A unique CD is being released in The Fryderyk Chopin Institute's The Real Chopin series – an archival recording of a selection of polonaises, mazurkas and preludes, made on an authentic piano that once belonged to the composer: a 1961 recital recorded by Zbigniew Drzewiecki – an outstanding figure in the history of Polish piano playing, a legendary teacher and co-initiator of the Chopin Competition. The artist played an 1848 Pleyel piano which presently – it no longer being possible to restore it to concert condition – is held in the collections of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in Warsaw.
The publication contains an essay by Prof. Benjamin Vogel, a distinguished expert on historical instruments, who introduces the reader to the peculiar character of early pianos.