Which recordings do you recommend for the following (complete sets, if possible)? Thank you.

Prokofiev[/b]
- concerti
- sonatas

Chopin[/b]
- etudes
- ballades
- scherzi
- nocturnes
- mazurkas

Ravel[/b]
- anything

Beethoven[/b]
- sonatas

Liszt[/b]
- etudes
- sonata
- Hungarian rhapsodies
- other works

Schumann[/b]
- Kreisleriana
- other works

That's all I can think of for now.

I thank you for posting this thread, i was about to ask the exact same thing. I am basically in your same position, in need of good recomendations for piano music for gifts to people.

I can recommend Ashkenazi for the complete set of nocturnes and ballades--very solid and good recording (London/Decca). For chopin etudes i also have ashkenazi, again quite good, but i'm sure there are better recording of these.

So to add to the above post, I am in need of good recordings of Liszt music especially (i have no Liszt except the HR's, and want to get to know this composer better). Also, what is a good recording of the complete Chopin Preludes? Thanks, Happy Holidays!

Prokofiev - Bronfman for both, Chiu for sonatas, avoid Nissman

Beethoven - Goode, Brendel

Liszt - Lazar Berman

Schumann's Kreisleriana:

Argerich, Lupu, Grimaud, Horowitz (the early one)

Chopin
Ballades - Perahia (still my favorite of all of his discs, and I have almost all of them)
Preludes - Argerich (inexpensive too)
Nocturnes - Arrau (perhaps not a first recommendation, but still a great traversal)

I enjoyed Anderszewski's Chopin recital too. That has a good mix of works on it: mazurkas, ballades, etc.

Prokofiev Concerti: Ashkenazy, Beroff(Cheap) or Toradze

Prokofiev Sonatas: Bronfman

Chopin Etudes: Arrau, Cortot, Lortie, Wild, Zayas

Chopin Ballades: Zimerman, Rubinstein, AVOID PERAHIA

Chopin Scherzi: Richter, Freire, Rubinstein(1932)

Chopin Nocturnes: Wild, Pires, Rubinstein, Novaes

Chopin Mazurkas: Rubinstein

Ravel Concerti: Zimerman, Francois

Ravel Piano Works: Casadesus, Lortie, Gieseking

Beethoven Sonatas: Arrau, Kuerti, Goode, Perl

Liszt Etudes: Berman, Berezovsky, Ovchinikov, Fialkowska

Liszt Sonata: Levy, Zimerman, Gilels, Sermet, Curzon

Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies: Cziffra, Campanella, Szidon

Schumann Kreisleriana: Sofronitsky, Argerich, Arrau, Horowitz(Early one)

Thanks for the replies. I was actually thinking of getting Zimmerman's ballades. What are your thoughts on the full set of Ravel's works played by Argerich?