Chopin: Nocturnes

 
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FREDERIC CHOPIN
Chopin: Nocturnes
Stephen Hough (piano)

[ Hyperion / 2 CD ]

Release Date: Friday 29 October 2021

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'Some of the finest operatic arias ever written' is Stephen Hough's brilliant characterisation of the Nocturnes, one which holds the key to his intensely lyrical interpretations of these most perfect of bel canto masterworks.

"Having recorded most of Chopin's major genres Stephen Hough now turns to the Nocturnes, for him 'a corpus of some of the finest operatic arias ever written'.

Hough presents the Nocturne in E flat major Op55/2-in his words 'a seamless robe of ecstasy'-with transcendental pianistic and musical sheen. Here are all of Chopin's elegantly curvetting lines and the cantabile of a coloratura diva. He adds authentic improvisatory flourishes (Chopin rarely ornamented his music twice the same way) and reminds us of Chopin's ambivalent attitude to the salons of the Paris aristocracy (simultaneously mocking and fawning) .

Hough's playing is of an enviable freedom and flexibility, his shot-silk pianism endlessly blossoming with colour and nuance. Tempi are rapid, the manner sometimes cool to the point of detachment (try the Nocturne in D flat), yet few pianists can approach him as a master of finesse, and he is presented in sumptuous sound." International Piano

"This goes into my recordings of the year pile. Hough plays with an elegance and suppleness that sounds as natural as breathing, every melodic line played with a weightless touch that belies the percussive nature of the instrument and decorative flourishes very often sounding like a spontaneous creations. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this set." MusicWeb Recommended

"the great interpreters of this music never confuse the melancholic with the sentimental. Stephen Hough is even more 'objective' than most while bringing pianistic poise to everything and breathing with lines that trace their ancestry to the bel canto aria." Gramophone

Tracks:

CD1
1 Nocturne in B flat minor Op 9 No 1 [5'37]
2 Nocturne in E flat major Op 9 No 2 [4'04]
3 Nocturne in B major Op 9 No 3 [5'47]
4 Nocturne in F major Op 15 No 1 [4'12]
5 Nocturne in F sharp major Op 15 No 2 [3'12]
6 Nocturne in G minor Op 15 No 3 [3'35]
7 Nocturne in C sharp minor Op 27 No 1 [4'51]
8 Nocturne in D flat major Op 27 No 2 [5'17]
9 Nocturne in B major Op 32 No 1 [4'33]
10 Nocturne in A flat major Op 32 No 2 [4'46]
11 Nocturne in G minor Op 37 No 1 [5'32]
12 Nocturne in G major Op 37 No 2 [5'39]

CD2
1 Nocturne in C minor Op 48 No 1 [5'50]
2 Nocturne in F sharp minor Op 48 No 2 [6'39]
3 Nocturne in F minor Op 55 No 1 [4'19]
4 Nocturne in E flat major Op 55 No 2 [4'28]
5 Nocturne in B major Op 62 No 1 [6'50]
6 Nocturne in E major Op 62 No 2 [5'38]

POSTHUMOUS OR MISATTRIBUTED
7 Lento con gran espressione KKIVa/16 [3'41]
8 Nocturne in E minor Op 72 No 1 [3'45]
9 Nocturne in C minor KKIVb/8 [2'45]
10 Larghetto in C sharp minor KKAnh.Ia/6 [5'30]
11 Nocturne in E flat major Op 9 No 2b [4'40]