Frederic Chopin: Mazurkas (Newton Classics Audio 2-CD set)

Jean-Marc Luisada was born in Tunisia in 1958, and studied with Nikita Magaloff and Paul Badura-Skoda after leaving the Paris Conservatoire. His international career launched when he won the 1985 Chopin Competition in Warsaw, and his talent was recognised by the French government when they awarded him the Chevalier des arts et lettres in 1989, later elevated to the Order of Merit in 1999.

Although Luisada has recorded repertoire by Grieg, Schumann, Scriabin, Beethoven and Haydn, it is his recordings of Chopin that have cemented his reputation; particularly this set of the Mazurkas. He plays almost all the 58 that Chopin wrote and revels in the composer’s novel approach to the form. These, unlike all previous mazurkas, are not pieces for dancing but listening to.