In Episode 9, pianist Garrick Ohlsson pushes his oar through three singular masterpieces of Chopin – the Barcarolle, Berceuse, and Fantaisie. We're joined by special guest Eric Lu, who won the gold medal at the 2015 National Chopin Competition at the age of 17 before taking 4th prize at the International Chopin Competition later that year. Eric will react to two performances of the Barcarolle from Warsaw – his own from 2015, and his teacher Dang Thai Son’s from 1980. Finally, music critic Jed Distler will recommend some very special recordings of Chopin’s Barcarolle, Berceuse, and Fantaisie from the past century.

This podcast is produced in partnership with the Chopin Foundation of the United States, which presents the National Chopin Competition every 5 years. The Chopin Podcast comes on the eve of the 11th National Chopin Competition, to be held in Miami in January 2025. For more, visit chopin.org.

Reserve your seats for earlier rounds and purchase your tickets to the final round of the National Chopin Competition: https://www.chopin.org/2025-competition-schedule

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.