Vladimir Ashkenazy, of course, has been for years recognized as one of the world’s greatest pianists, so there is perhaps little I can say about him that has not been endlessly cycled through these reviews and posts. What I CAN say is that this comprehensive set of Chopin’s piano works is one of the most engaging, hauntingly beautiful series I’ve ever heard. Forget all the arguments over whose Chopin recording cycles is the “best:” I can’t answer that question, and I here take nothing away from some of my other favorite pianists. I have enjoyed some of these Chopin sets, and have found them, too, to be delightful. But Ashkenazy’s performances here are simply sublime in a way that is difficult to fully capture in words. They are stunning, often hypnotic, and allow you to enjoy Chopin at a level that is almost indescribable. Could the world have done without another Chopin recording cycle? Of course. But it would have been poorer for it.The technical recording, too, is “spot on,” and you find yourself dissolving into rich hues of musical notes without noticing that you are listening to a recording, a rare thing indeed. This set bears up to repeated playings; no, rather, BEGS you to replay again. The sonics are just right, and although these are to some extent “archival” recordings by todays standards set in full 24-bit/96kHz glory, often to wonderful effect (the work done by Linn Records, for example, immediately comes to mind), but this doesn’t matter. The noise floor is almost unnoticeable, the sound full and rich, and with almost no upper range hiss at all, just a flood of piano sounds that convey what Chopin wanted.Jeremy Siepmann, the world renowned expert pianist and musical expert, called the piano “a box of tricks” in his wonderful audio biographical set on Chopin (The Life and Works of Chopin (His Life and Works)). There are a number of players that will meet the highest standards of what Chopin could have ever wished, and Ashkenzay is one of them. I cannot recommend this set any more highly than I can, and I would say without exaggeration that the set would still be worth it at three times its current price. I feel strange even making such a judgment, because, as I sit here writing, listening to Ashkenazy, I am entranced in a way that correlates in no way to money. This is without doubt one of the best piano collections ever put together, and I doubt there would be too many that would disagree.