# Chopin National Edition

The National Edition of the Works of Fryderyk Chopin (Polish: Wydanie Narodowe Dzieł Fryderyka Chopina), 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

   We owe Chopin a debt... His music allowed us to survive the worst moments, and in the periods of hope extols Polish culture all over the world. We owe it to the author to publish his work in the form he intended. This is the goal of the National Edition: to pay off a Nation's debt to Chopin.
Jan Ekier
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 (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, 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 (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.
Series A: Works published during Chopin's lifetime :
| No. | Cat. | Contents |
| 1 | A I | Ballades |
| 2 | A II | Études |
| 3 | A III | Impromptus |
| 4 | A IV | Mazurkas (A) |
| 5 | A V | Nocturnes |
| 6 | A VI | Polonaises (A) |
| 7 | A VII | Preludes |
| 8 | A VIII | Rondos |
| 9 | A IX | Scherzos |
| 10 | A X | Sonatas |
| 11 | A XI | Waltzes (A) |
| 12 | A XII | Various Works (A) |
| 13 | A XIIIa | Piano Concerto No. 1 (for one piano) |
| 14 | A XIIIb | Piano Concerto No. 2 (for one piano) |
| 15 | A XIVa | Concert works for piano and orchestra (for one piano) |
| 16 | A XIVb | Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante (for one piano) |
| 17 | A XVa | Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" (score) |
| 18 | A XVb | Piano Concerto No. 1 (historical score) |
| 19 | A XVc | Fantasy on Polish Airs (score) |
| 20 | A XVd | Rondo à la Krakowiak (score) |
| 21 | A XVe | Piano Concerto No. 2 (historical score) |
| 22 | A XVf | Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante (score) |
| 23 | A XVI | Works for Piano and Cello |
| 24 | A XVII | Piano Trio |
Series B: Works published posthumously :
| No. | Cat. | Contents |
| 25 | B I | Mazurkas (B) |
| 26 | B II | Polonaises (B) |
| 27 | B III | Waltzes (B) |
| 28 | B IV | Various Works (B) |
| 29 | B V | Various Compositions |
| 30 | B VIa | Piano Concerto No. 1 (for two pianos) |
| 31 | B VIb | Piano Concerto No. 2 (for two pianos) |
| 32 | B VII | Concert works for piano and orchestra (for two pianos) |
| 33 | B VIIIa | Piano Concerto No. 1 (concert score) |
| 34 | B VIIIb | Piano Concerto No. 2 (concert score) |
| 35 | B IX | Rondo in C for two pianos, Variations in D for four hands |
| 36 | B X | Songs |

