Columbo (or perhaps, Peter Falk) was fond of not only classical music ("Blueprint for Murder" - Elliot Markum gets nabbed for changing the channel on the car radio) but Chopin in particular. Off the top of my head, I can think of five examples of Chopin being linked to an episode:

1. "Suitable for Framing" - Rudy Matthews is shot while playing Chopin's Op.10 No. 3

2. "Etude in Black" - perfect name as Jennifer Welles is shot while playing Chopin's Etude Op. 25 No. 1

3. "Etude in Black" - Welles' bird is named 'Chopin'

4. "Playback" - Margaret Meadis is listening to Chopin's Ballade Op. 23 No. 1 just before she is shot

5. "Rest in Peace, Mrs. Columbo" - Columbo mentions that his wife loves Chopin

I'm really curious if Falk loved Chopin, or Levinson/Link. We know his wife's favorite piece is 'Madame Butterfly' ("Identity Crisis")and that Columbo has an ear for music ("Swan Song"), but it would be interesting to know why they featured Chopin so much in the series. Don't know if there are other examples of Chopin being played/mentioned in the series.

Impressive collection! Thanks for bringing this together for us. I have no idea unfortunately of who was responsible for the interesting number of Chopin slections.