Chopin, one should still buy this set, but one would need to buy a few other CDs of other people performing the few pieces of Chopin that Rubinstein never recorded.

10 of the 11 discs were recorded in the late 1950's & 1960's in good quality stereo sound (though obviously not as high fidelity as is possible now). The last disc was recorded in the 1940's, so the sound is not great, and is mono. Nevertheless, it is still listenable, and the performances are still superb.

It comes with a nice, informative, multi-lingual booklet. English is one of the included languages.

You should buy this set before they raise the price; it is great. This set would be worth buying even if they charged normal retail prices for the CDs (which would be somewhere around $200 for this many discs). I bought an earlier release of this set for around $100 some years ago, and was very happy with the deal. (My brother bought a set of this release, so I know about this particular release, too, and that it includes a multi-lingual booklet, etc.) At the price Amazon is currently selling it, buy before they change their minds and charge what it is really worth!

If you like Chopin, the only way you could possibly be disappointed with this is if you must have current state of the art sound quality, or you have deviant taste in how Chopin should be performed. There simply is no other way you could be dissatisfied.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Afford Not to Own This Set, January 7, 2008

By	J. Grant (North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There may be better (according to your taste) individual recordings of Chopin's works contained in this set, but not that much better, and certainly not at this price. Artists such as Arrau (Etudes, which aren't in this set & his darker Nocturnes), Moravec's Ballades, Michelangeli's Sonata No.2, Kapell's Mazurkas & Pollini's Preludes come to mind. That being said, Rubinstein's interpretations of all of these works are also outstanding, and nobody can touch him on the Waltzes (well, maybe Lipatti). The only minor disappointment of this set is the subpar recording quality of the Preludes, but the playing of them is still very nice and quite listenable. If you don't already own these works, this is definately the place to start (especially at less than $3 a CD), and if you don't know Rubinstein's sophisticated and aristrocratic readings of Chopin, you must see what you're missing. Highly recommended.

**At the time I printed this review the price was $27.99**

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the ages, February 8, 2008

By	Mark Hennicke (A stone's throw from Carnegie Hall) - See all my reviews

Perhaps no other pianist is so indelibly linked to one composer's music than Artur Rubinstein is to the works of Chopin. One might think of Glenn Gould & Bach, but even the renowned Canadian virtuoso's recordings of JSB are not held in such high esteem as Rubinstein's Chopin catalog. Rubinstein has such an affinity for this music,and performs the works with such a master's touch, that the listener immediately developes an especially affectionate bond with this marvellous 11-cd set from RCA Victor.These performances are some of the absolutely great treasures in the history of recorded music. They have such a wide appeal that they instantly become a must have for your cd library, made all the more tempting by the super-bargain price offered on this re-mastered box set.
Highly recommended & definitely not to be missed!