The 21 Mazurkas belong to those youthful works which it has been agreed upon to designate as Scriabin’s 'first period', thus referring to a composer still heavily influenced by romantic models, and Chopin in particular. Too rarely in concert, these pieces indeed possess a melodic inventiveness and charm which make them as appealing as they are accessible. By their conciseness and finely wrought style, they even figure – with the Prelude- among the finest examples of the Russian composer-pianist’s miniaturist art.

François Chaplin trained at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSM) with the Bulgarian pianist Ventsislav Yankoff, Jacqueline Robin and with Jean-Claude Pennetier. His recording of Debussy’s complete piano works has been unanimously acclaimed by the international press and has reaped many awards (Diapason d’Or, ffff Télérama, BBC Music Magazine) as was his complete Chopin Nocturnes (for Zig-Zag Territoires).

François Chaplin now appears as a soloist in many of the world’s capitals and at important festivals, including La Roque-d’Anthéron, the Chopin Festival at Paris Bagatelle, the Chopin Festival at Nohant (Rencontres Internationales), Pontlevoy, Reims (Les Flâneries Musicales), Cervantino (Mexico), Yokohama (Japan), St Petersburg, Riga, Kazakstan, etc. In chamber music, François Chaplin performs with the Talich Quartet and Voce.