Chopin National Edition


The National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin, 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.
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

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". The first volume of Ballades was published in 1967 by PWM Edition, featuring a minimalist design with white covers. 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.
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 annotations.
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. 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."
The edition was completed in 2010, in time for the bicentenary of Chopin's birth.

Volumes

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

No.Cat.Contents
1A IBallades
2A IIÉtudes
3A IIIImpromptus
4A IVMazurkas
5A VNocturnes
6A VIPolonaises
7A VIIPreludes
8A VIIIRondos
9A IXScherzos
10A XSonatas
11A XIWaltzes
12A XIIVarious Works
13A XIIIaPiano Concerto No. 1
14A XIIIbPiano Concerto No. 2
15A XIVaConcert works for piano and orchestra
16A XIVbAndante spianato et grande polonaise brillante
17A XVaVariations on "Là ci darem la mano"
18A XVbPiano Concerto No. 1
19A XVcFantasy on Polish Airs
20A XVdRondo à la Krakowiak
21A XVePiano Concerto No. 2
22A XVfAndante spianato et grande polonaise brillante
23A XVIWorks for Piano and Cello
24A XVIIPiano Trio



No.Cat.Contents
25B IMazurkas
26B IIPolonaises
27B IIIWaltzes
28B IVVarious Works
29B VVarious Compositions
30B VIaPiano Concerto No. 1
31B VIbPiano Concerto No. 2
32B VIIConcert works for piano and orchestra
33B VIIIaPiano Concerto No. 1
34B VIIIbPiano Concerto No. 2
35B IXRondo in C for two pianos, Variations in D for four hands
36B XSongs

Catalogue (WN)

The edition provides a new numbering scheme for works published after Chopin's death, similar to existing catalogues by Maurice J. E. Brown and Krystyna Kobylańska. 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, and seventeen songs for voice and piano into a ninth.
WNTitleOp. Completion dateFirst edition
1Polonaise in B-flat major18171910
2Polonaise in G minor18171947
3Polonaise in A-flat major18211908
4Polonaise in G-sharp minor18241864
5Variations in D major for 4 hands1824–18261965
6Variations in E major18241851
7Mazurka in B-flat major18261851
8Mazurka in G major18261851
9Funeral march in C minor72 No. 218261855
10Polonaise in B-flat minor18261881
11Polonaise in D minor71 No. 11825–18271855
12Polonaise in F minor71 No. 31826–1828 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 1855
14Mazurka in A minor68 No. 218271855
Sonata in C minor1827/281851
15Rondo in C major for 2 pianos7318281855
16Warianty 18291881
17Polonaise in B-flat major71 No. 218291855
17aMazurka in G major1829
18Waltz in E major18291861
19Waltz in B minor69 No. 218291852
20Waltz in D-flat major70 No. 318291855
21"Życzenie"74 No. 1about 18291857
22"Gdzie lubi"74 No. 5about 18291859
23Nocturne in E minor72 No. 11827–18301855
24Mazurka in C major68 No. 118301855
25Mazurka in F major68 No. 318301855
26Mazurka in G major67 No. 11830 1855
27Contredans1830 1948
28Waltz in A-flat major1829–18301902
29Waltz in E minor1830 1868
30"Poseł"74 No. 718301859
31"Czary"1830 1951
32"Hulanka"74 No. 418301859
33"Precz z moich oczu"74 No. 618301853
34"Wojak"74 No. 1018301857
35Polonaise in G-flat major18301869-70
361829–18311990
37Lento con gran espressione 18301875
38"Piosnka litewska"74 No. 161830 1859
39"Smutna rzeka"74 No. 318311859
40"Narzeczony"74 No. 1518311859
41Mazurka in B-flat major18321953
42Waltz in G-flat major70 No. 118321855
43Cantabile18341955
44Presto con leggierezza 18341919
45Mazurka in A-flat major18341930
46Impromptu in C-sharp minor 66about 18341855
47Waltz in A-flat major69 No. 118351855
48Mazurka in C major67 No. 318351855
49"Leci liście z drzewa"74 No. 1718361873
50"Pierścień"74 No. 1418361859
51"Moja pieszczotka"74 No. 1218371859
52"Wiosna"74 No. 218381859
52a"Wiosna" for piano18381990
53Sostenuto 18401955
54"Śliczny chłopiec"74 No. 818411859
55Waltz F minor70 No. 218411852
56Moderato 18431912
57"Nie ma, czego trzeba"74 No. 1318451859
58"Dwojaki koniec"74 No. 1118451859
59Gallop Marquis1846-471990
60Mazurka in A minor67 No. 41846-471855
61"Z gór, gdzie dźwigali" <"Melodia"> 74 No. 918471859
62Nocturne in C minor1847–18481938
63Waltz in A minor1847–18491955
64Mazurka in G minor67 No. 21848–18491855
65Mazurka in F minor68 No. 418491855
1965