Raoul Koczalski: The Chopin Tradition on Record

Presentation by Jakub Puchalski

Raoul von Koczalski (1885–1948) occupies a unique place in the history of Chopin interpretation. A child prodigy, he began studying at the age of seven with Karol Mikuli, one of Chopin’s pupils, establishing a direct link with the composer’s own teaching tradition.

Koczalski’s playing is immediately striking for its fluency and grace, subtle phrasing and seamless legato. Yet perhaps its most distinctive—and debated—feature is his highly individual use of rubato. His recordings have long prompted discussion about Chopin’s intentions and the performance practices inherited from the nineteenth century, inspiring both admiration and criticism. They invite today’s listeners to reconsider familiar assumptions about rhythm, freedom and expression in Chopin’s music.

This landmark edition brings together Koczalski’s complete commercial recordings, with Chopin at its core, including his complete recordings of the Études, Preludes and Ballades. Beyond their historical importance, these recordings offer an extraordinary opportunity to encounter a style of Chopin playing rooted in a tradition very different from that of the modern concert stage.

In a live introduction, Jakub Puchalski, Polish writer and music critic specialist in historical pianists and author of the edition’s booklet essays, will place these recordings in their artistic and historical context. He will explore the controversies surrounding Koczalski’s interpretations, his connection with the Chopin tradition through Mikuli, as well as the more complex aspects of his biography, including his relationship with Nazi Germany and his return to Poland after the Second World War.

The presentation offers a rare opportunity to listen to Koczalski not simply as a historical curiosity, but as a provocative witness to a lost—or transformed—tradition of Chopin performance.