Pianist Ben Laude’s improbably popular The Chopin Podcast starring Garrick Ohlsson culminates in September on eve of Oct 2 International Chopin Competition
(September 2025) — In a media landscape crowded with podcasts and streaming video series, The Chopin Podcast stands out not only as a popularizer of a slice of “high” culture, but for its significant contribution to increasing the accessibility of classical piano music. Created and hosted by concert pianist Ben Laude – who will be the official livestream host of the 2025 Chopin Competition in Warsaw – and starring Grammy-winning pianist Garrick Ohlsson, the sixteen-episode, two-season podcast has garnered nearly 100,000 downloads and 2 million views on YouTube since its launch in October 2024. With episodes devoted to each of Chopin’s major compositional genres, the podcast features two dozen guests ranging from seasoned concert pianists and recent Chopin Competition medalists to improvisers, folk musicians, and music critics. These include Stephen Hough, Emanuel Ax, Yulianna Avdeeva, Dina Yoffe, Alan Walker, Gabriela Montero, Janusz Prusinowski, Jed Distler, and many more. The final episode of the podcast will be released in late September, on the eve of this year’s International Chopin Competition (begins Oct 2), where Ohlsson – the only Gold Medalist from the U.S. in the Competition’s history – will become the first non-Pole to chair the jury. Laude comments:
“I always felt that podcasts and YouTube were natural media for popularizing classical music without dumbing it down. But it’s also challenging, because talking about music is a bit like explaining a joke – it can kill the vibe. So, I begin each episode of The Chopin Podcast with a personal anecdote – something directly human and relatable – before penetrating deeper into what makes this music so beautiful, ingenious, and universal.”
Full episodes of The Chopin Podcast are available on streaming audio platforms (Spotify, Apple, Audible, and others), while video versions featuring musical examples are released in segments on YouTube. Sponsored by the Chopin Foundation of the United States, the series blends storytelling, music analysis, music history, classical world current events and pop-culture intersections, record reviews, “reaction videos,” and interviews, and its audiences have included curious music lovers, classical piano aficionados, amateur musicians, and classical music insiders. Ohlsson explains:
“I’m delighted to see the response to Ben Laude’s Chopin podcast series. Many young pianists swarm backstage after every concert I play, enthusiastic about what they learn from me and Ben about Chopin and pianism. I hope my advice helps pianists to solve some knotty issues. The podcast is unique in the classical music world, and I love that it takes a deep look at Chopin and his unique and highly varied music.”
Laude also hosted the livestream for the Miami Chopin Competition this past January, and the success of that stream – driven by viewers brought over from the podcast – led to an invitation to host the Warsaw Competition livestreams in October. With Ohlsson making history as the first non-Polish jury chair, and the added attraction of American pianist Eric Lu as a strong contender for the top prize, a climactic finish is in store for this unique and monumental achievement at the intersection of digital media/content creation, music appreciation, and scholarship.
About Ben Laude
Ben Laude is a Juilliard-trained concert pianist, music educator, and video/podcast producer whose playing has been described by The New York Times as “superb in pace, tone, and eloquence.” Through his work with Tonebase, the Chopin Foundation, and Aspen Music Festival Laude has produced creative video content with dozens of world class musicians the likes of Yuja Wang, Daniil Trifonov, and Renée Fleming and is the recipient of a YouTube Silver Creator Award.
About Garrick Ohlsson
For more than half a century, Garrick Ohlsson has proven himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess. He has earned him critical acclaim for his expansive discography covering four centuries of piano repertoire, and won a GRAMMY Award for a disc from his Beethoven Sonata Cycle on Bridge Records. The only American to even win first prize at the International Chopin Competition, in 2025 Ohlsson will make history again as first non-Pole ever to chair the Competition jury in Warsaw.