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Chopin National Edition

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National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin
Cover of the first volume (Ballades, 2nd edition)
Edited byJan Ekier, Paweł Kamiński
CountryPoland
LanguagePolish, English
PublisherPWM Edition
Published1967–2010
Media typeUrtext
No. of books37
OCLC668111267
Websitewww.chopin-nationaledition.com/en/

The National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin (Polish: Wydanie Narodowe Dzieł Fryderyka Chopina), also known as the Chopin National Edition and the Polish National Edition, is an urtext edition of the complete works by Frédéric Chopin, aiming to present his output in its authentic form.[1]

Started by Jan Ekier in 1959, the entirety of Chopin's known works were published in 37 volumes from 1967 to 2010, accompanied by source and performance commentaries. The Chopin National Edition is considered the authoritative edition of Chopin's works, and is recommended to contestants of the International Chopin Piano Competition.

History

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We owe Chopin a debt... His music allowed us to survive the worst moments, and in the periods of hope extols Polish culture all over the world. We owe it to the author to publish his work in the form he intended. This is the goal of the National Edition: to pay off a Nation's debt to Chopin.

Jan Ekier[2]

In 1959, Jan Ekier started the project of a new critical edition of Chopin's works, as he came to the conclusion that the prevailing Paderewski edition presented a "false image of Chopin's music in many aspects".[3] The first volume of Ballades was published in 1967 by PWM Edition, featuring a minimalist design with white covers.[4] A total of nine volumes were published up to 1991, with a publication rhythm that correlated to each edition of the quinquennial International Chopin Piano Competition.[5]

After the Revolutions of 1989, the edition was re-evaluated from a market perspective. While the first editions were typeset manually and accompanied by Polish commentary only, the new editions were typeset using SCORE, with bilingual (Polish and English) annotations.[5]

In 1998, Ekier established the Foundation for the National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin, for fundraising, research, publication and promotion of the National Edition.[2] In 2004, he received a special award from the Minister of Culture of Poland, "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the preservation and popularization of the legacy of Fryderyk Chopin, in particular for the monumental National Edition of his works, restoring to European culture the art of the great Polish composer in a form closest to its historical original."[6]

The edition was completed in 2010, in time for the bicentenary of Chopin's birth.[5]

Volumes

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As an urtext, the Chopin National Edition aims to produce a musical text that adheres to the original notation and the composer's intentions. All extant sources were analyzed and verified for authenticity, mainly autographs, first editions with Chopin's corrections and pupils' copies with Chopin's annotations. Necessary editorial decisions are documented in each volume's source commentary. Additionally, a separate performance commentary documents cases where Chopin's notation may be misunderstood by contemporary pianists, such as realizations of ornaments and pedaling.[7][2]

The Chopin National Edition consists of 36 volumes in two series, for works published during Chopin's lifetime (Series A), and for works published posthumously (Series B). A 37th volume (titled Supplement) consists of compositions partly by Chopin, for instance his contribution to Hexameron.

Series A: Works published during Chopin's lifetime
No. Cat. Contents PC/SC
1 A I Ballades [1]
2 A II Études [2]
3 A III Impromptus [3]
4 A IV Mazurkas (A) [4]
5 A V Nocturnes [5]
6 A VI Polonaises (A) [6]
7 A VII Preludes [7]
8 A VIII Rondos [8]
9 A IX Scherzos [9]
10 A X Sonatas [10]
11 A XI Waltzes (A) [11]
12 A XII Various Works (A) [12]
13 A XIIIa Piano Concerto No. 1 (for one piano) [13]
14 A XIIIb Piano Concerto No. 2 (for one piano) [14]
15 A XIVa Concert works for piano and orchestra (for one piano) [15]
16 A XIVb Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante (for one piano) [16]
17 A XVa Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" (score) [17]
18 A XVb Piano Concerto No. 1 (historical score) [18]
19 A XVc Fantasy on Polish Airs (score) [19]
20 A XVd Rondo à la Krakowiak (score) [20]
21 A XVe Piano Concerto No. 2 (historical score) [21]
22 A XVf Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante (score) [22]
23 A XVI Works for Piano and Cello [23]
24 A XVII Piano Trio [24]
Series B: Works published posthumously
No. Cat. Contents PC/SC
25 B I Mazurkas (B) [25]
26 B II Polonaises (B) [26]
27 B III Waltzes (B) [27]
28 B IV Various Works (B) [28]
29 B V Various Compositions [29]
30 B VIa Piano Concerto No. 1 (for two pianos) [30]
31 B VIb Piano Concerto No. 2 (for two pianos) [31]
32 B VII Concert works for piano and orchestra (for two pianos) [32]
33 B VIIIa Piano Concerto No. 1 (concert score) [33]
34 B VIIIb Piano Concerto No. 2 (concert score) [34]
35 B IX Rondo in C for two pianos, Variations in D for four hands [35]
36 B X Songs [36]

Catalogue (WN)

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The edition provides a new numbering scheme ("WN") for works published after Chopin's death, similar to existing catalogues by Maurice J. E. Brown (B) and Krystyna Kobylańska (KK). Some works have opus numbers assigned after Chopin's death by Julian Fontana, who grouped a number of unpublished piano pieces into eight opus numbers (Op. 66–73).[8]

