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Chopin: Complete Edition : Deutsche Grammophon

On the 150th anniversary of his death, Deutsche Grammophon released this impressive box set featuring the complete works of Frédéric Chopin. Spread out over 17 CDs, it contains some truly big-name artists--Argerich, Pollini, Barenboim, and Ashkenazy--and a few you've probably never heard of. The majority of the set's nine volumes contain some music newly produced for this undertaking, and a few items (Chopin's songs, for instance) were recorded specifically for this collection. A well-illustrated book is included--it contains an essay, dateline, and illustrations--and each volume in the set gets its own liner notes. The music? It varies from great to less than great, but most of it is worth hearing. Those accustomed to Rubinstein's readings of the Mazurkas will find those played by Jean-Marc Luisada less fluid and lacking Rubinstein's power. Chopin's songs, seldom heard and filled with elements of Polish folk dances and the less-than-stellar lyrics of the composer's friend Stefan Witwicki, get a college try here by soprano Elzbieta Szmytka. They sound as good as you'll hear anywhere (if you can find them). It probably goes without saying that Martha Argerich's rousing 26 Préludes are some of the set's more exciting moments. But, really, the entire collection is solid. It should be noted that budget label Naxos has released its own Chopin edition at less than half the price of this set. With Idil Biret as the only performer on that set, you miss out on some of the diverse performances and personalities found here. Also, to please those of us who already own favorite performances of these works, each two-CD volume in the Complete Chopin Edition can be purchased individually. Bravo. --Jason Verlinde - $149.99

Dvorák: The Masterworks (40CD Box Set) : Brilliant Classics

- $94.69

Panorama: Passion for Piano : Deutsche Grammophon

Anything that starts off with Shura Cherkassky's delicious account of a Tango by Albéniz has got to have something going for it, and this set seems to score over and over again. It's an interesting piece of programming, since having got off to a Spanish start, we are led through Bach (traditionally the starter), Balakirev (his famously unplayable Islamey thrown off coolly by Julius Katchen), Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Gershwin, Gottschalk, Granados, Grieg, and Handel. One thing they certainly all have in common is the passion of the title, and they are well served by our guides, who include Tureck, Kempff, Kocsis, Lill, Barenboim, Argerich, Michelangeli, De Larrocha, Gilels, and Gavrilov. It is worth mentioning so many, since these are top names in their respective fields and it gives an indication of what you can expect from this set. And while you would rightly expect veteran Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha to give us the full treatment in Albéniz and Granados, listen to her delightful piece of Handel, which concludes the set. Recordings range in time from 1955 to 1998, and the freshness of the playing transcends changes in recording technology during those years. --Keith Clarke - $4.10