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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 An urtext edition (from German prefix wikt:ur-, ur- ''original'') of a work of classical music is a printed version intended to reproduce the original intention of the composer as exactly as possible, without any added or changed material. Other ...
of the complete works by
Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
, 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 The International Chopin Piano Competition (), often called the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition in Warsaw, Poland, held first in 1927 and every five years since 1955. The competition is one of the founding members of the World Federa ...
.


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 Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;  r 1859– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's prime minister and foreign minister during which time he signed the Tre ...
edition presented a "false image of Chopin's music in many aspects". The first volume of Ballades was published in 1967 by
PWM Edition The PWM Edition (, abbreviated as PWM) is a music publishing house based in Kraków, Poland. It was founded in 1945 and was the only music publisher in Poland for several years. In 2012 it released the twelfth volume of ''Encyclopedia of Music'', ...
, 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 The International Chopin Piano Competition (), often called the Chopin Competition, is a piano competition in Warsaw, Poland, held first in 1927 and every five years since 1955. The competition is one of the founding members of the World Federa ...
. After the
Revolutions of 1989 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...
, 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 SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
, with bilingual (Polish and English) 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 An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...
, 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 An ornament is something used for decoration. Ornament may also refer to: Decoration *Ornament (art), any purely decorative element in architecture and the decorative arts *Ornamental turning *Biological ornament, a characteristic of animals tha ...
and pedaling. 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''.


Catalogue (WN)

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 Krystyna Kobylańska (6 August 1925 in Brześć, Poland – 30 January 2009 in Milanówek, Poland) was a Polish musicologist, and former curator of the Fryderyk Chopin Society Museum in Warsaw. In 1977 (revised and translated to German in 1979) ...
(KK). Some works have opus numbers assigned after Chopin's death by
Julian Fontana Julian (or Jules) Fontana (31 July 1810 — 23 December 1869) was a Polish pianist, composer, lawyer, author, translator, and entrepreneur, best remembered as a close friend and musical executor of Polish people, Polish composer Frédéric Chopin ...
, who grouped a number of unpublished piano pieces into eight opus numbers (Op. 66–73).


Reception

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 Thomas James Samson, FBA (born 6 July 1946), commonly known as Jim Samson, is a musicologist and retired academic. Described as "a leading authority on the music of Chopin", his research extends to Romantic music, early 20th-century classical ...
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 Franciscus ("Frans") Jozef Brüggen (30 October 1934 – 13 August 2014) was a Dutch Conducting, conductor, recorder player and baroque flautist. Biography Born in Amsterdam, Brüggen was the youngest of the nine children of August Brüggen, a t ...
, the edition "seems to be very trustworthy. Having compared all the different sources available, Professor Ekier was able to make good editorial decisions."


References


Sources

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External links

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Alphabetical index of works

Numbering and chronology of works
{{Authority control Chopin