WN catalogue
WN Title Op. (Fontana) Completion date First edition
1 Polonaise in B-flat major 1817 1910
2 Polonaise in G minor 1817 1947
3 Polonaise in A-flat major 1821 1908
4 Polonaise in G-sharp minor 1824 1864
5 Variations in D major for 4 hands 1824–1826 1965
6 Variations in E major 1824 1851
7 Mazurka in B-flat major 1826 1851
8 Mazurka in G major 1826 1851
9 Funeral march in C minor 72 No. 2 1826 1855
10 Polonaise in B-flat minor 1826 1881
11 Polonaise in D minor 71 No. 1 1825–1827 1855
12 Polonaise in F minor 71 No. 3 1826–1828 (-29?) 1855
13
  1. Ecossaise in G major
  2. Ecossaise in D-flat major
  3. Ecossaise in D major
  • 72 No. 2
  • 72 No. 3
  • 72 No. 1
 1826 (1830?) 1855
14 Mazurka in A minor 68 No. 2 1827 1855
(op. 4) Sonata in C minor 1827/28 1851
15 Rondo in C major for 2 pianos 73 1828 1855
16 Warianty ("Variants") (Souvenir de Paganini) 1829 1881
17 Polonaise in B-flat major 71 No. 2 1829 1855
17a Mazurka in G major 1829
18 Waltz in E major 1829 1861
19 Waltz in B minor 69 No. 2 1829 1852
20 Waltz in D-flat major 70 No. 3 1829 1855
21 "Życzenie" 74 No. 1 about 1829 1857
22 "Gdzie lubi" 74 No. 5 about 1829 1859
23 Nocturne in E minor 72 No. 1 1827(?)–1830 1855
24 Mazurka in C major 68 No. 1 1830 1855
25 Mazurka in F major 68 No. 3 1830 1855
26 Mazurka in G major 67 No. 1 1830 (1835?) 1855
27 Contredans 1830 (1827?) 1948
28 Waltz in A-flat major 1829–1830 1902
29 Waltz in E minor 1830 (?) 1868
30 "Poseł" 74 No. 7 1830 1859
31 "Czary" 1830 (?) 1951
32 "Hulanka" 74 No. 4 1830 1859
33 "Precz z moich oczu" 74 No. 6 1830 1853
34 "Wojak" 74 No. 10 1830 1857
35 Polonaise in G-flat major 1830 1869-70

(about 1859?)

36 [Allegretto] 1829–1831 1990
37 Lento con gran espressione (Nocturne in C-sharp minor) 1830 1875
38 "Piosnka litewska" 74 No. 16 1830 (1831?) 1859
39 "Smutna rzeka" 74 No. 3 1831 1859
40 "Narzeczony" 74 No. 15 1831 1859
41 Mazurka in B-flat major 1832 1953
42 Waltz in G-flat major 70 No. 1 1832 1855
43 Cantabile 1834 1955
44 Presto con leggierezza (Prelude in A-flat major) 1834 1919
45 Mazurka in A-flat major 1834 1930
46 Impromptu in C-sharp minor (Fantaisie-Impromptu) 66 about 1834 1855
47 Waltz in A-flat major 69 No. 1 1835 1855
48 Mazurka in C major 67 No. 3 1835 1855
49 "Leci liście z drzewa" 74 No. 17 1836 1873
50 "Pierścień" 74 No. 14 1836 1859
51 "Moja pieszczotka" 74 No. 12 1837 1859
52 "Wiosna" 74 No. 2 1838 1859
52a "Wiosna" for piano 1838 1990
53 Sostenuto (Waltz in E-flat major) 1840 1955
54 "Śliczny chłopiec" 74 No. 8 1841 1859
55 Waltz F minor 70 No. 2 1841 1852
56 Moderato <Kartka z albumu> (Leaf from the album) 1843 1912
57 "Nie ma, czego trzeba" 74 No. 13 1845 1859
58 "Dwojaki koniec" 74 No. 11 1845 1859
59 Gallop Marquis 1846-47 1990
60 Mazurka in A minor 67 No. 4 1846-47 1855
61 "Z gór, gdzie dźwigali" <"Melodia"> (Melody) 74 No. 9 1847 1859
62 Nocturne in C minor 1847–1848 1938
63 Waltz in A minor 1847–1849 1955
64 Mazurka in G minor 67 No. 2 1848–1849 1855
65 Mazurka in F minor 68 No. 4 1849 1855 (partly)

1965 (full)


Reception

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Reception of the National Edition has been positive. Paul Badura-Skoda called it "the best available Chopin edition made with extreme care and precision". Jim Samson wrote that "by far the best of the modern editions is Jan Ekier's Polish National. Ekier does work with well thought-through editorial principles and his text comes closer than any other to a faithful reproduction of a single ('best') source." According to Frans Brüggen, the edition "seems to be very trustworthy. Having compared all the different sources available, Professor Ekier was able to make good editorial decisions."[9]

References

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  1. ^ Ekier 1974, p. 11.
  2. ^ a b c "Foundation for the National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin". Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  3. ^ Kamiński 2016, p. 91.
  4. ^ Kamiński 2016, p. 79.
  5. ^ a b c Kamiński 2016, p. 80.
  6. ^ "Jan Ekier". Culture.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  7. ^ Kamiński 2016, p. 81.
  8. ^ Numbering and Chronology of the Works Published After Chopin's Death (PDF).
  9. ^ "Chopin National Edition" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-08-14. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

Sources

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