## 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 (KK). 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 (Op. 66–73).
WN catalogue :
| WN | Title | Op. (Fontana) | Completion date | First edition |
| 1 | Polonaise in B-flat major | | 1817 | 1910 |
| 2 | Polonaise in G minor | | 1817 | 1947 |
| 3 | Polonaise in A-flat major | | 1821 | 1908 |
| 4 | Polonaise in G-sharp minor | | 1824 | 1864 |
| 5 | Variations in D major for 4 hands | | 1824–1826 | 1965 |
| 6 | Variations in E major | | 1824 | 1851 |
| 7 | Mazurka in B-flat major | | 1826 | 1851 |
| 8 | Mazurka in G major | | 1826 | 1851 |
| 9 | Funeral march in C minor | 72 No. 2 | 1826 | 1855 |
| 10 | Polonaise in B-flat minor | | 1826 | 1881 |
| 11 | Polonaise in D minor | 71 No. 1 | 1825–1827 | 1855 |
| 12 | Polonaise in F minor | 71 No. 3 | 1826–1828 (-29?) | 1855 |
| 13 | Ecossaise in G major Ecossaise in D-flat major Ecossaise in D major | 72 No. 2 72 No. 3 72 No. 1 | 1826 (1830?) | 1855 |
| 14 | Mazurka in A minor | 68 No. 2 | 1827 | 1855 |
| (op. 4) | Sonata in C minor | | 1827/28 | 1851 |
| 15 | Rondo in C major for 2 pianos | 73 | 1828 | 1855 |
| 16 | Warianty ("Variants") (Souvenir de Paganini) | | 1829 | 1881 |
| 17 | Polonaise in B-flat major | 71 No. 2 | 1829 | 1855 |
| 17a | Mazurka in G major | | 1829 | |
| 18 | Waltz in E major | | 1829 | 1861 |
| 19 | Waltz in B minor | 69 No. 2 | 1829 | 1852 |
| 20 | Waltz in D-flat major | 70 No. 3 | 1829 | 1855 |
| 21 | "Życzenie" | 74 No. 1 | about 1829 | 1857 |
| 22 | "Gdzie lubi" | 74 No. 5 | about 1829 | 1859 |
| 23 | Nocturne in E minor | 72 No. 1 | 1827(?)–1830 | 1855 |
| 24 | Mazurka in C major | 68 No. 1 | 1830 | 1855 |
| 25 | Mazurka in F major | 68 No. 3 | 1830 | 1855 |
| 26 | Mazurka in G major | 67 No. 1 | 1830 (1835?) | 1855 |
| 27 | Contredans | | 1830 (1827?) | 1948 |
| 28 | Waltz in A-flat major | | 1829–1830 | 1902 |
| 29 | Waltz in E minor | | 1830 (?) | 1868 |
| 30 | "Poseł" | 74 No. 7 | 1830 | 1859 |
| 31 | "Czary" | | 1830 (?) | 1951 |
| 32 | "Hulanka" | 74 No. 4 | 1830 | 1859 |
| 33 | "Precz z moich oczu" | 74 No. 6 | 1830 | 1853 |
| 34 | "Wojak" | 74 No. 10 | 1830 | 1857 |
| 35 | Polonaise in G-flat major | | 1830 | 1869-70 (about 1859?) |
| 36 | [Allegretto] | | 1829–1831 | 1990 |
| 37 | Lento con gran espressione (Nocturne in C-sharp minor) | | 1830 | 1875 |
| 38 | "Piosnka litewska" | 74 No. 16 | 1830 (1831?) | 1859 |
| 39 | "Smutna rzeka" | 74 No. 3 | 1831 | 1859 |
| 40 | "Narzeczony" | 74 No. 15 | 1831 | 1859 |
| 41 | Mazurka in B-flat major | | 1832 | 1953 |
| 42 | Waltz in G-flat major | 70 No. 1 | 1832 | 1855 |
| 43 | Cantabile | | 1834 | 1955 |
| 44 | Presto con leggierezza (Prelude in A-flat major) | | 1834 | 1919 |
| 45 | Mazurka in A-flat major | | 1834 | 1930 |
| 46 | Impromptu in C-sharp minor (Fantaisie-Impromptu) | 66 | about 1834 | 1855 |
| 47 | Waltz in A-flat major | 69 No. 1 | 1835 | 1855 |
| 48 | Mazurka in C major | 67 No. 3 | 1835 | 1855 |
| 49 | "Leci liście z drzewa" | 74 No. 17 | 1836 | 1873 |
| 50 | "Pierścień" | 74 No. 14 | 1836 | 1859 |
| 51 | "Moja pieszczotka" | 74 No. 12 | 1837 | 1859 |
| 52 | "Wiosna" | 74 No. 2 | 1838 | 1859 |
| 52a | "Wiosna" for piano | | 1838 | 1990 |
| 53 | Sostenuto (Waltz in E-flat major) | | 1840 | 1955 |
| 54 | "Śliczny chłopiec" | 74 No. 8 | 1841 | 1859 |
| 55 | Waltz F minor | 70 No. 2 | 1841 | 1852 |
| 56 | Moderato <Kartka z albumu> (Leaf from the album) | | 1843 | 1912 |
| 57 | "Nie ma, czego trzeba" | 74 No. 13 | 1845 | 1859 |
| 58 | "Dwojaki koniec" | 74 No. 11 | 1845 | 1859 |
| 59 | Gallop Marquis | | 1846-47 | 1990 |
| 60 | Mazurka in A minor | 67 No. 4 | 1846-47 | 1855 |
| 61 | "Z gór, gdzie dźwigali" <"Melodia"> (Melody) | 74 No. 9 | 1847 | 1859 |
| 62 | Nocturne in C minor | | 1847–1848 | 1938 |
| 63 | Waltz in A minor | | 1847–1849 | 1955 |
| 64 | Mazurka in G minor | 67 No. 2 | 1848–1849 | 1855 |
| 65 | Mazurka in F minor | 68 No. 4 | 1849 | 1855 (partly) 1965 (full) |

## 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 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, the edition "seems to be very trustworthy. Having compared all the different sources available, Professor Ekier was able to make good editorial decisions."