In this first of two episodes on Chopin's Mazurkas, Garrick Ohlsson deciphers select Mazurkas from across Chopin’s compositional periods; music critic Jed Distler recommends some of the finest recordings of the past century; and finally, Juilliard professor Jerome Lowenthal listens to Mazurka recordings made by his teacher, the legendary William Kapell, and compares them to other luminaries of 20th-century piano playing.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Chopin Foundation of the United States, which presents the National Chopin Competition every 5 years. For more, visit chopin.org.

Each episode in this series is dedicated to one of Chopin's major compositional genres, and features Garrick as well as special guests approaching the pieces within that genre from a number of different angles – analytically, historically, and pianistically. Follow us at chopinpodcast.com.

Created and hosted by Ben Laude.